I had the privilege of working with Jeff when I lived in Brisbane. Jeff is very dedicated to his training, his clients and is an all round great guy.
He would be one of the people that inspired me to get back into the fitness industry. Jeff took time to answer some questions I had.
Hope you enjoy
Stephen: Jeff, for those who don't know, tell us a little about yourself and your background in Power Lifting and as a Trainer?
Jeff: I’ve been training weights and doing sports since I was 14, so it was natural progression to get into the industry. I started powerlifting around the age of 20, one of the guys at the gym saw my bench and thought it would be a good idea to enter a comp, so I did and won. Ever since then, I have loved the sport!
Stephen: How did you get involved in Power Lifting? What is your current max lifts in Bench, Squat and Deadlift
Jeff: As I said above, someone at the gym saw my bench and got me involved into the sport, I didn’t know too much about it, but once I started I beame addicted! My current max lifts, equipped, is 315 Squat, 240 Bench, 295 Deadlift. I aghaven’t competed raw for a long time, but did compete a few weekends o and benched 200kg raw, pretty happy with
Stephen: What kind of training method do you follow? Or do you programme yourself?
Jeff:When I first started, I followed a lot of the Eastern European programs, which was basically a periodization style program. Over the years you use and eliminate methods that work for your body and your training type. My coaches and training partners go through programming before each competition and work out what needs to be addressed, weak points. We do a combination of all methods, Westside, Bulgarian, Finnish, bodybuilding etc. The key is to work out a program and stick to it.
Jeff:When I first started, I followed a lot of the Eastern European programs, which was basically a periodization style program. Over the years you use and eliminate methods that work for your body and your training type. My coaches and training partners go through programming before each competition and work out what needs to be addressed, weak points. We do a combination of all methods, Westside, Bulgarian, Finnish, bodybuilding etc. The key is to work out a program and stick to it.
Stephen: What is your favourite lift and why?
Jeff: It would have to be the bench press, just because I am ok at it, I think having short stubby arms help!! People don’t realise how technical the bench press is, and I find that the most appealing, getting all the little things right to get maximum gain.
Stephen: Why did you decide to become a trainer?
Jeff: It was the one thing I really was interested in during school and university, couldn’t imagine myself in a 9-5 office job!
Stephen: Who do you turn to for furthering your training knowledge?
Jeff:Training partners, and 2 coaches. The coaches are probably 2 of Australia’s greatest lifters, and we are all very lucky to be able to access their knowledge.
Stephen: What do you feel is a big misconception in the industry?
Jeff: Mmm so many! I think the biggest misconception is that being a trainer is easy and you can make a lot of money without working too hard for it! Like anything you only get out what you put in, bit like training really!
Stephen: If you could only teach one exercise what would it be any why?
Jeff: Deadlift. Your body uses the most amounts of muscles doing this movement and the most important thing is that the learning curve for most people is relatively easy, so they can see improvements in strength quickly.
Stephen: How much do you think your formal education compares to your real life experience in the field?
Jeff: Good question! Personally, real life experience has been more beneficial than formal education and to this day I still see university students not have a clue about basic things. So definitely get as much real life experience as possible.
Stephen: What do you find to be most challenging about your job?
Jeff: It would be the hours, especially when you are trying to recover from training. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to do a 9-5 and be able to have 8 hours sleep every night! But then I realise what a boring life that would be.
Stephen: What do you find to be most enjoyable about your job?
Jeff: It would have to be seeing a client change their physical and mental self and achieve the goals you set out with them.
Stephen: What advice do you have for people who may be trying to get into this field.
Jeff: Easy one, start training yourself. You have to practice what you preach, otherwise clients will not take you serious. Get as much real life experience as possible and realise that this a 5am-9pm job, not easy initially, but very worth it.
Stephen: Jeff, you have competed at top levels of power lifting and have one many titles. What is next for you?
Jeff: I’ve been lucky enough to win 2 nationals in a row, so hoping to go 3 next year, and to also break more national records, there’s a few there that I wouldn’t mind getting!
