Maddox’s quest for the 800-pound bench press is coming along well.
On Apr. 13, 2023, powerlifter Julius Maddox shared an Instagram clip of himself completing a raw 330-kilogram (727.5-pound) bench press during a training session. In his post, Maddox lists the load as 730 kilos, but that was a probable typo. So as to add an additional degree of challenge, the mighty Maddox performs the lift with a protracted pause at the underside of his repetition. While it’s unimaginable to discern how much of a challenge this added for Maddox on a numerical basis, it’s undoubtedly a formidable feat for one in every of the globe’s premier bench pressers.
Maddox accomplished his feat while wearing wrist wraps and didn’t appear to have a lifting belt adorned around his torso.
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Athletes who add any type of pause to their bench press are likely searching for increased tension of their chest and arm muscles. Keeping their loaded barbell at the underside forces the period of time an athlete has to maintain their weight stable before lifting it back up. As well as, adding a pause to a bench press removes the momentum athletes can sometimes use after lowering their weight.
All this to say: Maddox lifting almost 730 kilos while pausing for nearly two seconds is an accomplishment to behold.
For individuals who are rabid fans of upper body strength in the shape of the bench press, Maddox normally offers a treat. The bench press extraordinaire owns the all-time raw World Record of 355 kilograms (782.6 kilos) within the +140-kilogram weight class. In keeping with Open Powerlifting, the athlete scored that mark on the 2021 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Hybrid Showdown III. Notably, it was not in a full power meet, as Maddox only performed a bench press at the competition — a usual approach for the competitor every time he appears on a sanctioned lifting platform.
Maddox has been in pursuit of a 362.8-kilogram (800-pound) press for a while. One in all the last times Maddox shared significant progress on this strength journey was a 361-kilogram (796-pound) bench press personal record (PR) from May 2022. Maddox has not added to that weight or made a proper attempt at reaching the 800-pound barrier since. Though, it appears an attempt could possibly be forthcoming in 2023.
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On the time of this writing, just one other person, Daniel Zamani, has ever broached the 800-pound bench press barrier. The Iranian athlete notched a 365-kilogram raw bench press (804.7-pound) during a February 2022 training session. Maddox and Zamani had previously teased a friendly bench press battle on the 2022 Iron Wars V, but that entanglement fell through attributable to undisclosed reasons.
Tidbits like Maddox’s long-pause lift show that his remarkable milestone might finally be across the corner. Plus, provided that nobody has yet to eclipse the raw 800-pound mark in an official competition, Maddox can still win this all-time strength race.
Featured image: @irregular_strength on Instagram