Jimmy 'the Beast' Laureys: Belgian's Strongest Man

Interview by Theo Burggraaff:

At just 26 years old, Jimmy Laureys is currently Belgian's strongest man. He came from a powerlifting background, and is just a plain strong guy. He is an admirable and humorous guy, and dealt with some major setbacks in his life. But this didn't stop him!

Time for an interview with the Beast!

                         
BeyondStrong: Hello Jimmy, first of beyond strong would like to thank you for taking the time to talk with us. You have an impressive list of performances already at the young age 26. Have you always been strong?

Jimmy Laureys: If i must believe my parents yes :) . I always had a nag for strength . I started training when I was 15 years old , but it was for fat loss (I already was a big boy ) Starting  with the gym programs for a year. I never followed a  program, I just trained chest 2 times a week, arms 2 times, shoulders once and some abs, almost no legs. Well, maybe once a month and then only leg presses , leg extentions and leg curls.  Food program? " Whats that....? " I ate what my mother cooked, nothing more, nothing less. I didn't even know about the excistence of supplements, I just took a shake from the gym   (I believe it was a protein shake ). But still, I was strong bencher, pressing 150 kg raw , barbell curl 50kg, military press 105 kg , not bad for a young guy right?
One time a man came up to me and asked if I wanted to train with him ( Tierry De Ryke ) , he trained me to be like Franco columbo , he learned me the basis strength training (bench press, squat, dead-lift , c&j , snatch , and so on.... ) At 18 years old,I won my first power lifting competition in belgium, with a 280kg deadlift, a 200kg bench and a 275kg raw squat. I didn't use a suit or belt. I got the buzz, and I wanted more! So Thierry introduced me to Patrieck De Wiest (he was known to be te best trainer for body-builders in Oost-Vlaanderen ). They talked and Pat was very interested, but he didn't know much about strength or power-lifting. Eventually he learned all there was to learn, and put his knowledge on me and at the age of 19 I was at the next level! 330kg squat, 220kg bench and a 320kg deadlift and all done raw. 
I  was growing quick without suplements and good food and I was doing things that most people didn't believe..

BS: What other sports did you do?

JL: I did 2 years of karate, then some boxing. Now I only do some sparring at the gym ones or twice a week with a friend who is into all kinds of different combat sports. You can learn a lot this way!
On tuesday I practice American Wrestling in Antwerp, and occasionaly on saturday. It is just for fun with some friends. I know it's show but it's hard work! The hardest part is not to get hurt by your partner that you are up against. In 2008, around easter time I'm thinking about entering my first competition. But I'm hooked on strongman and that is what comes at 1st place :D

BS: When did you first start with strongman?

JL: When I was 19 years old  I entered my first strong man competiton, the 2001 Strongest Man of Vlaanderen (Flanders). Pat did this to test my capabilities and see how I would come out of it. I was the youngest together with an other guy ( Tom ). 12 Competitors were all above 28 years, the oldest being 38. It was a strong field.. There I did a car dead-lift that was loaded to 650kg,  no one believed what they saw, not even myself! I was amazed at what I did. Pat just stood aside and smiled...
I came in second place with 1,5 point short (damn!) but in 2002 I was back, but still no luck. I came 2nd again with just 0,5 points short.. Then something happend that I didn't expect, I had a motorcycle accident, and had to go into surgery. 4 Operations and 1 year of total rest, then 6 months rehabilition to learn how to walk again.. The doctors told me, with my right leg being so banged up, that I wouldn't be able to do any more sports again.. ( power-lifting and others strenght competitions ) .
1 month total meditation and consulting with friends and family.. My girlfriend was a big support and me to go back to the gym and there I was! Within two weeks I was squating, dead-lifting and everything else. I built myself up again with my trainer Pat and the help of my girlfriend Kelly.In summer 2004 I competed agian in strong man, in the Strongest Man of Ridderkerk in The Netherlands. Why Holland? In Belgium it strongman was dead, there were no competitions for 2 year..  I was reading articles of how to become strong and so forth and came across Real Dutch Power, a Dutch strongman site hosted by Jan Haaring. They were kinda talking down on the Belgian athletes. Are there any strongman left in belgium? do they still have competitions? If there are, do they dare to enter a strongman competition in Holland???  So I picked up the glove and came in 2nd place, again..:) I started to grow a strong urge to compete and win, to go on a long quest and try to build up strongman in Belgium, and I did.

