Carson Parago is a hefty man.
He needs to be.
He's a competitive powerlifter.
After setting provincial records during his first competition, the 21-year-old Altona resident took a three-year break to focus on college and life while maintaining his training.
He returned to enter his first competition as a junior on February 3rd, at the 2024 Manitoba Powerlifting Association Provincial Championship. There, he broke the provincial squat record.
"At these last provincials, I reset the squat record at 620 pounds, I bench pressed some 340 pounds and deadlifted 600 pounds," said Parago.
Parago admits that breaking the bench press record is a bit far-fetched, but the deadlift is within his scope.
His weightlifting days go back to when he was 15.
"I actually started out in CrossFit in town here, the CrossFit gym. After a few years, I started doing local competitions just for fun. Part of CrossFit is strength workouts. What happened was at these competitions when I was 16, I started lifting more than the adults who were in my category. The CrossFit coach is like, okay, we’ve got to get you introduced to powerlifting. I made a bit of a switch there. So I’ve been powerlifting since 16 now."
After transitioning to powerlifting, Parago entered his first competition some six months later, setting provincial records in his category which still stand today.
He outlines a day-in-the-life of a competitive powerlifter.
"You wake up and you make sure you have all your gear set. Typically, I grab something [to eat] on the way in. I'm untraditional in the sense that I don't like to eat a ton before I compete. A lot of people will load up as much as possible. I'd never compete at the same level then. When you get there, you have to sign in, make sure your memberships are up to date, your drug testing courses are up to date. Then you go and you do weigh-ins because there are different weight categories. Then you have a couple hours before you compete."
Competitions cycle through three attempts for each lifter per flight from the squat, bench press and then dead lift.
Parago says typically competitors have only ten minutes between each lift, with up to an hour wait between the different categories.
Staying in shape for competitions means being in the gym from three to five days every week. Nutritional maintenance is required as well.
"The joke in powerlifting is that it's bodybuilding, but you can eat whatever you want. Which is partially true, but not entirely, because obviously you need to make sure you're getting the right type of nutrition. It depends on whether you want to bulk [up] or if you want to cut [weight], or if you want to maintain. Right now, I'm cutting some weight for nationals, a little lower calories, keeping up on the protein and carbs. My energy is going to be a little lower, so that's where you got to make sure your sleep habits are good and maybe a few extra coffees throughout the day."
From March 7-10, Parago will join over 2000 athletes in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan for the 2024 Western Canadian Powerlifting & Bench Press Championships.
He's also qualified for the Nationals in September in Prince Edward Island.
~With files from Zack Driedger~