Remember that time powerlifter Julius Maddox first joined the 700 pound bench press club? Us too. Last year, Maddox broke the major bench press barrier when he pressed 700 lbs, and this year he’s reached even bigger heights.
Over the weekend, the super heavyweight athlete broke a new American record in the bench press with a huge 723.1 lbs. The previous record was set by Eric Spoto in 2013 when he benched 722 lbs.
Maddox shared his lift on his Instagram page, and it was pretty obvious he was pumped up about it. He even gave his wife and others a special shoutout for being with him through this journey. He wrote,
“The process continues! I am very humbled by the love and support form everyone!
Missed 739 at the lockout just know the [fire] is lit and I’m coming back for it.”
On the same day he attempted to break the raw bench press world record, but came just shy of the 739 lbs mark. In his Instagram caption he made it clear that he wasn’t completely satisfied with missing the lift and he’s ready to reach even bigger heights: it’s clear that he has his eye on Kirill Sarychev’s 738.5 lbs world record.
The last time Maddox officially competed was in 2018 at the Southern Powerlifting Federation’s (SPF) Slingshot Record Breakers meet in November. He competed in the raw 242+ weight class weighing in at 441 lbs. He finished in first place at the meet with place a 716.5 lbs bench press. Now, a year out since his last meet, and he’s managed to add 6.6 lbs to his bench.
We’re not sure when Maddox will next be competing, but each year he keeps getting better, and we’re here for it. Flash back to 2017 when we thought his raw bench press of 688 lbs was insane. That was already pushing the limits of human performance, and in less than two years he added over 35 pounds to the lift.
Julius Maddox is a man to watch.
Featured image from @irregular_strength Instagram page.