Rockingham powerlifter pushes up the ranks

Carpenter by day and powerlifter by night, Safety Bay man Rob Murrell is set to test his strength this week when he competes in the Oceania Powerlifting Championships.

Murrell, who has been powerlifting for only about two years, is sitting seventh in Australia with hopes of moving his way up the strength ladder this month.

Originally coming across powerlifting while Crossfit training, Murrell changed his focus and is now squatting 270kg, bench pressing 165kg, and has deadlifted 260kg.

On Sunday, the 33-year-old will compete against some of the best natural weightlifters in the Oceania region.

"Generally, I'm training three days a week and just progressively building up," Murrell said.

"In training, we are just trying to hit the numbers so we can perform on the day.

"I competed in nationals early this year in Melbourne, but this is the first time I've been in an international competition, so I'm pretty excited."

The competition involves three attempts at each lift - power lifters have to successfully get one of each lift to get a total score. From starting out with some mates in his garage, Murrell has now opened his own gym, Barbarian Strength Conditioning.

"We started getting more people who wanted to train with us so it drove the need for a bigger place," he said.

"We just wanted to create a gym where like-minded people could train together."

Murrell said his goal was to be the number one weightlifter in his weight class - under 120kg - in the country.

"At the moment, I'm sitting seventh in Australia. After this competition I'm hoping to be fourth - it will probably take a couple of years," he said.

Murrell will travel to Melbourne on Tuesday and compete on Sunday.