Category Archives: Deadlifting

6 Pack Says…(motivational quotes w/ pics)

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Hugo Girard

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Hugo Girard (born December 20, 1971 in Sainte-Anne-de-Portneuf, Quebec) is a Canadian strongman. Girard is a Strongman Super Series world Champion, a four-time World Muscle Power champion and a six-time Canada’s Strongest Man.

Contents

 [hide] 

  • 1 Strength career
  • 2 Profile
  • 3 References
  • 4 External links

Strength career

Prior to his career as a strongman competitor, Girard worked as a bouncer in a popular Quebec City nightclub on weekends while attending community college. In the early 1990s, he went to Los Angeles in order to either pursue a career as a professional bodybuilder or as an actor. After a few months, Girard came back to the province of Quebec where he was later hired as a police officer for the city of Gatineau.

Girard focused on Strongman competition, and became a 6-time consecutive finalist in the World’s Strongest Man competition from 1998-2004. Hugo’s highest placing was 4th place at the 1999 World’s Strongest Man contest.[1]

In 2002 Girard reached the high point of his career to date, winning the 2002 Strongman Super Series overall title. Hugo has also won the World Muscle Power Championships 4 times, in 1999, 2001, 2003, and 2004.

Girard dominated strongman competition in Canada for several years. He was the Canada’s Strongest Man champion from 1999 to 2004. He was also the North America’s Strongest Man champion in 2001 and 2002.

Beginning in 2004, injuries began to plague his career including back to back injuries to his achilles tendon in 2005, the first of which took place at the 2005 Arnold Strongman Classic forcing him to retire from the contest.[2] These injuries required a long period of rehabilitation, and nearly a year and a half to fully recover. At one point Hugo was in a cast up to his waist.[3] Hugo’s comeback took place at the 2006 Mohegan Sun Super Series event. After winning the first event, he tore his patellar tendon in the second event, the Conan’s Wheel and was forced to retire from the contest.[4] He attempted to compete in the North America’s Strongest Man Competition in 2007, but withdrew due to injury. Hugo was able to bounce back in 2008, winning Quebec’s Strongest Man.[5] This win qualified Hugo for the 2008 Canada’s Strongest Man contest. Hugo was leading the contest after the first day, but suffered yet another injury on the second day of competition and tearfully announced his retirement from strongman competition.[6]

Girard broke several records during his career, some of which are still standing today. He has held records in events such as the log press, apollon’s axle press, crucifix hold, farmer’s walk Atlas stones, bench press, truck pull and squat. He has also pulled an 80-ton Boeing 737 for a short distance.

Due to his strength, Girard is often compared to fellow Quebec native Louis Cyr, a dominant nineteenth-century strongman who was considered the strongest man in history at the turn of the century. Girard has trained several other strongmen in the Ottawa and Gatineau regions, including Travis Lyndon and Jessen Paulin, who has participated in the World’s Strongest Man competition and succeeded Girard as Canadia’s Strongest Man in 2005 and 2006.

Girard is currently a member of the organization of the Gatineau Hot Air Balloon Festival that takes place every Labour Day weekend. He is also the current president of the Canadian Federation of Strength Athletes. In addition to his career as a strongman, Girard served as a police officer for 12 years.

Hugo was the subject of a documentary film called “Strongman: Hugo Girard” in 2002. The film shows Hugo’s training for the 2002 North America’s Strongest Man competition, which he eventually won. The film also features his training partners Jessen Paulin and Travis Lyndon. The film was directed by Alan Black and released by Top of the World Films.[7]

Profile

  • Biceps: 55 cm (22 inches)
  • Neck : 53 cm (21 inches)
  • Calves: 55 cm (22 inches)
  • Chest: 158 cm (62 inches)
  • Quadriceps: 85 cm (33 inches)
  • Height: 189 cm (6 feet 2 inches)
  • Weight: 150 kg (330 pounds)

