Often a dynamite deadlifter, Makarov also has awesome upper body power.
Throughout his prolonged strongman profession, Ivan Makarov has risen in popularity of his ability to do one thing at a rare, high level — deadlift staggering amounts of weight. Because the 2021 World Deadlift Champion (WDC), a recent majority of Makarov’s profession competitive appearances have largely focused on the deadlift, and his current social media mainly features the athlete’s latest pulling progress. One exception could be his commitment to overhead strength.
On Nov. 9, 2022, Makarov shared footage of himself successfully locking out a 190-kilogram (418.9-pound) strict overhead press with a barbell. In keeping with the strongman’s post, the lift is a private record (PR). Makarov wore wrist wraps, elbow sleeves, and a lifting belt to assist notch the non-public milestone.
More from Breaking Muscle:
This overhead press PR isn’t the primary instance of Makarov difficult his upper body roughly once per week this fall. The training focus appears to be a part of a pursuit for the overhead press reps World Record. (Note: On the time of this writing, it’s unclear when and where Makarov intends to interrupt the present mark, or where the rep figure currently stands.)
For instance, with the identical wrist and elbow wraps set-up, Makarov showcased himself completing a 140-kilogram (308.6-pound) overhead press for eight reps in mid-October 2022. An approximate week later, Makarov overhead pressed 170 kilograms (374.8 kilos) for 2 reps. Two weeks ago, he managed to complete 160 kilograms (352.7 kilos) for six reps. Now, largely as a result of his labor, he has a latest single-rep PR.
More from Breaking Muscle:
In keeping with Strongman Archives, the 31-year-old Makarov has participated in seven strongman competitions because the 2017 Strongman Champions League (SCL) World Overhead Lift Championships. While he used to compete in the complete slate of a contest’s events, of late the athlete has almost exclusively centered on his energy on ensuring his max deadlift is as much as a top standard.
That type of commitment has paid off in Makarov putting himself inside striking distance of elite company. The competitor’s all-time highest raw deadlift PR captured on camera is a 490-kilogram (1,080.2-pound) pull from a September 2020 training session. He has made quite a few attempts at deadlifting 500 kilograms (1,102.3 kilos). Should he ever achieve success lifting at the very least that much weight during a sanctioned competition, Makarov would change into just the third strongman to deadlift 500 kilograms. The one other strongmen to deadlift at the very least 500 kilograms are former World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champions Eddie Hall (2017) and Hafhor Björnsson (2018).
Notably, Makarov has attempted to officially surpass Björnsson’s all-time World Record deadlift of 501 kilograms (1,104.5 kilos) from the May 2020 edition of the World’s Ultimate Strongman (WUS) “Feats of Strength” series. Makarov made an attempt at deadlifting 502 kilograms (1,106.7 kilos) on the October 2020 iteration of the WUS Feats of Strength series, but fell just short. Makarov more recently made an unsuccessful attempt pulling 505 kilograms (1,113.3 kilos) on the 2021 Giants Live World Open.
More from Breaking Muscle:
Makarov is at a degree where many eyes will turn toward him and his loaded barbell any time he deadlifts. It appears he’s establishing a future where he, soon enough, can even be famous for his overhead prowess.
Featured image: ivan_makarovstrong on Instagram