The family that powerlifts together – wins world championships

 

Add yet another category of Central Coast standouts: powerlifting.

The Tawzer family – Ken and Mary and their youngest son Clay – have accumulated 13 gold medals in state, national and international competitions over the past year and say they are looking forward to even more achievements in 2008.

 

“It’s something we didn’t begin until a year or so ago, and now we’re world champions – to us it’s amazing, and we’re happy to represent our area in this sport,” said Ken.

He and his family, residents of Los Alamos, recently returned from international competitions in Las Vegas, where together they made and broke a total of 18 world and American records in powerlifting. They also set and broke records during an August meet with the U.S. Powerlifting Federation in Las Vegas.

 

Sponsored by Gold’s Gym and Cornerstone Real Estate, both of Santa Maria, and Five Star Rain Gutters of Atascadero, the trio will travel in 2008 to competitions in New York and Chicago to try and retain their records and hopefully set new ones.

The April meet in Lake George, N.Y., is sponsored by the American Association of Powerlifting Federation, and the World Championships in Illinois in August will be sponsored by the World Powerlifting Congress. All competitions are advertised as drug-free and focused on natural strength and abilities. Everyone competing is tested before being allowed to enter the meet, Ken said.

 

Health was the principal factor in motivating the Tawzer family to begin powerlifting. Mary had conquered a bout with cancer and began working out to strengthen her immune system. Ken and Clay joined her at the gym several nights a week and began lifting weights “just for fun.”

After a few months of working out, a friend at the gym, Gerald Walker, formerly of Chicago, and Mike Loos, general manager at Gold’s Gym, told them they should investigate the powerlifting competitions. Curious, the Tawzers traveled to a state meet and promptly lost in every category.

“It was a great experience,” Ken insisted. “We learned what we were up against, what to work for and how the competitions worked. We enjoyed every minute.”

 

While at the meet, Mary learned that women also competed in powerlifting. Without hesitation she decided she, too, was ready for such a sport and began her own workouts at the gym to get ready for the next meet. It didn’t take long, and all three began to win medals and break records in their age, weight, and gender brackets.

A few categories did not consider age, only weight and skill. Ken was excited to learn he had won over much younger contestants at some of the meets. This year he plans to compete in more categories.

 

Clay is looking forward to being one of the youngest winning contestants in his selected competitions.

Mary has set new goals for herself since her win in Las Vegas. She has decided to go after an additional range of medals and records in a different weight category, so she has been putting herself through a series of workouts that will reduce her weight as well as increase her strength.

They work out four evenings a week for two hours a session.

The three belong to five associations, which give them access to numerous competitions in state, national and world organizations.

 

Even though the Tawzer family has gained notoriety in their new sport, they look at the achievement as a blessing that has brought them together as a family.

Mary, an employee at Macy’s in Santa Maria, said her fight against cancer has given her a new perspective about life. Ken and Clay agree. Ken, formerly a policeman, decided after his wife recovered from her devastating illness that he would have more time with his family if he joined his father’s painting business, Tawzer Painting, owned by Lanny Tawzer.

Clay also began working with his grandfather after graduating from high school. Both cite the flexibility of the job, which allows them to compete and workout in powerlifting.

“Other jobs just don’t have that advantage,” Ken explained. “It’s a craft I learned when I was very young and I found, after I gave up my police work, that I actually enjoy the profession and being with the family while I’m working.”

 

In addition to his police duties, Ken also rode rodeo for years, winning medals in that sport as well. He rode professional rodeo all over California and also worked on ranches helping with calf roping and branding.

However, one day he came home from a rodeo and told Mary “life was too short” to ride again. While he will now go and watch rodeos, he hasn’t regretted his decision.

Living on a ranch for the past 31 years, Mary could not have been happier when he made that choice. They have two older children and she had spent many a lonely week while he was on the road, taking care of the children and the ranch.

 

And that’s another reason why they enjoy powerlifting. They see it as a family sport. They all agree that even if they weren’t winning medals and breaking world records, they still would look forward to powerlifting together at the gym as a family.

“It’s a lot of fun and helps the whole family become goal oriented,” Ken explained. “The family that works out together does everything together.”