On February 21, 2021, the Hybrid Showdown meet in Miami, FL became the site where powerlifting history was made. Powerlifter Julius Maddox has extended the raw bench press all-time world record — again — by lifting 355 kilograms (782.6 pounds). You can check the lift below, courtesy of King Of The Lifts’ Instagram account:
[Related: What You Need to Know About How to Increase Strength]
Going into that meet in South Florida, Maddox already held the world record with a lift of 349.2 kilograms (770 pounds), which he set at the 2020 Arnold Sports Festival. The Kentucky native was building towards this lift ever since he hit 350 kilograms (771 pounds) in February 2020.
The Hybrid Showdown is sanctioned by the World Raw Powerlifting Federation (WRPF). Standing at six feet, three inches tall, Maddox weighed in at 447 pounds (or 203 kilograms). He was in the final flight of the meet, which included Dan Bell and Jon Call (aka Jujimufu). He started this meet with an opening bench press of 330 kilograms (727 pounds), which went up rather easily. He then took the new world record on his second attempt. Skipping his final attempt and going for the big lift on attempt number two is a classic Maddox move.
View this post on Instagram
[Related: How to Gain Muscle — A Guide to Eating For Mass]
This is incredible feat is another step for Maddox toward his ultimate goal of bench-pressing 800 pounds (362.8 kilograms) raw. He attempted this milestone in June of 2020 but ultimately failed in part due to a controversial misload of the weight by the spotters assisting in the meet.
According to Maddox, the next time he will take a shot at 800 will be on June 10, 2021, in Chicago, IL. Adding 12 pounds to his already other-worldly previous record should serve as a nice confidence-booster as his next 800-pound bench press attempt nears.
The Hybrid meet was streamed live on Hybrid Performance’s Twitch channel and should be available for replay if you follow the channel. As for Maddox, he sent BarBend an exclusive message after his latest world record: “Resistance is necessary in order to reach greatness.”
Featured image: @kingofthelifts on Instagram