References

  1. ^ http://strongestman.billhenderson.org/bios/hugo.html
  2. ^ http://ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2005/Mar/Hugo_Girard_In_a_Cast_Up_To_His_Waist_.html
  3. ^ http://ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2005/Mar/Hugo_Girard_In_a_Cast_Up_To_His_Waist_.html
  4. ^ http://ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2006/Jun/Hugo_Girard_Update.html
  5. ^ http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2008/Jul/Hugo_Girard_Wins_Quebecxs_Strongest_Man.html
  6. ^ http://ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2008/Aug/Louis-Philippe_Jean_Wins_Canadaxs_Strongest_Man____Hugo_Girard_Injured____Retires.html
  7. ^ http://www.topoftheworldfilms.com/strongmanmovie/

External links

Derek Pounstone

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Derek Poundstone (born on September 28, 1981, 6’1″ (1,85m), 341 lb[1] is an American professional strongman athlete from Waterbury, Connecticut. Derek Poundstone is also a police officer for the Naugatuck, Connecticut Police Department and is the owner and landlord of an apartment complex. Derek spent the first ten years of his life in Italy and Spain.

Derek began by competing in powerlifting and progressed to become the Connecticut State Champion. He started competing in strongman after finding an advertisement for a contest on the back of a powerlifting flyer. After earning his Professional Strongman card from the ASC (American Strongman Corporation), Derek took two years off competing to enter the Police Academy and become a police officer. He returned to compete in strongman, and placed fifth in the 2006 St. Patrick’s Strongman National Qualifier.[2] Derek then went on to place 2nd to the current IFSA World Champion Žydrūnas Savickas in the 2006 World Strongman Challenge contest in Tulsa, Oklahoma.[3] Next, Derek placed 5th in the 2006 America’s Strongest Man contest.[4] This earned him an invite to the 2006 IFSA World Championships. On October 26, 2006, two weeks before the IFSA World Championships, Derek severely injured his lumbar spine during training while attempting a maximum effort deadlift of 366 kg (805 lb).[5] Derek had a lumbar disc herniation (L4/5) and a massive spinal cord hemorrhage. Doctors told him that he would never lift again due to the severity of the injury.[6]

Derek’s return to the strongman competition circuit was the 2007 St. Patrick’s Strongman contest in Columbia, South Carolina. Derek won by 13.5 points [7] and overcame his deadlifting injury fear by completing a 364 kg (800 lb) deadlift during the competition. This victory qualified Derek to compete in the 2007 America’s Strongest Man contest, which Derek won by a record 30 points.[8] Derek also qualified to compete in the 2007 IFSA World Championships in Geumsan, South Korea.[9] Additionally, Derek received an invite from Dr. Terry Todd to compete at the 2008 Arnold Strongman Classic, in Columbus, Ohio.

Derek also competed in two Team Strongman contests and a Highland Games/Strongman hybrid contest. First was the USA vs. World team contest put on by Al Thompson [10] in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Derek and his team (Travis Ortmayer, Van Hatfield, Nick Best, Walt Gogola) pulled out an unprecedented victory against three of the top five European strongmen in the World, (Zydrunas Savickas, Vasyl Virastyuk, and Andrus Murumets). Team USA won the first three events and Team World won the next three events. Team USA won with a victory in the final event, the Atlas Stones.[11] Derek’s next contest was in Callander, Scotland at the World Highland Games contest.[12] This contest was a Highland Games / Strongman hybrid. Derek won the event and set two world records. With Douglas Edmunds present, Derek broke Igor Pedan’s 9 rep 125 kg (275 lb) Log Clean and Press World Record [13] by powering through 13 reps, with 130 kg (286 lb). Derek also broke the current World Champion’s, Zydrunas Savickas, 140 kg (308 lb) Block Press World Record by pressing out a 145 kg (319 lb) block.[13] Derek’s training partner Tom McClure also competed in Callander and placed 2nd. Derek’s next contest was a team contest, the World’s Strongest Nation held in Ukraine. This time Team USA consisted of Derek along with Travis Ortmayer, Tom McClure, and Brian Shaw. Team USA placed 2nd overall [14] behind Team Ukraine led by Vasyl Virastyuk.[15]

Derek competed in the 2007 IFSA World Championship held in Geumsan, South Korea. Derek was in 2nd position throughout the entire competition until the last event. During the final event, Derek ripped open his hands during the Farmer’s Walk event, which caused him to drop the implements. Derek placed 4th overall in his first appearance at the World Championship, 2 points behind Mikhail Koklyaev and 1 point behind the 2006 World Champ Zydrunas Savickas. Vasyl Virastyuk won the competition, becoming the first athlete to win both the World’s Strongest Man Title and the IFSA World Championships. Derek’s performance was the best ever recorded by an American at the IFSA World Championships.[16]

