Powerlifter sets record after 1,005-pound raw squat

There are certain athletic feats that are hard to fathom, even when you can see them with your own eyes.

Behold, Ray “Ray Ray” Williams, who raw squatted 1,005 pounds (!) at the USA Powerlifting Nationals over the weekend.

The lift stands as a U.S. national record becoming the first time in history a competitor has lifted over 1,000 pounds in a drug-tested competition, according to mensfitness.com. However, he’ll have to replicate the achievement in international competition to qualify as an official world record.

Williams, who lifted exactly 1,005.3 lbs, performed the lift without the aid of a squat suit or knee wraps, classifying it as a raw lift under the International Powerlifting Federation standards. For reference, that much poundage is about the weight of a horse or a grand piano. So, yeah, it's heavy.

But Williams wasn’t done there. He also benched 529 pounds and deadlifted another 844 pounds, giving him a combined competition weight total of 2,378.7 pounds, another record.