A VALE man who lost 16 stone since taking up weight lifting has set himself the ultimate trial of strength to help man’s best friend.
Adam Wride from Middle Littleton will bench press 50kg for 1,000 reps over three hours to raise money for Dogs Trust Evesham.
If successful, the lifelong dog lover will have lifted 50 tonnes or the equivalent of about eight elephants.
He will attempt this feat of epic endurance at Utopia Gym and Fitness in Evesham on March 16, where he has been helped by his personal trainer (PT) Ella Marshall-Shepherd who he credits with being the motivation behind his phenomenal weight loss journey.
Adam who has always been interested in weight training realised in 2020 that his weight had gotten out of control. “I was weighing in at 33 stone and was very unhealthy and unfit,” he said.
Determined to do something about it, he went to a couple of local gyms but wasn’t given any help. It was only when he joined Utopia that he started to “fall in love with it properly.”
“I started doing kickboxing classes and weight training alongside that and gradually my life changed. I’ve also made massive changes to what I eat and have a much better understanding of nutrition.” He is now 17 stone.
He emphasised the emotional support from Ella was also invaluable. “When I’d had a stressful week and ended up eating McDonald’s for tea I’d go in and just talk to her. Just talking to someone about it helped me evaluate things and put them into perspective.
“Not make me spiral back down as I quite often found that I would start eating a bit better but would have a stressful week, eat a bit of rubbish, and then slip back into my old habits.
“But now I think, ‘I’ve had a bad week, I’ll just be a bit careful now’.”
Adam was inspired to raise funds for Dogs Trust Evesham as he grew up in Wickhamford and was raised with dogs in the house. His dad started as a volunteer at the national charity for hounds and now works there as a canine carer.
He was “excited” by the challenge and had been in training since November. “At first I didn’t think it was achievable but I’m starting to feel quite confident although it’s going to be a struggle in the last hour,” he added.
“When I started, I could barely manage 100 reps at 50kg in an hour. Now, I’ve hit 360 reps in a single session, and I’m pushing myself harder every day to be ready for the big day.”
To support Adam visit his JustGiving fundraising page here.
