There are few things in the sport of powerlifting that are as beastly as Blaine Sumner “The Vanilla Gorilla’s” squat strength. He’s known for frequently putting up 1,000+ lb squats, but this year Sumner is looking for something new.
In a video shared on Sumner’s Instagram page yesterday he squats 1,080 lbs for speed and makes it look easy…with no spotters. He performed the squat with knee wraps, a single ply suit, and lever belt.
In the video description Sumner writes, “Decided it’s time to quit being conservative on my single ply squats. I’m back to pushing the envelope. You’ll see a number in 2017 you never thought possible. 1,080 like the baby weight it is. So fast it hurts. Set the table kids, daddy’s home.”
Grab your popcorn and get ready. Currently Sumner is in prep for the 2017 Arnold Classic taking place March 2-5th in Columbus, Ohio. It will be interesting to see what numbers he puts up after such a successful year in 2016.
At the 2016 Arnold Classic Sumner made history with his 500kg (1,102 lb) squat.
In addition to his record breaking squat, Sumner also recorded an IPF record breaking bench of 885 lbs and record breaking total of 2,802 lbs. If that wasn’t impressive enough, he also recorded the highest ever Wilks Coefficient for the IPF, which now stands at 691.
Just how successful was Sumner’s 2016?
He took home gold in August at the IPF Classic World Championship with a 1,200kg (2,640 lb) total. His final lift attempts recorded were a 465kg (1,023 lbs) squat, 385kg (847 lb) bench, and a 350kg (770 lb) deadlift.
Sumner also took home first in May at the USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals for the open 120+kg weight class. His final lifts were a 445kg (979 lb) squat, 375kg (825 lb) bench, 355kg (781 lb) deadlift, and 1,175kg (2,585 lb) total.
Those are just three of Sumner’s impressive 2016 feats of strength and from the looks of it…we may be in for a just as exciting 2017.
What are your predictions for Sumner’s squat attempts at the 2017 Arnold Classic?
Feature image from @thevanillagorilla92 Instagram page.
