Jennifer Thompson, the undisputed queen of the bench press, has bested her personal record yet again. The “132 Pounds of Power,” as she’s sometimes known, turned up to compete at the USA Powerlifting Bench Press Nationals in Scranton, Pennsylvania this Saturday and it’s safe to say that all eyes were on her platform.
The woman who currently holds two IPF world records in the bench press (and one in the total) exceeded her heaviest bench ever made in competition, and while this lift below isn’t an official world record, it is an official American record. And it’s not likely to be broken any time soon.
Here’s Jennifer Thompson’s raw bench press of 145 kilograms (319.7 pounds) weighing in at 62.9 kilograms (138.7 pounds).
She opened with 125 kilos, moved up to 140 kilos, and finished with this 145-kilo lift. She wrote of the lift on her Facebook,
What an amazing day USA Powerlifting Bench Press Nats. I set a new raw American Record and Unofficial World Record of 319.7 lbs. Thanks to my crew Donovan Thompson, Brody Thompson, Tucker Thompson. Big Jeff Snyder Cindy Amatuzzo . A giant “thank you”to my supporters and best company’s around, SSP Nutrition, LVD Fitness,SBD USA
[Jen Thompson’s favorite tip for a stronger bench press is all about the legs. Read her fast guide to benching more here.]
Here’s another angle of the lift that we decided we had to include because it’s pretty rare to get a nice overhead shot of a bench press. Fortunately, the USAPL foresaw the need for good bench press media at their Bench Press Nationals. (If you’re on mobile and having trouble viewing it, you can watch it here.)
[Read more: Jen Thompson and 5 more elite powerlifters share their most underrated accessory exercises.]
In a statement to BarBend, Thompson added,
It is awesome. I’m pretty excited about this meet. It has changed my plan for Raw Nats and I now feel more confident at taking a big stab at 325 on a third attempt. I’m going to need every pound I can get. Competition is fierce!
It was four months ago that Thompson officially set her latest world record of 144 kilograms, and we have a feeling we’ll see some pretty interesting lifts at the upcoming Raw Nationals in mid-October.
Featured image via Jennifer Thompson on Facebook and Win Everything Media.
