Moree's Raymond Heaton is now preparing for the Powerlifting nationals after a successful outing at his first competition two weeks ago.
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Held in Nambour on August 24, Heaton won both his 93 kilogram junior division and the overall prize to qualify for nationals in October.
"I'm pretty happy," Heaton said.
"Not my best day, but it was good that it wasn't my best day and I could still pull that off."
After three years being involved in Crossfit, Heaton decided to step away and take up powerlifting, which he has been training in for the last year and a half.
"I just got burnt out from Crossfit," Heaton said.
"I wasn't really enjoying it but I always enjoyed doing strength."
Powerlifting involves three disciplines of weight lifting; squat, bench press and deadlift.
Each competitor gets three attempts at each, with the weight increasing in each attempt.
Up against four other competitors in his division and 15 total in Nambour, Heaton outshone the rest, an achievement made even better considering it was his first ever powerlifting competition.
It didn't come easy for the 19-year-old, however, with a heavy training regime.
"I usually start a peaking program about eight to 12 weeks out, slowly increasing intensity, so weight up and volume down, so doing less reps," Heaton said.
"I train four times a week and each session is about two to three hours," he said.
"It's pretty much on my own but I do have a coach online and I do train with [Moree powerlifter] Eric Dumas."
All focus is now on nationals, where he will be up against around 20 to 30 other competitors in his division, but despite the step up he's still feeling good.
"I'm pretty happy. I'm injury free at the moment which is always good."