Getting
Happy after pressing
With the Bronco
read y
to hit th
e local
a 90kg PB
walk, I had to push myself around in a heavy
old wheelchair. My feet and legs have always
been bad, so I rely on my upper body strength
greatly. It shouldn’t have surprised me when I
fell in love with powerlifting.
One day, my mate suggested I try lifting
some weights in the gym when no one else
was around. I was nervous, to say the least.
The skin on my hands, back and body in
general is still very fragile. But, I trusted my
mate would help if anything went wrong. We
started with just the 20kg bar, no weights
– no problem. Then we added 2.5kg each
side, fine. So we added another 2.5kg, and
so on. We were both shocked and amazed
when, at the end of my first day in the gym,
I was bench pressing 60kg. At the time, I
weighed in at just 65kg. We monitored my
skin closely, to make sure there wasn’t any
damage, and, incredibly, there wasn’t! The
next time I tried, I could easily press 65kg,
my bodyweight.
So, with the help of my close friends at
the Broncos, we began working on a gym
program based around what my skin and
body would allow. We started slowly on a
three days per week program lifting 30kg
for sets of 10. Then we added sit ups,
resistance band work and modified pull-
ups (I have so much scar tissue around my
shoulders they now no longer allow my arms
to reach up over my head). A 6-week gym
program pretty quickly developed based
around everything I could do. It helped me
push the boundaries just a little bit every
day. At the end of each six weeks we would
test my strength out on the bench press, and
time and again I got a new PB.
radio a
irwave
s in 1994
s
And a few ye
ars later, a 15
0kg PB!
Why would someone who has to be so
careful with their body enjoy being in an
environment like the gym?
Twelve years later, the gym feels like a home away from home.
When I need time off for medical or health reasons, I count down the
days until I can get back in the gym again. I once began with sets
of 30kg, now I regularly begin my programs at 80kg or 90kg. My PB
on the bench press is currently 150kg – well over double my body
weight. You can click HERE to watch me attempting to beat another
PB of twenty-five 60kg bench presses.
I once had a weak and fragile body. Now, I am strong and
balanced on my feet. This is nothing short of life changing. Being
able to lift weights and exercise has freed me, both physically and
mentally. I encourage anyone that has thought that lifting weights is
beyond their capabilities to reconsider. Start off light, don’t overdo it,
and be willing to push yourself. It’s amazing what you can achieve.
My seat in Suncorp Stadium and the gym are havens where I can
embrace who I am, but there’s actually one other place where I also
feel completely at home, and that’s on stage, sharing my story. As
a motivational speaker, I love inspiring people from all walks of life
to be the best versions of themselves. In 2017, along with others,
I shared my story of living with facial differences on ABC TV’s You
can’t ask that, which you can click to watch HERE. Like the gym
and my time with the Broncos, sharing my story is life affirming and
makes all that I have been through worthwhile.
Dean Clifford is a motivational speaker, recreational power lifter, mad NRL
fan and brand ambassador for Toyota Australia. As a spokesperson for DEBRA
Australia, he raises awareness of the challenges faced by people living with
Epidermolysis Bullosa. deanclifford.com
NETWORK SPRING 2018 | 29