From farm to squat rack

NEW RICHMOND, Wis. — A curiosity to try something new has grown into an activity that twins Lane and Landon Van Dyk believe will follow them throughout their lives. Competing on their high school’s powerlifting team has inspired the boys to work towards a lifetime of increasing their strength.

Lane and Landon live with their parents, Chris and Rikki Van Dyk, on the family’s 65-cow St. Croix County dairy farm near New Richmond. The twins, sophomores at New Richmond High School, recently completed a successful season competing in the 114-pound weight division, built on a foundation of growing up working on the farm.

Powerlifting first came across Landon’s radar as he listened to a seventh grade teacher, who coaches the school’s powerlifting team, talk about the sport.

“My teacher talked about how accomplished the team was,” Landon said. “I thought it sounded interesting, and I was really looking forward to joining when I got to high school.”

Landon’s entry into the sport was delayed by a hip surgery to correct issues remaining from a previous surgery in 2018. The original surgery had been done to remedy a dislocated hip caused by severe hip dysplasia.

“I wasn’t able to join until the middle of the off-season between my freshman and sophomore years,” Landon said. “When I could start, I was limited to bench press only at first. It was the end of the off-season before I could start attempting squats or deadlifts. The coaches are really good about watching and making sure everything is good with my hip while I lift.”

While his brother was sidelined as a freshman, Lane investigated the activity at the pressing of his parents.

“My parents wanted me to try to do something new,” Lane said. “I didn’t really want to until after I spent some time talking to the coaches.”

Powerlifting is a popular sport in New Richmond, with a large program that has seen success. Both boys enjoy the atmosphere of encouragement and camaraderie they have experienced as part of the team.

“I like the social aspect of the team, hanging out with friends and the coaches,” Landon said. “I would have never thought I would be able to accomplish what I have so far.”

The competitive powerlifting season runs from November through March, but the sport requires year-round training to continue building and growing, Lane said. During the season the team lifts weights four days a week. During the off-season, Saturday practices are eliminated.

“During the off-season we do the same things, except we typically lift lighter, with more reps, to keep our strength without risking injuries,” Landon said. “It’s whatever the coaches decide for the day. It’s not a lot different, except there aren’t as many people lifting. If you do another sport, the coaches tell you to focus on that sport.”

Lane agreed.

“The coaches have us lift a percentage of our max during the season,” Lane said. “When we lift heavier, we do fewer reps, only two or three; lifting lighter we do six or seven.”

Both boys appreciate how their coaches challenge them to continually improve.

“Before our last regional meet, I was trying out for a 285-pound deadlift opener,” Lane said. “The coach told me that looked too easy. At that time, my max was 310 pounds. He told me to walk away, he put a mysterious weight on, I thought it was maybe 295 pounds. When I lifted, it was 305 pounds, just five pounds below my max. At the meet I attempted 310 and 325 pounds.”

When lifting for a meet, Landon said the goal is to lift as heavy as possible, with the goal of setting a new personal record. The morning of each meet starts with a weigh-in, a challenge for Landon, who is close to moving up a weight class.

“I have trouble making weight,” Landon said. “A week before the meet I cut out bread, no carbs and I eat a lot of celery. One of the meets, I had to lift at 123 pounds because I couldn’t get under the limit for 114.”

Competing in the meets, each lifter has three attempts each for bench press, deadlift and squat. The highest weight of each is combined for a final weight, used to determine placings. In the event of a tie, the tie-breaker goes to the lifter who is the lightest.

“You have to keep the lift under control at all times,” Landon said. “You have to be able to lock in, hold it until the ref calls it and then maintain control when you bring it down.”

Lane said the opening lift is generally something the athlete knows they can hit, but is still challenging.

“The second attempt, the coach usually puts right below your max,” Lane said. “If you hit that, they’ll go just over your max, so that will be a new personal record if you hit it. If you fail a lift, they keep you at that weight to try again.”

Lane topped his weight class in three regional meets — held at New Richmond, Osceola and Elk Mound — before going on to place fourth at the state competition and third at the national competition, both held in Appleton. He lifted a combined total of 645 pounds at the national meet.

“At the beginning of my freshman year I was lifting roughly 315 pounds total,” Lane said. “The beginning of this year I was lifting at 580 pounds. The off-season goals I’m working on are a 160-pound bench, a 225-pound squat and a 355-pound deadlift. If I can hit a 355-pound deadlift at 114 pounds next year, that would be a state record.”

Landon placed third at two regional meets at 114 pounds and placed second at another competing at 123 pounds. He placed 11th at the state meet and sixth in the national meet. He plans to move up to 123 pounds next season, working towards his off-season goals of a 160-pound bench press, a 220-pound squat and a 320-pound deadlift.

With a 27% improvement from the beginning of the season through the end, Landon was named the team’s most improved male lifter.

Both boys agree that lifting has become an integral part of their lives.

“It helps to find someone who has been in the sport a similar length of time and is a similar weight to compete with in practice,” Landon said. “People do their best when they have friendly competition to push them to keep working harder.”