Submitted photo
Travis Lucas competed in and won the Arnold Strongman Champion for his weight. Here, he is seen at work in the Deadlift Medley.
Submitted photo
Local math teacher Travis Lucas lifts and wins Strongman World Champion title in amateur strongman competition.
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Travis Lucas, a Mount Airy High School math teacher, recently won the Arnold Strongman Fitness World Championship Competition in his weight class of 175 pounds and is training for his second to be held in May.
Lucas said, “God has been good to me and blessed me to do these things.”
Among some of the events performed by Lucas in the championship was the 1,000-pound tire flip. Lucas lifted more than five times his weight in this event, and in the Deadlift Medley, he lifted a car (around 800 pounds) in repetitions of 90 seconds to take the Arnold Strongman Fitness World Championships held on Feb. 28-March 3 in Ohio.
There were more than 20,000 athletes from 80 countries competing and 21 competed in his class. After making it through the semi-finals, Lucas triumphed over four more to claim the Arnold Strongman World Amateur Title.
Lucas graduated from Appalachian State University, where he played football and begin Olympic lifting training in 2006. In the recent win, Lucas met a goal and received a sponsorship from Rock Tape Company.
Lucas’ goal is to become a pro in the America Strongman ranks and he has a chance to make it now that he has met requirements which include getting wins sanctioned by the North American Strongman Amateur Confederation.
Lucas said he takes the lessons from his training into the classroom.
Strongman requires 100 percent of both mental and physical input to win, said Lucas. There is the discipline of diet and not overtaxing the central nervous system. In lifting of that degree, the central nervous system requires rest and time away from extremely heavy weight until the competition starts, he said.
Lucas said knowing limits is an important lesson for success in academics and sports.
In the end, Lucas said, “It is about how you finish and the relationships you build. It is about pleasing yourself, others and God.”
Pulling and lifting has taught him about hope and never giving up on it, he said, adding, “Christ pulls us through.”
Lynn Morehouse is Lucas’ coach in Holly Springs near Raleigh, where all full facilities exist in a three-car garage. The two met at an earlier competition, where they placed in the top three and became like family, said Lucas.
Morehouse is working with Lucas for the next Platinum Plus level show called the second annual Fit for Life Strongman Competition scheduled to be held in Shreveport, La., on May 11.
Lucas enjoys the support of his family and said they support him all the way. His parents are Doug and Lisa and he has a brother named Tyler, who is a musician and in a band called A Kiss for Jersey.
Lucas enjoys music as well and plays the drums. He agreed that sports and music seem to go together.
Morehouse said about Lucas, “He’s got all of the pieces of the puzzle and he can be amazing.”
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