OAKVILLE, Conn. — Local powerlifter Mike Burch continues to defy logic and smash world records.
The 72-year old Boston Corners resident set a new world record in his age group with a 490-pound deadlift this past weekend at the U.S. Nationals in Oakville, Connecticut, breaking the old record by five pounds.
Burch, who first started in lifting competitions in 1965, attempted to break the record four weeks ago at the Can-Am event and missed it. Not to be denied, the veteran lifter went back to nationals after some intense training and put his name in the record books.
“I held it for about 10 seconds longer than I should have,” Burch said. “It felt good. I think I had 25 or 30 more pounds in me. I’m going to Worlds in September and I’m going to break it again.”
Burch credits his grandson, Eli Burch, a freshman at Monument Mountain High School in Great Barrington, with motivating him to attempt the record lift.
“I was in my gym one day and my grandson said to me, ‘hey gramp, why don’t you go for the world record?’ So my grandson Eli is the one who really pushed me and helped me,” Burch said. “He’s my training partner and we’ve been training three years really hard for this. My wife and daughter were there when I broke the record and my oldest son Michael was there. He wired the bar down for me. I have a team effort and I owe them guys a lot.”
Despite missing the record at the Can-Am event, Burch was confident he’d get it at the U.S. Nationals.
“I knew I would get it,” he said. “I stayed in the back warm-up room and Eli was psyching me up and once I approached that bar I knew I had it.”
After more than 50 years lifting, the fire still burns for Burch and he doesn’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
“It’s like a drug, I just can’t stop,” Burch said. “I just have to keep lifting. I started training with Joe White down at the Hudson Boys Club in 1970 and we trained for 10 years together from 1970 to 1980. I started out at 181 pounds and I was first in the world in the bench at 181 and I ended up third in the world on the bench at 220.”
Hard work and discipline are what’s kept Burch competitive throughout the years.
“Diet and I just never stopped,” he said. “I just stick to my routine. I train Monday through Saturday, upper and lower, my grandson really pushes me. I take vitamins, I don’t eat any junk food, a lot of protein drinks. I told these young kids at the meet, you have to use good form, good diet and never give up.”
Burch doesn’t plan on taking any time off and has more than two months to prepare for the Worlds in September.
“I’m probably going to be pulling off three-inch blocks, I’ll probably go 550 to 600 pounds off of those blocks, then I’ll go off the floor and I’m hoping to hit 550 off of the floor, so I’m going to pull big weight in September. I want to get 540 and I think I had it in me that day.”