PHOTOS:
Haydo gets ready for action . . .
Haydo Phillips
. . . and lifts 205kgs!

 
If you want to meet someone who is 50 years of age and loves his chosen sport with all the passion of a teenager just starting out then you should meet up with Haydo Phillips.
 
Haydo was a very useful flanker with Narberth RFC until at 24 he broke his tibia and fibula in a match at Pill Parks, Llangwm, and readily admits that he was never quite the same player afterwards, played a lot of squash as a means of keeping fit – and less than two years ago discovered the joys of power lifting!
 
In the intervening time Haydo has really caught the bug, worked hard at his technique, increased the amounts he has been lifting by a sensational degree and is now a British Masters Champion as well as a silver medallist in the World Championship Masters (over 50) class.
 

Much help from multi-world champ Paul

 
Haydo had known top power-lifter Paul Murphy for many years because after stepping down from rugby he spent a lot of time in the gym on a regular basis, since he enjoyed the rigours of pushing himself hard – and in a chance conversation with the ‘Mr Pembrokeshire’ of power lifting Haydo was encouraged to get involved, and hasn’t looked back ever since!
 
“Paul Murphy has been absolutely brilliant in his total support,” said Haydo, “and helping me develop my technique by making minor modifications to my stance and grip, down to little things like the position of my head and elbows in relation to the bar.
 
“But, most importantly of all he has passed on a little of his self-belief, which is vital when dealing with such huge weights.
 

New club planned to cope with growing numbers

 
“As such an influential figure in World Power Lifting, Paul hasn’t forgotten his roots and promoted his sport to such an extent that we now have too many participants for one group top work closely together so we are about to start a new club in the north of the county.
 
“It will be called ‘Preseli Powerlifting’ and Paul will visit when necessary and keep us all moving in the right direction, especially before big competitions, and a warm welcome will be guaranteed to newcomers.”
 

Penny’s joined her husband and is already doing well

 
One such recent newcomer has been Haydo’s wife Penny, who decided to try power lifting on the simple “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” basis” and it has worked because Penny is also doing very nicely, thank you very much, as well as encouraging her hubbie all the way!
 
Haydo was thrilled recently when Penny joined good friend Lucy Elkham in their first competition in Swansea and marked her debut with a victory that was also celebrated by their supportive daughters Hayley and Amy.
 

Haydo loved his rugby days

 
Going back to his rugby, Haydo earned an early reputation for being a livewire flanker who loved the physical aspects of the game.

“I learned a great deal playing alongside the likes of Nigel Bevan, Brian, John and Anthony Williams, Hywel Passey, John Owen, who is now the Otters’ club chairman, and from the great Roger Price, who was then still superb despite being towards the end of a long career.
 
“We won the Youth Cup by beating Whitland 6-3 at Neyland,” Haydo told us, “which was the sort of close-fought tussle I enjoyed most.
 

Squash and gym work leads to power lifting

 
“Then it was on to squash in the Narberth team and although it wasn’t premier league stuff I played against clubs like Neyland, Haverfordwest and Cardigan, enjoying just chasing after every ball and getting a sweat on!”
 
“I also kept busy in the gym and it was there I started power-lifting, which is very addictive once you get started because we are always looking for small gains from so much work.
 
“When I entered my first competition in Trebanos it was in the dead lift class only and I was thrilled to win the Masters Over 40 section with a lift of 205kgs, and my first competition involving dead lift (205kgs), bench press (110kgs) and squats (120kgs) saw me win a gold medal for a combined total of 435kgs but now my best combined weight would be 605kgs, an increase of 170kgs!
 

Spartan training regime pays dividends

 
In his most recent training night, when we caught up with Haydo, he was doing three repetitions of squats with a weight of 200kgs as part of his set training regime which sees him working at bench presses on Monday evening, resting on Tuesday and then practising his squats on Wednesday.
 
This he follows with another rest on Thursdays and then rounds off nicely with Friday evenings focussed on dead lifts – and if there is a competition pending Haydo will also train on the weekends as well!
 
And there is no doubt that all this effort paid dividends when he travelled to the 2014 World Championships in Voiron, France, and took part in the Over 50s Masters. He competed well to earn second place behind the hugely experienced Englishman Dean Dury.
 

Still not satisfied – but further success

 
“To be honest,” admitted Haydo, “I was pleased with a silver medal but not my overall performance because I allowed nerves to get at me and as a result I failed with my final lift in each of the three sections and as Paul Murphy rightly said afterwards, it is mental strength that is the next stage.”
 
“What really made the trip for me was the amazing support I got from Paul and the rest of my Pembrokeshire team mates in Aaron Hoskings, Jacqueline Challonder, Steve Arnold, Andrew Murphy and, of course, Penny.”
 
There was further success for Haydo in the British Championships, held in Swansea, where he lifted really well, without any failures to his name, and fended off the strong challenge of Welsh team mate Geraint Nicholas to win the gold medal.
 
“That earned me second place in the world rankings and there is no prize for guessing where I want to go from there,” said Haydo with a typical chuckle!”
 

Looking forward to 2015

 
So immediate challenges for Haydo will be the 2015 British Championships in Glasgow and the European Championships held in Aldershot. The World Championships are to be held in Mexico and whilst Haydo would love to attend the political situation there is unstable, to say the least and he will wait and see about that.
 
But whatever he does it will be with the commitment and love of his sport that so marks his performances so far – and he will fly the Pembrokeshire Flag with the style and good humour that is part of his makeup.
 
Haydo Phillips is a genuine character whom it was a pleasure to meet and we will follow his progress in power-lifting with great interest over the next twelve months!