Succession a weighty issue in powerlifting family

LUKE ALFRED

Next month, Justin, aged 18, is off to the World Powerlifting Championships in Sweden, with Ian in a coaching role closely in tow. These world championships will be Justin’s first, and he’ll be greeting them with all the dry-mouth anxiety of taking a girl he fancies out on a date.

In Sweden, he’ll be closing a circle, Ian having participated in his first world championships in 2001 after taking up the sport the previous year.

He did so almost by chance. After a conversation in his local gym, where his impressive bench-pressing started attracting attention, he started powerlifting seriously. The next year was the first of many world championships, as Ian started to lift his way to numerous national, Commonwealth, and continental titles.

Now it’s time for a passing of the weights, if you like, as his lifting recedes into the background and Justin, currently in matric at King David Victory Park, takes centre stage. “It’s time for me to focus more on his lifting than my own lifting right now,” says Ian, with a note of paternal tenderness.

Ian was a trailblazer for the sport in this country. He probably hit his straps about 10-12 years ago strength-wise, but his path was littered with some heavy obstacles and precious few clear lines of sight.

There was no great tradition of powerlifting when he started, and his learnings were piecemeal and hard-won. The Russians and the Americans were way ahead of the chasing pack, both in terms of power and technique, and Ian had to train incredibly hard just to feel that he was keeping in touch.

All that carefully-accumulated experience is now being put to good use as Ian passes the baton to Justin. Ian will be standing by his side in Sweden, there to advise, counsel, calm, and make the careful strategic decisions about how much weight to add to the bar as he hits the business end of the competition. “At that stage, you don’t want to be worrying about those sorts of things,” says Ian. “You want to remain calm and concentrate on your lifting. That’s where an experienced coach comes in.”

Weightlifting and powerlifting are similar but not quite the same. The premier weightlifting disciplines are the clean and jerk, and the snatch, while powerlifting consists of the squat, the bench press, and the deadlift.

Powerlifting, says Ian, is more about pure explosive strength than weightlifting, which is a combination of strength and technique. That said, technique and timing play their part, and whether you’re a weight or power lifter, you still find yourself in a wilderness of pain after workouts and competitions. “Genetics comes into it, sure, but coaching comes into it too. You are always sore,” says Ian.

Although the bond between father and son is close, as Justin, still a junior, works his way up the powerlifting ladder, Ian says that there’s no competition between them.

There is no hint that Justin is trying to depose the old man off his kingly throne, he’s simply happy to look and listen, sponging up the wisdom that took 20 years for Ian to stockpile.

“I remember once at the Carousel sitting down with some Russian coaches and talking to them about their techniques and training programmes,” says Ian. “Some of them spoke English, but there was also a Ukrainian guy who was acting as a translator. That was useful.”

The sport is lifting off in South Africa. The turnout of 200 in Potchefstroom a couple of months ago might not seem large, but according to Ian, the numbers are hugely impressive. “The sport is growing at an alarming rate in this country,” he says, a note of pride in his voice.

Such growth makes for intense competition as the fraternity try to out-lift and out-press each other, keeping careful tabs on who is doing what and where. “Powerlifting isn’t going to make Justin any money,” says Ian, “all our trips are self-funded, so I’m looking for him to do a business management degree when he goes to university next year. The trip to Sweden is quick, we’re only there for five days, and he’s writing an exam the day after we get back.”

In the weeks leading up to the world championships, the routine in the Furman household remains very much the same. Training for Ian and Justin “three or four times a week, with two or three days for recovery”.

Mealtimes are protein-rich, with chicken and salad or chicken and vegetables a dinner-time staple. Alcohol is frowned-upon, and so are sugar and carbs. Conversation, you rather fancy, is muted, with the topics up for discussion returning time and time again to matters which are, well, naturally weighty.