“Let’s do this sh*t!” says Ray Williams, somehow managing to speak coherently, stand for more than ten seconds, and then squat 1,052 pounds (477.18kg).
Over the weekend, Williams was getting under some very, very serious weight — in fact, it was almost as much as any human being has ever moved without the help of a squat suit.
One of the world’s greatest raw powerlifters of all time taught a seminar at Gaglione Strength in New York, and while he was there — you know, since he was already in his lifting shoes and all — he decided to squeeze in a casual workout during which he hit the IPF all-time world record in the raw squat: 1,052 pounds.
To be fair, there’s a little bit of confusion as to whether this was exactly as much as March’s squat or just a little shy. The world record that he cemented earlier this year was 477.5 kilograms, which is 1,052.7 pounds. The weight he hit this weekend was listed in John Gaglione’s Instagram post as 1,052 pounds, so we’re not one hundred percent sure if Gaglione was rounding the weight or if this was indeed his 477.5 kilogram lift.
But this is a training lift, so we’re not going to pretend that the 0.7 pounds (317 grams) is quite so important. The point is that, for all intents and purposes, he matched his historic world record in what seems like a pretty routine training session, which is crazy. You can relive the incredible 477.5kg squat he made in March below.
Following this weekend’s squat at Gaglione Strength, Williams wrote the following on his Instagram.
Blessed to be blessed…. 2 God B The Glory!!! 1052 not as pretty as I would have like it to be but I moved the weight… It’s Money Time!!! Big Thanks to @gaglionestrength & @elgatograndeosu for having me at their gym and treating me like family this weekend!!!
Williams is preparing for the IPF World Championships taking place in Minsk, Belarus next month. He definitely had to fight for this squat, but we have a feeling he might make yet another addition to the record book come June.
Featured image via @gaglionestrength on Instagram.
