Perry competed in Dubbo on Sunday, March 18 at a qualifying competition. To progress you had to lift a total of 770 kilograms over three different lifts. 

Perry achieved a total of 780 kilograms by performing a 300kg squat, 200kg bench press and a 280kg deadlift. 

Trainer and mentor Rod Hawkins said after training Perry for five years he was proud of the effort he put in to qualify for the finals in Victoria. 

“This was his first real competition and he managed to get an Australian ranking, becoming 10^th in the under 125 kilogram weight class,” he said. 

Perry had three attempts at each lift and his best lift was counted towards the final score. 

He managed to win his class and get the best unequipped total of the day. 

To prepare for a powerlifting competition Hawkins said that it consisted of lower numbers of repetitions with higher weights compared to normal fitness training. 

In Perry’s first novice competition in September 2017 he lifted a total of 702 kilograms, and now has improved to lift a total of 780. 

“His bench press is exceptional. Just in training the other day he did a 225 kilogram bench press, which is a good sign that he has improved from what he did in the qualifiers,” Hawkins said. 

Perry will compete against 15 other competitors in his weight range in June and is looking forward to the challenge. 

“He wants to do well, I think his aim is to improve on his personal best from the last competition,” Hawkins said. 

Hawkins said that Perry was always interested in strength and weights but his other client Kass Anthes was the one who influenced him to enter a competition. 

Anthes is a mother of two children and also trains three times a week to be able to compete in powerlifting competitions. 

At her first novice competition she lifted 332 kilograms in total by lifting doing a 110 kilogram squat, 70 kilogram bench press and a 152.5 kilogram deadlift. 

“She got the equal best female bench press which was awesome, but she just missed out on placing third,” Hawkins said. 

Hawkins said there weren’t many local powerlifting competitions, and to compete you have to travel to Castle Hill or the Sydney area. 

“I have a very rewarding job, seeing the things that these athletes can do and achieve,” he said. 

To learn more about the sport, you can contact Hawkins on 0457 397 824.