I just got off the phone with a massively dejected and disappointed Derek Poundstone. Apparently Derek injured his lower back over the weekend and has been waiting out the previous few days to see if he was capable of competing this weekend at the Precision Peptides Bros vs Pros 9: Last Man Standing competition.
"I train like an asshole and I fucked up my back!" Derek told me with a great amount of humility and dejection. "I had a low back injury in 2006 and have not really had any low back issues since then. My broken vertebrae last year that caused me to withdraw from the Arnold is not the problem. This is an issue with the musculature in my low back and hips."
I asked him about his training for the Arnold: "My focus has been for the event this weekend. People in my gym know I have been training for it. They heard me last week banging out 40 reps for more than a minute with 405. There is no doubt I would have won this event. You know guys are gonna talk shit. But I have never written a check with my mouth that my ass can't cash!"
Thats easy to say over the phone, but Derek proved he is a man of his word and a man to back up his mouth. "I am going to host a Bros vs Pros event at my gym in 2012 and to prove I am a man of my word, I will fly the winner of this event out to my event and challenge them to a 405lb deadlift for reps."
Knowing Derek is an incredibly busy man, it would be easy for him to blow off an event, any event and not think twice about it. The fact he has told me he will not only hold a Bros vs Pros event at his gym but bring this weekends winner out for a challenge, tells how much character Mr. Poundstone has.
We wish Derek a speedy recovery and to be able to resume normal (read brutal) training soon. His prep for the Arnold and taking on last years Arnold Strongman Classic winner Brian Shaw is something very very dear to him and will make for incredible competition.
Subscribe to RxMuscle on Youtube
