Million Kilo Deadlift for Good2Talk

This October bank holiday Monday, the gang at Wolfhound Fitness in Lough Sheever Corporate Park are attempting an ambitious challenge – a one million kilo deadlift!

The Million Kilo Deadlift is the brainchild of Paul McVeigh, Joe Nangle and Donie Carey, and on the day the they will be lifting a Mitsubishi L200 4x4 in conjunction with Keenan Bauer, Mullingar.

The mammoth challenge is one in a series of 12, and they came about as a result of Paul McVeigh’s decision to go ‘One Year Without The Beer’.

The initiative, which kicked off in July, saw Paul, Joe and Donie cycle from Wolfhound Fitness to Croagh Patrick, climb the 764m pilgrimage mountain, and return to Mullingar again by bike.

The second challenge saw the trio take on a marathon on a ski machine in the Market Square in Mullingar, while for the third challenge, the team took on the Gaelforce West course to climb Mount Errigal, covering 65km of mountainous terrain via climbing, kayaking, cycling and running.

Now they aim to complete the Million Kilo Lift of the Mitsubishi 4x4 – with a little help from their friends.

But firstly, what prompted the One Year Without The Beer initiative?

“It was the negative relationship that I had with alcohol,” says Paul McVeigh.

“I’d go drinking on a Saturday and that would turn into all day Sunday, and I found it was having a negative impact on my training and on my life.

“It was Joe (Nangle) that noticed it here the gym, he’s one of the trainers at Wolfhound Fitness.

“I was out the back one Wednesday afternoon and he asked me if I was alright or if there was anything I wanted to talk about.

“And to be honest, it was the drink the weekend before – it was anxiety from that.

“I had read about people doing one year without the beer, so it grew legs from there, and we decided to do it.

“We wanted to raise awareness and raise some money for charity while we were at it.”

So far the trio have raised €1,500 for charity.

“To be fair, at the start it was very tough but I found having the challenges helped keep my mind focused on the next goal,” says Paul.

“It’s actually got easier going out sober and I think I’m going out a lot more now because I was afraid of going out before this because I know it would lead to two days on the beer, and a week of depression. So I actually think I’m more outgoing now than I ever was.”

The Million Kilo Deadlift will be the fourth of the challenges and the three are hoping to get plenty of volunteers involved on the day to help them reach their target. “The plan is that myself, Joe and Donie will lift 500,000kg, while the other half of the million kilo lift will be carried out by those who volunteer on the day,” says Paul.

“We’re going to ask as many people to get involved as possible and we’re inviting all other gyms to come along, and particularly those who are interested in weightlifting.”

This Mitsubishi Ireland’s 100-year anniversary, so in partnership with Keenan Bauer, an L200 4x4 will be supplied on the day.

“It is very much about raising money for Good2Talk, but it’s just as much about creating awareness around people in the midlands and the rest of the country who may be in a similar situation to where I was myself and to say, ‘Look something can change for the positive’,” continues Pail.

“It’s about getting that awareness out there that there are support services out there, that there are ways of sorting through your problems rather than sinking a few pints and making the problem worse,” adds Paul.

And the challenges won’t stop there – so if you fancy getting involved in the deadlift, and signing up for future monthly challenges that promise to be something out of the ordinary, then get in touch with the gang at Wolfhound Fitness. You’ll find them on Facebook where you can sign up on their event page Million Kilo Deadlift.