Don Reinhoudt
Donald C. Reinhoudt was one of the strongest men who ever walked on the earth. He was a four time in a row IPF champion (1973 until 1976). He held all of the powerlifting records in his day. Setting and breaking over forty records in his career. He was the first man to break the 2400 pound powerlifting total record.
Don Reinhoudt came to powerlifting through playing basketball, football and track and field. He was an All-Conference player in football and a varsity letterman in basketball. All of this time, he did not lift a weight because at that time coaches and athletes falsely thought that weight training meant a loss of flexibility known as "muscle-boundness." He attended Parsons College in Iowa under a track and field scholarship. The coaches there introduced him to his destiny: weightlifting. He tried the Olympic style lifts that are heavy on technique, but no one around him knew the proper technique. Nevertheless, he was able to press 330 pounds, snatch 250 pounds and clean and jerk 370 pounds. In all, he competed in 6 Olympic style competitions including the 1967 Junior Nationals.
He participated in his first world-level contest in 1972. It was called the AAU World Championships which were held on November 10-11, 1972 in Harrisburg, PA. The order of the lifts were as follows: bench, squat and deadlift. He took home the bronze in the second ever AAU World Championships held in 1972. The next year he would come back and win the championship.
After retiring from powerlifting in 1976, Reinhout received an invitation to the 1977 World's Strongest Man tournament. Being on a strict diet, he dropped 57 kg, so he refused, but promised to take part next year. He competed in the next three tournaments from 1978 to 1980 and in 1979 Reinhout won the tournament.
Don Reinhoudt came to powerlifting through playing basketball, football and track and field. He was an All-Conference player in football and a varsity letterman in basketball. All of this time, he did not lift a weight because at that time coaches and athletes falsely thought that weight training meant a loss of flexibility known as "muscle-boundness." He attended Parsons College in Iowa under a track and field scholarship. The coaches there introduced him to his destiny: weightlifting. He tried the Olympic style lifts that are heavy on technique, but no one around him knew the proper technique. Nevertheless, he was able to press 330 pounds, snatch 250 pounds and clean and jerk 370 pounds. In all, he competed in 6 Olympic style competitions including the 1967 Junior Nationals.
He participated in his first world-level contest in 1972. It was called the AAU World Championships which were held on November 10-11, 1972 in Harrisburg, PA. The order of the lifts were as follows: bench, squat and deadlift. He took home the bronze in the second ever AAU World Championships held in 1972. The next year he would come back and win the championship.
After retiring from powerlifting in 1976, Reinhout received an invitation to the 1977 World's Strongest Man tournament. Being on a strict diet, he dropped 57 kg, so he refused, but promised to take part next year. He competed in the next three tournaments from 1978 to 1980 and in 1979 Reinhout won the tournament.