Julius Maddox Attempts To Match Eddie Hall’s CrossFit WOD “Isabel” World Record
The strength sports world takes notice any time one of the physically larger athletes in strongman, powerlifting, or bodybuilding endeavors to perform a CrossFit WOD. Not only because of the crossover between sports but also the uniqueness of what they can achieve. In February 2020, 2017 World’s Strongest Man (WSM) champion Eddie Hall set out to break the world record time for the CrossFit WOD “Isabel.” The workout calls for the following:
CrossFit WOD Isabel
- 30 snatches | Men: 135 pounds / Women: 95 pounds
Time cap: five minutes
Hall blitzed the workout in a time of 50.9 seconds unbroken to claim the world record. For context, “elite” athletes are expected to perform Isabel within two minutes and “advanced” athletes in three to four minutes, according to WODWell. Raw bench press world record holder Julius Maddox recently took to his TikTok page to post a video attempting to match Hall’s effort. He came up just a few reps short, finishing with 28 unbroken reps. Still, it was a solid showing for the 440-pound powerlifter.
Check out the reposted video from Jan. 9, 2022, below on Maddox’s Instagram page:
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Maddox did not state his reasoning for performing this workout other than a reference to conditioning in the post’s caption. This post is unique for Maddox, whose social media primarily consists of heavy bench presses and supplement promotion.
Just some quality conditioning. Not bad for a lazy powerlifter.
Of course, the conditioning would be the primary limiting factor as 135 pounds is less than a third of Maddox’s body weight, and he’s acclimated to lifting over 700 pounds on the bench. He holds the current all-time raw bench press world record of 355 kilograms (782.6 pounds), scored at the 2021 World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF) Hybrid Showdown III in Miami, FL.
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Initially, Hall was set to attempt a CrossFit WOD “Grace” world record, which calls for stricter reps. However, it changed to Isabel before he scored his world record 35 reps in 50.9 seconds at the European Championships in Colchester, England. If you have not seen Hall’s Isabel performance, you can check it out in the video below, courtesy of his YouTube channel:
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Maddox is scheduled to compete against Danial Zamani in a bench press battle at Iron Wars V on Jan. 24, 2022, at the Iron Addicts Gym in Signal Hill, CA. The hype for that contest is heightened due to the potential for Maddox to attempt the milestone 800-pound bench press, which he missed in June 2020 due to a misload. Maddox’s most recently referenced another potential 800-pound attempt in his Instagram post on Jan. 8, 2022:
Everybody wants to know the next 800 attempt. At this point, I’m slowly increasing weight. Still have some imbalances to work out but everything else feels great!
If any bench presser on the planet is capable of challenging Maddox and bringing out his best, it’s Zamani, who has hit 700-plus-pound bench presses on multiple occasions. Assuming Maddox’s recent shoulder issues subside and he enters Iron Addicts Gym healthy, the first-ever 800-pound raw bench press may be achieved.
Featured image: @irregular_strength on Instagram