By AMBLE SMOKER
ONE FEATHER STAFF
Damian Solis, an EBCI tribal member from the Big Cove community, set the new Iron Boy Powerlifting State and National record for the 275lb weight class with a deadlift of 600lbs at the IBP Tarheel State Powerlifting Championships in McAdenville on Saturday, April 12. He took first place in the Full Power event which included Squat, Bench, and Deadlift. He also took first place in the Push Pull Event, which included Bench and Deadlift, with a total of 915lbs.
Damian Solis (right), an EBCI tribal member from the Big Cove community, set the new Iron Boy Powerlifting State and National record for the 275lb weight class with a deadlift of 600lbs at the IBP Tarheel State Powerlifting Championships in McAdenville on Saturday, April 12. He is shown with his brother, Joseph, who placed second at the event in the 220lb division. (AMBLE SMOKER/One Feather)
“My brother and I were happy with our performance overall,” said Solis. “We both set new personal records, and I set the new national record. One of my goals going into this past event was to break my previous record of 580lbs. The rulebook states that you are allowed four attempts, but I didn’t go for a fourth attempt because I was happy with the 600lbs. I had already broke the record so I just settled for that this time,” said Solis.
Solis competed against 35 other competitors at this event. The competitors are based on age and weight class.
Solis has currently won four powerlifting events and trains at the Cherokee Life Center where he is employed as the Business Supervisor. His training routine starts about eight to ten weeks before the event and includes lifting 80 percent to 100 percent of what he plans to do at the competition.
When asked about the preparation that goes into an event like this, Solis stated, “To be honest, it’s pretty taxing. It’s a lot on your body, especially deadlifting because you’re picking up 500lbs once a week, sometime twice a week. One thing I will do to get to that is a lockout where I work up to 725lbs and it’s a lot of weight to hold.”
Solis held the previous record of 580lbs, which he set on Nov. 9, 2013 at the IBP Morganton Push-Pull event. With the record intact, the next goal is to reach Elite Status by October at the Nationals Event. Elite Status is 670lbs in Solis’s weight class and puts you up there in National and World rankings.
Joseph Solis, brother to Damian, placed second in the Full Power Event for the 220lb division. He set a personal record in Squat with 375lbs and Deadlift with 500lbs. The current record for the 220lbs division is 540lbs for deadlift and Joseph has set his sights on breaking it at the 6th annual IBP State Push-Pull Championships on July 5.
