Dartford body-builder hoping for European powerlifting success (From News Shopper)

Dartford body-builder hoping for European powerlifting success

12:26pm Friday 3rd February 2012 in News By Alan Woods

A DARTFORD body-builder is one competition away from representing England following his success in the regional championships.

Michael Goodwin, 23, of Chaucer Way, has qualified for the British Powerlifting Championship finals following his success in the south of England competition.

If he achieves a top two place in the British finals, he will represent England at the European Championships, held in Italy in May.

Across the three lifts involved in powerlifting, - the squat, the bench press and the deadlift - Michael lifted a staggering 612.5kg at the competition, held in Bournemouth.

He won his category for the bench press, lifting 155kg and beating his nearest competitor by 15kg.

Michael achieved a 210kg lift in the squat and 247.5kg in the deadlift.

The school PE teacher said: “I was really pleased with my performance.

“I went into the competition to qualify for the British finals and I did that.

“I’m now hoping to break the European record in the British finals by doing a 170kg bench press, 15kg more than in Bournemouth.”

Powerlifting, deemed to be the ultimate strength sport, comprises of three separate lifts - the squat, the bench press and the deadlift.

The British Powerlifting Championships final will be held in Glasgow on April 8.

News Shopper will follow Michael’s success on the day.

What is powerlifting?

Squat: standing upright, the lifter will rest the barbell across the shoulders and squat down to a required depth. The challenge is then to stand up again and return to the original position.

Bench press: the lifter lies flat on their back on a bench and holds the barbell at arms length above the chest. The bar is then lowered until it reaches the chest and is pressed back up again.

Deadlift: the barbell starts flat on the floor and the lifter attempts to lift the weight until standing upright, with shoulders back in a straight position.