The journey for “Big” Pete started as a simple one- he wanted to find out what this personal training thing was. I’m sure he was very confused about what it was and just maybe still is.
“Big” Pete hadn’t done any fitness related activities since his thirties and now at mid-fifties had found himself about 25kg overweight.
To get Pete to buy in was a simple one, we moved the focus to personal bests in the gym with deadlifts and leg presses instead of scale weight. With this naturally the kilos fell off him. He was no longer “Big” Pete.
Given my love of powerlifting, it was natural that I gravitated towards training my clients with the same principles. During 2012, very much thanks to Pete and a couple of other clients, I became a powerlifting coach without even realising. In 2013 we took to Pete his first ever Powerlifting Nationals. I still remember standing next to Ed Coan watching Pete’s third squats. ‘How much is that?’ Ed asked me. I answered, ‘160kg’. Ed replied: ‘That’s a good squat for him.’ Pete then missed the squat and Ed just walked off. My one chance to bro out with Ed ruined by Pete 🙁
Pete has now gone on to compete every year since this competition. He holds world and Australian records in multiple federations. As a powerlifting Coach I now coach over 40 people, co-own a powerlifting gym and am a state rep for CAPO Powerlifting. I think you could say powerlifting is working out quite well for both of us even though we both ended up in it by accident.
Check out some of his achievements here.
https://www.openpowerlifting.org/u/peterbaskerville
Not long after he started at the gym Pete began writing on a question-and-answer website called Quora. The very same year he went to his first Nationals he took out the top writer award on this website. I know Pete attributes his success with writing to his success in the gym.
Check out his profile here.
https://www.quora.com/profile/Peter-Baskerville
Fast forward to today, Pete has made a lot of friends and is a huge part of the community. Pete is looked upon as a great source of motivation for those around him. A common theme is ‘I hope I can do that when I’m as old as Pete!’ He is the perfect example that age is just a number, as year after year Pete has gotten stronger, fitter and healthier. Pete sums it up well, ‘These are the best years of my life, I want to be in my best shape ever.’
A few things will be true for all those who stay in the iron game long enough just like Pete.
- I guarantee whatever the reason you start at the gym, it will change and take you on a whole new path. One that will be like no other
- Being at the gym is one of the simplest forms of self improvement. When things improve in the gym, you watch, I bet other areas in your life improve too
- There is no better feeling than being strong
- You are going to meet some amazing people and make friendships with people you never thought you would.
For you reading this, sit back and enjoy the journey that is lifting weights. With the journey you are on, whether you realise it or not, you are very much reshaping your direction and on your way to doing some very cool things while getting to meet some amazing humans and having a lot of fun along the way.
PS: a personal thank you from me to Pete, because of you I’m not just a better coach and business owner, I am a better person. Just like many around me, my goal is simple, to be like Pete when I’m old.
The Concept of Hardworking
Too often the concept of hard work in the gym is confused with who has the most kilos on the barbell or who spends the
The Missed Opportunity
For me it starts now, eight weeks out from my next competition. Every top set of squat, bench and dead, I follow a process of
It’s A Strange Sport
I call powerlifting one of the strangest sports around. It is the one sport where no one genuinely cares who wins and who loses. What