Lifter finds power
Tim Andrews survived a knife attack in his flat with an atrophied arm but simple tasks such as opening doors and windows were still a daily struggle.
Then 17, Andrews was recovering from surgery to his left shoulder after dislocating it twice in amonth.
His arm was out of a sling but not moving it for months, after not being told to keep it mobile, meant his shoulder was crooked.
Essentially, his arm was wasting away.
More than five years later, Andrews has recovered sufficiently to perform a 130kg deadlift, a personal best.
When first arriving last year at Hamilton’s Tu¯ Tonu Rehabilitation health Centre, he was unable to lift a 1kg weight with his injured arm.
In October, his 125kg deadlift set aworld record in his weight class at the GPC (Global Powerlifting Committee) national championships in Devonport.
Weighing 54kg, the 22-year-old from Hamilton is as fat as a matchstick. He looks nothing like a powerlifter.
Wearing a thick, denim jacket with furry lapels, a dress shirt, jeans and ankle boots, he doesn’t look like much of a gym-goer either. Minus the jacket, that’s his gym attire, too.
Nevertheless, Andrews is hoping to deadlift 145kg by January and qualify for the next GPC world championships.
His recovery is remarkable after training regularly for the last 17 months with strength and conditioning coach Leigh Bristowe, a former rugby sevens player for Waikato and Southland.
‘‘It was theworst shoulder I’ve ever seen,’’ Bristowe said.
‘‘Everyone who comes through these doors is broken and is often like ‘fix me, fix me’.
‘‘We’ve flipped it around. We’ll give you the map and the tools but it’s your job to go away and put the pieces together.
‘‘Tim’s [injury] was extraordinary because it was so bad. He couldn’t pick up anything and was carrying this dead weight around.’’
Andrews has a come a long way since that knife attack in his old Hamilton flat.
He vividly recalls his friend’s boyfriend turning up, grabbing a carving knife, and trying to kill her.
Grappling with his useless arm, Andrews intervened, was nearly stabbed in the melee, receiving a cut along the side of his body, and said he was lucky to escape any further serious injury before the police arrived.
Still, it was still a low point and his armwouldn’t heal for at least another four years.
Therewere different physiotherapists, different treatment, different exercises. Nothing worked.
‘‘It was incredibly demoralising,’’ Andrews said. ‘‘I really lost all motivation and believedmy arm was going to be stuck like this for the rest of my life.
‘‘I couldn’t open doorswith my left arm, I couldn’t open windows, I couldn’t drive, I pretty much couldn’t use it. I could hold things like a cup of tea but using any strength, pushing or pulling, that was out of the picture.
‘‘Over the years, everything just moved me towards using my right arm and I didn’t think about it.’’
Bristowe remembers when Andrews first arrived at Tu¯ Tonu. He also started physiotherapy treatmentwith Timi Tapara.