After gaining 15 pounds of solid muscle this quarter, first-year Ben Blackburn couldn’t be happier with the results he has seen at the gym. Before he began pumping iron, he said he felt weak and found it difficult to maintain a healthy sleeping pattern.
One evening while he was working out at the John Wooden Center, though, Blackburn met David Jurgens, the man who showed him how to sculpt his body and add muscle.
Jurgens is a computer science doctoral student who balances his busy schedule between schoolwork and powerlifting, a strength sport based on three events: squat, bench press and dead lift.
Last year, Jurgens wanted to recruit people to form an all-Bruin powerlifting team that would compete all over Southern California.
This year, after the squad increased its membership, the members wanted to take the next step and make powerlifting into an actual UCLA club sport.
“We’ve spent a lot of time doing paperwork to form a club team,” Jurgens said. “We’re actively recruiting people and getting the word out. We don’t have club funding, but we really want to go out and compete while wearing official UCLA apparel.”
Jurgens’ introduction to powerlifting was a complete accident. When he started training in a low-key, family-owned gym, he discovered that the owner was actually a celebrity in the powerlifting world. Powerlifters know him as Andrew “Bull” Stewart.
He is an 11-time world champion powerlifter and became Jurgens’ motivation for putting his team together.
“Everyone calls him “˜Bull’ because he’s built like a bull,” Jurgens said. “He’s probably one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. He basically got me into it and became my mentor when I first started out.”
Although they might not be well-known around campus, UCLA’s powerlifters have been recognized in the powerlifting world. According to Jurgens, the squad has been featured five times in one of the biggest powerlifting magazines, Powerlifting USA.
“People know we’re out there, and they’re just waiting to see what we’re going to do next,” Jurgens said.
Some of the biggest events this year for the powerlifting team include the California State Games, the American Cup and the Arnold Sports Festival.
First-year powerlifter Terence Davy broke a number of raw records at the California State Championships, according to Jurgens, who won third in both the American Cup and the Arnold Sports Festival.
The two hope to make improvements for next year as they continue to organize their club team.
Jurgens said that one of his biggest motivations for forming the team is to raise people’s confidence by teaching them how to lift properly without hurting themselves.
Although his size might be intimidating, he is very proud of the people who have asked if they could train with him, people like first-year Greg Darnell.
“I got into powerlifting because my routine was getting too basic, and I hit a plateau,” Darnell said. “I was really looking to find a strong group that I could be a part of and would teach me new technique. Working out alone, I had a limited number of exercises. Once I met David, I was working out muscles I didn’t even know about.”
Although he has years of experience from training with professional powerlifters, Jurgens admits he has a lot to learn. He said he tries to go to different gyms to learn new techniques and new lifts so that he can continue to contribute fresh knowledge to his teammates.
Blackburn and Darnell said they are committed to the team. Aside from building strength over time, the new students said they feel as though they are part of a supportive brotherhood that has exposed them to a healthier lifestyle.
“It’s more than just lifting,” Jurgens said. “There’s no way I can lift the same without these guys. To have people there yelling at you and telling you that you can lift more really makes a difference.”