Archives

1. Name: Mike Ciupinski

2. Married and family? 2 Beautiful Kids (Gavin and Savannah) and Married to my loving and very supportive wife Stacy

3. How long have you been lifting? Competitively since 1995

4. Do you lift in gear or raw? What type? Equipped, but on occasion will compete Raw. Titan Gear all the way.

5. Are you a bench specialist or a 3 lift athlete? Stopped competing in all 3 lifts in 2010. Love is for Bench Pressing. I always tell people your heart has to be all in for every workout every set in order to pursue your goals.

6. What are some of your accomplishments? Titles? Won the 2019 IPF World Bench Championships in M1 83kg Equipped Benching 270kg/595lbs which broke the American Record for that division. Have competed the Arnold Sports Festival many times winning a few of them. Multi time National Bench Champion at 83kg. Have also Bench Pressed 600lbs a few times in competition at the Arnold in front of many. The crowds definitely give a little extra motivation .

7. What federations have you lifted in? When I first started out I lift AAU/USPF, but since the early 2000’s USAPL/NAPF/IPF. Lots of respect to all the federations out there and their lifters.

8. What is your preferred federation? USAPL/IPF

9. Best advice given to you/ Best advice you can give? Never limit yourself, If you want something bad enough go after it and don’t look back, Conceive, Believe, Achieve. My advice. Learn from the best and apply to your own training. Tape all big workouts so you can critique yourself especially if you train equipped.

10. Training philosophy, beliefs, and/or methods? Have a goal and plan it way in advance. Make adjustments as needed. Eat healthy. Have a spotter especially for heavier workouts and extra motivation

11. How many days a week do you train?> 4-5 days+

1. Name: Mike Webber

2. Married and family?: Married with three daughters
3. How long have you been lifting? 35 years lifting. 25 years powerlifting
4. Do you lift in gear or raw? What type? Geared. Super Boss briefs and suit, Evil Twin
Bench Shirt, Velocity deadlift suit
5. Are you a bench specialist or a 3 lift athlete? Three lift always
6. What are some of your accomplishments? Titles? Multiple WPC World titles, WPO
appearance, Squat 960, Bench 666, deadlift 716
7. What federations have you lifted in? CDFPF, WDFPF, WPC, GPC, IPL, WPO
8. What is your preferred federation? WPC/WPO
9. Best advice given to you/ Best advice you can give? Never fear the weight but always
respect it.
10. Training philosophy, beliefs, and/or methods? Conjugate/Westside
11. How many days a week do you train?> Four days a week for main lifting sessions with
extra sessions thrown in on off days
12. Training style? Conjugate/Westside
13. Some of your fondest memories? The Irish Pro in 2017 and the 2019 WPO Finals
14. Favorite lift and why? The squat by far. I’ve always been good at squatting and I always
look forward to it.
15. Do you have any records or championships? Multiple WPC World Masters records
16. Greatest motivation? Chuck V
17. What is your diet like? Follow the Vertical diet with a cheat meal every saturday
18. One thing nobody knows about you?
19. Any pre-contest superstitions? I don’t have any superstitions. I keep meet day the same
as every other lifting day
20. Future plans? Have the largest squat for anyone over 50
21. Describe yourself in one word? Stubborn

1. Name: Tara Webber

2. Married and family?: Married
3. How long have you been lifting? 15 years lifting, 10 years powerlifting
4. Do you lift in gear or raw? What type? Geared. Boss briefs and Super Boss suit, Super
Katana Bench Shirt, Velocity deadlift suit
5. Are you a bench specialist or a 3 lift athlete? Three lift always
6. What are some of your accomplishments? Titles? Multiple WPC World titles, WPO
Champion 2019 , Squat 727, Bench 400, deadlift 529
7. What federations have you lifted in? WPC, GPC,USAPL, IPL, WPO
8. What is your preferred federation? WPC/WPO
9. Best advice given to you/ Best advice you can give? Train your weaknesses but don’t
neglect your strengths.
10. Training philosophy, beliefs, and/or methods? Conjugate/Westside
11. How many days a week do you train?> Four days a week for main lifting sessions with
extra sessions thrown in on off days
12. Training style? Conjugate/Westside
13. Some of your fondest memories? Visiting Ireland for the Irish Pro/Am, Winning the 2019
WPO Title
14. Favorite lift and why? I love to squat and always have.
15. Do you have any records or championships? Multiple WPC World Records and the 2019
WPO Championships
16. Greatest motivation? Laura Phelps
17. What is your diet like? Follow the Vertical diet with a cheat meal every saturday
18. One thing nobody knows about you? I am a cleanaholic
19. Any pre-contest superstitions? I don’t have any superstitions. Mexican food the night
before any contest.
20. Future plans? Help other lifters be better than I ever was
21. Describe yourself in one word? Determined

