1,000 Pound Bench Has Been Done

Bigger Stronger Leaner Powerlifting & Strength Sports
41

I was also at the meet in Shamokin Dam,Pa. That poly was more than double-ply, or should count as more becuase of the friggin patchwork quilt that had been added to it.
(I was with the LA Lifting Club contingent.)

You can get 200-300 lbs out of a bench shirt. I told one by of Mendel-bomb’s crew that I got a solid 40lbs out of my Inzer Rage-X and they said I needed more shirt work as a guy in my weight class (242) should be getting in the order of 80-100lbs out of a properly fitted shirt. Also, if anyone paid attention to Rychlak at the last Arnold you would remember that he failed 700-something with one shirt, changed shirts and blew away his next attempt.

I definitely think that anyone who believes that gear adds anything to strength competition anymore is out of their mind. I watched everyone warm-up in the 198s, 275s, and SHWs and saw where the real strength was. The heaviest warm-up without a shirt was 495 by Onn Basson. If you watched the warm-up and meet closely you could see where the equipment is a true detriment to the game. People bombed all day long when they lost control of the shirt… there were a couple of very close calls that were nasty. The shirts do not protect. They enhance a singular plane of motion (kinda like machine weights) that puts a higher risk to the joint and muscle if that plane is deviated from. Another indicator that equipment is screwing powerlifter’s is a 275-gent I saw lift. He had arms no bigger than my wrist and benched in the mid-500’s (540) I think. He failed to lock out 425 in the DL (he got 3 whites though, officiating was pretty loose). I asked if he was injured as his back wasn’t straight and his shoulders were steeply rolled forward and he replied that it was good lift for him and he was fine.

If we really want to protect the lifters and encourage real strength. Single-ply poly with no alterations should be plenty. (Incidentally, Onn Basson squatted 976.1 at 272.5 in a single-ply Inzer squat-suit. He did strain his back bit, hence the 500lbs token DL) However, he knew that he was pushing his envelope as he was recovering from a back injury last year and he had not been able to get aggressive on his good-morning poundage. If you saw the lift from the side it was obvious his back wasn’t up to par with his leg drive.

Powerlifting should be about strength, not about ego. If you can’t keep up without wearing a denim dress, don’t come out.

wlk

42

A question for the Powerlifters here:

How long does it take to learn how to use a shirt?

I’m don’t know anything about PL gear and this debate piques my interest as to how much time and effort PLers devote to gear technique above and beyond all the hours and sweat they put into raw strength development.

43

i think your wrong, it is possible, though unlikely, that someone could run the tour de france, on their legs? would that not be the same? take away the bike and it all boils down to a race. The bike is just allowed equipment to help you on your way.

44

[quote]Brian Whiddon wrote:
bigjoey wrote:
Congrats to gene rychlak- that is, needless to say, truly a phenomenal lift. However, i think that the fact that it has gotten to the point where the biggest bench is so much greater than the biggest pull (1005lbs vs 932lbs) is more than a little ridiculous. the whole bench shirt thing has gotten out of hand.

Bigjoey,

What kind of shirt do you use? What federation do you lift in?

Brian Whiddon
[/quote]

Brian,

I admit I am really nobody as far as PL goes, I haven’t even done a meet yet and I bench fuck all (although I intend to eventually compete in PL Australia meets under IPF rules, with a single poly shirt). But I am not alone in my sentiments - I remember reading an article (i think here in t-mag) which quoted Ed Coan as complaining about the fact that guys are having to row the bar down to their chests, and even Dave Tate has admitted that the carryover people are getting from shirts is getting out of hand (although he also says that he is not going to get left behind because of these sentiments).

Also, from the perspective of the outsider - the gym junkie who doesn’t compete, or even someone who doesn’t lift at all, such records will always have less credibility than records done with less equipment. I know that most powerlifters don’t give a rat’s ass what such people think, and Gene Rychlak certainly won’t, but the majority of us on this site aren’t competitive powerlifters.

That being said, Gene Rychlak would probably be the best bencher with or without help from a shirt, it’s just the absolute numbers that seem out of hand.

45

I think both sides of the “To raw or not to raw” dabate are a bit misguided.

The raw folk seem to show disdain for the effort that a bench press with a shirt still takes in spite of the assistance.

The raw folk don’t appear to want to admit that the shirt fundamentally changes the nature of the lift.

I’d like to think that we can all agree that if a pitcher showed up to a game with a special shoulder harness that let them add 10 mph to their fast ball that the nature of the game has been altered.

If your shirt won’t allow an 890 lb bench to be lowered to your chest the nature of the lift has been altered.

Ultimately the raw people need respect what it takes to lift with a shirt, the shirt people need to stop being so defensive and all of you need to shut up and lift because this debate has never added a pound to anyone’s bench.

46

Louie Simmons keeps a bottle of testosterone and a bench shirt on his desk. He has yet to see the shirt, by itself, lift 5 pounds.

47

[quote]Ross Hunt wrote:
A question for the Powerlifters here:

How long does it take to learn how to use a shirt?

