Camaraderie important in powerlifting community

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This article was published 19/06/2017 (3134 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Reetu Chahal wasn’t bothered by the extra weight around her neck on Saturday afternoon.

In fact, the 26-year-old Winnipeg powerlifter was giddy with excitement having won five medals at the Special Olympics Manitoba Summer Games. All gold.

“It’s nice to know I did a good job,” Chahal said. “I am so happy.”

She claimed top spot in all three individual lifts in the open women’s division — squat, bench press and deadlift — as well as first overall in both her division and amongst the female powerlifters.

Chahal even set a new personal best in the deadlift, successfully lifting 180 pounds.

Yet the eight-year Barbenders Powerlifting Club member praised her coach Brent Lohmer.

“Coach is the best coach I know,” Chahal said.

Lohmer quickly deflected credit.

“She works really hard, she’s very coachable, is very willing to show up to practice every day with everything that she’s got and she’s got a really good attitude as far as interacting with other people and with the other athletes,” Lohmer said of Chahal.

“She’s very supportive of the other athletes. She’s a coach’s athlete and loves helping out. I call her my assistant coach every once in a while and she loves that, so she’ll load bars up, she’ll spot and do whatever is needed.”

That supportive nature, which includes the likes of fellow powerlifters Brock Whiteway, Travis Scott and Kenyon Davidson, is what makes the BPC such a warm environment.

All of them were also at the provincial Games, earning medals in the open men’s division.

“Culture is something that we really put a lot of emphasis on,” Lohmer added. “There’s always high-fiving after every set, always cheering each other on. That’s a big part of what we try and enforce … and even through the last few years it’s grown substantially.”

Saturday’s powerlifting competition also marked the first time the BPC has attended provincial Games, with all six of the club’s athletes earning medals.

That includes veteran lifter Chahal, although she has competed played basketball at past Manitoba Games.

“In the past we haven’t been involved with these provincials,” Lohmer said. “Usually we would travel to South Dakota or Minnesota and we’d do meets there so this is actually our first involvement in a Manitoba provincial Games.”

But it likely will not be the last, especially since some of the BPC lifters have a chance to be in Nova Scotia for next summer’s national Games.

That includes Chahal and her unique post-lift handshakes with the coaches, a symbol of the camaraderie that exists between all parties at BPC.

“Reetu has a special high five with all of the coaches but that’s Reetu,” Lohmer added. “That’s something that we try and promote and we push really hard because they’ll come back for the lifting to an extent, but they’ll come back for the camaraderie and the relationships we try and build at the gym.”

And while personal bests like Chahal’s or Scott’s best-ever 175-pound bench press are great, that isn’t necessarily what Lohmer and the PBC coaches are trying to instill in the Special Olympians.

That said, those feats are also great.

“We don’t put a lot of emphasis on the weight,” Lohmer said. “It seems kind of crazy for a powerlifter but we put a lot of emphasis on the form and the process. So when somebody hits a good weight and they have good form we get more excited about that than a personal best.

“A personal best is like a cherry on top and we focus on making sure people do things properly, do things safely, don’t get hurt. It just looks awesome when they do a good lift.”

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