Interview Benni Magnusson
"Just another team from Iceland stronder than Kazmaier" 31-10-2005
When 425 kg of quality beef from Iceland arrived to Metal Gym and confused the official Gym-Ho in the evening of Monday 24th of October, nobody knew what is going to hit Finland. That was the Team Iceland. Three guys larger than life: Stefán Peturssoni, Benni Magnusson and Bruno Thorsteinsson. We got into a little chat with the Vikings and this is so far the hardest interview I have made.
Juttu tulee myöhemmin suomeksi käännettynä!!!
Our conversation took off and I tried to follow some questions. I emphasize the word “try”.
Be=Benni, Br=Bruno and St=Stebbi
So, how you got involved in powerlifting?
Be: I broke my back in a skiing accident and I had to get my back to work again. Deadlift takes the pain away. I started training 5,5 years ago and powerlifting 3 years ago. During this period I had break of one month and that was hell. Deadlift makes me feel good.
Br: I fell on my motorcycle.
Be and St: : Three times in a one day.
Br: Yes, three times in a one day. I broke my legs and such.
FP: Okei, you, Benni, you broke your back and you, Bruno, fell on your motorcycle, but what a hell is wrong with you then Stebbi?!
Stebbi didn´t get the chance to answer before Benni and Bruno stated at the same time:
Stebbi is too small.
St: Yes, I am too small.
Yes, definitely Stebbi is small: he lifts in the open category of super heavy weights and is only about 195 cm long. And he is 19 years old.
Did you have any idols, that you looked up to?
Be, Br & S: Jón Páll.
Jón Páll had a famous saying: I am Viking, not a Eskimo. Which one are you guys?
Be: We are Vikings. That is the reason I picked Metal´s deadlift gear. The name is good, Viking.
Do you remember the results of your first meet?
Be: 215 kg deadlift
What is your home gym and what it is alike?
Jon-Pall´s old gym. It is the gym in the world. And Metal Gym is the second best.
Br: It´s told, that the gym of Jón Páll is a mystical place. He still guards the place, while there is a big picture of him hanging on the wall. People also say, that they can hear him lifting weights at night, when the gym is empty.
What is your opinion about the training partners?
There is between six and seven of us. We train also other things together in the off-season. We throw discus and jump hurdles and run little sprints. It gives a good kick to the training to do some other things as well.
Stebbi, do you thing you can lift more than Benni?
St: Well…
Be: We can´t know
St: I think that he is always going to be ahead of me. I pull 400, he will pull 500. If I pull 450, he will pull 550.
Do you have special diet?
Be: Sea food… No, just kidding! We eat normal food.
St: And we eat a lot.
Br: Actually we train, eat and rest.
Guys have a sponsor, a company that produces chicken, so they eat a lot of chicken. Or not.
Why start the deadlift straight from the WR weight?
Be: Why would I do 390 or 400 once again, when I have already done it? I want the world record.
Do you have a coach?
Be: No, I don’t, we coach each other.
How does your training changes, when the competition gets closer?
We focus on the events more and train that. We might take up to four hours to complete the work out. We are at the gym, hang out, lay on the floor and wait for the right moment.
Yes, these guys really lay on the floor:
How do you train?
We basically do a lot of events. We might be three or four hours at the gym. We focus on the events. Why train anything else that events? Well, this is during the competition season. During off-season we train a lot and everything. And like I said before, we also do some other things during the off-season, like throwing discus, jumping hurdles and sprinting. Short sprints.
Our basic routine is like this:
Monday: squat. We do regular squats and box squats
Wednesday: bench. Well, we bench.
Friday: deadlift. Obviously we deadlift. Normal deadlift and then we also do deadlift from the platforms. 5-6 weeks before the competition deadlift gets heavier.
Deadlift I important. Like I told you before about taking a month off and it felt like hell. I also have found out, that deadlift helps all the other things too. When I get stronger in deadlift, I get stronger in squat and bench too. When I didn´t deadlift, I got weaker all over.
Guys might hit up to 25-30 sets per session of these excersises.
Seeing you getting ready for the lift, that is something to see. How do you fire up yourself so strongly and get that energy into your lifts?
Be: I´m a nice and calm person. I don´t get mad or anything, but when I deadlift I think about all the bad things, misfortune, impolite people and things, that anger me and I let all that out during the lift. During those 10 seconds I´m like a volcano erupting.
FP: So, is getting the bar up better than sex then?
Be: NO!
Which you favour more: a good lift or placement?
Br: Good lift.
St: Well, good lift. If you lift good, you win. Simple as that.
Be: Good lift.
What are your goals in the future?
Be: I want to break the world record. And when I break it, I want to break it again. And again. And again.
What you think about strongman competitions?
Be: They are lots of fun! I won the competition of Iceland´s Strongest man in 2003 and 2004 I came second.
Do you see a future in competing in strongman competitions?
Be: Maybe. But not until I´m through with powerlifting. I always want to do my best and put all the effort in that. So to me competing in strongman competitions means giving up competing in powerlifting. You must always put everything into the thing, otherwise you are not pushing yourself enough. Putting everything into something means sacrifices and if you are not ready to sacrifice everything, but somebody else will and then they beat you. I take the same angle to everything I do; being a friend or powerlifter or whatever. I does not matter to me, that I´m not the best in it as long as I know I did and do the best I can.
What you think about bodybuilding?
St: It is ok.
Be: I will try it one day.
And I had to ask why.
Be: I wanna see all the muscles.
What about raw powerlifting?
Be: The best way of lifting. And deadlift is the best way to find out, who is the strongest. In deadlift you must be strong through out the body. I´ve seen people injuring them in deadlift, injuring chest, shoulders, tris, quads, back you name it. It shows you must be strong in every part of your body to deadlift big. You never see people injuring shoulders in squat or so. In deadlift it is impossible to cheat.
St: I agree.
FP: what about bench? Bench shows who´s the strongest
St: bench is for women…
Where are you going to be in five years?
St: You never know where you are going to be in five days, so can´t really answer that.
Be: Don’t know where I´m going to be in five years.
Any greetings to your Finnish fans and other people as well?
Be: I like Finland, love Finland. Finland is a lot like Iceland. The food is good, people are nice. You have comfortable floors…
You find me a job and I´ll stay here for six months. Getting here was almost like a paradise. Sort of a paradise at the moment. Jón Páll always loved Finland. Finns have always been great deadlifters. There is no better place, no better time and no better competition than the WPO semi final in Helsinki on Sunday 6th of November. To compete with the best.
Do you have anything to say to the guys you are competing against? Any trash talk?
Be: No, I don´t want to trash talk or badmouth anybody. I just wish for a good competition. I really look forward to meet Andy Bolton. He is a nice guy and I just wish he gets back into the deadlift game, so we could have even better competitions. My main and only goal is to break the world record. I´ll squat once and I´ll bench once. Then I´ll start the deadlift straight up from the 426 kg. I will break the world record.
Bruno and Stebbi gave Benni a new name: The Deadlift Beast
Sunday 6th November we will see, how much The Deadlift Beast pulls.
Here are some links to Benni´s lifts. Check IronGame
TO SEE SOME HARDCORE DEADLIFT ACTION, BE AT HELSINKI SPORTS HALL ON SUNDAY 6TH OF NOVEMBER…
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