Derek decided to compete on the WSM/SS circuit after sufficient political differences with IFSA. Derek was called up by Odd Haugen and asked to enter as a replacement athlete into the Mohegan Sun Super Series due to Kevin Nee pulling out with a torn biceps. Derek accepted and competed for the first time against Mariusz Pudzianowski. Derek defeated the four-time WSM champion and secured a qualification spot for the 2008 World’s Strongest Man contest.

Derek competed in the 2008 Arnold Strongman Classic contest, his first appearance at the Arnold. Derek would take second place behind Zydrunas Savickas.[17]

On June 29, 2008 during the 2 day Fortissimus contest, Derek became the first American to defeat Zydrunas Savickas. Derek and Zydrunas were approximately 40 points ahead of all the other competitors. Derek was the only athlete who managed to lift the 517 lb Louis Cyr Stone and secured his victory and title at the “Mightiest Man on the Planet.”

Derek became the 2008 Strongman Super Series champion after accumulating the most points throughout the Grand Prix. 1st at the Mohegan Sun, 2nd at Madison Square Garden, and 4th at Sweden earned Derek enough to take the overall title.

Derek competed in the 2008 World’s Strongest Man competition where he and Mariusz Pudzianowski, Poland’s then four-time champion would go head-to-head in the final event, the atlas stones, with Derek leading in points. In the atlas stones, Derek gained the lead, but as he lifted the final stone, the stone slipped, falling to the ground and giving Mariusz Pudzianowski his record 5th World’s Strongest Man title.[18]

Derek’s next challenge was the 2009 Arnold Strongman Classic. With Zydrunas Savickas opting to take a year off, the crown was vacant. Derek set a new world record with 15 reps in the circus dumb bell event. Derek took first place overall, and became only the third man behind Mark Henry and Zydrunas Savickas to win the Arnold Strongman Classic title since its inception in 2002.[17]

In May 2009, Derek was scheduled to defend his title at the Mohegan Sun Strongman Championship hosted by Giants Live. Derek won five of six events, taking second on one event, and took the overall title. Derek also set a new world record on the max apollon’s axle clean and press with 415 lbs.[19]

Derek competed in the 2009 World’s Strongest Man competition, which took place in Malta, being in fourth place after Brian Shaw, Mariusz Pudzianowski and Zydrunas Savickas.[20]

Derek successfully defended his title at the 2010 Arnold Strongman Classic. Leading up to the last event, the timber carry, Derek had a 3 point lead over 6 time champion Zydrunas Savickas. Derek won the last event and the overall title for a second consecutive time, only the second man to accomplish this feat at the Arnold Strongman Classic. Zydrunas Savickas came in second and Travis Ortmayer came in third place. During the awards ceremony, Derek proposed to girlfriend on stage and she happily accepted.[17]

Derek defended his title at the 2010 Mohegan Sun Strongman Championships hosted by Giants Live, winning 3 out of 6 events including the shield carry. This was Derek’s third consecutive victory at this contest. Brian Shaw came in second and Stojan Todorchev came in third place.[21]

Shortly before the 2010 World’s Strongest Man contest, Derek severely tore his quad muscle and was unsure if he would be able compete, but he decided to heal and focus on upper body training. Derek was able to qualify for the finals and finished in 9th place overall.[22]

Less than 24 hours after the 2010 WSM contest, Derek won his 3rd America’s Strongest Man title.[23]

Derek is the host of a radio show titled “Poundstone Power Radio” which airs every Wednesday from 6-8pm Eastern time, on SIRIUS channel 94, XM channel 208, and on Sirius_XM_Radio internet radio channel 860. The first episode aired on November 3, 2010.[24]

Personal life

Derek married fiancee Kristin Nelson on Saturday June 25, 2011 in Branford, Connecticut’s Trinity Episcopal Church.[25] Derek’s training partner Louis-Philippe Jean was a groomsmen at the wedding, and fellow strongman competitors Travis Ortmayer and Nick Best attended the wedding.[25]

