Bench pressing 110 pounds for 76 reps doesn’t sound too impressive — unless it’s done underwater. And that’s exactly what Russian athlete Vitaly Vivchar did recently to set a new world record.
The Russian athlete, according to reports, broke the world record for underwater bench presses at Lebyazhye Lake in Tomsk, Russia, which was previously held by Greg Wittstock of the United States, by 14 reps.
Watch him here:
“I came across the official Guinness world record a couple of years ago after seeing a man lifting a barbell underwater. Then I thought that I had enough skills to do that myself. I have experience of winning bench press competitions, I won the European Russian-style bench press tournament. And I’m an amateur free diver. So I applied to set a new record,” Vivchar told a Russian news website.
Vivichar reportedly said he trained for two months before attempting the stunt, which was witnessed by a live crowd near the lake. As you could probably guess, it took quite a toll on his body.
“I was really anxious because the water became cold and muddy due to bad weather. Moreover I was really nervous before my performance. My pulse rate was more than 108 beats per minute! It took me a long time to calm down,” he said.
