**Update: Originally this article was published citing Pollack’s squat weight at 925. Upon further examination of the weight lifted, the squat looks to be closer to 865. Although, Pollack hasn’t shared exact numbers, as he’s prepping for his February 11th meet.
Ben Pollack is an American powerlifter based in Texas and is no stranger to moving heavy weight. Pollack is currently in prep for the USPA Corpus Christi Classic and has been crushing some big lifts in the lead up weeks to the meet.
Yesterday Pollack shared a video of what looks like an 865 lb squat PR that had good depth. He didn’t share the exact weight, as he’s keeping it secret before his February 11th meet. This squat was performed with a Texas Squat Bar, belt, and knee wraps.
Possibly the coolest aspect of Pollack’s powerlifting career, is that he’s only been competing for four years, but is highly ranked in two weight classes. Currently, he’s ranked second in the 181 lb raw with wraps open category on Powerlifting Watch’s American Best of the Best Lifters.
He claimed this second ranking after putting up a 1,818 total at the USPF Battle of the Dragons in October, 2016. His successful lifts were a 738 lb squat (22lbs away off a world record), 396 lb bench press, and 683 lb deadlift. Below is a video of his 738 lb squat.
In the 198 lb weight class, Pollack ranks fourth for the raw open category on Powerlifting Watch’s American Best of the Best Lifters. He claimed this ranking after he lifted in the Boss of Bosses 3 Invitational in August, 2016.
He ranked seventh out of all the invited competitors for the highest Wilks score and claimed the best lifter in the men’s raw category. His successful lifts were a 700 lb squat, 424 lb bench press, and 782 lb deadlift, which earned him a 1,906 lb total.
While he competed in the 198 lb class, his actual weight was 191 lbs on weigh in. It’s interesting to ponder what his lifts could have been if he had weighed in at a higher weight for his class. Hopefully this year we’ll see him really push his weight limits for the 198 lb class.
From the looks of it, Pollack’s training in prep for the Corpus Christi Classic is going great. He’s still four weeks out from the meet, and with his recent squat PR, we’re getting more and more excited to see what numbers he’s going to put up.
Feature image: @phdeadlift Instagram page.