Over the weekend, Wayne Van Nostrand accomplished a powerlifting feat that many athletes dream of, but never end up achieving. That feat in question being a 600 lb bench press, but it’s not the weight that makes this a historic lift, but Nostrand’s age.
At 50 years old, Nostrand became only the second athlete in the world to bench press over 600 lbs raw. At the South Carolina-based USPA meet, where he competed bench-only, Nostrand took 601 lbs on his second press and just missed 631 lbs for his third.
His son, Brendan, shared the video below highlighting his dad’s lift writing,
“Shout out to my Pops aka Big Wayne Van Nostrand for becoming only the 2nd person in the WORLD to bench over 600lbs raw at the age of 50 or older!!! This is him hitting 601lbs, he just missed 631lbs which would make him the strongest man over 50 in the World but he is coming for it!!!”
https://www.instagram.com/p/B5ySrkSlY1K/
Had Nostrand been able to tackle his 631 lb third attempt, he would have topped Laszlo Meszaros 628.3 lb ATWR press from the 2019 GPC European Championships back in May.
Nostrand’s Career Stats
Over the course of Nostrand’s career, he’s pressed well over 600 lbs on multiple occasions. Since 2012, he’s competed in 19 powerlifting meets and is a regular at bench-only and push-pull competitions (per openpowerlifting.org).
At these 19 meets, he’s competed in the the 275 lb or 308 lb weight classes. To date, his best competition bench press has been 633.8 lbs in the 308 lb weight class, which he completed at the 2015 APF Big Wayne’s South Carolina Open powerlifting meet.
Additionally, in 2015, he held the 275 lb Masters 45-49 ATWR in the bench press when he hit 600.7 lbs at the 2015 APF Victory Starts Here meet. This record stood for roughly four years until it was broken this year by Murad Alibegov.
- Total Meets Since 2012: 19
- Meets He’s Benched 600 lbs+: 6
In the Reddit post covering his massive accomplishment, commenter u/mscullin75 pointed out that he was at the meet and that Nostrand said he eventually wants to compete in full power.
With a stellar bench press and a deadlift that hovers around 600 lbs, we’re more than excited to see what Nostrand would be able to accomplish jumping into a full power meet!
Feature image from @brendanvfit Instagram page.
