Bench Press

All across the world, gyms and fitness centers are full of people who bench press in order to exercise, better their physical image, and continuously push themselves to reach their limits. No matter how great one may be at beating their personal records at the bench press though, only a handful can truly deserve and make it to the Bench Press World Records.

A Canadian named Doug Hepburn became known for being the first man to bench press 400, 450 and 500 lbs. In 1956, Paul Edward Anderson won a gold model as a weightlifter in the Olympics in Australia for bench pressing 625 lbs. Although he was tied with someone for first place, he won because he was the lighter of the two, weighing only 137.9 kg.

In 1969, a man named Pat Casey became a world record holder for being the first to press over 600 lbs.

A powerlifter from Burlington, Wisconsin named Bill Kazmaier also became a world record holder in 1980 for pressing over 661 lbs.

The first man to bench press over 700 lbs. in an official competition was a man named Ted Arcidi, who later reached his personal best at 725 lbs. His press of 705 lbs. earned him a world record for the year 1985, which remained unbeaten for eight whole years.

Kenneth Lain was able to bench press 721 lbs. in 1990, while in 1995, Chris Confessore broke a world record for bench pressing 741 lbs. in an official competition, and a man David Johnson was the first man to press 780 lbs. in 1996.

In 1999, an American lifter named Gene Rychlak, Jr. became the first man to press over 900 lbs., and once again earned a title in the year 2004 for pressing 1,005 lbs.

A man named Eamonn Keane from Ireland broke a world record in 2003 for being the first man to bench press with the most weights in a span of one hour. On July 22, 2003, Eamonn was able to bench press an accumulative weight of 305,300 lbs. by doing 1,280 repetitions with 200 lbs. and do 493 repetitions with 100 lbs.

In 2005, Scot Mendelson bench pressed raw 715 lbs., earning him a world record in the unequipped division. Scot was also the first man to bench press over 800 lbs., once again pushing himself to the limits in February 2006, when he broke the World Record with a bench press of 1,008 lbs. Before that, Gene Rychlak, Jr. was the world record holder for a bench press of 1,005 lbs.

In December 2006, Gene Rychlak, Jr. once again broke a world record in Lake George, New York, pressing 1,010 lbs.

For the year 2007, Rychlak’s record was beaten by Ryan Kennelly from Moses Lake, Washington, who pressed a very impressive total weight of 1,036 lbs.

Let us hope that both these past and present Bench Press World Record Holders can serve as shining examples of what one can accomplish in life with dedication, discipline and hard work.