Chris Rix

Chris first tried Powerlifting at an open day held through Optua in Ipswich in September 2006.  Chris has cerebal palsy and finds that balance on the bench can be difficult at times although this has improved considerably in the few months he has been training as one of the Suffolk Spartans.  Chris does find that gaining an overall body workout is a challenge given his disability but we have developed exercises to help this and continue to do so. 

Chris is very active and already trains at Fitness First in Bury St Edmunds but they could not provide the specialised coaching and equipment needed for pursuing Powerlifting and this is why Chris travels from Sudbury each week to join the Suffolk Spartans.  Chris is very keen on all sports and has played football for Ipswich Town; in addition he also plays for the Bury Bombers Basketball team for the past 11 years and has had the tenure captain of the team for 4 years.  Chris is a keen follower of the Chicago Bulls and Ipswich Town. 

Chris started with Suffolk Spartans as a means to gain a full body workout and improve his strength while also trying to reduce overall body weight.  He has since found the sport so enjoyable that he has already competed in his first National competition and successfully gained first place. 

Competitive Action

Chris took part in his first ever competition at the British Finals in 2007 and finished in first place with a very respectable 80kg but by January 2008 this total had been increased to 105kg showing a tremendous improvement in just six months however this was only good enough for 2^nd place on the day where international athletes were performing well and Chris had worked hard to drop bodyweight and get into the under 100kg class.  Undeterred by this Chris returned, in the lighter class, to the British Finals in June and once again placed 1^st retaining the British title and was unlucky not to have increased his total further. 

Back in Cardiff in early 2009 Chris was able to take top sport for the first time at this annual competition after a clean sweep and all 3 lifts landing him on a total of 115kg.  He repeated this again in the British Finals in June of 2009 but on this occasion it was only good enough for a 2^nd place finish. 

Since this time Chris has continued to train with the Spartans whenever possible but has become heavily involved in coaching at the Bury Bombers Wheelchair Basketball club whihc obviously takes up much more time for him than just being part of the squad.