They say that ability to bench press one’s own body weight is a fairly good marker of physical fitness. Obviously, the more weight you can max out (highest amount you can bench press for one repetition) over your body weight the better, as it’s a decent indicator of just how much a person’s mass is pure muscle weight.
Northwestern senior defensive tackle Tyler Lancaster, can bench 450 pounds, which is 140 lbs above the 310 that he’s currently listed. For comparison’s sake, 300 is typically regarded to be an elite bench press, a standard comparable to running a sub five minute mile.
(Or you could be like former Stanford power forward Adam Keefe, who on the day that he was drafted by the Atlanta Hawks, supposedly possessed the ability to do both).
Lancaster is simply one of the strongest men in college football. Heโs entering his third year as a starter for the Wildcats, anchoring a group that’s considered to be a major strength in the team. He can deadlift 740 pounds, and also possesses a broad jump of 9โ4โ and a 27-inch vertical. Remember he does all this at 310 pounds!
However, the specific feat of strength most associated with Tyler Lancaster is the 37 bench press reps he did of 225. It’s an accomplishment described by teammate Godwin Igwebuike as “scary.”
Watch the video below:
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/888224967875330050
The 37 reps are two more than anyone was able to do at the 2017 NFL Scouting Combine. Isaac Asiata and Carl Lawson put up 35 in Indianapolis this past winter. The all time record, 51, belongs to Stephen Paea in 2011. Since 1998, only fifteen men at the combine have managed to achieve more than 40 reps. You can see why Lancaster was named #32 nationally on the list of Sports Illustrated’s “workout warriors.”
Indeed he truly is Northwestern’s “IRON CAT!”
The weight of 225 (two plates on each side) is considered the football standard for “repping out:” the level at which one tests muscular endurance by trying to execute as many repetitions as possible. Repping out measures endurance while maxing out is to test pure brute strength. Lancaster believes he’s much stronger and better in one area than the other.
https://twitter.com/PaulMBanks/status/895339572216958979
“I feel like my repping out is a lot better than than the max, but 450 I think is still pretty good,” he said before later describing what’s going through his mind when he’s on the bench doing work.
“You’re in the zone, it’s just about you and the bar. It’s a fight, it’s a battle with yourself- can I do this extra rep? One more, one more, one more, one more.”
Most online bench press max calculators typically stop at 12 repetitions, but this one goes up to 20, and it calculates a max of 364 on 20 reps of 225. Thus, double that number to 728, for our readers who can put up 40 reps of 225, Lancaster’s ultimate stated goal.
(Audio of the Tyler Lancaster interview is below:)
https://soundcloud.com/p-m-banks/tyler-lancaster
“At the beginning of the summer I was at 32. It’s always been something I’ve excelled at, and this summer I’ve really been able to improve it,” Lancaster said.
“I went and I got 37, that’s where I stopped it (the specific weight training program) this summer. My goal is 40, for next year, 40+, maybe 42, but it’s just another thing, something to proud of in the weight room.”
Speaking of numbers to be proud of, Lancaster now trades in his usual #67 for the #1, an annual rite of passage bestowed to the player voted by his teammates who best embodies what the NU football program strives to be. Linebacker Anthony Walker wore it last season.
Proud to announce that @BigLanny6767 has been selected by his teammates for our family's highest honor!
1??#B1GCats pic.twitter.com/VyEJXmHaKv
— Pat Fitzgerald (@coachfitz51) August 5, 2017
“Tyler has been since day one and that’s the reason he’s wearing (the jersey) #1, he is the Wildcat and that’s been voted on by his teammates,” said Northwestern football coach Pat Fitzgerald.
“He’s always been a great worker in the weight room, and a great player, but to see him kind of take it to the next level, Paul, has been really spectacular. He’s not a guy that says a lot. ย He’s a guy that speaks more through his actions.
“He’s done that since he got here and to see the relentless nature in which he attacks every day is really special.”
Paul M. Banks runsย The Sports Bank.netย and TheBank.News, which is partnered withย News Now.ย Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times,ย NBC Chicago.comย andย Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly toย WGN CLTV.ย
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