We have a lot of articles on proper bench press form, and we’re going to assume WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder hasn’t read any of them. But maybe he should, because in a new video Wilder posted to his own Twitter feed, you can see him attempt to lift what looks like his one rep max, and let’s just say the internet wasn’t as impressed with it as Wilder himself was.
You say you’re a semi truck but I’m a freight train. Better get your weight up @Tyson_Fury. #FuryWilder3 #July24 pic.twitter.com/EBM8CSI4RD
— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) June 29, 2021
In the video, Wilder attempts to lift the weight, the bar dips heavily to one side and his back arches significantly. It also didn’t take long before one of his fellow heavyweight competitors, Dillian Whyte, questioned exactly how much Wilder was lifting.
Posting on his Instagram story, Whyte wrote: “Look at this clown with the baby bench press kmt [kiss my teeth] #ClownWeight.”
To get an expert’s view on the lift, we spoke to Ben Lucas from Flow Athletic.
“Technically his starting technique is fine. His back was flat, the bar was over his chest, his arms were bent at 45 degrees. That is similar technique that we would coach our clients to use.
The issue is that the weight itself requires him to tilt significantly to lift it back up. This can be dangerous as if he didn’t have spotters, it could cause him to go off balance and either drop it on himself, or pull a shoulder / get injured etc.
A 1RM is supposed to be heavy enough that you can only lift the weight once. This is extremely heavy and shouldn’t be done with a spotter.”
Wilder’s press is part of the training plan for his third fight against Tyson Fury (scheduled for July 24th), taking place instead of the Gypsy King’s bout with Anthony Joshua. Despite suffering a heavy loss last time, the former champ still believes he has the strength to come out on top in the trilogy fight. As he says in the video: “I’m gonna be a train. You said you a semi truck? I’m gonna run you over with a train baby. You better get your weight up.”
