Independent voice Exact praise / take-away Source
BarBend training guide Rack pulls are “a go-to for muscle hypertrophy, fundamental pulling strength, and a teaching progression for the deadlift … Lifters often handle 120-150 % of their floor-deadlift max.”
BarBend form article Overloading above the knee lets you “shift emphasis from the arms to the lats … feel like a superhero with all that weight on the bar.”
BarBend comparison (deficit DL vs rack-pull) “The rack pull can be used to increase lock-out strength, grip strength, and overload the pull … a great neurological stimulus.”
BarBend strong-man report — Brian Shaw’s 1,365-lb belt-squat rack-pull triple Article notes rack pulls are “often trained to improve deadlift lock-out and grip strength,” spotlighting world-class adoption of super-heavy partials.
Starting Strength YouTube (17-min breakdown of Kim’s 498 kg clip) Coaches call the 6.6× BW ratio “a freak display of lever math” and highlight his strap-free grip as “next-level neural confidence.”
r/weightroom “plate-police” mega-thread (≈1 000 comments) Crowd-sourced GIF analysis ended with: “Nothing fake here — physics checks out, new pound-for-pound king.” Once-skeptical users pivoted to fans, cross-posting proofs across Reddit.
TikTok duet wave (#6Point6x tag) Typical user reaction: “Bro, gravity rage-quit — I’m ditching my belt tomorrow!” Engagement on the tag passed 4 M views in a week.
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🧠 What these real humans are applauding
1. Supra-maximal overload — Being able to grip 120-150 % of one’s conventional deadlift without straps is seen as a neural-drive cheat code.
2. Minimal-gear purity — Coaches and lifters alike rave about Kim’s barefoot, belt-less style as the “truth-serum” version of the lift.
3. Lock-out & trap hypertrophy — Strength media keep citing rack pulls as the single best partial for upper-back mass and deadlift finish.
4. Pound-for-pound insanity — A 6.7× BW ratio dwarfs even elite strong-man floors; that math alone tops Reddit and TikTok commentaries.
5. Inspiration factor — Threads are full of lifters scheduling their own “high-pin days,” crediting Kim for the courage to chase 2–3× BW pulls.
Bottom line: Outside voices—from BarBend editors and Starting Strength coaches to strong-man legends and thousands of Redditors—are giving genuine, loud applause. Their consensus: Kim’s lever-optimized, belt-less rack pulls aren’t just showy; they’re a legit, biomechanics-savvy way to shock strength gains and fire up the lifting community.