Indoor Sports - with PembrokeshireSport.co.uk

Paul powers his way to five world lifting titles

Paul Murphy is from a rare breed of sportsmen who have had to show real grit to achieve top status without the benefits of funding from a national body but that quality is very much part of the make-up of Paul Murphy, who has remarkably won FIVE world titles in the tough and highly competitive sport of power lifting.
This amazing feat was finally recognised at local level when Paul was awarded the ‘Male Sporting Achievement of the Year’ engraved glass trophy at the Sport Pembrokeshire awards evening held in front of a packed audience at Folly Farm.

Superb fifth title under pressure

He recently gained that fifth world title at Forcheim, in Germany, where his combined totals for dead lift, squat and bench press was a stunning 699.5 kgs – and he was suffering from a shoulder injury which inevitably hindered his performance. He also was battling the effects of a stomach virus from the previous day when he lost 4kgs in weight - so he is confident that when he takes part in his next competition he could achieve 750kgs!
Paul lives in Carew and as well as regular training sessions in Haverfordwest, Carmarthen and Port Talbot, he has travelled all over the world in search of success and his world titles have been achieved by paying every penny himself for the travel, hotel and subsistence to places like Mexico, Germany and Holland. At 40 years of age he is not ready to rest on his laurels, however, and has set himself the target of achieving TEN world titles by the time he is 50 or so, laughingly admitting that it will be slightly easier now that he will be able to double up competitions since he will be old enough to enter the Masters events then!

Power-lifting explained

Paul took time off from a tough training session at STP school gym to tell us a little more about his sport: “Like ordinary weight lifting, competitors are divided into weight categories – but the lifting technique is vastly different. Our lifting is divided into squats, dead lifts and bench pressing, with the squat technique needing a lifter to take the weight on his shoulders from support bars, squat below the knee and lift the weight back to the original place, where it is removed by two officials known as ‘spotters’. The dead lift starts with the bar on the floor and it is then lifted above the knee, so that the competitor stands straight, and then lowered again to the floor. The bench press again sees the weight supported on a stand and the competitor lies underneath it on a bench, takes the weight down to his chest and then pushes it back up to its original height, where it is taken by the spotters. A competitor is allowed three lifts in each section and the combined weight gives the winner. It sounds complicated but all it does is test a power lifter’s strength and technical ability to manoeuvre big weights!”

Boxing before lifting

He started 15 years ago after originally enjoying amateur boxing with Jimmy Price in Narberth and then Ralph Gammer in Pembroke. He had 25 bouts, won the majority of them and represented Wales twice as a light welterweight (10 stone maximum). But then he had to work away in the Chepstow area and so he started attending the gym just to keep fit and got hooked on being involved with exercise on a more regular basis. When he came home he bumped into Nigel Phillips at the Bloomfield Centre in Narberth and he started Paul off in power lifting. That was in 1994 and a year later he was thrilled to finish fourth in the Welsh Championships at Aberdare – and he’s been at it ever since.

First titles and records

In 1997 he came first in the Welsh Championships and managed to break the record in the squat category. At that time he thought it was amazing that he managed a total of 637 kgs but to show how the body can improve with hard work I am now lifting a combined total of so much more
Paul’s first world title came in Chihuahua, in Mexico, a year later, where he achieved 727 kgs in the power lifting and 162 kgs in the bench press to win the combined title and the individual bench press title. Since then he has won British titles, European Championships and his five world events. It has meant sacrifices but his family have been wonderful with their support and he is already looking forward to future events, like British championships at bath, the Europeans in Amsterdam and the World Championships in Vienna.

Biggest disappointment

His biggest disappointment was getting injured in 2006 just four weeks before the World Championships, which meant having a hip operation. But he managed to get the all clear a few days before he was due to take part and although he came only fifth he was proud of his performance in adversity. His sport demands a tough mental approach as well as common sense with regard to injury and he once dislocated three vertebrae in the UK championships but managed to complete the competition.

SAY NO TO DRUGS!

He is totally against drug-taking and tells youngsters starting out: “Diets are fine, as are some food supplements but drugs – NEVER! He is the drug control officer for Wales in his sport and serves on the British Board of Disciplinaries to stamp out any drug abuse at all. Diet plays a big part and there are times to take high carbohydrate intakes and others where proteins are vital. Before tournaments I drink up to six litres of water a day, cutting down by half each day so that before a lift I can just sip water. I also follow a balanced diet and in the 24 hours before a competition, after the weigh in, I eat every two hours, with heaps of jacket potatoes and chicken, plus Tuna aplenty just before the event starts. Everyone is different in their approach but I have my own routine for eating in the run-up to a tournament but it also keeps me healthy for life, which is important.”

Give it a try

To youngsters looking to try power-lifting he says: “Give it a try! We tend to have people join us who have started out in other sports and want to compete at something different. It needs lots of self-discipline to stick to a programme designed to build power but is also very satisfying. Your safety is paramount and I wouldn’t dream of trying to lift too much, too quickly. It has to be a steady development.”

Paul knows what he is talking about and he was clearly moved when he was announced as the winner of the ‘Male Sporting Achievement’ award. It was doubly nice for him since he was accompanied by his wife Janet, plus children Andrew and Georgia, and he said afterwards that it was just the spur he needed to make sure that he stayed focussed on further success en route to achieving his ambition of ten world titles in his chosen sport.