Progress Coach Paul aims to match powerlifting world champion wife
York College Progress Coach Paul Wain has become a national powerlifting champion and is now hoping to emulate his wife Louise by winning a world title.
Paul will fly out to Chicago in November to contest the World Powerlifting Congress’ World Championships, having taken gold at the British Powerlifting Union Championships in Manchester.
He lifted a combined weight of 702.5kg (consisting of a 287.5kg dead lift, a 250kg squat and 165kg bench press) to be crowned the best in Britain for his weight (90-100kg) and age (45 to 49-year-old) class.
Louise also won her weight and age category at this year’s national championships – which attracted 450 entrants during a week-long competition – before following up that success with victory at the Women’s World Championships in the Irish city of Limerick.
Remarkably, this is the Clifton-based couple’s first year of national and international competition and, before she started lifting weights a couple of years ago, Louise didn’t even have the power to put the handbrake on in her car!
But, proving he’s not just an excellent coach for students at Sim Balk Lane, Paul encouraged Louise – a former primary school headteacher who now works in hospitality - to join him at the gym as a means of strengthening an injured shoulder and, then, spotted previously untapped potential in his partner.
“Louise had a frozen shoulder not so long after we got together and was having cortisone injections, but they were actually causing her more pain and they weren’t solving anything,” Paul pointed out. “She couldn’t even put her handbrake on in the car and used to ask me to do it for her.
“I thought the best thing for her shoulder would be to join a gym and get it moving, so we started at PureGym. She couldn’t do anything over her head at first but, when her shoulder improved, she had a dead lifting session and started to do really well.
“I could tell she was strong straightaway when I saw her lifting. You can see when somebody has the genetics for it and she’s got the drive and a committed ethos for training, so it was her idea that we should start competing.
“I’ve always enjoyed lifting weights and pushing myself but never with any real direction or training. We did a beginners’ event first and we have motivated and inspired each other ever since, especially when one of us is higher than the other in the world rankings and, now that she’s a world champion, I want to be, too!
“All our medals, awards and certificates are scattered everywhere, but we’re going to move house and, then, we’ll get a proper trophy cabinet for them.”
Powerlifting and weight training has also provided the much-decorated, husband-and-wife duo with a shared interest and passion and even brought out the inner showman in Paul.
“Whenever we’re away from home, we’ll always find a gym because we just love training and travelling together to compete in events,” Paul enthused. “We both get nervous but, once that first lift is out of the way, I love the environment.
“I thrive on people watching my lifts and I never thought that person was me, because I’m a bit shy even though I’ve come from a background of teaching Maths to GCSE students.
“To be called out as the British champion felt fantastic. It was a moment of real elation.
“Now, I’m looking forward to competing in Chicago, because the American fans are always very loud and enthusiastic. I might even buy a new outfit as I used to be under 90kg and I’m growing quite nicely into my -100kg class!”
Paul will fly to the United States with a 2024 world ranking of six for his age and weight division across all the different federations.
He qualified for the National Championships by winning the Nottingham Strong Open – his first taste of a full powerlifting competition – with a combined total of 642.5kg.
Having improved on that weight by 60kg to set a new national BPU record on his way to the British title, he is now targeting a similar increase to be crowned the best on the planet.
“I need to put on about the same again, which I think I can do,” Paul declared. “I went into the British Championship still recovering from a torn shoulder muscle in my rotator cuff, so I think there was a bit more in the tank and I’d hope to go over 300kg for my deadlift in Chicago.
“Then, I’ll go up a Masters class next year and I just want to keep going and setting records in every class I compete in and put down numbers that people have to beat.”
Paul will also no doubt benefit from having watched Louise demonstrate what it takes to conquer the world in Limerick, where she set a new British dead lift record for her age and division of 127.5kg despite only weighing 55kg herself!
The pair are now members at the UltraFlex Gym in York, where they receive specialised training from strength and conditioning coach Damian Manning.
“I’ve been going to the gym for more than 30 years but, at UltraFlex, you are surrounded by body builders, powerlifters and strongmen competitors,” Paul pointed out. “It’s great to be able to tap into that experience and expertise and has really helped in terms of what we’ve been achieving with our powerlifting.”
Louise admits that she owes much of her success, meanwhile, to her husband and is confident that he can also now become a world champion.
“We are each other’s coaches and cheerleaders and I don’t think either of us would have competed on our own,” she declared. “Paul’s naturally a very positive person, so he keeps me going and, when I won the World Championship, it was an incredible feeling because, as well as performing for yourself, you’re also representing your country on the international stage.
“Everything, in terms of the training, build-up and day itself competing in front of a big audience, was really intense, so to get that medal at the end was amazing. I never imagined I’d have become a world champion before Paul.
“He’s been training for years and he’s incredibly strong. I didn’t see that in myself but, when I started competing in my age and weight class, I began to realise that, comparatively, I was quite strong.
“I’m sure he’d have got there first, but his World Championships just happen to be later in the year.”
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