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Interview with:
Lance Karabel
By: Priscilla Ribic, Athletes Rep.
I met Lance briefly for the first time in the warm-up room at Seniors in Baton Rouge, the again at the Plainwell Training Camp hosted by Erin Dickey. There he was tagged as the 'sleeping giant', not only because of his enormous size, but also because of his untapped talent and strength. Despite the depth of competition he was facing, Lance woke up his competitors at Bench Nationals this year as winner and sole survivor of the SHW class. He now holds his well-earned spot as a USA Bench World Team member, to compete in Cleveland this December.
Meet long-time ADPFA/USAPL member, Lance Karabel:
Lance's Stats:
Hometown: Stickney, IL
Occupation: Maintenance Engineer/Owner of "Lance's Gym" in Chicago
Weight Class: SHW
Age: 32
Competition Lifts: 834 squat; 655 bench; 722 deadlift
Priscilla: Lance, give us a little background on who you are and how you got started in powerlifting:
Lance: I was born and raised in Chicago most of my life. I started working out when I was 13 with a weight set my father had given to me over the summer. I have been working out ever since. I currently work for the Archdiocese of Chicago at St. Turibius School and also own my own gym in Chicago. My very first meet was a bench press meet called the Mark Bass Nissan Bench Press ( ADFPA meet) I have been with the ADFPA/USAPL since then.
Priscilla: What does your current training regiment look like?
Lance: I train chest on Mon. and Thu. I work legs on Tue. Shoulders and arms on Fri. Deadlifts on Sat.
Priscilla: Who has helped you the most in this sport, and how do you look up to for inspiration?
Lance: A lot of people, my friend Edward got me started in powerlifting and sacrificed his time to help me. Soon after I met Joe Atef who has been with me for about 8 years. Recently Tom O'dowd joined us and is doing a fantastic job. Both of these guys are great friends and also up and coming lifters. Bill Sheridan is another friend who took me under his wing in my early stage as a powerlifter and gave me advice and technique pointers, which I believed helped me a lot. The people who inspire me, to name a few, Scott Lade, Brad Gillingham, Brian Siders, pretty much a lot of people who I have come to know and compete with over the years.
Priscilla: You had a tough day on the platform at Seniors, only making one squat and one bench, looking back, what sorts of things would you have changed?
Lance: The shoes!!!! Oh yeah I think I may have overtrained after I almost crippled my friend Joe in the warm up room by falling back with 765 on the squat. After that incident my confidence was out the window. If it wasn't for Joe, Tom and Pat convincing me to finish I might have just given up.
Priscilla: And, the most surprising outcome was 2004 Bench Nationals. Entered in the SHW division, you were up against some big time bench specialists, how did it feel to come out the sole survivor and what was your strategy for the day?
Lance: It felt great but to be honest I wasn't counting on placing at all. There were 3 700+ benchers, if anyone of them made an attempt they would have taken first even if I got my last attempt at 705. My strategy was to do better than Senior Nats ( 585 bp).I opened with 600 got it then 655 got that as well. I accomplished what I set out to do. Becoming the "sole survivor " that was a bonus.
Priscilla: I am guessing that the IPF Bench Worlds are next on your plate? What is your anticipation going into this event?
Lance: I anticipate that I am going to have a great time and give everything I got at Worlds and probably go with the same idea at Bench Nats. I don't know what competition will be like this year but I am looking forward to it!
Priscilla: You own you own gym, I am guessing that it is geared toward the powerlifter (please don't kill the image if it is not! :), how many powerlifters do you currently have working out there and how is the success rate on getting new recruits?
Lance: We are powerlifter friendly. It's actually a requirement to throw around as much chalk or powder as you want. There are six of us now but I have a couple of guys who will be coming in from Indiana to train with us. There are a lot of people at my gym who have potential and I am working on getting them involved.
Priscilla: What immediate goals do you have in powerlifting, and where do you see yourself 5 years down the road?
Lance: My immediate goals are to do well in Worlds in Dec. Also to get Joe and Tom qualified for next years Men's Open. As far as 5 years from now I hope to still be competing. I would also like to host some meets in Chicago, I enjoy going out of state to compete but I don't think we have enough here.
[Priscilla says: I expect Nectar will be looking you up soon for hosting some of those meets! :]
Priscilla: If you could give words of wisdom to a newbie in the sport, what would it be?
Lance: Take your time and set reasonable goals for yourself, never be intimidated and always do your best. Larger goals are often accomplished by setting smaller ones first.
Thank you for the interview and your continued support with the USAPL.
Good Luck at the IPF Bench World Lance!
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