At only 22 years of age, Amanda Lawrence has already ascended to the highest level of competition on the world stage. In 2019 alone while competing in the -84kg weight class, she took gold at the USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Arnold SBD Grand Prix, USAPL Raw Nationals, and the International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Classic Powerlifting Championships.
And she just hit a new personal best in flats as she moves closer and closer to achieving her goal of a 272kg/600lb squat. Check out this huge 255kg/562lb squat that Lawrence hit in flats below from her Instagram page:
A few weeks ago, Lawrence shared a 250kg/551lb squat while wearing heeled lifting shoes from the same angle on her Instagram page.
It is worth taking a look at that lift to notice the differences in flexibility and balance when lifting in flat vs. heeled lifting shoes:
Road to 600lb Squat
Lawrence’s competition best squat is a 250.5kg/552lb from the USAPL 2019 Raw Nationals where she placed first with a 613kg/1,351lb total. That’s the third heaviest ever squat in the -84kg class in sanctioned competition — the two heavier being Chakera Ingram’s 265kg/584lb and Crystal Tate’s 290kg/640lb.
Lawrence has hit even heavier squats in training wearing while wearing lifting shoes. She has surpassed her competition best squat in training with this 252.5kg/556lb squat from a few months ago:
Back in 2018, she even hit a colossal 258.5kg/570lb squat while prepping for the 2019 Arnold Sports Festival. She said back then:
“My goal is definitely to hit 600lbs. It’s not easy to make huge jumps as the weight gets heavier and heavier. I don’t necessarily have a time frame for it, but you can for sure bet it’ll be there in 2019.”
Although the 272kg/600lb squat has still eluded her into 2020, judging by the how smooth her most recent PR looked, it is unlikely to much longer.
Feature image from Amanda Lawrence’s Instagram page: @miss.amanda.ann
