Shaquem Griffin’s 20 reps in the bench press impressed everyone, including himself.
“My goal was six. I think I beat that by a lot,” Griffin said. ". . . It felt good to do that many reps. I didn’t know I had it in me, but it came out today.”
Griffin was lifting the 225 pounds only 11 times in training, so Saturday’s effort gives him something to “write in my personal record books.” It also gave him bragging rights over his twin brother, Seahawks cornerback Shaquill Griffin, who lifted 17 last year.
“It felt amazing. I felt good,” said Shaquem Griffin, who has benched as much as 395 pounds. “I was hyped. I was ready to go. I was ready to attack it and that’s what I did.”
Griffin used a prosthetic hand for his personal record. Born with amniotic band syndrome, his left hand was amputated when he was 4.
“There are so many people who are going to have doubt about what I can do,” Griffin said. “Obviously it started at the bench press. Some people thought I could three. Some people thought I could do five. Some people didn’t even think I could do the bench press. I went and did the bench press and competed with everybody else. That’s just one step closer toward everything I need to be able to accomplish. There are a lot more doubters saying what I can’t do. Now, I think I’m ready to prove them wrong.”