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Gary Pamplin, World Champion Power Lifter and assitant principal at Ford High School in Quinlan, works the weights at Royse City Fitness, where he works out four days a week keeping himself in tip-top shape for competitions. Amber Pompa

August 2, 2010

Lifting champion finds strength by competing to be the best

By AMBER POMPA CNHI The Zope Gazette Mon Aug 02, 2010, 12:45 PM CDT

Royse City — Gary Pamplin, world champion power lifter and 1976 Quinlan High School graduate, has recently round himself assistant principal at W. H. Ford High School and head coach of the power lifting teams.

Pamplin believes fate has brought him full circle back to Quinlan, and as such he does his best to guide his students, often sharing life’s lessons when needed.

“I hate the word no,” said Pamplin. “I would have never been an athlete if I had listened to the people around me. When someone says ‘no’ I say ‘watch me.’ I don’t like can’t any better than no. There’s a reason for why it happened the way it did and why I ended up where I am. As a Christian, I firmly believe that, and I think I’m meant to help these kids get further along their own individual paths.”

He began his athletic career as a football player for the Quinlan Panthers.

“Once an athlete, always an athlete,” he said. “When football was over I began looking for something else to compete in. I’m competitive by nature.”

The Navy gave him what he was looking for until the power lifting program was disbanded in the 1980s after drug testing was implemented.

After the military program ceased, Pamplin, a proud drug-free competitor, began entering independent events, eventually taking the California state championship in the 1990s.

While stationed at Corpus Christi it was discovered that he had a broken clavicle, leading him to take five years off to heal and rehabilitate.

It wasn’t until 2000 that Pamplin got back into competing, beginning with the USA Power Lifters (USAPL).

“They were another drug-free organization,” he said. “I joined and competed in the masters.”

He took 17 national titles between the military, bench press and three-lift meet. During his time competing with USAPL, the military program was reinstated for all branches of service, leading Pamplin to compete in his 242-pound class for the Navy.

When Pamplin retired he had more than 20 years service to the Navy. After retiring he worked for different aircraft companies, eventually finding himself at L-3 Communications before pursuing his bachelor’s and master’s degrees. He’s the first of his family to attend and graduate from college.

“I was always involved with helping high school weight training programs and loved the networking with the kids and the athletes so I decided to go into education,” he said. “I started off as a teacher/coach and then last year I became assistant principal and assistant coach of the power lifting team. This year I’m gonna take over as head coach. I’m really excited about it.”

In addition to his educational responsibilities at Ford High School, Pamplin also teaches Adult Sunday School at the First Baptist Church in Cash.

“If it’s a passion or a drive you have, then do it,” he said. “Don’t let anybody keep tell you no or that you can’t do it. If you can think it, if you can feel it, then you can do it.”

Pamplin has really lived what he’s teaching, and has held the world championship title two consecutive years in 2007-2008 and in 2006 he took the bronze medal. At a United States National championship meet in St. Louis, Mo. in May 2009, he set two world records including 723 kilos in squat, five kilos better than the previous record held by a German power lifter, and also beat his previous record of 562 kilos in the bench press with a new record of 578 kilos.

Pamplin is currently in training at Royse City Fitness for a Masters World Power Lifting meet coming up in late September held in the Czech Republic. Pamplin only trains in Royse City becuase he loves the atmospher and support he recieves from the other athlestes. He works out four days a week on a 16-week cycle, usually for 45 minutes to an hour.

“I usually do a light upper body one day and the next comes the leg workout, followed by a day off,” he said. “Then I follow with a back workout, followed by another day off. The days off are important. Rest is probably 50 percent of your workout. Your body has to have time to recover.”

Pamplin has no plans to quite competing anytime soon.

“They have age groups in power lifting,” he said. “They go all the way up to 60-plus. I’ll go until by body can’t do it anymore.”

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