Personal records – strongman

Atlas Stone

  • 252 kg {555 lb to 42″} Unofficial World Record Connecticut}
  • 239 kg {525 lb to 48″} {Arnold’s Strongest Man, Columbus, Ohio}

Louis Cyr Stone

  • 241 kg {530 lb to 36″} World Record {Fortissimus – World Strength Challenge, Notre-Dame-Du-Rosaire, Quebec, Canada}

Log Press

  • 130 kg * 13 {286 lb – 75 sec time limit, Clean and Press each rep} World Record Callander Games, Scotland}

Overhead Block Lift

  • 145 kg {319 lb} World Record {Callander Games, Scotland}

Circus Dumbbell

  • {227 lb * 11 – 90 sec time limit, Clean and Press each rep} World Record {Arnold’s Strongest Man, Columbus, Ohio}

Car Squat

  • 360 kg * 12 reps {792 lb} {World’s Strongest Nation 2007, Ukraine}

Tire Deadlift

  • 363 kg {800 lb} {USA National Championship Qualifier, South Carolina, U.S.}

Hummer Tire Deadlift

  • {1015 lb} {Arnold’s Strongest Man, Columbus, Ohio}

Timber Frame Carry

  • {1000 lb – 11.59 sec on 36′ incline ramp} American Record {Arnold’s Strongest Man, Columbus, Ohio}

Super Yoke

  • 500 kg {1100 lb – 9.59 sec for 32′} {Arnold’s Strongest Man, Columbus, Ohio}

Personal records – powerlifting (ADAU)

Squat

Bench Press

  • 196 kg {430 lb} – 20-23 yr old 319 lb class American Record – November, 2003

Deadlift

  • 289 kg {635 lb} – 20-23 yr old 275 lb class American Record – June, 2003
  • 311 kg {685 lb} – 20-23 yr old 319 lb class American Record – November, 2003
  • 389 kg {855 lb} – recent gym lift personal record – October, 2007
  • 395 kg {870 lb} – Madison Square Garden Super Series – New York, New York – June 21, 2008
  • 413 kg {910 lb} – most recent gym lift personal record – 2011′
  • 415 kg {914 lb} – world strongest man personal record – 2011′

Total’

  • 750 kg {1650 lb} – 20-23 yr old 319 lb class American Record – November, 2003 [14]

Achievements

Professional Competitive Record – [1st (6), 2nd (6), 3rd (3) – Out of Total(19)]
Performance Metric – .923 [American – .931 International – .915]

