Powerlifting not just for the young

A 61-year-old powerlifter? Not a likely combination.

But for Pullman resident Bud Bower, powerlifting has been a part of his life for over 30 years.

Bower recently competed in Denver at the U.S. Powerlifting Championship in the 60 and over category. Although, for awhile, he thought his competing days were done. He took a year and half off from lifting.

“I was getting tired of lifting,” Bower said. He thought about quitting. “I went to three national tournaments in the last three years. And I bombed on all three of them.”

He wasn’t used to bombing. He had four refrigerator boxes full of trophies commemorating years of competition.

“I decided if I wasn’t going to do it right, maybe it was time to get out of it,” he said. But he wanted to test himself once more at a national tournament.

“I wasn’t too concerned about winning. I just wanted to finish.”

Just like he finished his first powerlifting tournament in Bellingham in 1972. “I decided to try it, and I did really well. I have liked it ever since,” Bower said.

Bower grew up in South Dakota, and he graduated from Endicott High School. “I got in a trouble as a youngster, and I went to jail,” he said. While in jail, he started lifting weights, and he learned how to cut hair.

“You have to check the razor and scissors out each day. We had a lot of customers,” Bower said. When he got out of jail, he took a job in Spokane and eventually settled in Pullman. “I have really had a life of Riley.”

And that life includes many competitions.

According to the powerlifting Web site ( www.powerlifting.com), the sport is a test of “pure, unadulterated, brute strength”. It comprises three lifts: the squat, bench press and deadlift. They say it is an “individualistic sport where self-improvement is the greatest motivating factor”.

The rules are simple: each competitor gets three attempts at each lift, their best lift is added to their total. The lifter with the highest total is the winner. If two or more lifters have the same total, the person with the lightest bodyweight wins.

The rules haven’t changed much over the years, but Bower’s training has. “I used to work out five nights a week. Now I just lift twice a week,” he said. “I just don’t recover as fast, so I can’t train as hard. You have to listen to your body and train the way you feel.”

He lifts alone in his garage. “It is a stress-relief. It is a way of life. The year and half I took off, I felt terrible, Bower said. “I knew I needed to start again. I have two jobs: a barber during the day and a bank cleaner at night. Time-wise, it is hard to fit everything in.”

He can complete his workout in an hour, 1 to 3 minutes between each set. “So it keeps your heart-rate up,” he said. “Then I ride a stationary bike on the nights I don’t lift.”

“Training techniques have changed. They are doing more speed lifting, stretching, training with bands and chains.”

And competition has changed. “In my age group, we have all lost the ego part of competing,” Bower said. “We all try to help each other. When steroid use was high, it was just dog-eat-dog. Everyone would be at competitions for one thing: to trophy.”

But winning is still fun. “The group started at 15, but 6 of them bomb out. If a judge calls one of your lifts bad, you’re disqualified,” he said. “When I was in the lead, I did what it took to win.”

All nine were standing in a line. They announced the bronze medal, the silver medal and then Bower. “I was shocked.”

“So now if I quit, I will have a good feeling about it,” he said.

His win qualifies him for this year’s world competition and next year’s national competition. The World’s competition will be held in New Delhi, India. But Bower won’t be going. “I don’t think anyone wants to go to India.”

But he will attend next year’s national competition in Palm Springs. “A couple guys said they wanted to rematch, so I said I would return next year.”