As the leaves and seasons change, one thing remains consistent; Justin Zottl chasing greatness.
It was just one year ago the Owen Sound native spoke with Bayshore Broadcasting after setting a new standard for Canadian powerlifting and now he wants more.
The 31-year old will be back at the American Pro in just over a month with the goal of squatting over 1,000lbs or 443kg in competition.
Justin, who was born in Owen Sound and raised in Chatsworth, has a lot happen in his personal life and in the gym in the past 12 months.
Back in January, Justin back squatted 903.9lbs (410kg) and while that number falls short of his 953.5lbs (432.5kg) squat last October, there was one big difference.
In powerlifting, competitors have the option of using knee wraps or knee sleeves for their squats.
The difference being that knee wraps generally allow a person to squat more than they would be able to with knee sleeves.
At Apex Legends in Burlington, Ontario to start 2024, Justin completed the 900+lbs squat in knee sleeves, beating the previous squat record by 88lbs.
Although Justin says he won’t be going back to sleeves anytime soon, he’s completely confident in his ability to squat more than 1,000lbs in November.
Supported by his wife and business partner Helene as well as his daughter who is his biggest cheerleader, Justin says he’s thankful for all the support he’s been given.
When word of his accomplishment in 2023 started to spread beyond the lifting community, Justin understood more about his impact on those around him.
So what gives Justin the confidence that he needs to squat such a large weight in competition? He’s done it in the gym.
In September during a training session with his team on hand, Justin squatted 1,000lbs, something he says shocked him.
Justin explained that in his head it seemed as though 1,000lbs would be an “insurmountable” weight until it was on his back and it moved with relative ease.
Headed into the American Pro, Justin says he wants to take the all time Canadian squat record with a 1,008lbs squat on his second attempt with the goal to be 1,050lbs on his third.
Despite his focus on his training and setting himself up to become one of the the greatest Canadian powerlifters of all time, Justin won’t stop giving back.
Continuing his training through Team Zottl, he says he wants to see the sport continue to grow.
His biggest advice for people who want to compete but don’t feel ready is to “rip off the Band-Aid.”
Justin says “stop looking at Instagram and stop looking at what other people are doing” while telling anybody and everybody to find a gym and get to it.