I had the opportunity to produce an exclusive television feature on world powerlifting champion Eddy Coan shortly after he set five world records at the 1988 National Championships.
Weighing in at 212 pounds, Eddy had squatted 931, benched 512, and pulled an 833 deadlift for a remarkable 2,276 pound total. He set a squat record, then broke it; set a world record total and broke, and set a new record in the deadlift for the five world records.
Q: Eddy, tell us how you became involved in powerlifting.
A: I started lifting my freshman year in high school when I was a wrestler. I was your traditional 98-pound weakling, so I started lifting and I liked it. I liked going heavy. That's what really kicked everything off.
Q: How soon did you start to see results?
A: It was pretty dramatic. That's why I've stuck with it. My freshman year I was at that 98 pounds. By my sophomore year I went up to 135, all in one year, just from lifting heavy. I would see lifters on TV like Bill Kazmaier who really impressed me a lot. That's what made me stick with it.
Q: Mike Lambert, publisher of PLUSA, states that pound for pound you're the best lifter in the world. How do you feel about this statement?
A: I don't even think about myself that way or compare myself to any other lifter. I just want to continue to go out there and lift what I can.
Q: How strong can man get?
A: I don't think we'll ever reach a limit. Generation after generation the numbers just keep on climbing. Somebody lifts an astronomical weight in any class compared to anyone else, which makes the others say to themselves, "I can do that." It just keeps on growing from there.
Q: You never seem to reach a sticking point. Every time you mount the platform you're breaking world records. How?
A: Well, I don't like to stay in any one place for too long. I do have sticking points here and there, but if you even make a 5-pound gain from meet to meet, that's a lot. And if you stay in the sport for 10 years and go up 5 pounds each time, that's a lot of weight.
Q: You started breaking your records in the 181 class, then you graduated to 198. Now you're in the 220's but still light-weighting it at 212. What will it take to bring you up to a full-fledged 220-pounder?
A: More years of hard work. I actually started out my first meet weighing 150 pounds and lifting in the 165-pound class. But I just keep growing out of the weight classes. I couldn't keep my weight down. I was dropping about 15-20 pounds to make weight for meet and losing a lot of my strength by doing that. So I said, "Forget that, I'm going to go up."
CYCLING
Q: Let's talk about your training. The training you're doing today is different from your competition training. Explain.
A: My precompetition training usually last anywhere from 14-16 weeks, based on a couple weeks of 10s, a couple weeks of 8s -- that's the top set of 10 and 8 I can handle. This will get me back into the conditioning and make sure my form is okay Then I'll do 7-8 weeks of 5s and two weeks of triples, two weeks of doubles, then I go to the meet. Usually I don't hit anything heavy until about three weeks before the contest on the squat, and two weeks on the bench and deadlift. Then I basically just rest.
The training you watched me perform today is based on what the Eastern Bloc countries do for their Olympic lifters. You see their legs and they're huge and powerful. So I'm just trying to adapt that to my squat by doing multiple sets of low reps and practicing exploding out of the hole. And since you don't get a lot of rest between sets, 60-90 seconds, you're getting a lot of cardiovascular work in. It's really tough.
I want to build that explosion back that I used to have. These methods are referred to as cycling, which are important to train under as the bocy cannot perform at 100% intensity all the time. Cycling enables the lifter to handle a variety of percentages during training, which are based on your maximum lifrts.
Q: Your record squat is 964 pounds. The rules for this lift are very strict.
A: They're a lot tougher than people think. You don't just go down, then come up. There are a lot of rules and there are judges to watch your hands and feet, which cannot move once the lift has begun. Plus, your depth must be low enough to receive white lights. The judges watch every movement ou make. Yes, it is strict!
Q: You mentioned the total body effect from squats.
A: That's right. If you perform a heavy squat or multiple sets like I did today, your entire body gets pumped. Your lungs are completely wiped out. There's not too much more you can do after that.
Q: Can this in some way classify powerlifting as having some cardiovascular benefits?
A: I think so, but to varying degrees. You do a set of reps in the squat with a heavy weight, or a deadlift or clean & jerk or whatever, and you're going to see how conditioned your heart and lungs really are.
Q: How often do you compete?
