Twenty-two year old powerlifter Chris Bridgeford is repping awfully close to the world record deadlift: five reps of 370 kilograms (815.7 pounds) with wrist straps.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWtbj1ilwxC
He posted with the lift,
New 5RM tonight @ 370 kg (815 lbs)… no f*cking around, no music, or hype. Just put a number in my head and did it. Warmed up to 771 lbs with hook grip before this but my thumbs are a little raw so I put straps on. Just under 6 weeks out from #bossofbosses4
That last hashtag is referring to an upcoming World Raw Powerlifting Federation meet, the fourth annual Boss of Bosses. It’ll be held at Boss Barbell Club in Mountain View, California from August 25th to 26th, and it looks like we can expect some pretty serious lifts. He has a current PR total of 2,121 pounds (962 kilograms) with wraps and 1,890 pounds (857.3 kilograms) with knee sleeves.
Bridgeford weighs 262 pounds (119 kilograms) “on a light day” and despite his username on Instagram and Reddit (which is @bridgeford242) he says he hasn’t competed at 242 pounds for at least a couple of years. He’ll probably be competing in the -120kg category, and it’s definitely worth pointing out that the current IPF world record in that weight class is 372kg, or 820.1 pounds — less than five pounds heavier than Bridgeford’s five-rep max. The IPF world record for the +120kg weight class is Ray Williams‘ 865.3lb (392.5kg) lift, but remember that the IPF is a tested federation and the WRPF isn’t.
Plugging this 5-rep max into a 1RM calculator comes up with an approximate one-rep max somewhere between 910 and 940 pounds, but at these weights, a max lift is anyone’s guess.
We have, however, seen him pull 900 pounds (408.2 kilograms) with straps, and this is back in November.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BMp2AyZg6su/
And he deadlifted 875 pounds for a double in January.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BPG9VphACRh/
His other lifts are going extremely well, too. Just last week he hit a four-rep PR in the squat with 365 kilograms (804.7 pounds) in knee wraps.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWlMQi3FGK8/
And in the same week, he hit a smooth personal record in the bench press with 500 pounds (226.8 kilograms). It’s worth nothing that he has a really flat bench with basically no arch at all.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BWiqkKvFyEt/
Like we said: we can expect some pretty serious lifts at the Boss of Bosses meet next month.
Featured image via @bridgeford242 on Instagram.