Professional 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 5th 6th 7th 8th 9th 10th INJ DNQ Total
American 4 3 1   2               10
International 2 3 2 2                 9
Combined 6 6 3 2 2               19
  • United States Arnold Strongman Classic – Columbus, Ohio – 1st Place (March 6–8, 2010
  • United States America’s Strongest Man (USA National Championship) Morgantown, W. Va. – Winner – (7/24-7/26/09)
  • Canada Fortissimus – Louis Cyr Strength Challenge Montmagny, Quebec, Canada – 2nd place (6/24-6/25/09)
  • United States Giants Live (World’s Strongest Man Qualifier) – Uncasville, Connecticut, USA – 1st Place(5/17/2009)
  • United States Arnold Strongman Classic – Columbus, Ohio – 1st Place (March 6–8, 2009)
  • United States World’s Strongest Man – Charleston, West Virginia, USA – 2nd Place (September 2008)
  • Sweden Sweden Super Series (World’s Strongest Man Qualifier) – Sweden – 4th place (8/16/2008)
  • Canada Fortissimus – Louis Cyr World Strength Challenge – Notre-Dame-Du-Rosaire, Quebec, Canada – winner (6/28-29/2008)
  • United States Madison Square Garden Super Series (World’s Strongest Man Qualifier) – New York, New York, USA – 2nd place (6/21/2008)
  • United States Arnold’s Strongest Man – Columbus, Ohio, USA – 2nd
  • United States Mohegan Sun Super Series (World’s Strongest Man Qualifier) – Uncasville, Connecticut, USA – winner (1/19/2008) [15]
  • Lithuania World vs. Lithuania Team Competition – Vilinius, Lithuania – 2nd (10/27/2007)
  • Lithuania IFSA 2-Man Team World Championship – Vilinius, Lithuania – 3rd (10/7/2007)
  • South Korea IFSA World Championship – Geumsan, South Korea – 4th (2007) [16]
  • Ukraine World’s Strongest Nation Team Competition – Ukraine – 2nd (2007) [17]
  • Scotland World Highland Games – Callander, Scotland – winner (7/29/2007)
  • United States USA vs. World Team Competition – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA – winner (2007) [18]
  • United States America’s Strongest Man (USA National Championship) – Charlotte, North Carolina, USA – winner (2007) [19]
  • United States St. Patrick’s Strongman (USA National Championship Qualifier) – Columbia, South Carolina – winner (2007)[20]
  • Lithuania USA vs. Lithuania Team Competition – Lithuania – 2nd (2006) [21]
  • Ukraine World’s Strongest Nation Team Competition – Kiev, Ukraine – 3rd (2006) [22]
  • United States America’s Strongest Man (USA National Championship) – Charlotte, North Carolina, USA – 5th (2006) [23]
  • United States World Strongman Challenge (USA Grand Prix) – Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA – 2nd (5/19/2006) [24]
  • United States St. Patrick’s Strongman (USA National Championship Qualifier) – Columbia, South Carolina, USA – 5th (3/17/2006) [25]
  • United States Florida Pro – Am – Florida, USA – 3rd (2005) [26]
  • United States Northeast Regional Strongman Showdown – Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA – winner (2004) earned ASC Professional Strongman card
  • United States Connecticut State Powerlifting Champion

References

  1. ^ www.americanstrongman.org
  2. ^ [1]
  3. ^ [2]
  4. ^ [3]
  5. ^ [4]
  6. ^ Injured Officer Wins ‘Strongest Man’ Title
  7. ^ [5]
  8. ^ [6]
  9. ^ [7]
  10. ^ [8]
  11. ^ [9]
  12. ^ [10]
  13. ^ a b [11]
  14. ^ [12]
  15. ^ [13]
  16. ^ http://www.marunde-muscle.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9147&highlight=ifsa+world+championships&page=10
  17. ^ a b c Arnold Sports Festival (May 8, 2010). “Arnold Strongman Classic Official website”. Arnold Sports Festival. http://www.arnoldstrongmanclassic.com/results.html. Retrieved May 8, 2010. 
  18. ^ http://www.theworldsstrongestman.com/2008_results.php
  19. ^ Derek Poundstone Levels the Field at the Mohegan Sun
  20. ^ http://www.theworldsstrongestman.com/2009_results.php
  21. ^ Derek Poundstone Three-Peats at the Mohegan Sun: World Strongman Series Grand Prix Winner
  22. ^ http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2010/Sep/Despite_Torn_Quad_Derek_Poundstone_says_Ixm_Going_to_Compete_in_Worldxs_Strongest_Man.html
  23. ^ http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2010/Sep/Derek_Poundstone_Wins_Americaxs_Strongest_Man.html
  24. ^ http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2010/Oct/Poundstone_Power_Radio.html
  25. ^ a b http://www.ironmind.com/ironmind/opencms/Articles/2011/Jun/Derek_Poundstone_and_Kristin_Nelson_Tie_the_Knot.html

External links

Strength videos: World’s Strongest feats gallary

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The Canadian Powerlifting Championships!!!

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The Canadian Powerlifting Championships of 2010!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Did 6 Pack win a Canadian Championship in his new heavier weight class?

The Canadian Powerlifting Championships came to Toronto this year, Saturday ( June the 12th), and featured some outstanding lifting. A new set of Canadian Champions were crowned, National and even a few World records were broken, and the level of competition in most weight classes rose substantially.

I was contemplating whether I was going to compete at these Nationals, my concern being that I had pulled back on my powerlifting training. I have been training for 3 Guinness World records, and adapted a crossfit style approach to weightlifting that emphasized muscular endurance rather than strength. The 3 Guinness World records are feats of muscular endurance over a set time frame. This is obviously quite different from powerlifting. It was like going from training for sprinting to a marathon.  The day of the event, I decided I was going to compete after all and let the chips fall where they may. I figured with a little luck, I might be able to pull out a win.

