Josh Baker, better known as Gym Reaper, delivered one of his biggest bench press performances to date after locking out a new paused personal record of 325kg (717lb) before narrowly missing an ambitious 335kg attempt.
The session was never planned as an all-out max effort. Heading into a family holiday, Baker simply wanted to build up to a heavy single, but as the weight continued to move well, the atmosphere in the gym quickly changed.
Working through progressively heavier lifts, Baker’s training partners encouraged patience rather than chasing numbers too early. After completing a solid 310kg single, confidence around the bench continued to grow.
One of his coaches reminded him to stay composed under the bar: “You’ve got to trust everything you do. You’re doing that right.”
The advice paid off immediately as Baker continued to look increasingly comfortable with every heavier attempt.
Rather than rushing the descent, he focused on remaining patient at the bottom of the lift before driving the bar explosively back to lockout.
As 322.5kg moved convincingly, belief around the room increased even further.
“If I get this, it’s a massive win,” Baker said before the attempt. “And I get to go on holiday in a good mood.”
The lift flew up, prompting celebrations from everyone around the bench.
One training partner immediately pointed out how much cleaner Baker’s technique had become.
He said: “I told you if you take your time and you trust it.”
Another added that the heavier attempts were actually improving: “The actual worst rep today was the 300 out of all the heavies because you just tried to rush it. Push it up. Trust it at the bottom.”
Despite the successful lift, Baker admitted he still felt there was more available.
He said: “I feel like I could have done more. I feel like my paused could have beat my touch and go.”
With momentum building, the conversation quickly shifted towards a new paused personal record of 325kg.
There was some hesitation from those spotting him, who pointed out there was already a huge victory on the board.
“It’s only going to get harder now,” one training partner said. “You did exactly that and just got better.”
Another suggested it would be smarter to bank the PR before returning after his holiday.
“Personally, I’d take that as a win. Go on holiday, train when you’re out there, then come back 335, 340… who knows? That was very convincing.”
Baker agreed the lift had felt comfortable: “I do feel like I’ve got more in the tank. My brain’s saying I didn’t hit a sticking point yet during a rep, so I’m like I’ve got more.”
Still, the temptation of adding another 10kg proved too much.
“I really wanted a 335,” Baker admitted.
His coach reminded him that he was already in unfamiliar territory after changing his pressing style several weeks earlier.
“If you hadn’t changed the way you were pressing altogether about six weeks ago, you’d still be getting a single or a struggle double on 300.”
Even with that advice ringing in his ears, Baker made his decision: “We’re doing it.”
The 335kg attempt was close but ultimately stalled.
After the miss, one of the spotters immediately felt the attempt had been lost before the bar even reached Baker’s chest.
“You took too long at the top. I knew you didn’t have it,” he said.
Another noticed fatigue creeping into the setup: “Your body just looked fatigued. It looked like your shoulders weren’t controlling it.”
Although Baker initially wanted another attempt, his training partners were quick to shut the idea down.
Instead, they reminded him of what he had already achieved.
“That’s a paused PR,” they said. “You should have just taken the win. Come back, and you’ll smoke that.”
Looking back on the session after training, Baker admitted emotion had perhaps got the better of him.
“I’ve just hit a pause all-time at 325. I think I got a bit excited,” he said.
He explained that the cautious jumps throughout the workout were largely because neither he nor his training partners knew exactly where his current strength level was.
“We’ve been reserved because we don’t know where I am. We haven’t gone over for a long time,” he said.
Now, though, he believes they have a much clearer picture: “I think if we’d have known that I was capable of that today, we wouldn’t have done the jumps we’d done.”
Even after missing 335kg, Baker remained convinced it is well within reach.
“I think that 325 would have… 335 on the bar would have gone up.”
For now, however, the session still goes down as one of the strongest performances of his career, with a new paused bench press personal record of 325kg providing the perfect send-off before a well-earned break.
Featured image credit: Baker – The Gym Reaper / YouTube