1. Name: Julia Vins

2. Married and family? Married
3. How long have you been lifting? I have been in powerlifting for 8 years
4. Do you lift in gear or raw? What type? Multiply gear
5. Are you a bench specialist or a 3 lift athlete? 3 lift athlete
6. What are some of your accomplishments? Titles? I have junior all time record in the bench press. I’m IPA world record holder in squats, my best squat is 252.5 kg in 67kg category, and 245kg in 60kg category
7. What federations have you lifted in? Now I compete in FPO/IPA. Before I used to compete in WPC, I am two-time AWPC World Champion.
8. What is your preferred federation? I like powerling as a sport, so it doesn’t matter for me where to lift. The most important thing is the good organization of the competition
9. Best advice given to you/ Best advice you can give? The best advice I have got at the beginning of my career is that I need to stop because I have no perspective. I decided to prove to myself that I can lift a lot. And It made me one of the best in the world at my age. Therefore, the best advice I can give is follow your passion.
10. Training philosophy, beliefs, and/or methods? The most important thing in women’s training is a mental preparation, it is often difficult to do. My coach and I began to train using the Westside Barbell method, we were one of the first who practiced this in Russia. But now our method has transformed, in part we use the Westside, and have added a lot of our own unique developments. Over the years, I realized that where people feel overtrained gives better results for progress. It’s a pretty fine line, so you need to learn how to feel your body and take a break when you really need it.
11. How many days a week do you train? I train 4-5 days a week and 2 cardio
12. Training style? Everything related to training planning, the choice of exercises, weights, the number of sets, is regulated by my coach – Sergey Kartashov. I consider him one of the best specialists in women’s training. Because he uses unique and non-standard methods. And helps to achieve results quickly.
13. Some of your fondest memories? My dream was to squat 200 kg in the sub-juniors. I went to this for a very long time and did it at the age of 18. I did squat 205 kg in a single-ply gear with bodyweight 63 kg.
14. Favorite lift and why? It’s depends on what I get better in a particular season, it’s funny but favorite lift changes every time
15. Do you have any records or championships? 252,5 kg squat world record IPA, 165 kg bench press all time junior record. Two-time world champion AWPC.
16. Greatest motivation? I don’t need motivation, I just do what I love.
17. What is your diet like? I have a standard diet, 2500 calories, if I need to gain weight, I increase calories, if I need to lose weight, then I reduce calories and add cardio. I also eat a lot of sports nutrition, my favorite product is BCAA, I use it from 50 grams per day.
18. One thing nobody knows about you? Almost no one knows about it, but in my birth certificate states that I’m German
19. Any pre-contest superstitions? No, I do not have
20. Future plans? In the near future I want to make a total 10x bodyweight
21. Describe yourself in one word? Open-minded

1. Name Jezza Uepa

2. Married and family? Married with 6 kids
3. How long have you been lifting? 2009 started 10 years now
4. Do you lift in gear or raw? What type? Classic
5. Are you a bench specialist or a 3 lift athlete? 3 lift athletes
6. What are some of your accomplishments? Titles? World
7. What federations have you lifted in? IPF
8. What is your preferred federation? IPF
9. Best advice given to you/ Best advice you can give? Coach Gerard Jones
10. Training philosophy, beliefs, and/or methods? Pain is my friend cos struggle is real
11. How many days a week do you train? 6 days
12. Some of your fondest memories? My record squat in 2013
13. Favorite lift and why? Squat
14. Do you have any records or championships? Yes
15. Greatest motivation? Coach, my family, supporters
16. What is your diet like? I love most rice and raw fish
17. One thing nobody knows about you? Cos I grew up in a small pleasant island of Nauru
18. Any pre-contest superstitions? I pray before and after competition
19. Describe yourself in one word? Humble

1. Name: Trevor “Tre” Thomas Jr
2. How long have you been lifting? I’ve been lifting for almost 12 years and competing for
3years

3. Do you lift in gear or raw? I lift raw.
4. Are you a bench specialist or a 3 lift athlete? I’m a 3 lift athlete.
5. What are some of your accomplishments? Titles?
6. What federations have you lifted in? USAPL and WABDL
7. What is your preferred federation? USAPL
8. Best advice you can give? Be your biggest critic, never get comfortable with where
you’re at.
9. Training philosophy, beliefs, and/or methods? In all my years of training I made listening
to my body my top priority. I do a lot of bodybuilding style workouts and train low
volume on the big three lifts.
10. How many days a week do you train? I train 4-5 days a week.
11. Some of your fondest memories?
12. Favorite lift and why? Squat is my favorite lift. Its something about having the weight on
my back.
13. Do you have any records or championships? I have Georgia and Hawaii State Records.
14. Greatest motivation? The possibility of falling short of my goals.

15. What is your diet like? My diet is clean 90% of the time. The other 10% is whatever I get
my hands on.
16. One thing nobody knows about you? In my 3 years of competing I never programmed
long-term. I’ve always programmed day by day. Which is unheard of at my level
17. Any pre-contest superstitions? I must eat a burger and drink a beer the night before any
competition.
18. Future plans? Open a gym and make a difference.
19. Describe yourself in one word?
Dynamic

1. Name- Thomas Davis
2. Married and family?- Engaged ( will be married on November 23rd)
3. How long have you been lifting?- 10 years
4. Do you lift in gear or raw? What type?- Raw
   

   Thomas TD Davis Powerlifter

5. Are you a bench specialist or a 3 lift athlete? I do all 3 but still considered a bench specialist
6. What are some of your accomplishments? Titles? 3 time IPF Classic World Bench Press Champion. 300 Kilo Bench in Japan
7. What federations have you lifted in? USAPL, non sanctioned meets
8. What is your preferred federation? Anything pretty much, just wanna lift.
9. Best advice given to you/ Best advice you can give? Be patient!!!
10. Training philosophy, beliefs, and/or methods? Jailhouse Strong!!!
11. How many days a week do you train?>4 days
12. Training style? Jailhouse/conjugate
13. Some of your fondest memories? Winning world championships, Getting engaged on my 3rd attempt at the Arnold, and getting beat up by Ed Coan whenever I see him.
14. Favorite lift and why? Bench! Its where everyone else is weak at
15. Do you have any records or championships? IPF World Record- 300 Kilos
16. Greatest motivation? My family and fans
17. What is your diet like? Vertical Diet
18. One thing nobody knows about you? I gladly own the greatest hits album for the Backstreet Boys
19. Any pre-contest superstitions? No hanky panky a week before a meet. No caffeine two weeks before a meet.
20. Future plans? 2400 total, 700+ bench
21. Describe yourself in one word? Hyper