New but promising

Nguyen Thanh Vy (born in 1997) started bodybuilding in early 2017 with the simple goal of improving his appearance, but bodybuilding sparked his passion... After his internship, the student realized that his Biotechnology major in Ho Chi Minh City wasn't suitable for him. A bold and decisive decision led Vy to switch to becoming a PT (Personal Trainer) at a gym. To acquire the necessary knowledge, Vy immersed himself in learning, researching, and attending many classes to obtain international certifications in his chosen field. In 2018, Vy learned about Powerlifting competitions. Seeing athletes compete with scoring based on standardized criteria, not just on physical appearance as judged by the judges, Vy chose a new path for himself: focusing on this purely strength-based discipline. Aiming to compete by lifting the heaviest weight the body can handle, the competition result will be calculated based on the maximum weight lifted in all three combined movements.

The more he trained, the more passionate he became. In 2019, Vy participated in two Powerlifting competitions in Vietnam and Malaysia, winning bronze medals in both events. This initial achievement strengthened his belief in his chosen path. That same year, he opened a gym in Hue with the hope of developing the Powerlifting community. However, due to the pandemic, the gym had to close. Undeterred, he quietly continued training, and in 2020, Vy participated in the National Powerlifting Competition and won a gold medal. In early 2023, he partnered with his students to open a gym in Hue (Key Fitness Studio) and build a Powerlifting community in the ancient capital.

Vy said: “Powerlifting is known for its three main movements: squats, bench presses, and pulldowns. These are also basic movements, easy to practice on your own, but that's why it's easy to go astray. Therefore, those pursuing a professional career must learn in a systematic way.” Currently in Hue, the number of people pursuing Powerlifting is not large, and they only practice sporadically as a trend, not professionally. Nevertheless, this is still a positive sign that more people, especially young people, are learning about and exploring Powerlifting.

“Compared to when I was pursuing this path alone, this is a huge, positive change.” Speaking about community building, Vy shared: “I want to create an ecosystem for the Powerlifting community in Hue in particular and Central Vietnam in general. The advantage of this sport over bodybuilding is that it develops more evenly with less investment. Therefore, building a community is so that members have a place to exchange experiences, train together, and easily participate in domestic and international competitions.”

In the Vietnamese powerlifting community, Nguyen Thanh Vy is a well-known name, currently ranking among the top in Vietnam as a Head Coach. He offers numerous online courses, with students spread throughout Vietnam and even abroad. In Hue, he trains a team of four to compete in various competitions. Regarding his achievements in the sport, in early June, at the Vietnam Powerlifting Competition, Nguyen Thanh Vy, representing the Co Do team, achieved a top 3 finish in the U67.5kg weight category, while his student Phan Le Anh Chuong (born 1993) achieved a top 1 finish in the over 100kg weight category. For Co Do Powerlifting, these are significant milestones in the future development of the community.

It is known that on December 9th, the Vietnam Powerlifting Competition (VPC), under the Global Powerlifting Alliance, will be held in Ho Chi Minh City. Participants will receive support from the organizers to compete in the Asia Powerlifting Alliance, a tournament with athletes from across Asia taking place in Malaysia. This is also the goal that Thanh Vy and the Hue Powerlifting community are aiming for. Vy confidently stated: “Including myself, Hue will have four participants this time. Our accumulated experience is sufficient, so we will definitely all four of us try our best to bring home medals for the ancient capital before continuing our competition on the continental stage.”

Source: https://baothuathienhue.vn/doi-song/powerlifting-moi-nhung-day-trien-vong-129955.html