A: With the weights I'm handling now, I generally compete at the Nationals and Worlds because I want to make the growth from one meet to the other. It's not like it was before when I was at a lighter bodyweight and not handling as much weight. Then I could lift almost twice a week or, at the most, about every five days, and go to three or four meets a year because my recovery time was a lot quicker. But I think with the amount of weight I'm handling now I have to wait a bit longer.
SOVIET EXPERIENCES
Q: Tell us about your experiences in the Soviet Union.
A: Well, I went over to Moscow and Leningrad and competed in a couple of meets over there against the Russians. I must say that they are very strong. All of them perform powerlifting (bench, squat, deadlift) as supplemental to their Olympic weightlifting. But, there are some very strong squatters over there and they should do well in the future.
Q: We dominate powerlifting here in the U.S. Russia and Bulgaria dominate Olympic weightlifting. What's needed to get powerlifting into the Olympics so our American, yourself included, an dominate in one of these Olympic strength sports?
A: That's a question that everyone's been asking for a while. It is a very popular sport with a lot of countries involved. We've had over 40 countries compete in a World Championship before. It's a question of everybody in the sport uniting and making the distinction between Olympic weightlifting and powerlifting. A little animosity may exist between the governing bodies, but not the athletes.
Q: As an amateur athlete you've pretty much had to support yourself up the ranks, but Joe Weider has recognized your talents and has provided some assistance to your career. What has he done for you?
A: He helped me go to one of my major meets and has published several articles on me. That helped out a lot.
Q: How have you educated yourself in strength training?
A: Well, I pretty much have always trained by how I feel at the time. I read Joe's magazines for my general bodybuilding interests and PLUSA for strength advice. My routines are based by what everyone has done in the past and what i like to do and what my body feels like doing at that particular time.
Q: What do you do to get mentally geared for training and competition?
A: If my training has gone really well, I'm in the right condition to attempt the weights I've set for myself. It's pretty simple, those lifts should go. The only thing that can defeat you at that time is your mind, your own concentration. I don't get all fired up and scream and yell, I think that's just a waste of energy. I don't think that does you any good at all.
RECUPERATION
Q: What measures do you take to recuperate from the intensity of your powerlifting workouts?
A: Well, the proper rest definitely from week to week. This is why cycling is so important. You don't just work out at 100% intensity every workout. You'll just fall apart or get injured.
Stretching is very good as well as receiving massage or chiropractic treatments. Whirlpoos are also great but you must find the time to do all of these. There are many nutritional supplements that are helpful as well. And whirlpools too.
Q: Powerlifting training can be applied by numerous other athletes. How do you see powerlifting assisting other sports?
A: Well, everybody's always done it. It's just that they never said that this is a powerlifting movement or training routine.
Q: What keeps you motivated?
A: I just keep wanting to get better. I am always striving to achieve higher levels because I never really look at myself as being great. Sometimes I see myself as that 98-pound kid when I began and I just want to keep pushing myself as far away from that as I can.
Bench and Squat - https://archive.org/details/ed-coan-extreme-powerlifting-squat/Ed+Coan+-+Extreme+powerlifting+(Bench+press).mp4
Q: Who inspires you the most in the sport of powerlifting?
A: My training partner Doug Furnas is very impressive and helpful. Also, when I used to see Bill Kazmaier on TV as big as he was and as muscular as he is, just lifting massive weights like they were toys.
Q: What astonishes the entire powerlifting world is that at 5'6" and 212 pounds, you're defeating men who outweigh you in excess of 100 pounds of muscular bodyweight.
A: I just do what I can do. At the Nationals, I had the highest total out of everyone including the superheavyweights. At last year's World I didn't do exactly what I wanted to because I weighed in a bit too light at 212, but I still had the second highest total.
KEY ADVICE
Q: Eddy, I receive a lot of enquiries from people who are interested in getting stronger, increasing their lifts. What kind of advice can you give to all those aspiring strength athletes.
A: Never overwork. That's the only way to get stronger. Lifting heavy 2-3 times a week is not the answer and won't get you stronger. You can't max out all the time every week. You have to cycle.
This means so many weeks of sets of eights, then do many weeks of sets of fives, and gradually progress to heavier weights as these weeks are going by and do triples, doubles.
I don't even max out in the gym. I usually just wait till the meet.
Enjoy Your Lifting!
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