By now, you should know that lifting weights and strength training exercises like a bench press don’t make you bulky (seriously, when will that myth die?)—instead, it makes you a badass. The exercise, which is a mega-calorie burner and insane-muscle toner, also happens to be incredibly inspiring and impressive. (Because is there anything better than feeling strong?) Take, for example, Jennifer Thompson. She’s a female powerlifter who recently visited the locker room of Liberty University’s football team and showed them all up by crushing her personal record and benching 325 pounds like it was NBD.
That’s right: Thompson, who stands 5’5″ and competes in the 138-pound weight class, bested her previous bench press record by 8 pounds without barely breaking a sweat. For reference, the average college football linebacker weighs about 300 pounds—and Thompson muscled that over her chest. The college football players who witnessed the feat responded with a rousing applause, and rightfully so, considering she could bench press nearly every single one of the team’s members. Check out the incredible footage:
Thompson is also capable of doing insane things like squatting 555 pounds:
And holding 515 pounds over her chest for 10 seconds:
Inspired yet? Us too. But don’t try to mimic Thompson’s crazy-heavy weights in the gym: Instead, here is how to choose the right weights for your workout.
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