BS: Can you tell us something about your current stats? Weight, height, etc.

JL: Height: 1.93 m. Weight: 148 kg. 3 Times Strongest Man of Belgium. (no one is my equal in Belgium so far..) and Strongest Man of Vlaanderen (Flanders). I have some titels in holland as well, but then u must check out my site ;)

http://thebelgianbeast.atspace.com/index.html

BS: What are some of your best lifts?

JL: Dead lift: 365 kg, partial DL: 405 kg, Squat: 345kg, bench: 230kg, C&J: 165kg, push press behind the neck : 205 kg.  ( I will put it on youtube later on )
Hammer curls: 50 kg, leg press: 850 kg, log lift: 165 kg (150 kg 1 leg like Jarno Hams, did that on a demonstration) car dead lift: 750 kg. Too much to tell you everything, you should just come and see my lift!

BS: A lot of people want to do strongman, but don't have acces to all the  equipment. What do you think are some of the most important lifts?

JL: You have to look at what they use in most strongman competitions, DL, farmers walk, log lift, stones, yoke, medley, trucks, tire flip, carry and drags. A strongman must be extremely strong but must also have a great endurance and spirit. You can do a lot in the gym, but not everything. Look around and ask around, some people are happy to get rid of some stuff, for example a farmer or garages have big tires we can use, they have to pay to get rid of them, so the are very happy to give them away for free. Or construction sites, look trough the scraps (iron bars ,big and small , big rocks or boulders ). A car graveyard is also a cool place to plunder hahaha!! Or just ask the man that is walking around. For some things you have to pay but it's not expensive , mostly it's for free ).

BS: What does your current training schedule look like?

JL: I'ts a mixture of power-lifting and body-building  (I respond best to this.) 2-3 Strength exercises and 2 mass and 1 isolation exercise. 3 Times in the gym and 1 time at home doing event training ( we have build a lot of stuff ourselves haha!). So  4 times of intense training ( I always go all out even in training).
I always try to keep changing my gym and event training schedule, so that your body doesn't get used to the exercises and always gets shock therapie, hahaha!

BS: Who is your favorite strongman from the past?

JL: Like most people Jon Pal Sigmarson and Bill Kazmaier. But I also was fond of Manfred Hoeberl and Hugo Girard, as well as Svend Karlsen. (I love these guys, the karma and power they bring is great to see).

BS: How about today? Who do you admire in the strength field?

JL: Zydrunas and Mariusz (simply wow !). There are other guys too, but they come and go, so I'm not sure of them. 

BS:How much accessory work do you do? GPP, cardio stretching?

JL: Once a week cardio at the gym for 30 min, but most of the cardio comes from my medleys ( it's breath taking..OUCH!) Stretching I do a lot, it is inportant to be big and strong, but also flexible. Grip training, I almost do not do this , but I toy with weights a lot, like deadting 300kg and let the bar rest only on finger tips. I know this gives me a great grip. I'm good with Farmers walk , and it improves my grip as well. I just toy with weight to see how far my grip can go and what I can indure , no special exersises for the grip ,just for lower arms some wrist rolling and reverse barbell curls.

BS: What will be the next event where we can see you in action?   

JL: 17th of June in the Dutch Grand Prix 28th of July in the Strongest Man of Vlaanderen, 19th of August in the International Strong Man Competition the Schweizer Meistershaft. Maybe there will be more we will see.

BS: Before we part, do you have any advice for our readers who want to become a strongman?

JL: Keep doing the hard work and the basis of strength is still the best way to gain strength, eat good , and take care of your supplements. Look at what you are taking in and what it does to your body. Keep your mind on the job, do you want to be strong or just go with the flow? For no heart comes only the sun, for the rest sweat and blood brothers. Thanks Theo good luck to you and the readers of this blog!

Greetz   Jimmy " The Beast " Laureys      

 

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