The heaviest raw and equipped squats in IPF competition history were both well over 1,000 pounds, and these relatively recent records were set by legends in the sport. And ONE of these historic lifts is actually UNDER the record holder’s competition best. Confused? We break down both lifts and explain that weird quirk of the record books in the video below. (Note that these are the heaviest overall, not just by weight class, so both of these lifters competed in the IPF’s heaviest available bodyweight category.)
The heaviest raw squat in IPF competition history (or Classic, as the IPF often refers to it) is 477.5kg, or roughly 1,052 pounds. That lift was completed by Ray Williams at the 2017 Arnold Sports Festival.
Interestingly enough, that’s NOT Ray Williams’ heaviest COMPETITION squat, but it is the heaviest he’s squatted for an IPF World Record. He’s gone as heavy as 490kg, but since that was in a US competition and not an international comp, it wasn’t eligible to be a new world record. So as of right now, the USAPL record is actually higher than the IPF World Record. Fun bit of powerlifting trivia there. That 490kg squat is often cited as an unofficial world record.
The heaviest equipped squat in IPF history was done by Blaine Sumner. (He of the infamous chicken shake diet.) He squatted 515kg, or roughly 1,135 pounds, at the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival. (Find out more about that historic performance and his three world records.) At that same competition, Sumner also set World Records in the bench press and total.
Another interesting fact: Before his historic run as an equipped powerlifting, Blaine Sumner was one of the world’s most accomplished Classic (in IPF speak, that’s raw) powerlifters. He won a Classic world championship in 2012 and a silver in 2015 before switching over to equipped lifting full time.