Akuda Esin ’12 can lift nearly a ton in three lifts. Esin had a more than impressive performance at the regional powerlifting meet on March 3, taking third place in the event.
For those who are not familiar with powerlifting, here are the details. Power-lifting competitions consist of three different lifts: bench press, squat, and dead lift. In the end, the total amount of weight lifted for each event is added up to create a final “score.” The competitor with the highest score wins.
Esin put up some remarkable numbers at the meet. He squatted 625 pounds,
benched 385 pounds, and deadlifted 595 pounds. These three totals add up to a staggering 1605 pounds, which is roughly 80% of a ton (2000 pounds). 1604 pounds proved to be such a colossal amount that Akuda easily took third place at the meet as he won by 200 or 300 pounds, which is a lot in powerlifting competitions.
Esin is currently the strongest high school student athlete in the state as he just finished first in the regional powerlifting competition and leads the state competition by five pounds.
That said, Esin faces much stiffer competition on the state level as he currently leads by about five pounds according to Akuda.
Esin also discussed his plans for athletics in college. “Yeah, I am going to play football in college. I am probably going to walk on at LSU,” says Esin. In dismay, Esin informed me that there are generally very few scholarships for power lifting, and that he would likely not be receiving one.
Additionally, I had the chance to speak with strength and conditioning coach Logan Lacey who happened to be a professional powerlifter for five years. “When I came here as an assistant strength coach, a volunteer here for coach Jeremy Weeks, I was given the opportunity to help out with the powerlifting team, and Akuda is a freaking athlete,” Lacey said. “Esin has a chance for state, and he has already qualified, so now we just have to keep that going to transfer it to a title in Texas.”
When asked about the workout schedule and program Esin endures, Lacy tells us that, “He is on a four day split right now…A big part of powerlifting is the neurological aspect, the training. So he has got two days where he is under heavy tension and then has got two days where he is working on dynamic effort.”
Additionally, Lacey notes that he supports Esin by attending lifting meets. “Yes. I go to all events with him because with the things that we use, there is adjustment that has to be done. Thus, it takes someone who has been in it before to know what the athlete [Akuda] needs.”
Lastly, Lacey was asked to describe Esin’s single most important characteristic, to which he simply replied, “Resilience.” To illustrate this characteristic, Lacey told a particular story about Akuda. “We were in the gym, and I saw him take a 585 pound deadlift – he got crushed by it, he didn’t even pick it up off the ground. Then he tells me that he wants 595 pounds (an additional 10 pounds) because [he] wants to send a message to the guys in state that [he] is number one. He takes it and just rips it up without any problem.” Overall, it is clear that Akuda’s resiliency will aid him in his strive for victory.
If anyone is interested in seeing Akuda compete, the state level competition is on March 25, 2012, in Abilene, Texas.