I’m don’t know anything about PL gear and this debate piques my interest as to how much time and effort PLers devote to gear technique above and beyond all the hours and sweat they put into raw strength development.[/quote]

I dont think you ever really “learn” to use a shirt, its like riding a bike… not to get back on that comparison again, but bear with me… you eventually get to the point that you feel a little comfortable using it and how it responds, however you learn small nuances each time you use it… and much like bicycles different models/types offer completely different performance and a whole new set of things to learn…

I dunno if this is a good enough answer but this is the best comparison I could come up with…

anyone else have a better way of explaining it?

48

claims by valentino or pre wrestlers dont count

49

Impressive numbers, diminished by equipment and limited range of motion, but impressive nonetheless.

DI

50

[quote]Scott613 wrote:
Can you guys BELIEVE Lance Armstrong’s new bike!!! Man, it is ridiculous. He couldn’t ride that fast on his old Huffy like we did, “back in the day” when when we rode REAL bikes… Man, the technology thing is really ruining sports by allowing athletes to perform better, isn’t it![/quote]

Okay, first of all, do you know anything about cycling? technology is part of the sport. Yes, the bikes today are faster than they were 20 years ago, what is wrong with that? It is not ruining the sport at all. Just to let you know, the world cycling governing body (UCI) has set new rules regarding equipment for record attempts in the 1 hour time trial(this is not what Lance races). This is to allow fair comparison between todays riders and the greats of the past(Eddy Merckx).
Cycling technology is an industry, you can’t make every pro cyclist ride the equivilant of what they rode 20, 30 years ago. There are other limitations regarding bikes in competion too. Wind fairings are not allowed.(Fully faired human powered vehicles can go well over 60mph)
Lastly, comparing a Huffy bike to any REAL bike is a joke. The bikes Lance and I ride were designed for riding/racing, and efficency. Department store “bikes” were designed to be ridden twice by a 10 year old, then thrown in a dumpster.

You can’t compare bike technology to weight lifting equipment. totally different principles.
By the way, I do all my lifts raw, because I could care less what my 1RPM is. The only reason I lift is to improve my sprint on the bike.

51

What i dont understand is why raw lifters seem to have this hate or even borderline almost violent distain for equipment lifters…its like republicans and democrats, or like isreal nd palenstine…seriously cant we all just get along lol…The truth is why the sport of powerlifting gets very little draw or attention from the public (and this has nothing to do with equipment its always been this way)…the wpo, apf, ipa, usapl, are all the biggest draws of the sport and they all use equipment…at the arnold the 2nd most popular and heavily crowded event is the wpo bench bash…it seems to me the people who hate the equipment the most are just normal every day health lifters on the internet (the majority of people who come ot sites like this wich i respect)…the truth is no one wants to see raw lifting or it would be a major draw wich its not…the truth is that gene r, mendy, kennely, burns, crawford, miller, al these guys are the guys you speak of when you say the top raw benchers…well guess what there also the elite benchers who were asked to the arnold classic AND USE BENCH SHIRTS…they personally just want to compete in shirts…these guys live by the rules in the sport of powerlifting a big part of the sport is using equipment (much like nascar in this way)…and on a personal as a guy who trains with two wpo lifters one of wich has worn the title belt for a year…when these guys talk about people saying shit about there lifts they dont care…becuase every time they say all some one has to do is put on gear and beat us its that easy…we all have acsses to the same gear…rb

52

[quote]KiloSprinter wrote:
Okay, first of all, do you know anything about cycling?
[/quote]

No I don’t, except that most probably don’t use powerlifting gear when the lift weights…:wink:

Nothing, and powerlifting equipment is better than it was 20 years ago, what is wrong with that?

Neither is multi-ply gear. If you are not for it, lift in a fed that allows the level of gear you want to use. Or lift raw. No biggie. People get too jacked about this…

Just to let you know, PL feds set limits on gear as well. The guys that bench against Gene have the opportunity to use a shirt that is on level with him. So the strongest will emerge if they are all playing with the same toys.

PL gear technology is an industry. THat is why all the manufacturers are constantly trying to upgrade their products. Yes, PL gear is much better than it was 20, 30 years ago. There are limitations on PL gear too, just depends on what Fed you lift in. Again, if someone wants to go Raw, they have that opportunity and will never have to lift against someone using a 1, 2 or 3 ply shirt.

Yes, and the shirts Gene, Mendlson, and other benching greats use are designed for one thing, benching. Making the strongest motherf***ers stronger. They are designed for the best of the best. Take the shirt off and Gene is still going to out-bench you, me and probaly everyone on this forum. You can’t be a 200lb. bencher, put on Gene’s shirt, and all of a sudden magically bench 1005. The shirt doesn’t make the bencher my friend, the bencher makes the shirt work for him.