My last-minute decision to compete was so last-minute that I actually showed up late and missed my warm up. The lifters were already taking to the platform and squating! I knew something was a miss when I showed up and could hear the crowd cheering the lifters on the platform on. I litterally had to take my last warm up lift on the platform as my first attempt.

In powerlifting you have 3 attempts in each of the 3 events (Squat, Bench Press, and Deadlifting…in that order). Once you attempt a weight you can’t go lighter even if you fail at that weight. If you don’t successfully lift the weight in any of your 3 attempts you don’t progress to the next event. Your highest successful attempt in each of the 3 events goes toward your 3 lift total. The lifter with the highest total wins. There is also a competition for the bench press only (because it’s the most popular of the 3 events).

Having to start the meet basically throwing away 1 of my 3 attempts in the squats greatly set me back. Now with only 2 attempts to work with, I had to play conservatively or else I could bomb out if I shot too high. There was less room for error (and there was not much room to begin with). Having not done powerlifting training leading up to the meet already left me unsure what to set my attempts at. I knew I had to make my first attempt in all 3 events unusually low so that if my strength was way down I did not bomb out. If I chose my attempts as high as I normally would and found out on the platform I was not nearly as strong as I normally am…well, I’d be going home early.

There was tension amongst the lifters inbetween attempts

By the end of the squats event I was already trailing by a sizable margin and needed to catch up if I was going to contend for the Canadian title. All was not completely going against me though. One of my chief training partners, Alex Drolc, was coaching me that day and pointed out defending Canadian Champion Shawn Hislop was not competing! For that matter, neither was last year’s second place finisher at the Canadian Championships in the 198 pound weight class Jason Fabbian. I had seen those two battle it out in this weight class the previous year. At the time I was in the 181 pound weight class, and was training with Jason leading up to the Nationals.

I’d seen Jason and Shawn pushed to the limit, with Shawn doing some eye-opening bench pressing (breaking the 400 pound barrier). I was obviously rooting for my training partner Jason to take the title. It all came down to the last attempt in the last event of deadlifts. Jason had the bar loaded to take his total 5 pounds over Shawn Hislop’s for the win. I remember watching as Jason pulled with everything he had. He got the bar up to knees before the momentum stopped. There he struggled for several seconds and got the bar a few inches higher. With the bar within inches of victory, Jason had not enough strength left to seal the win. Shawn had defeated my friend and won the Canadian title in the 198 pound weight class.

I remember thinking I would have to face both Shawn and Jason in the future when I moved up a weight class. No body wants to face lifters of that caliber. As luck would have it for me, neither man showed up for this year’s Championships.  The lifters that did show up were new faces to me. Alex and me both figured they would not be as stiff of competition as Shawn and Jason would be. Turns out we both miscalculated…

I entered the bench press event tied for second. My opening weight of 330 pounds went by easy enough. I brought the weight down to my chest, paused it, and when the ref told me to “press” it came up with no interruption. The second attempt of 340 felt much heavier. After the pause on the chest, and the call for the ref to “press”, the weight felt much heavier than it normally did for me. My third attempt of 352.5 was a weight I had pressed in the past fairly easily, and ordinarily I would be looking past it towards something heavier, but finally I would feel the price I paid for not properly training for powerlifting.

Bar left my chest as fast as the previous attempt but when it was inches away from fully locked out it stopped. It stayed there hovering over me no matter how much I poured it on and pushed. For a moment that felt like forever I layed there with this weight hovering over me, moving no closer to lock out, no matter how much I pushed and strained. It was like there was a ceiling as to how high I could press the weight over me and it had hit it. The third attempt was a failed attempt.

Even though I had missed the last press, I had still outbench every one else in my weight class to take the Canadian Bench Press Competition. In fact, I had out pressed every one else by a sizable enough margin to take the lead. Heading into the deadlifts I was now the front-runner. I was also slightly worried about maintaining my number one position. 3rd attempts were usually the attempts were you extend yourself to get ahead of your competition. It was my 3rd attempt lifts I was most worried about not completing due to my slightly reduced strength. When I tried to extend my self for the first time in the competition, I failed.

