Many strength sports followers know Laurence Shahlaei for his strongman career. The British athlete has won several notable titles, including the 2016 Europe’s Strongest Man (ESM) contest, and Britain’s Strongest Man (BSM) competition twice (2012-13).
Nowadays, Shahlaei is more active with commentary and reporting on strongman via his YouTube channel, which reaches 116,000 subscribers. However, his competitive itch needed to be scratched. On Saturday, Apr. 9, 2022, “Big Loz” stuck his toe back into powerlifting by entering the Global Powerlifting Committee (GPC) Tattooed and Strong push/pull meet in Manchester, England, in the 140-kilogram weight class. A push/pull meet is as it sounds, only consisting of two lifts — the bench press and the deadlift — foregoing the squat. The summary of his best lifts are below:
2022 GPC Tattooed and Strong, Push/Pull | Laurence Shahlaei | 140KG
- Bench Press — 205 kilograms (452 pounds)
- Deadlift — 355 kilograms (782.7 pounds)
- Total — 560 kilograms (1,234.7 pounds)
According to Open Powerlifting, Shahlaei’s competition best lifts are a 227.5-kilogram (501.5-pound) bench press and 385-kilogram (848.7-pound) deadlift. He has also squatted 380 kilograms (837.7 pounds) in wraps. While the numbers at this event weren’t personal records, it showed the 39-year-old Shahlaei still holds his own on the platform. His total tied the winning total by Martyn O’Shea — a 31-year-old who took home the gold for weighing 126.1 kilograms to Shahlaei’s 138.5-kilogram body weight.
Shahlaei recapped the event on his YouTube channel, which can be seen below. His attempts begin at 10:13:
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Shahlaei showed his card noting that he would open with attempts of 190 kilograms (419 pounds) in the bench press and 310 kilograms (683.5 pounds) on the deadlift. He competed raw (no bench shirt), and he went three for three in the bench press. He told the camera that he had to make an adjustment on the lifts he had in mind after completing his second attempt of 200 kilograms (440 pounds).
I’ve just been suffering a little pain in my elbows, and I felt it on that. My plan was to do 210 [kilograms], but I brought it down…to 205.
Shahlaei’s adjustment led to a successful third lift.
For the deadlift, Shahlaei wore a singlet and a lifting belt for all three attempts. He opened with 325 kilograms (716 pounds) and locked it out with no trouble. His second attempt of 340 kilograms (749.7 pounds) was also successful. He finished the day by pulling 355 kilograms (782.7 pounds).
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[Related: Behold Powerlifter and Bodybuilder Stan Efferding Stiff-Bar Deadlift a 635-Pound Double Raw Without a Belt]
In his video, Shahlaei said he will start training for arm wrestling in the near future. Though did not state when he will make his debut in that sport, it seems this won’t be the last we see of Big Loz taking on new challenges.
Featured Image: @biglozwsm on Instagram
