House: Can you give us some background information?
Wim: My name is Wim Wamsteeker and I am 31 years old. Father of two children, one son 'Kick' (almost three years old) and one daughter 'Lois' (5 months). I am married for almost 6 years with Mirella. We live in Limmen, a small village near the city of cheese 'Alkmaar'. For my work I am project manager in IT branch. House: How and when did you get started in the sport of powerlifting?
Wim: I started to train in 1984. I started to compete at Nationals Junior Championships in 1987. House: What are your best lifts and where have you competed?
Wim: My best lift is the squat 345kg.(761 lbs.), bench press 215kg.(474 lbs.), deadlift 320kg.(705 lbs.) and my best total at a contest is 867kg.(1913 lbs.). My best total I lifted at the European Championships 2000, where I became fourth. House: Can you share your views on drug testing?
Wim: Is good that there is drug testing. But in my opinion every country must do also the out-of-competition controls, so you know everyone has the same chances at the contest. So the strongest or the one with most will win. House: What supplements do you take?
Wim: I take a lot of supplements, otherwise it is to hard to recover from the heavy workouts.
Healthy'n Fit supplements and
Velvet Extract supplements. House: What is your workout regimen?
Wim: Weekly I train 3 times (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). House: What goals do you have in the sport of powerlifting?
Wim: To get a medal at an international championship and lifting a total of 900kg. House: What type of supportive gear do you wear?
Wim: Squat:
Inzer suit and Titan wraps; Benchpress: Inzer benchshirt and Titan wrist wraps; Deadlift: Titan or Marathon deadlift suit. I use a lever belt. House: Do you use supportive equipment while training?
Wim: In the training I don't use any equipment. Only sometimes before a contest I benchpress with a shirt, so I know it will fit ok at the contest. House: What are your views on supportive gear?
Wim: It is good for protection and it supports for more weights. That last is important for the audience of the contest, because they want to see heavy weights. House: Any funny stories that have happened to you in powerlifting?
Wim: In 1994 we (the Dutch team) lost our tickets in South Africa, so we had to stay a week longer before we could return to the Netherlands. House: What do you think it will take to bring the PL organizations together under on roof?
Wim: The IPF is the worldleader of the federation. They are recognized by the IOC.
So when we want to go olympic, all federations must join the IPF. I think this will be hard for some federations, because the IPF is very strict at the competitions and about drug testing. I think is good to be strict, because there is no doubt about who had won. House: What organizations have you lifted in?
Wim: I lift for the Dutch Powerlifting Federation, who is part of the EPF (European Powerlifting Federation) and the IPF ( International Powerlifting Federation). House: What weight class are you in and do you hold any records?
Wim: The weight class I am lifting in is--125kg. (275 lb.). I do not have any records anymore. At my junior time I had the squat, deadlift and total record in -100kg. (220 lb.) class. My deadlift record was 300kg.(661 lbs.) and I was the first junior below the -100kg. who lifted 300kg. House: What do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment to date?
Wim: My deadlift record and my total at the European Championships last year. House: What is your favorite lift?
Wim: Squat House: Any training tips?
Wim: Train on technique and do not train too heavy in the Gym. The heavy weights must be lifted at the contest, not in the gym. House: What are some of your interests outside powerlifting?
Wim: Working at my
personal homepage and at the homepage of the
IPF. Watching movies, listening to music, but most I like to do is doing fun stuff with my kids. House: Who are the people you admire and who inspires your lifting?
Wim: There are a few I admire and who inspires my training. Sam Watt from England, Audunn Jonnson from Iceland, Ab Wolders from the Netherlands. House: What is your biggest challenge in powerlifting?
Wim: That I will lift the 900kg. total. House: How important are training partners to you?
Wim: They can be very important, but is important that you train on the same level. House: What does your diet consist of?
Wim: Not specific. I eat a lot of bread and pasta. House: How do you see the sport of powerlifting in the future?
Wim: Hopefully the sport will become Olympic, but the furure will tell i House: Anyone in closing that you would like to mention or thank?
Wim: I want to thank my wife who supports me always, my sponsors:
Inzer, Goldmoutain and EurAsia and my friends who help me out. House: Any final comments?
Wim: When you are surfing on the internet, visit my homepage
http://www.wimwam.nl Keith, thank you for the interview |