Gage Bush is a 24-year-old powerlifter from Yorkton. From Jan. 6-8, he competed at the Central Powerlifting Union National Qualifier in Ontario.
Bush brought a gold medal back to Yorkton from the competition. His impressive finish qualified him for nationals, which will take place in Quebec in March.
He lifted a total of 730 kg in squat, bench press and dead lift combined.
Yorkton This Week caught up with Bush to get all the details from the competition, and to see what’s next.
Bush said that going into the meet, his primary concern was maintaining his weight so that he’d stay in his preferred weight class.
“A higher weight class would mean that the records would be a lot higher and that I’d be facing stiffer competition. But, my worries were unfounded when I weighed myself and I was within the range,” said Bush.
He said he had been holding back on eating and drinking to hold the numbers, but then he had to make up for it before the competition. Often times, this leads to the athletes vomiting when they perform their lifts. And that happened to Bush.
“I managed to get enough food, I got enough energy, I warmed up and everything was good,” he said. One issue that Bush faced was forgetting to bring his own waist belt, meaning he had to borrow one from another athlete.
“I borrowed that belt and it was far too tight. I ended up throwing up on my final lift. But, I did something that does not normally happen. I managed to finish my lifts despite that,” he said. That happened during the squat portion of the competition.
Bench press was next. Bush said that went pretty normal for him, and he accomplished what he needed.
Last was dead lift – the lift the Bush said is his strongest. And the numbers prove that.
“I did the strongest lifts yet. Not once did I feel that I could not get the bars off the ground, or that I’d have any trouble holding on to it, or locking out. It was smooth sailing throughout all three lifts,” said Bush.
In each category of lift, athletes have to complete three repetitions.
Bush managed to break two records while he was competing.
The previous deadlift record was 655 pounds, and Bush lifted 683 pounds. And Bush also noticed that in his weight and age category, the combined total record was 705 kg but he lifted 730 kgs.
He’s not sure yet if the records will be officially recorded, since a drug test usually has to be done at the same time the lifts are done. But fingers are crossed that they will be official.
Bush said after the competition, he was feeling pretty good.
“For most of the day, I felt perfectly fine – no soreness or anything. But the next day, I felt very tired. It’s normally the day after that you feel the worst [physically],” he said.
This competition for Bush was better than the previous provincial competition he attended. He said that was due to a growth in confidence and building on his lifting technique.
Now, Bush has nationals on his mind. He has about two months to prepare before he heads to Quebec.
“Because I struggled so much with my final squat, I want to really build up my squat – I probably won’t try any heavier than what I did there. My bench press, I just want to remain static and make sure I don’t struggle. But my dead lift, I’m confident that I’ll be able to deadlift 700 pounds or more by then,” he said.
While his preparation obviously entails a lot of working out, it also consists of doing some fundraising.
Before the Ontario competition, Bush hosted a steak dinner fundraiser at Tapps restaurant, which he hopes to do again before nationals.
Bush also said there were a few people who helped make it possible for him to travel to compete.
“I was sponsored by Dig ‘n Dre’s Sports Nutrition, which is opening up next door to the Pumphouse Athletic Club,” said Bush. PAC is where he trains.
He was also sponsored by K&M Auto Care and Dan Gerein.
