The interview was recorded on October 24, 2005, when Team Iceland was in Finland for a competition. Three strong Vikings, good friends and training partners, do the talking: Stefán Petursson, Benedikt Magnusson and Bruno Thorsteinsson.
How did you guys get into powerlifting in the first place?
Be: I injured my back skiing, and to rehab it I started doing various back exercises, which is how I ended up at the deadlift. The deadlift takes away back pain. I started training 5.5 years ago, and I came to powerlifting specifically about 3 years ago. Since then I’ve had to stay away from the deadlift for one month, and it was awful. The deadlift is super and makes you feel great.
Br: I crashed on a motorcycle, and I broke my legs three times in one day, along with lots of other bones.
OK, Bruno and Benni injured their backs and legs, but what happened to you, Stebbi?!
Stebbi couldn’t even start answering before Bruno and Benni said in chorus: Stebbi is still too small.
St: Yes, I’m too small :)) (translator’s note: apparently the guys teasing each other)
“Of course he’s small, he’s only 195 cm tall, he’s only competing in the open super heavyweight category and he’s only 19 years old.
Do you have any idols you follow?
Be, Br & S: Jón Páll.
Jón Páll had a good saying: I’m a Viking, not an Eskimo. Which one are you?
Be: We are Vikings, no matter what. That’s also the reason I started doing this “iron game” at all. Viking is a good name and it somehow sounds good, too.
Do you remember your deadlift result from when you first met?
Be: 215 kg
Where is your home gym and what is it like?
It’s Jon Pall’s old gym, and it’s the best gym in the world. Another good gym is Metal Gym.
Br. They say Jon Pall’s gym is kind of mystical. His spirit protects the place and lives there. A big picture of him hangs on the wall. They also say that people have repeatedly heard someone lifting weights in the gym at night, even though the gym is empty and locked.
What do you think of each other as training partners?
There are actually 6 or even 7 of us in total. We train together, and not only in the gym. We also compete against each other in the discus throw and the hurdles, and we try short sprint distances. A bit of competition like that is really refreshing, and it’s good to do something else besides your main sport.
Stebbi, do you think you can break Benni’s records?
St: Well…
Be: Don’t know – you can’t really say, or it’s hard to answer.
St: For some reason I think he’ll always stay ahead of me :). I pull 400 kg, he pulls 500 kg, I pull 450 kg, he pulls 550 kg, and so on.
Do you follow any special diet?
Be: Yes, seafood :)). OK, that was a joke, we eat normal food like people do.
St: And of course we eat a lot.
Br: Yes, we eat, train and rest.
One of the guys’ sponsors is a chicken products company, so they eat a lot of chicken and products made from it.
Do you have a coach?
Be: No, we are each other’s coaches!
How does your training change or differ when competitions get close?
We focus more on our training and the upcoming event. Workouts before competitions can last up to four hours. Sometimes in a session, after some training, once we’ve reached the limit of our record, we just lie on the floor for quite a while, and when we feel the right moment has come, we try to pull.
How do you train?
As I said, before competitions it sometimes takes even 4 hours. We mainly focus on the exercises used in competitions. But in the period between competitions, our training also includes other activities – as I said earlier, we throw the shot put, throw the discus, run, and so on.
Basic training program in the gym:
Monday: squat, both the regular squat and the box squat.
Wednesday: pressing, mainly the bench press with a barbell.
Friday: deadlift, the regular deadlift plus pulls from different platforms. As competitions approach, the weights naturally go up.
The deadlift is very important – the most important. As I said earlier, if I had to live a month without pulling, I’d feel terrible. I also think the deadlift is the foundation of everything to such an extent that it improves performance and numbers in all the other lifts (exercises). When I get stronger in the deadlift, my squat and press as a rule get better too. When the deadlift gets weaker, the other numbers drop as well.
It should also be said that it’s quite normal for the guys to do the exercises above for up to 25–30 sets in their training sessions.
Watching how you focus for your deadlift attempt, well, it’s something worth watching :). How and with what do you psych yourself up so powerfully before your pulls?
Be: I’m actually a very calm and nice guy. I get angry VERY RARELY, almost never. When I focus for my attempts, I think of all the possible bad things – bad luck, rude and nasty people and things, everything that can make me angry. I quickly gather it all inside and “put it into” my pull. During an attempt that usually lasts 10–12 seconds, I’m like a volcanic eruption.
Does getting the barbell off the floor feel better than sex?
Be: :)) – Definitely not!
Which is more satisfying: a good pull (in terms of the result) or a good placing at a competition?
Br: A successful pull.
St: Of course a good pull. As a rule, if the pull is good, you win too!
Be: A good pull.
What are your goals for the future?
Be: I want to break the world record. And once I’ve broken it, I want to do it again, and so on and so on.
What do you think of strongman competitions?
Be: In my opinion they’re awesome and fun. In 2003 I even won the title of Iceland’s Strongest Man, and in 2004 I came second.
Could competing in strongman events be one of your options for the future?
Be: It’s possible, but not until I’m done with powerlifting. I’ve always wanted to give my best, and I try to put my best into powerlifting too. Taking part in strongman events would partly mean giving up powerlifting competitions. I think you can’t serve two gods at once. If you do something, you have to give it everything, which also means sacrifice, and if you’re not ready for that, then someone else is better than you and beats you. I have that attitude in everything, in all friendliness, in powerlifting, in whatever. I don’t always have to be the best in the world, but for me it doesn’t end until I’ve given everything I have.
What do you think of bodybuilding?
St: It’s OK
Be: I think I’ll try it myself at some point.
I had to ask WHY.
Be: I’d like to see all the muscles that the strength comes from.
Translator’s note: presumably this was still a half-joking answer!
What do you think of so-called “raw powerlifting”?
Be: The only right way to lift weights. And actually, the deadlift is the exercise that really shows who is the strongest. In the deadlift, your whole body has to be strong. Believe it or not, I’ve seen people injure their chest, shoulders, triceps, thigh muscle, lats and so on while deadlifting. That just shows that every muscle has to be very strong if you want to pull a lot. Have you ever seen anyone injure a shoulder while squatting? In the deadlift, it’s impossible to cheat or steal.
St: I agree with that.
What about the bench press? Isn’t that exactly what shows who is stronger?
St: The bench press is more for girls…
Where do you see yourselves in five years?
St: I don’t even know what’s going to happen in five days, so I can’t answer that question
Be: I agree with Stebbi.
Would you like to say something to your Finnish fans, or to people in general?
Be: I like Finland. Finland and Iceland are similar in many ways. Good food, lovely people. You have good, comfortable floors…
The article comes from: [url=http://www.finnishpower.net/news/fullnews.php?id=256Tõlkijalt]http://www.finnishpower.net/news/fullnews.php?id=256
Translator’s note[/url]: Why did I translate this story??? To introduce those who don’t know him yet to a man like Benedikt Magnusson. He’s the big Icelander with the cool red knee-high socks who, before his pulls, concentrates intensely and performs a truly awesome “war dance and dialogue” with the barbell.
The man deserves an introduction because his strength numbers are not small. I can’t claim it with 100% certainty, but as far as I understand, Benedikt is one of the few who have competed with Andy Bolton for the deadlift world record.
The article (interview) dates from 2005, but it’s a good way to introduce the man and his thoughts. I think we can expect quite a lot from Benedikt in the future!!!
Translated by: Janar Rückenberg
Come and train! ArtGym
