A Russian athlete has set a new Guinness World Record for performing the most consecutive reps on the bench press… underwater. Vitaly Vivchar broke the existing record in Tomsk, Russia, in August 2020, cranking out 77 reps on a bench beneath the surface of a lake.
In order to comply with the Guinness World Records guidelines for this event, Vivchar used a 110-pound barbell (50 kgs) to complete his reps, ensuring his attempt would be fair and consistent with previous records. The record was previously set by Greg Wittstock, who performed 62 consecutive bench press reps while completely submerged in October 2019.
Vivchar, who had won bench press competitions on dry land prior to this, spent two months preparing for the event. He used yoga and free diving techniques in order to improve his ability to breathe underwater, eventually able to last 3 whole minutes.
“I came across the official Guinness world record a couple of years ago after seeing a man lifting a barbell underwater,” Vivchar said in an interview after breaking the record. “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.”
“I was really anxious because the water became cold and muddy due to bad weather,” he continued. “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.”
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