Tag: Inspiration

525 Squat = All I Ever Wanted

525 lb Squat

All I Ever Wanted

Hi, my name is Ryan Mathias and all I ever wanted was to Squat 525 pounds RAW. Now, to many people that may seem mediocre since many people can squat 500+ pounds. But to me, it wasn’t easy, and there’s a reason 525 means so much to me. This is why…

My 525 Story

I officially started weight training as a 16-year-old Junior in high school for one of my P.E. classes. And my favorite exercise was the squat. I loved it so much that it was basically all I did during our short 50-minute classes 4 days per week. 

As you can imagine, I progressed rapidly as a beginner that only squatted. So, after about 2 months I attempted my first max squat, and I got a pretty easy 355 lbs! Pretty great for a 180 lb kid with no guidance or help (the “coach” in there didn’t care what you did. As long as you didn’t run off or get hurt, he didn’t pay any attention to you.)!

Well, a short while later I was repping 315 for 4×10 and able to do 405 lbs. And that is when I had an idea…

The Record Board

Like every high school, we had a football team (coached by the weight training “teacher”). And in the weight room, they had a record board that recorded all the best lifts of the football players for that year. 

At the top of the record board, there were all-time school records for Squat, Bench Press, and Power Clean (should have been deadlift, I know). The records at the time (2009) were 505 Squat, 355 Bench Press, and 330 Power Clean (set by my older brother Tanner, that year!)

Well, the best squat for the current football players was only 315 lbs. Something that I could easily do! So, in the hopes of getting some recognition by my peers, I asked the coach if he would put my name on the board, as he just watched my squat 405 in front of him. 

Of course, he said, “No! That board is for players only!” 

Obviously, I was bothered by this. But it also truly infuriated me, because of the way he said it. His tone was like I didn’t deserve any recognition for my work. I was so upset that I went right to the squat rack and did 405×2. 

He didn’t say anything, of course.

My Goal

Well, I knew he was not going to put me on the board by choice. So I decided that I was going to break the school squat record so that he would be forced into putting my name on the record board! But I didn’t just want to break it by a few pounds. I wanted to annihilate it!

So I decided that 525 lbs was the goal!

I trained harder than before and was pushing for as much progress as I could! But, unfortunately, that lead to injury.

Again, I had no help with proper technique or rest and recovery. All I knew was that I needed to squat low and squat often. So I did, and my hips were not happy about it.

In fact, I did so many things wrong that I still have to fight the bad habits I grew over my first few years of lifting. 

Well, long story short, the most I ever squatted in high school was 435×2 with a belt and spotter assistance. 

Slow Progress

The next few years were waves of progress and regression. I would build a lot of strength, then get injured. Learn from it, and progress again. Over and over again. Always learning and growing.

All I can say is that I wish I found a website like this one back in those days to help me along!

I even broke my back in 2012 (unrelated to weight training) in which I was told to lay in bed for 5 weeks and never lift heavy again. That didn’t happen, but I did learn a lot from it!

My 525 lb Squat Redemption

Well, after all these years of learning through both education and experience, I have healed my body, corrected my mistakes and become ready for my redemption!

And here it is! My first, but not last, ever 525 lb squat!

What I am most proud of is my journey getting here. It was a long hard road, but I accomplished it on my own terms. I don’t take supplements or drugs and only use minimal support (my knee sleeves are there for looks, not so much support. They are too big and torn out on both sides so they slide down my legs as I walk.). I learned from my mistakes and only grew stronger from them. 

Thank you to everyone that has supported me along the way. Thank you to my dad for recording this life-changing event. And to me…

“Yo, Ryan…we did it!”


If you want to learn how to do it too, get my 12-Week Squat Program which I used to accomplish this feat of strength!

Ryan’s 500 lb 12-Week Squat Program >>


What’s Next

Now, of course, I am not stopping all lifting and moving onto other things. I will always be a powerlifter because I love the sport. I will continue to get stronger in all my lifts, but I am proud to have accomplished my main goal after only a mere 10 years!

Other Strength Goals:

Squat = ???

