Moffitt has weight of the Worlds on his shoulders

September 25, 2013 · 0 Comments

By Jeff Doner

If you love what you do, you’ll work hard to be among the greatest.

That’s exactly what Aurora’s own Jordan Moffitt has been doing for the past nine years in becoming one of Canada’s up and coming power-lifters.

Moffitt, 25, has been weightlifting since he was 16 and powerlifting the past two. He now works at a local Goodlife gym as a personal trainer, which is helping him get ready for the World Powerlifting Congress Championships in Prague, Czech Republic from Oct. 26 – Nov. 2.

“I’m a raw lifter, which means I can only use a belt and wrist wraps, that’s all that’s allowed,” Moffitt explained, adding that this will be the biggest competition he has ever attended.

“It’s considered the World’s, so it’s a few lifters from every country and I got lucky enough to be chosen for Canada.”

In order to qualify for the worldwide event, Moffitt has been lifting in competitions all over Canada. Most of his qualifying totals have come from competitions held in Waterloo by the WPC, which is a branch of the Canadian Powerlifting Federation.

“I’ve been doing this non-stop for about two years,” he said. “What I want to achieve right now at this competition is hit that elite total in a higher weight class. I was able to do elite at 198 pounds, so this one I want to get in at 220.”

Moffitt said that only one per cent of lifters in the world are able to achieve elite at that level.

“I’m not far off; it’s just a matter of being able to hit everything in the competition smoothly,” he said. “Gym training and everything is going well and I’m en route, but it’s going to change quite a bit in a different country, so I’ve just got to get the nerves out of the way.”

But it has been a long road to get to where he is today. Moffitt said when he was younger, he was a big kid, but then in high school sprung up and became the skinny kid. That’s when weightlifting became an interest for Moffitt.
“I just wanted to make a change,” he said. “I haven’t looked back since.”

After high school, his interest in the sport only grew, so he decided to pursue an education somewhere in a related field. He studied personal training at George Brown right out of high school, but that interest faded, taken over by weightlifting. After completing his training, he went into police foundations, all while keeping a strict weightlifting regimen.

“I was stuck in a job for a few years that I just wasn’t happy in and I was presented the opportunity and took it. It’s gotten me closer with a lot of people and you learn about yourself and others.”

Moffitt said he is glad he has been able to connect his work to his weightlifting. Even though he is training for a large event, he limits his workouts to three or four times a week.

“I try to give myself lots of rest, because workouts are pretty taxing, but it’s pretty basic. I’ve tried a lot of methods to progress and I found that this way is the best,” he said.

“It’s more of just a mental thing and getting in there. Three days isn’t a lot to train and I would be in here seven days a week if I could, but I wouldn’t recover properly. For me personally, that’s the sweet spot.”

Even though it has been a long road to get to where he is now, Moffitt knows the most important moment is still to come in Prague when he lifts October 31.

“I want to be at my very best for this,” he said with confidence. “It’s not a little competition. There’s a lot going into this – a lot of money and a lot of time. I just want to be at my best.

“[Toronto’s]Jeremy Hamilton, he’s the strongest guy in 220 right now, I’m not on par with him, but he keeps me going, my friends, my family. They’re pretty much pushing me to be better and that’s my inspiration to keep going.”