A weightlifter champions the sport

Tom Conway is a modest man, disinclined to trumpet his feats. So to call him "chesty" - arrogantly self-assertive - requires clarification. He is indeed chesty, but in a literal, physical sense. His chest is deep and broad, and his pecs - the marquee muscles so prized by manly men - are large and well-developed.

No surprise that. Conway, 62, a retired Philly cop, has been lifting weights for 40 years. For 30 years, he has been a competitive powerlifter, demonstrating his strength in the sport's three events - the deadlift, the benchpress, and the squat.

"The thing about powerlifting is you have a goal," Conway says. "Either you make the lift or you don't."

When he was a speedy lad running in CYO track meets at St. Bartholomew's in Wissinoming, Conway dreamed of one day setting a world record. He has accomplished that - with barbells. Under the aegis of the World Natural Powerlifting Federation, which bans performance-enhancing drugs, Conway has set a half-dozen world records.

In 1998, when he was 52, he competed in a powerlifting meet in Bordentown, and broke five WNPF masters world records in a single day. His best deadlift: 595 pounds; his best benchpress: 297; his best squat: 512. His total for the day: 1,404 pounds.

The deadlift, which involves hoisting a barbell high enough that you can straighten your legs and lock your knees, is his forte. From age 40 on, he has held every age-group WNPF world record. "I can't remember the last time I was beaten," Conway says.

He was always competitive and athletic. At Father Judge High School, he ran the 220 and 440, and he played on neighborhood softball and rough touch football teams. After serving in the Army in Vietnam, he enrolled at the police academy.

In 1970, Conway began pumping iron to stay in shape. "I didn't know what I was doing," he admits. That changed four years later when he joined the Pennypack Barbell Club. He began to take it seriously, lifting in a scientific, methodical way.

In 1980, when he entered a powerlifting contest and captured the novice trophy, he was hooked.

Along the way, Conway became a powerlifting missionary. At Calvary Christian Academy in Somerton, he started a powerlifting team in 1998. One year there were more boys lifting weights than playing basketball. His teams won national WNPF teenage championships in 2004, '05 and '06, and a WNPF world championship in 2005.

"Half the boys on the team were non-athletes," Conway says. "When I was recruiting, I told them, 'You don't have to be able to jump high or run fast, throw a football or catch a baseball. If you work hard, you'll see results.' "

Conway, who lives in Newtown, Bucks County, is a personal trainer at B&R Family Fitness Club in Feasterville. He coaches about 40 clients, from high school studs to ripped grandmas. For women, he designs custom cross-training workouts identified by female names: Zelda, Carol, Yelena, etc.

"My main concern is form," he says. "Form is more important than how much you can lift and the number of reps you can do. Losing form can cause injuries."

Powerlifting depends on speed and explosiveness - "you got to get the weight moving," Conway says. The sudden ballistic stress has exacted a toll. Conway has torn biceps and triceps tendons and had three shoulder surgeries.

Older and wiser, he now practices what he calls "smart lifting," warming up by lifting light PVC pipe, stretching between sets to preserve his back, allowing ample time for his body to recover.

Resistance exercise, he believes, is the fountain of youth. Studies have shown that people in their 70s and 80s can double and triple their strength when they begin lifting weights.

"You can do resistance training your whole life," Conway says. "There's a workout for everybody, and it's never too late to start. I have ladies with double knee replacements lifting weights."