One-Handed Linebacker Shaquem Griffin Has No Problem With The Bench Press

Here’s Central Florida linebacker Shaquem Griffin powering through 20 reps on the bench press at the NFL Scouting Combine, one-handed. Griffin was born with a congenital condition that prevented his left hand from fully developing, but which obviously has not kept him from being a goddamn beast:

Griffin wrote for The Player’s Tribune this week about the challenges of sticking with football as a one-handed player, including how he and his family improvised contraptions so that he could utilize the bench press:

My dad used to build all kinds of contraptions to help me lift weights. We had this one thing — we called it “the book,” and it was basically a piece of wood wrapped up in some cloth that I would hold up against the bar with my left arm when I bench pressed so my arms would be even. We had another block that I used for stuff like dips and push-ups, and I had chains and other straps to hold dumbbells for things like curls and shrugs.

It’s a good blog, and I highly recommend reading it.