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\u201cThe only people who belong in boxes?\u201d<\/p>\n
Prem Prakash, the yoga and mindfulness coach for Middlebury\u2019s varsity sports teams, has another identity. Better known for putting athletes to sleep during Shavasana, Prem is also a quadruple world-record-breaking powerlifter.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last November at the International Powerlifting League\u2019s Tested World Championships in Wolverhampton, England, Prem squatted 292.1 pounds, benchpressed 187.4 pounds and deadlifted 364.8 pounds \u2014 all world records within the 148-pound weight class of the 65\u201369 age bracket. Because powerlifting performance is measured by the sum of one\u2019s three lifts, Prem naturally broke the world record for a competition total in his age and weight class as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prem\u2019s journey to setting four world records can be traced back to Covid-19, the assembly of a home gym and father-son bonding. Prem acquired a power rack and weights so his son, who was training as an MMA fighter, could continue lifting at home during the pandemic. Having wrestled growing up, Prem was no stranger to lifting heavy objects, but four decades of practicing yoga had passed. It didn\u2019t take long for Prem to find his old form.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIn a relatively short period of time I started realizing I was putting up some good numbers for a guy my weight,\u201d Prem said. \u201cI looked online and thought, \u2018oh, I think I can be competitive.\u2019\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Seizing the opportunity, Prem registered for a string of local meets. He performed well and ultimately qualified for the 2022 North American championships, where he won a gold medal. He returned the next year and increased his total by over 80 pounds. By November 2024, Prem competed in his first World Championship. Three years of steady gains, 60 state records and a couple of national records preceded Prem\u2019s climb to the world stage at the World Championships in Wolverhampton last November.<\/p>\n
The World Championships included the standard powerlifting procedure. Competitors have three chances to complete each of the three lift types. Lifting straps, which wrap around the wrist and bar, are forbidden, making a successful attempt as much a feat of grip strength as raw power. Powerlifters can never reduce the weight between attempts in a competition, and if one fails on all three attempts, they are disqualified.\u00a0<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no Goldilocks-ing your way to a weight that is \u201cjust right\u201d \u2014 the first lift must be both light enough to guarantee completion and heavy enough to prime the body for more demanding subsequent attempts. The next lift is a strategic jump, and when well-calculated, the final attempt is an all-out push. Prem, however, had an additional attempt at the deadlift in last November\u2019s meet.\u00a0<\/p>\n
When chasing a world record, competitors are permitted a fourth lift. With the deadlift record in reach in Wolverhampton, Prem approached the platform for a final time and internalized the crowd\u2019s heightened support for such an \u201cunusual\u201d lifter as himself. Acknowledging the spotters, Prem shifted his focus to his sole task at the moment and gave the lift everything he could. Raising nearly 365 pounds off the ground, Prem broke the previous record by one pound. His narrow success embodies a lesson many athletes have heard during his yoga sessions: adjusting your mind to become one percent better.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Prem teaches a distinct optimism about our limits. All humans have the ability to improve themselves by one percent in any field \u2014 athletic, academic or professional. Making these slim improvements is contingent on fine-tuning the mind, the point at which Prem\u2019s unique powerlifting advantage begins.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI know how to work with my mind directly,\u201d Prem said. Decades of practicing yoga have allowed him to develop deeper control over his mind, an invaluable skill in powerlifting. For instance, elite powerlifters will often bear double their body weight on their back for the squat. Once one begins to descend, it\u2019s inherent to feel a pang of fear\u2014 a reflex to bail on the lift and avoid getting crushed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe ability to override those impulses is part of the mysticism of a sport like powerlifting,\u201d Prem continued. \u201cI say it\u2019s a little bit meathead and a little bit mystic.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mastering the mysticism of powerlifting\u2014 the development of an intimate trust between mind and body\u2014 is what singles out a record-breaker. Powerlifters must accustom themselves to extreme exertion while suppressing momentary impulses of self-preservation. At a level where all competitors are strong, \u201cthe difference is the mental aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n
The mental aspect also involves accepting failure, another theme Prem embraces in powerlifting. To overcome the fear of the sport\u2019s dangers and perform well, one must become comfortable with occasional failure. As Prem teaches his athletes, \u201cit\u2019s legit to try and not succeed. It\u2019s part of being human.\u201d The price for failure in powerlifting can be great, but until that moment comes, unfulfilled potential and undefined limits remain.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes you get caught, sometimes you fly, sometimes you crash, but it\u2019s a full life.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prem is confident he has room to grow, and new opportunities such as the prestigious Olympia Pro meet await. For now, powerlifting remains indispensable in Prem\u2019s creation of a full life. His combination of powerlifting and yoga is a wonderful paradox: a way for him to exercise his competitive drive and explore his limits, an outlet to train hard, learn, and simply have fun.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAn individual should be so multifaceted, multidimensional, messy, and paradoxical that they can\u2019t fit into a box. That\u2019s a full human being.\u201d<\/p>\n
So, who are the only people who belong in boxes according to Prem? \u201cDead people.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Simon Schmieder ’26 (he\/him) is a Senior Sports Editor.<\/p>\n
Simon is an avid runner and biker and enjoys spending time outdoors. He is a philosophy and political science joint major with a minor in German, in addition to being a Philly sports fan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n