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ErikZ
New member
Hi guys...
On saturday I took a 2 hour ride (I got lost) to the suburbs of Sao Paulo city, in Brazil. My objective: to train in one of Brazil's pioneering powerlifting gyms, innagurated in the 30's by Andre Dorias father, Gerson Doria (former Mr Brazil and Pro BB).
When I arrived, I was confronted by heart-melting scene to any powerlifter: on one side, about 8 machines hogged up together. On the other side of the solid wall that ran through the gym, I managed to catch a glimpse of a mighty power rack, a professional bench (for bench presses) and 3 squat machines designed by Mr Andre Doria himself (will post a vid of them functioning). Pictures of Kaz, Cutler and the gang greeted me. The gym overall is extremely simple yet effective. No air conditioning (he keeps the huge doors open at all times, so it feels like there is no door at all), no music playing, no fancy chaningrooms (actually, they had smashed-in lockers and hanging lamps from the ceiling lol. Oh yeah, no soap too). But no one is there to wash your hands right?!
When Andre saw me, he came to the door to greet me. He told me to look to my left and my eyes were attacked by the gleam that reflected off literally thousands of trophies, from Brazilian to Russian events. As I turned my head and looked around, I saw something very encouraging and rare in today's gyms: pictures of Jay Cutler, Arnold, Mariusz Pudzianowski and other legends of the powerlifting/bodybuilding world. A particularly interesting picture was a promotional poster with Bill Kazmaier called "Feats of Strenght". This unique edition was actually autographed by Bill himself, during Andre's visit to his house in the late 80's.
Well, after recomposing my thoughts, it was time to train. There was a small girl, around 70kgs tops, squatting with 100kg for 1 REP. I was quite impressed by her body; solid and generous glutes and a very pretty face
There was also a dude benching who kept asking questions on how he could better perform in pro events, such as the South American Powerlifting Meet that will take place in September.
The gym had no mirrors at all, since Andre believes that they distract the lifter from concentrating on his form and his movement. Also, magnesium and chalk are offered by the bucket and the belts he had there were HUGE, THICK, Hand-made MOTHERFUCKERS! What I found particularly beneficial to one's performance is that people do not talk in this gym: they come, they train and they leave. It is not a get-together point and the only voices you hear are Andre's and those of people asking him for help. The silence is often broken by a symphony of steel. I had a great squat day that day and will return this saturday.
This is simply an introduction to the wonderful world of Andre Doria...
I shall be posting pictures of the gym in this thread and I shall redesign his web site, adding videos etc. Our biggest project right now is to make a video featuring many feats of strength inside his gym.
On saturday I took a 2 hour ride (I got lost) to the suburbs of Sao Paulo city, in Brazil. My objective: to train in one of Brazil's pioneering powerlifting gyms, innagurated in the 30's by Andre Dorias father, Gerson Doria (former Mr Brazil and Pro BB).
When I arrived, I was confronted by heart-melting scene to any powerlifter: on one side, about 8 machines hogged up together. On the other side of the solid wall that ran through the gym, I managed to catch a glimpse of a mighty power rack, a professional bench (for bench presses) and 3 squat machines designed by Mr Andre Doria himself (will post a vid of them functioning). Pictures of Kaz, Cutler and the gang greeted me. The gym overall is extremely simple yet effective. No air conditioning (he keeps the huge doors open at all times, so it feels like there is no door at all), no music playing, no fancy chaningrooms (actually, they had smashed-in lockers and hanging lamps from the ceiling lol. Oh yeah, no soap too). But no one is there to wash your hands right?!
When Andre saw me, he came to the door to greet me. He told me to look to my left and my eyes were attacked by the gleam that reflected off literally thousands of trophies, from Brazilian to Russian events. As I turned my head and looked around, I saw something very encouraging and rare in today's gyms: pictures of Jay Cutler, Arnold, Mariusz Pudzianowski and other legends of the powerlifting/bodybuilding world. A particularly interesting picture was a promotional poster with Bill Kazmaier called "Feats of Strenght". This unique edition was actually autographed by Bill himself, during Andre's visit to his house in the late 80's.
Well, after recomposing my thoughts, it was time to train. There was a small girl, around 70kgs tops, squatting with 100kg for 1 REP. I was quite impressed by her body; solid and generous glutes and a very pretty face
There was also a dude benching who kept asking questions on how he could better perform in pro events, such as the South American Powerlifting Meet that will take place in September.
The gym had no mirrors at all, since Andre believes that they distract the lifter from concentrating on his form and his movement. Also, magnesium and chalk are offered by the bucket and the belts he had there were HUGE, THICK, Hand-made MOTHERFUCKERS! What I found particularly beneficial to one's performance is that people do not talk in this gym: they come, they train and they leave. It is not a get-together point and the only voices you hear are Andre's and those of people asking him for help. The silence is often broken by a symphony of steel. I had a great squat day that day and will return this saturday.
This is simply an introduction to the wonderful world of Andre Doria...
I shall be posting pictures of the gym in this thread and I shall redesign his web site, adding videos etc. Our biggest project right now is to make a video featuring many feats of strength inside his gym.
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