Bench Press = 405×3

Deadlift = 650

Invest In Yourself

Invest In Yourself

We all want that big break, where we suddenly start to succeed and get rich quick. We want to make that quick investment to finally achieve everything we ever wanted. However, many people seem to forget, the greatest investment you can ever make is in yourself. So, take the hard road, do it your way, and invest in yourself!

The greatest investment you can ever make is in yourself.


motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

This is an excerpt from my Book “Motivated Mindset“. 

Don’t let your lack of motivation hold you back from achieving your goals!

Find your motivation and change your life forever!

Get your copy here! 


You Are An Asset

You are the most valuable thing you can invest in because only you can create your own success. Without the proper mindset or skills, you may never reach your full potential. It is easy to invest your money, time and assets towards others; expect them to do all the work for you. However, by taking that easy route you are not improving yourself.

Again, you are your greatest asset and the most valuable thing you can invest in! Yes, you can find some success through others, but if you truly want to be successful, then you need to create your own success. You have to put in the time, energy, effort, money and resources to get your full value back. 

An investment in others will always die off, but an investment in yourself stays with you forever.

Maybe you just need:

  • to improve your health, so you go to the gym.
  • to heal your relationships, so you go to counseling.
  • more education or another skill, so you take some classes.
  • some free time to rejuvenate, so you take a vacation, go for a weekly drive somewhere, or take some time (15-60 minutes) every day to just relax.

Whatever you need to do in order to help build yourself up, start investing in yourself today. You will see an immediate return on your investment, and you will be well on your path to creating your own success!

Just keep investing, and someday you might just change the world!


Create Your Motivated Mindset Today!

motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

Learn More!


Join the Mathias Method Army for updates and more great content like this!

Join Now!

Take The Hard Road

Take The Hard Road

Life is a journey, and you get to choose the path you take. Many will take the easy road while those that are strong-willed (like you and I), know that taking the hard road will make us stronger than before. So, when everyone takes the easy route, you should take the hard road. You will learn more and become stronger through the challenges you face. Then you can continue to lead forward with your new found knowledge as you create a new path for others to follow, while those that didn’t fight for their success have nowhere else to go.


motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

This is an excerpt from my Book “Motivated Mindset“. 

Don’t let your lack of motivation hold you back from achieving success!

Find your motivation and change your life forever!

Get your copy here!


Choose to do what is hard, because difficult things make us stronger.

Life is not supposed to be easy! If life was easy, then it wouldn’t be very rewarding. We need to struggle in order to appreciate the good times we have. Good things like success would hold no weight if there was not a struggle to get there!

Of course, not everything needs to be hard, but it shouldn’t all be easy either. It is good for us to fail at times in order to learn from it and build up some scars, so we can withstand more pain than before. So choose to take on challenges in life, because they will make you so much stronger!

Do What Is Difficult

Do what is difficult, because difficult things make us stronger.

You should be grateful for the challenges thrown your way because they make you stronger and help to define who you are by how you get through them. It’s easy to just give up and not even try when things seem too difficult, but it is through those challenges that we are reborn even stronger. Difficulty is just another pathway to creating your own greatness. Accept the challenge and show the world you will not be stopped!

Challenges do not stop you from achieving success.

They give you the opportunity to make a better one.

So many people take difficulty as a loss and just give up when things get tough, but struggle should push you, not hold you back. When you run into trouble, just view it as another opportunity to make things even better.

Change doesn’t have to be bad. You can take what you have learned and make a better future from them. Be open to change and learn from your struggles!

Leaders Take The Hard Road

The hard road is for leaders that want to push past what others have done before. While the easy road is for followers that want to quickly reach assumed success, with no real knowledge of how to get there.

Of course we all need to be good followers to learn how to become great leaders, but eventually, you will need to branch out if you want to continue moving forward. You have to go into the unknown and take risks. If you are strong enough, from all the hard roads you’ve taken before, you can succeed even when times are tough.

Once you have achieved success on your own, then no one can take it away from you. So choose the difficult things in life! Take the hard road and no one can take away what you have earned!

Don’t avoid what is hard. This is not supposed to be easy.

Destroy Challenges. Conquer Fears. Let nothing stand in your way!

This is your life! Own It!

