Wellness Wednesday — big benching with Dr. Sorrell

picture disc.As was promised, we’re going “strong” into fitness talk this week. World-record strong.

When people — particularly guys — discuss weight training, one of the first questions asked is, “how much can you bench?”

Well, James Sorrell, M.D., assistant dean for student affairs in the College of Medicine and associate professor of psychiatry, gets to say “more than 500 pounds” when asked that.















Dr. Sorrell is a powerlifter whose 507-pound bench press is a world record in his age and weight class.

Click on the video to the right to view Dr. Sorrell discuss the technique he uses to safely and effectively achieve that big bench press.

For those who want to see Dr. Sorrell in action, you can do so this weekend. He will be out to break his own world record on Saturday during a competition at Omaha’s Big Iron Gym, which is just north of Fort Street on 103rd Street. Lifting starts at 10 a.m., with the bench press portion of the meet starting around noon.