2008 Oceania Powerlifting Championships - Darren Neves

The difference between powerlifting and bodybuilding is that powerlifters train for strength, to see how much weight they can benchpress, squat and deadlift. Bodybuilders on the other hand train mainly to look strong but lack the explosive power and strength of powerlifters. Although bodybuilders look strong, powerlifters might not be as big but still have the core strength. I train for maximum strength but not necessarily for size.

I first started weight lifting in college, back in 1996 but only started competing in powerlifting at the start of last year, coming 1st in the 100kg class at the Auckland champs.  From there I competed in the 90kg class at the North Island Champs in July 08 and came away with a 1st place there as well. I moved onto the National Champs in August and came up against competitors that had been competing for years, I walked away with 3rd.

I couldn't stop there so competed in the Oceania Champs in December 08 in Taititi. The conditions over there were really challenging, with 35 degree heat and 100% humidity. I must admit it was a shock to the system! It was such a great experience though, to get together with the NZ team, - what a great bunch of guys. I came away with three personal best's. Squat= 235kg, PB: Benchpress= 172.5kg and PB: Deadlift= 245kg and a total best of PB: 652.5kg resulting in a 4th place.

I am always stocked to get personal bests, this is what you really drive for in the sport, especially if you know you don't stand a chance with a placing you can just do your best for a personal best in at least one of your lifts. Every competition I competed in last year I came away with personal bests.

I am currently training at the New Lynn Club Physical with my coach Stephen King. Working in general duties at Henderson. I find having the extra strength helps on the frontline and in life in general. I find it a bit of a challenge with shift work, training during nights shifts is the hardest, but I know if I let anything get in the way I won't achieve what I want to be in the sport, and the only way to achieve anything is to be consistent at it and not to give up. Not to say I wont stay for the overtime at work!

Plans for the future: I am currently training for the Auckland Champs on May the 2nd 2009. After this will be the North Island then National Champs, if all is going well I would like to compete in the Commonwealth champs in December in India. Although I have come away with some good results so far I know I have a long way to go. Peaking in this sport can happen around the age of 32-36, so at 28 I still have a few years to hopefully break some records. A record I have in my sights at the moment is the open 90kg benchpress Auckland record standing at 190kg.

Training is going really well at the moment, getting stronger each week. I find if I push hard at every training session I see the results in the end. I think if you want to achieve something in sport you just have to tell yourself there are no excuses. The hardest part for a lot of people is to get off the couch and into the gym or out onto the pavement for exercise. If you can overcome this it's usually not that bad once you are in the gym or out on the road running. It's about approaching life in a more positive way. If you want it bad enough you will get it! I want to thank the NZ Police for their support throughout the 2008 season and look forward to the 2009 season.  Special thanks to the council of sport with its kind support and also Stephen King at Club Physical. For official results of the Oceania Champs go to http://oceaniapowerlifting.homestead.com/.

Stay strong -
Darren Neves.