-- See video of James Thomson at the bottom of this page --
Chico State student James Thomson, 23, will compete in Chico's second Strongest Man Competition on March 28 at The Body Shop gym in downtown Chico.
Thomson lifted weights throughout high school back in the San Fernando Valley's Canoga Park in order to stay in shape for the sports he played - especially football, he said.
"After graduating, I got really into lifting," Thomson said. "I started training with all the guys back home."
Thomson's dad was a major influence on his life and consistently supported him in everything, he said. Another big influence was his coach in high school.
"Our coach was like the glue that kept us all out of trouble," Thomson said. "He was always there."
Weight lifting has changed his life tremendously and helped him to evaluate his priorities, he said.
"It keeps you well-minded and organized," he said. "It kept me from partying all the time."
Weightlifting also helped Thomson avoid making bad decisions, he said.
"I was able to keep from hanging with my friends that were getting into bad stuff and becoming gang bangers," Thomson said. "Some of them are locked up now."
He attributes much of his success to his laid-back attitude and the enjoyment he gets out of powerlifting, he said.
"To excel in this kind of thing you've got to relax and enjoy it," Thomson said. "I've always done better in competitions when I'm having fun. I have the love for it."
When Thomson is in the zone, nothing stops him from pushing himself as far as possible, he said.
"You push yourself so hard doing this kind of work out," he said.
One time when Thomson was warming up he accidentally tore a hole in his shorts while squatting 550 pounds.
"They ripped, just tore right open," he said. "My underwear and balls were hanging out but I just kept on lifting. I didn't care, I didn't have time to go home. I had to train."
With Thomson's rigorous routine, his appetite goes through the roof, he said. He's usually not concerned with gaining excess weight because he'll burn it off later.
"When I'm training and powerlifting I can eat pretty much whatever I want because I'm in the gym for three, four, five hours a day," Thomson said. "I'll eat eight or nine eggs for breakfast and have half a thing of bacon."
Thomson looks to powerlifting pros such as Marius Pudzianowski and Derek Poundstone for inspiration, he said.
"They're the top weight lifters right now, the strongest guys alive," Thomson said. "You see their intensity and what it took them to get where they are and it makes me push my self."
Thomson has won the Las Vegas National Powerlifting Championship, the gold metal at Venice Beach and broke state powerlifting records in Chatsworth, he said. When Thomson was 21, he beat the world record in his age and weight group but it was unofficial because it wasn't at a competition.
"I broke a record lifting 615 pounds when I weighed 200 pounds, a then again lifting 666 pounds at 215," Thomson said. "I stopped competing in powerlifting after I hurt my shoulder, but the strong man event has us moving some pretty heavy stuff."
Thomson has experienced his share of injuries as a result of lifting so much, he said.
"That thing on my vertebrae, yeah, that broke off," Thomson said. "I sprained all the ligaments in my knee and had to get it drained. I have a bone spur growing in my left shoulder and I smashed my toe with a 1,000 pounds of plates."
At the competition, contestants will pull trains, 800 to 900 pound tires and flip 500 pound polls, he said.
Steroid use is something that weight lifters often have to make a personal decision on, Thomson said.
"I get that card pulled on me all the time because I'm big and lifting so much weight," he said. "It's a pretty big thing; I don't use it and never have. I feel I can get to where I want on my own."
Sometimes people want a quick fix on things and it's not good, he said. They'll never reach their full potential.
Thomson's father, Bruce, got his son into lifting weights when he was in junior high.
"There is something about him, he became very strong very fast," Bruce Thomson said. "He surpassed me when he was about 18. He would pass up everyone he lifted with."
Lifting showed him things are possible if you have time and patience and a plan, Bruce Thomson said.
He is really proud to see his son accomplish so much, Bruce Thomson said.
In one of his son's first competitions, the 19-year-old virtually came out of nowhere and broke the California record for his division, he said.
Working out has a lot to do with pushing people around you to do better, and that exactly what James Thomson does.
Sean McDermott went to the same gym as Thomson and they started working out together, he said.
"I would see James in the gym when he was first getting into it seriously," McDermott said. "I asked him for a spot, and then asked if he wanted work out the next day and we became great friends."
Thomson is a guy who inspires everyone else in the gym to work harder, McDermott said.
"I put on 20 pounds of muscle that summer," McDermott said. "Anyone that works out with him gets a lot bigger and stronger and has fun."
He's a big guy but he's also a teddy bear, McDermott said. He wouldn't hurt a fly, unless it was on his food.
Thomson is now as physically and mentally prepared for the upcoming competition as possible and has few doubts he'll walk away with a trophy.
"With the way training has been going lately I don't really see myself not winning," Thomson said. "But you never know."
Joel Hersch can be reached at jhersch@theorion.com
Video by Jackson Wong
Related links The World's Strongest Man Web site All American Strongman Competition
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