5 Powerlifters That Benched Over 700 lbs

Most people are impressed when they see someone benching three plates in the gym. The guys in this video took it to the next level and benched more than double that. These are five powerlifters who benched over 700 pounds. James Henderson. The first entry on the list is still to date one of the most impressive strength athletes that ever walked the face of the planet. James Henderson set a bench record back in 1996 and it has been over two decades since he last competed. He was famous for using no equipment at all in a time where most lifts were performed in full equipment. Not only that, he outlifted most of them even though he wasn't wearing a suit. And on top of it all, he did it while competing drug tested in the IPF. His best benching competition was 322 kilograms or 711 pounds. And today there has been no drug tested athlete that has come close ever since. Unfortunately a lot of footage got lost over time but his acts of strength will forever be in the record books. Scott Mendelsohn. Most people know but he has also competed raw a couple of times. Scott is one of the lightest guys on this list with a body weight fluctuating between 135 and 155 kilo. Every time he took off his suit he managed to do something impressive. At his first raw meet in 2002 he immediately set a new record in the 140 kilogram class just crossing the 700 pound mark. Knowing what he could do, he set an even bigger goal of breaking the all time bench world record. One year later he did so with a 713 pound bench. A record that he would later re-break in 2005 with a 715 pound bench. Eric Spodo. If you ever heard the name Spodo before, it's probably from Spodopresses, a concept that Eric has made famous by implementing it in his prep to break the world record. In 2012 he benched 700 in competition so he knew the record was within reaching distance. After one more year of training, while even a lighter body weight than before, he managed to increase the forcing Mendelssohn to pass the torch. Kirill Sarichev. Kirill is an absolute legend in strength sports. There are a few that have achieved what he has. From being the president of one of the largest powerlifting federations in the world to breaking world records, he has done it all. Currently he is not competing anymore and he has branched out his empire to explore some new aspects of strength sports. But it was only a few years ago that Kirill was the man to beat on bench. From his first attempt it was immediately clear that he had a world record in him. He moved the weight with such control and confidence that it was hard to imagine him waiting till his third attempt to break it. And indeed, his second attempt was 330 kilogram. With that still moving smooth, it was time to add a bit more and increase the record by 5 kilo. That incredible performance left many questioning what would have happened if Kirill continued to focus on powerlifting in the years after this. Julius Maddox. It was only a short time ago that Julius would have only just made it onto this list. But ever since then his strength just exploded. At this time no one believed that it was possible that he could ever take the record from the seemingly unbeatable Kirill Saitsev. But that was exactly what happened. Julius was struggling for a few years to cross his 700 pound barrier. But when he crossed that mental barrier there was no stopping him. After he had already taken the American record at 328 kilo in 2019, it was time to aim a little higher and go for the world record. And two months later history was written. The first attempt was surrounded by some controversy because he missed the pins on the record. To leave no doubt on the table he decided to re-break it putting an even higher number up at 337.5 kilo. Of course this was still not enough for him. He started training for 800 pounds and in March of 2020 he performed his first competition bench over 8 plates. And now we have to wait till June to see him attempt 800 pounds in an official competition with Ed Cohen judging the event. Thanks for watching guys, I hope you enjoyed this list. And let us know what you want to see next. Don't forget to press like and subscribe.