Anthony Clark "The World's Strongest Man!"

interview done by: Igor N. Jolevich

. Igor: Mr. Clark, which meet are you planning to enter recently? . Anthony: The World Powerlifting Organization Full power meet in Daytona, Florida on May 20, 2000. I will be my first full power meet in over 5 years. . Igor: What is your current body weight and what will you be attacking in each of the big 3? . Anthony: My current body weight is about 340 to 343 lbs. If everything goes right I am planning on breaking some new world records in the squat, bench and total. I hope to go over 1031 in the squat, over 800 in the bench and over 2531 in my total. . Igor: Can you give us a list of your favorite gear? . Anthony: I wear Inzer all the way. Probably my favorite piece of equipment is the bench press shirt. I think probably the reason why is because of the radical designs Inzer has created lately which have contributed to the success of my bench press. .

. Igor: I have read that you use something like a bodybuilding routine after your heavy benching. What do you do for the squat and deadlift? . Anthony: I just depends on whether or not you had a good squat or deadlift work out. If the work out went well then you go home. If it wasn't exactly what you wanted then you can do some leg press, leg extensions, and leg curls. It just depends on how you feel. . Igor: What kind of advice would you give for someone who needs to improve the supportive gripping for the deadlift? . Anthony: Hahaha...that seems like a really weird question to me, since my deadlift is really my worst lift, but I can tell you that heavy rows and pulls will help improve your grip. . Igor: Mr. Clark, what do you usually eat and how many meals do you have per day? . Anthony: I usually try to eat between 5 and 6 times per day. I also try to eat as nutritiously as possible, eating low fat, lower carbs, and higher protein meals. I also eat any where between 7000 and 8000 calories per day to keep my weight up. .

. Igor: What supplements do you use? . Anthony: I typically use creatine, a protein supplement, and glutamine. . Igor: Can you mention some outstanding bench pressers by your opinion and the ones you mostly respect? . Anthony: There are a lot of very good bench pressers who I respect. There is Mike McDonald back from the old school, Rick Well who is a good lightweight bencher,Kenny Patterson, Dave Waterman, and my old buddy Jamie Harris. I just wish Jamie would have taken it a little bit further. But he started making a lot of money in professional wrestling. Glen Chabot, Frank Pfraumer and Markus Schick from Germany, Beau Moore, and big James Henderson are all really good bench pressers too. There are a lot of really great bench pressers out there and so many that I respect that are also my friends, I just hope they all respect me too. .

. Igor: Can you tell us actually when you started using the reverse grip in bench pressing? . Anthony: Yes, I started using the reverse grip in 1992. . Igor: How does it affect your benching groove? . Anthony: With the reverse grip you have to go lower on your chest, towards your stomach mostly. So the groove is much lower than your conventional grip bench. Plus the reverse grip is one short stroke. . Igor: Did this fact induce the modification of the rule books of some powerlifting federations? . Anthony: I think so. If you can really look at it, here I come out of no where with a reverse grip, shattering records. There were lots of people who I'm sure weren't too happy with this. They didn't want their records broken. No one really got hurt with the reverse grip because I was the only one doing it. So they change the record books to eliminate the reverse grip. Yes, I honestly feel that rules were changed to keep me from breaking more records. . Igor: Since you are a really huge guy, I recall you saying that you always pay attention to cardiovascular work. Do you still play racquetball? . Anthony: No, I haven't played racquetball in years. But that is one thing that I really need to start doing, but I don't really like to move around that fast any more. I do try to do some other types of cardio every day for about 20 minute, if I can. . Igor: What kind of general advice would you give super heavyweights about diet and general cardiovascular work? . Anthony: For anyone who lifts weight, I believe you should have lots of oxygen in the blood and muscles so cardio is a must. Not only that, but for your health's sake you really need it. . Igor: During your 20 year career, in which federations have you competed in? . Anthony: I have competed in the WPA, APA, WPC, APF, IPA, USPF, IPF, ADFPA, WABDL, and the THSPA. Lots of different people have brought me out just for exhibitions. I believe that federations have their own list of rules, just like our different religions. They have all sat down and determined how powerlifting should be in their own minds. I have really chosen to lift for the sport and not for federations. . Igor: What is your best total so far and your best of each of the three lifts? Which meet were they each done in? . Anthony: How can I say it....is it the best unclaimed total or the best claimed total...haha. In the eyes of the IPA I have done a 2531 official total. They also credited me for a 2600 lb unofficial total that same day which I later declined due to some controversy. But they did give it to me and I made the choice to later decline it. My best squat is 1031 lbs officially and 1100 unofficially, both done at the same IPA meet. My best bench is a WPC World Record at 800. Which really came out to 802 lbs and was done at the Arnold Classic in 1997. My best deadlift on record is 748 lbs, done at one of Rickey Crain's meets in 1996. . Igor: Mr. Clark, Thank you for taking the time to do this interview! .

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