Gene Rychlak hit a 1005 lbs bench press.

[stout]

nope, he didn't lock it out...........it's ovbious that he's a monster, but if you don't lock it out, you don't count it. Everyone knows that shirts help you get it off your chest, but you have to have triceps to lock it out.

 

[The_Monster]

Thats how he lifts. If he's shy of the lockout he holds it at the top for a long time and the judges usually think its locked out and give it to him. He was probably just shy of the lockout by a pop of the elbows.

stout, I think you overestimate shirts and underestimate the weight. Who in the world can even hold 1005lbs?. The shirt may bring it off your chest, but he pushed it through midway and to within a hair of lockout. Technically it wasnt a full lift, but I can live with them giving to him. Its not like it robbed dozens of other guys who were trying to break 1000lbs out of a valid lift. It was him against him.
Its good for the sport to see these records broken. Its really not different than give repeated Mr Olympia titles to a guy who is grotesquly distended and looks to be in ill health if you meet him in person.
The fans wants freaks. A good business gives the people what they want.

 

[mekannik]

the_monster, I can understand what you are saying about giving him credit for the lift. But at the end of the day - Gene knows he did not get it and the record books do not hold an asterik by the lift stating "just a hair short of lockout".

I have nothing to gain or lose from him lifting (hell I am still chasing 400) - but this is one of the problems with powerlifting and its assorted federations/rivalries. At least with Olympic Lifting the lifts, their execution and judging are pass/fail (except for the Olympic Press - which got dropped thanks in large part to east Europeans).

 

[stout]

The amount of weight is irrelevant, I have went for a max before and "almost locked it out" but did not go on to say that I benched that amount because I believe that I didn't. If Mekannik went for 405 and even though he wanted it more than anything, he just couldn't quite lock it out, could he get up and say to everyone, "hey averyone, I just benched 400"? That's lame and everyone knows it. No disrespect to Rychlak, but the truth hurts.

 

[bluepeter]

The real record is 1005.

If benching with a shirt doesnt count, then bodybuilders using AAS doesnt count. Ronnie Coleman isnt Mr. Olympia then, its one of the "all natural" homos.

A shirt is just a tool, it doesnt mean the person doing the work isnt working as hard... try a shirt sometime, its something that you have to learn to use, you dont just slip it on and suddenly get huge lifts...

That came out wrong. Total respect to anyone who can unrack even half that weight. Not saying the lift shouldn't count. I was just trying to say that there is obviously a difference between a raw and a shirted bench. That doesn't mean you put on a shirt and get huge lifts, just that an experienced lifter will push a significantly larger amount of weight with the shirt on.