Yes, you can compare bike technology to PL gear technology. They are not the same sports, but the goal is to improve performance. It appears you use the “max allowable equipment” in your sport of choice. That is great you do all your lifts raw. Since you don’t compete in PL, you have no reason to require lifting gear. BUT, PL’ers do care about their 1RM, so many of them chose to use support gear. How much, and how intense it is depends on the lifter and what their FED allows. If you choose to lift raw, great, more power to you. Don’t discredit those who choose to lift in gear, chances are their raw strength is a lot more than you or me or anyone else. These dudes are the best of the best. Put me on the same bikes you and Lancey-boy ride, and you two will smoke my ass. Put you and I in the same bench shirt as big-Gene and he will smoke both our asses.

Now, did you have a point?

Best Regards,

Scott

53

The bottom line is that if you took two IDENTICAL (twins prerhaps) athletes, be it cycling or powerlifting, put one on a crappy bike or lifting raw in the PL example and the other with the best equipment money can buy, bike or bench shirt, the athletes will STILL be IDENTICAL even though the equipment makes one athlete “superior” to the other. So all things being equal, the win goes to the guy with the better equipment (like I said though, ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL). Is this OK? I guess so as long as we go in knowing it. But equipment CAN win a meet or a race and often does!

54

Someone said they would like to see the deadlift numbers go up as much as the bench press but they wont because they cant use a friggin shirt to cheat with. Call me an ignoranus but when Rezazadeh lifts 273kg above his head in the Olympics he dont use ANYTHING but CHALK.

55

[quote]shorty_blitz wrote:
Someone said they would like to see the deadlift numbers go up as much as the bench press but they wont because they cant use a friggin shirt to cheat with. Call me an ignoranus but when Rezazadeh lifts 273kg above his head in the Olympics he dont use ANYTHING but CHALK.[/quote]

I don’t necessary want to fuel this thread, but the above statement got me curious. What exactly are the singlets worn by olympic weightlifters made of? To what degree to they add support and enhance performance?

56

Scott, I must have misunderstood your orginal post. I can now see your point regarding how technology allows athletes to break records. As long as there is a distinction in record attempts, there is no problem.

57

[quote]KiloSprinter wrote:
Scott, I must have misunderstood your orginal post. I can now see your point regarding how technology allows athletes to break records. As long as there is a distinction in record attempts, there is no problem.[/quote]

Kilo,

I agree with you totally, and BTW I wasn’t “bashing” Lance or any other athlete who uses technology to better their performance. It’s kinda funny, I was watching American Choppers last night and it was the episode that they built the custom chopper for Lance. They were given a tour of the Nike plant out in Oregon and one of the equipment designers was showing them a shoe design that has a special sole that allows more power from the cyclist to be transferred into the pedals. Unbelievable! Do you know anything about these, or how they work? BTW-the Teutles built Lance an amazing chopper…

-Scott

58

[quote]shorty_blitz wrote:
Someone said they would like to see the deadlift numbers go up as much as the bench press but they wont because they cant use a friggin shirt to cheat with. Call me an ignoranus but when Rezazadeh lifts 273kg above his head in the Olympics he dont use ANYTHING but CHALK.[/quote]

Yea so when andy bolton pulled his world record 935 all he had on was a singlet, belt and chalk…this is what i get so confused of??..rezazadeh is unreal lifter and i have 100% respect for him and would never say 1 bad thing about his lifts…but guess what he cant deadlift 900 and he certainly cant bench 1005 in any bench shirt in the world…so how are his lifts more real than genes or andy???..there not there just 2 diffirent things…lets have respect for every one…if benching a 1000 pounds in a shirt was so easy and all shirt why then is the next shirted bench almost 200 pounds less than his???..give the man some respect…no one else on the planet can do what he does shirt or not its that simple…bm

59

The guy with the post about the suits being the product of an industry: the manufacturers know these powerlifters want bigger numbers so they’ll “help” them get them. Fantasy land with assisted masturbations: the manufacturers will make money selling these suits and use their influence to help convince people that the suited number is his real strength – why bother when in the end all it amounts to is telling people you decided to play a pretend game and would appreciate it if others played along. Convince yourself, Dude.

Let me see, you had 730, 890 lbs. at arms length and you couldn’t lower the bar to your fucking chest?!! Jack somebody else off, man. You’re demonstrating tech, not strength over what’s on the bar. You had to ROW the bar to your chest?!! Maybe that’s relevant because don’t the lats play a huge role in the bench for CONTROL of the weight? Frivolity, but as the poster from California said it enhances motion in a single plane: deviation from that plane and you’ve very quickly placed joints and muscles in greater danger than if using a raw weight. Is a number of people going to get truly fucked up before the sport puts these “tools” aside? Hopefully not. I think the suits are poker-faced humor at best. The humor of the powerlifters and the humor of the manufacturers.

“…a single plane of motion (like machine weights)…”

All that being said, and it needed to be said, these guys are still the strongest raw benchers in the world. They already receive enormous respect for their raw ability – they don’t need these numbers. They’ve already got them.

True laughter, very funny all round.

60

[quote]Limbic wrote:
All that being said, and it needed to be said, these guys are still the strongest raw benchers in the world. They already receive enormous respect for their raw ability – they don’t need these numbers. They’ve already got them.[/quote]

totally agree, well put. laters pk