Sifting through his backpack, Robert Dyke is looking for one of his latest accomplishments.
It’s a gold medal from the Canadian Bench-Press and Powerlifting Championships, which took place in Ottawa, Ont., from March 4-9.
He knows the medal is in there, but it’s mixed in with the dozens of others he’s won since taking up the sport four years ago.
Standing next to him is his training partner for the day, Dr. Danielle Hussey, who’s been involved with the sport for three-and-a-half years. Her medals have already been found and are hanging around her neck.
“Always competitive,” he says, laughing.
As the two exchanged banter at Hussey’s home gym in Gander, it was obvious they take the sport seriously.
Dyke and Hussey train up to six days a week, with sessions running a minimum of 60 to 90 minutes.
Dyke does upwards of 10 sets per training sessions – two to three warmups, followed by six or seven working sets.
There are days that training regimen can be more stringent, Hussey added.
“Danielle and myself are goal-oriented,” said Dyke about their drive to excel in the sport. “We always try to put our best foot forward.”
Hussey agreed, stating the sport is as much about competing with yourself as it is competing with other lifters.
“It’s a nice feeling of accomplishment when you meet goals you set for yourself,” she said. “It’s the rush of hitting a lift that you didn’t think you could do. That’s what keeps me going.”
Dyke will be heading to the Pan-American Bench Press Championships in San Jose, Costa Rica in August.
Hussey is taking part in the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships, being held in St. John's in September.
At the Canadian championships
In addition to his gold medal, in the Masters 1 category, Robert Dyke picked up silver for Powerlifting 3 Lift, and the Canadian Powerlifting Union 2018 Male Bench-Press Athlete of the Year.
Powerlifting is made up of three categories – squat, bench press and deadlift.
Dyke’s best lifts were 430 lbs. in squat, 345 lbs. for the bench press and 530 lbs. in the deadlift.
Dr. Danielle Hussey received gold and silver medals in Masterclass 1 powerlifting, set multiple provincial records for Newfoundland and Labrador and received an award for being the Third Best Open Lifter.
Her best lifts were 308 lbs. in squat, 170.5 lbs. in the bench press and 308 lbs. in the deadlift.
