As it stands, a 903-pound, or 410-kilogram bench press is impressive on its own. But powerlifter Billie Gillespie really gave the strength sports world something to talk about when he absolutely dominated an equipped 903 pound bench press over the weekend. This was also one of the fastest reps we’ve ever seen at this weight.
To make it all the more impressive, he’s 59 years old.
Gillespie competed in the 308 lbs weight class at the 365 Strong Us Eastern Nationals over the weekend, and finished in first place.
[Wondering what powerlifters have made the heaviest raw bench presses of all time?]
Check out his lift below, just don’t blink on the ascent.
[Learn all about the differences between raw and equipped powerlifting!]
Gillespie hasn’t always been an equipped powerlifter. Earlier this year he competed raw at USPA’s FitCon World Cup Pro Invitational in the Open. He finished in first place in the 308 lbs weight class with a raw bench press of 451.9 lbs, or 204.97 kg.
The difference between the 451.9 lbs bench and the 903 lbs is obviously pretty big, but that’s not just because the heavier lift was equipped, it was multiply equipped, so he was wearing a bench shirt with more than one layer to it.
[Feeling stuck? Find out 8 ways to bust through a stubborn bench press plateau]
Last year he hit a massive bench press of 873 lbs which broke his old PR that had stood for ten years. And we got this nifty video out of it:
It’s not especially uncommon to see powerlifters alternate between equipped and raw powerlifting — Krzysztof Wierzbicki has IPF world records in both sports — and Gillespie has certainly found success in both forms. He may be approaching his 60th birthday, but something tells us that more personal records are ahead of him.
Featured image from Powerlifting Watch YouTube channel.