Waiting for the deadlift event to begin (and sporting my trade mark chalk muscle outline)

The deadlift was the final event of the day. I hoped my lead I made in the bench press event was great enough to carry me to victory. I didn’t want to have to try to extend myself in the deadlift event cause I was not feeling as strong as I had hoped. If I had fallen behind in the deadlifts, I was hoping it was not more than the ground I had already gained. If I could just hold on in the last event of the day I might be able to win the Canadian Championship. If I was pressed to extend myself again, I was worried I might not have it in me.

My opening weight of 500 pounds was enough to put victory out of reach for most of the lifters. That is when one of my opponents opened up with a first attempt of 530 pounds! Once that happened the battle for the top 198 pounder quickly boiled down to me and him. My lead had been cut to a mere 10 pounds with only his first deadlift. His second attempt of 575 pounds was also a successful one, and he was now ahead by a long shot. The chips were down.

It came down to one final deadlift. Just like last year’s National’s with Shawn and Jason. I had to be successful in my last deadlift attempt to out total him. Unfortunately, I had to extend myself to do it. It would require a 550 pound deadlift, and would give me a total 5 pounds heavier than my rivals’. If I landed the deadlift the total that had won Shawn Hislop last year’s Championships would have done him no better than a third place bronze at this Nationals.

I paced back and forth waiting for the signal from the judges that “the bar is loaded”. Once I got the call to the platform I could feel my heart beating. The crowd knew I needed this lift to win the Canadian Championships. I needed to dig deep to secure the victory. I could feel the anxiety and pressure. Me and Louis had talked about how if I had won the Nationals it would be a great boost for our campaign to raise money for sick kids. It would also help promote my Guinness World Record attempts.

I grabbed the bar with my chalked up hands and as soon as I got the lift signal every muscle in my body flexed and I pulled with everything I had in me. I shot the weight up to my knees, the same place Jason Fabbian had the weight at the last Nationals, when all of a sudden it was stuck. My eyes were closed as I was pulling the weight, and for a brief second I opened them to look at the crowd. I saw Alex Drolc, my coach, with a worried expression on his face. It was a moment that lasted a second but felt like forever. The anxiety was now at its peak and I could feel my heart pound.

I used the extra energy to my advantage and I heaved the weight until I was upright. Just like that, I had won the Canadian Championship once again. This time it was by the smallest of margins (5 pounds on my total to be exact). I had collected both the Canadian Powerlifting Championships and the Canadian Bench Press Championships (though in that event Shawn Hislop’s absence greatly helped! I defeated his over all powerlifting score, but not his amazing bench press)

The final deadlift of the day sealed the victory for the new two division Champion

At the end of the day I was glad I didn’t pull out of the Nationals, and I was glad I used the anxiety and nervousness as a positive to perform. We all feel the pressure, we all get scared, but it’s those that recognize it’s there because it’s a moment to shine that get the chance to do something special. I got a little lucky that day as well, but when you take a chance and give yourself the opportunity, you make your own luck.

Those Guinness World Records will fall…

The World Championships are this weekend!

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And here we are.

It is just days before the World Championships. Lifters from countries like Italy, France, Russia, Germany, England, Belgium, Australia, and all over the World are heading to Evansville Indianna to clash. It will be a spectacle, andthere will be some amazing feats of strength performed this weekend.

In my first World Championships I am in a true Rocky situation. Some of these lifters from across the globe are  all-time Greats. Among the competitors are the strongest people in the World, may be in history given their all time record lifts.

It has been a crazy year. Earlier this year I had never competed in the sport. Fast forward to this week and I am heading to the World Championships. I feel like a man walking with Giants. Some of these lifters I have read about, and look up to. Some of these guys are names every one around the World knows. On the 22nd I will compete against legends. Like Rocky, I am going to try to prove I belong. A year ago no one would have even thought I would have made it this far.

If I can hang with the best of the best and show I belong it will be a huge achievement in my first year in the sport. I am looking to place among the top ten. It would be a huge accomplishment in a short period of time. It would mean that in a few years the sky is the limit. It would mean that the future is bright, and force my competition to take notice.

The pressure is on, and I thrive under pressure.

I won’t let you down.