Jezza Uepa, 36, a powerlifter from the tiny island of Nauru, is one seriously strong guy. In a recent video shared on his Instagram, he’s squatting 470kg (1,036 lbs) raw, and he makes it look pretty easy (not to mention with apparently good depth).
While it’s hard to tell from the shorts he’s wearing, it appears his knees are unwrapped as well. If that’s the case, it makes this squat all the more impressive.
In addition to the 470kg squat, he also posted a video hitting 460kg (1,012 lbs) with great speed and depth.
This recent squat could be a HUGE deal in future competitions for Uepa. In June of this year, Uepa finished second behind Ray Williams in the 120kg+ class at the World Men’s Classic Championships. His highest squat recorded in the competition was 426.5kg and trailed Williams by 11.5kg.
In October, at the USA Powerlifting Nationals, Ray Williams squatted 456kg (1,005 lbs) unwrapped, which made IPF/USAPL history. If Uepa could hit this squat unwrapped in competition, he would be able to claim that record.
While Uepa’s back squat is impressive, it’s worth nothing he can front squat, too. In May, we wrote a piece on the heaviest front squats and highlighted Derek Kendall hitting a 373kg (825 lb) cross-armed style front squat. Although, from the looks of it, Uepa has him beat.
In the video below, Uepa crushes a 400kg (880 lb) cross-armed front squat and in the description writes, “bebe w8.”
While his squat strength is impressive, let’s not forget about Uepa’s impressive upper body strength. He benches well over 500 lbs and recorded a 260kg (572 lb) bench at the World Men’s Classic Championships.’
The video below highlights Uepa hitting a 240kg (528 lbs) bench press with a 4-second pause for two reps. Let’s give credit to the 4-second pause, the explosive tempo, and the two reps with no spot.
All of these Instagram videos are only hours old, so it’s hard to tell when all of these numbers were truly hit. Possibly the best part is almost every description includes “bebe w8”; if that’s the case, that is one seriously strong baby.
From the looks of how Uepa’s training has been going, it doesn’t appear he’s slowing down his training anytime soon.
Feature image from @jezzauepa6745563710 Instagram page.