Highlands Junior Reaches Big Numbers in Power Lifting

Baumer Wins Gold in Columbus

Contributed Photo. Highlands junior Matthew Baumer poses with his gold medal he won in the 16-17-year-old age division in the USA Power Lifting CBUS Lifting Co Spring Classic in Columbus (Ohio) on April 7. He lifted 474 pounds in the Deadlift to win gold.

Matthew Baumer, a 16-year-old Highlands junior, has taken a big journey in life in recent years.

Baumer found himself at 230 pounds. But Baumer then started body building at a local gym and later started powerlifting. Baumer leaned down to 150 pounds and now stands at 180.

"I wasn't in the best shape. I didn't really do much," Baumer said. "I just wanted to find something I was interested in and do it. I kind of found that through fitness."

Baumer recently competed in a USA Powerlifting event in Columbus (Ohio) called the CBUS Lifting Co Spring Classic on April 7. Baumer won a gold medal in the 16-17-Year-Old Age Division. He lifted a personal-best 474 pounds in the deadlift to bring home the top medal. A deadlift is when a loaded bar or barbell is lifted off the ground up to the hips then lowered back down.

The deadlift is one of three power lifting exercises. The other two are the squat where the lifter lies on the back on a bench and lifts a loaded bar straight up then back down. The other is the squat where the lifter holds the loaded bar on the back, dips the tail down below the knees, then goes back up to a normal standing position. Baumer's personal bests in the squat is 400 pounds and 250 pounds in the bench press.

Baumer's parents are Mark and Sandy Baumer. Sandy Baumer could not say enough positive on how far their son has come along.

"We are beyond proud and honored to be his parents," Sandy Baumer said. "To watch him on a daily basis have the self-control and discipline to take core of his body and his mind to star this journey of Power Lifting has been amazing, and we have learned some things from him."


Baumer works out five days a week resting on Thursdays and Sundays. He works on squats and other leg exercises on Mondays, bench press and other arm and chest exercises on Tuesday, deadlifts and back exercises on Wednesdays and lighter bodybuilding style movements working on arm muscles in places like the shoulders, back and chest on Fridays and Saturdays.

His next goals are 500 pounds in the deadlift, 300 in the bench press and 430 in the squat. He has some great advice for those trying to achieve similar feats in life.

"I think consistency is something that's very important for fitness or really anything you do because without consistency, you can't really get anywhere," Matthew Baumer said. "Stick with it whatever you are doing if you want results."

Baumer said there are no more competitions scheduled for now. But the next one could be in the fall or winter.