By Phil Taylor
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An east Auckland strongman withstood the pressure of lifting heavy weights and foreign competitors to win four medals at the recent Asian, African, and Pacific Powerlifting Championships.
Max Louw, 19, placed first overall against older rivals in the under-23 age-group at the event in Himeji, Japan, staged by the Asian Powerlifting Federation.
His prize haul included three gold medals in the overall, squat, and deadlift categories, and a silver medal in the bench press.
“My squat was 265kg, bench press 150kg, and deadlift 292.5kg, with the total of the three 707.5kg,” says Louw, a former Howick College student of Maraetai.
“I was over the moon with how the day went. I was more pleased with how I performed as opposed to the fact I won.
“After squats I had established a comfortable lead. For the rest of the competition, I focused on seeing how far I could push my total.
“Although I hit a bigger deadlift in training, I knew that coming into this competition there would be a ton of variables out of my control: heat, travel, lack of diet control, and as it turns out sickness, to name a few.
“To come out adding 7.5kgs to my best combined total, after competing at the national champs just a month before, I was ecstatic.”
Louw says he was extremely focussed heading into the Asian contest.
“Preparing physically for this competition required training hard four times a week, eating whatever protein-dense thing was in my field of view, and abstaining from alcohol – easier said than done as a student at the University of Otago.
“The training in the build-up is the most enjoyable part, so I had a lot of fun.
“Typically, I train four times a week, bench pressing every day, while squatting and deadlifting twice a week.
“I have a coach who does all the difficult programming work. I just follow orders,” Louw says.
“As my psychologist parents would tell you, the mental game is every much as important as the physical game.
“I try having as much fun while competing as possible and this helps ease my nerves.
“At the end of the day, I was doing what I’m most passionate about while overseas in an awesome new country.
“I see a lot of my peers place such high expectations on themselves, then when one small thing goes wrong, they catastrophise.
“I find that when you stop trying so hard to have the perfect day, you end up performing better.”
Louw says he felt in top form heading into the Asian champs but was taking nothing for granted.
“I was confident, however, by no means expecting a guaranteed win. It’s one thing being strong in your own gym. It’s another being able to put it all together on the same day, especially in another country.
“Deadlift has always been my strongest lift, so I was relatively confident I’d win that event.
“Placing second in the bench press was a complete and happy surprise, as my bench press has historically lagged behind.”
Louw is grateful for the support he’s received from east Aucklanders for his powerlifting eventing.
“When fundraising in the lead-up to the world champs in 2023, I received a lot of generous donations, including large ones from Ray White Beachlands and the Black and White Golfers Trust.
“When I was a student at Howick College, I also received a lot of support from the school and members of the surrounding community.
“For this competition, I was very lucky to be a beneficiary of the Burnet Charitable Trust, who helped fund my trip.”
Louw has a very busy schedule, a mix of tertiary studies and powerlifting.
“I’m a second-year law and psychology student. Second year law is notoriously difficult at Otago. I can attest to that,” he says.
“Balancing high-level training with university work – and trying to maintain somewhat of a social life – is difficult. However, I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
Louw says he now has his sights on competing for New Zealand at the Under-23 Junior Powerlifting World Championships next year in South Africa, where he was born.
“A lot of work stands between now and then. However, I’m ready for a long off-season to get as strong as possible.”