Go Above and Beyond

On your Journey to Greatness, never do just the minimum!

When asked to do something 10 times, do it 11. Always do 1 more. One more than asked, one more than before, one more than you thought you could do…never the minimum.

Too many people do just the minimum requirements to get by and never reach their full potential because of it. It is those that push themselves beyond what is required, in everything that they do, that achieve true success. Go above and beyond to find what you are truly made of!


Create Your Motivated Mindset Today!

motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

Learn More!


Join the Mathias Method Army for updates and more great content like this!

Join Now!

How To Be “Somebody”

How To Be “Somebody”

Many people spend their entire lifetime trying to find how to be somebody great. What they may not realize, is that they are looking in the wrong direction. Rather than searching outside of yourself for the answers, look inside at who you already are.

You were born with greatness inside of you…all you have to do is find a way to show the world how great you already are!


motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

This is an excerpt from my Book “Motivated Mindset“. 

Don’t let your lack of motivation hold you back from achieving success!

Find your motivation and change your life forever!

Get your copy here!


You were born “SOMEBODY”.

You just have to find a way to show the world who that “somebody” truly is!

Don’t waste your time trying to change who you are, but rather find how you can best express yourself to others in a way that benefits everyone. We are all great in our own way, and it is often hard to look deep inside of us with a confident eye to see our own greatness. However, you already have the answer to creating your own success.

Think positively, with an open mind in search of your inner greatness!

Find what you truly love to do (This is usually the things we would do if we had all the money and time in the world. Think, what you would do if you were retired right now?), and combine it with what you are good at. Often these things match up closely, so put them together. Then find the best platform to display yourself to others in a way that benefits everyone.

Maybe you have a lot of experience in a certain field and can provide information to people about it. Or maybe you are really good at inventing or building things and should create things for others to use. Maybe you have a certain personality or skill set to put to use.

Find your greatness, then find the best way to present your inner greatness to others! Be confident in your abilities and help others! Do what you are meant to do!

Be the “somebody” you were born to be!


Please leave your comments below!


Create Your Motivated Mindset Today!

motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

Learn More!


Join the Mathias Method Army for updates and more great content like this!

Join Now!

How To Prioritize Your Time For Success

How To Prioritize Your Time For Success

Time is the one thing that we are always losing and can never get back. Knowing this, we have to organize our time and prioritize what we do with it.

Realize that your time is very valuable, even in small quantities. We all need some free time to relax, but too many people waste their own time by doing so many things for others, so then they have no time or energy for themselves.


motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

This is an excerpt from my Book “Motivated Mindset“. 

Don’t let your lack of motivation hold you back from achieving success!

Find your motivation and change your life forever!

Get your copy here!


Without time to yourself, how can you move forward in life? Eventually, we end up making the same mistakes over and over until we wake up 20 years later finally realizing how important all that time was.

If you want to do something with your life, you need to do it right now! Start planning and taking action, because no one is going to hand you the time to do it. You have to fight for your time and take advantage of every free moment to improve yourself. There is no time to waste!

Taking Action

You can start by setting aside, a few minutes each day to work on a project, take 1 day per week, or even use a vacation as your work time to start creating your success.

100% of your time is yours to give.

We need to give some time to our jobs, our families, and our friends, but no matter what, at least 10% of your time needs to be kept to yourself, for yourself! That 10% is 2.5 hours per day, 17 hours per week, 3 days per month, and 36 days per year!

Just think of how much you can get done with just that 10%! Use it to the fullest! Many people use that time just to relax and watch TV, while successful people use that time to advance themselves, even if they don’t feel like it. Which are you?

You are in control of your time, so make sure you are using that time to your advantage. Don’t just giving charity to others, when they don’t return the favor, or be lazy yourself.

Most of the time spent to yourself should be towards your own self-improvement. Success is a habit, so make it a habit to prioritize your time and you will be successful.

You can unwind when needed, but also use your time to create your own success! Success takes time and time is not on our side. Be strong and make your time/success a priority! 


Please leave your comments below!


Create Your Motivated Mindset Today!

motivated mindset words of wisdom cover

Learn More!


Join the Mathias Method Army for updates and more great content like this!

Join Now!