The Deadlift that won the World Championships!

The World Championships of Powerlifting!

November 1, 2012 by 6 Pack Lapadat

The day started out good. I made 198 pounds, went back to the hotel room and began rehydration. Not gonna lie, the weigh-ins was a lil intimidating, the lifters from around the World camp to do battle.

The Squats started out with some high lifts. The Ukrainian Champion took the early lead, with the American Champion in second. The Ukrainian Champion is a former World Champion in Squats, and it showed here. I was in third place after the first attempts, and despite great efforts I was still in third place after the second attempts. I tried my best to close the gap before the Squat event was over, and I managed to be tied for second place.

Heading into the bench press I was in the bronze medal position. The American Champion turned out to be the better bencher of the field, by a lot, and came storming back to take the lead. The Ukrainian Champion finished off in second place, and despite out benching the Ukrainian I was still behind him in total because of the huge lead he had from the Squat event.Entering into the deadlift event I needed to gain some ground if I was going to win. The deadlifts is my best lift of the three events, and I had failed to win any of the two previous events. I was in third place with my total weight lifted over the first two events, and I needed a HUGE comeback if I was going to win with the over all highest weight lifted. However, I was looking more and more assured of a medal (something I always wanted in the Powerlifting World Championships).

The deadlifts were competitive, and it was a battle. In the end I was still in third place when our third and last attempt was to be made. The Ukrainian and American were ahead of me by a sizable margin. My friend from the Canadian team gave it to me bluntly when I was going to attempt my last deadlift, and the last deadlift of the competition for any one (could it be any more dramatic?)

He told me I could play it safe and go for a deadlift I had pulled before and take 3rd place, or I could go for 61o.5 pounds and go for the Gold. I had tried 600 pounds just 2 months ago and could only manage to get it an inch off the floor. Plus for that previous attempt at 600 lbs two months earlier I was not drained from a hard weight cut of 22 pounds. I didn’t think I could possibly do it. In the end my goal was to get a medal, and bronze is a medal…But a true Champion does not settle when victory is within his grasp. When victory is one lift away, you go for the opportunity, regardless if it means if you miss your lift and you leave without a medal. I could play it safe and be assured a bronze, or I could risk it all to win.

I risked it all to win.

I am proud to tell all my supporters that I am now a World Champion. I hope any one reading this gets the message…Always go for the Gold, always believe in yourself, and never settle for less than the fantasy ending.

You know, pressure can be a funny thing. It is hard to put yourself out there, and have people believe in you, and then feel the possibly of letting them down. It’s funny, when I was there in that arena, you could count the number of people who supported me on one hand. And even my biggest supporters figured I was going to go for the sure bronze and not risk it all for the hailmary last ditch effort deadlift to win it all.

But I have found sports are a funny thing. Underdogs come from the most remote places (I doubt any one there knows where Guelph Ontario is) and come from behind victories happen on the biggest of stages. While the American team was all but celebrating their victory before I even took my last attempt, no one could know the army of supporters I truely had behind me. I would always try to go for the win for them, and never would let them down. Some times it means more than just yourself, when you are representing your country and every one who believes in you. It is because of every one that is watching and looking for the update how you did that you extend yourself beyond your limits and go for the win when every one else has written you off.

This is a victory for all of us. Because without you, I would be alone in that arena.

6 Pack Says…(motivational quotes w/ pics)

September 6, 2012 by 6 Pack Lapadat

Hugo Girard

April 7, 2012 by 6 Pack Lapadat

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.

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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]