Brandon Nelson

Nate DuFour

IN this edition of “The Way I Live” we talk with top-ranked local power-lifter Nate DuFour.

Q: Nate, walk us through a typical workout…
A: To be the best, you have to train like the best. I train five days a week. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I do two workouts, one and a half or two hours each. On Tuesdays and Saturdays I do one workout of about 2 hours. Americans have this notion that you can’t train at high volume unless you have some outside chemical assistance. But if you increase the volume slowly month to month, over time you get to a point where you fell like if you don’t have the volume, you don’t even feel like you’re working out.

 Q: Do you use machines at all?
A: Yeah, machines have their time and place. They’re great for working auxiliary muscles.

 Q: What about Bowflex?
A: (Laughing) You can keep it. The funny thing is, you look at the models they use to advertise that thing, and none of those people got those physiques on a Bowflex. But image sells, you know.

 Q: Let’s talk about your diet…
A: My diet stays clean most of the time, but I am a sucker for junk food. I’m from Louisiana, you know, so I love Cajun food. It can be a gamble out here. I was in a restaurant in Seattle, and I ordered the “Authentic Gumbo.” When the waiter brought it, it had no okra… and it was served on a bed of noodles. I asked to see the chef, and I asked him, “Where’d you learn how to cook Cajun Food?” He said, “From a real New Orleans chef.” So I asked, “Did he cook at the Waffle House?” He got all mad. Finally he told me he was from Boston, and it all made sense. But you can get some good BBQ around here. The Memphis Speak E-Z on Meridian Street serves a great Tennessee-style BBQ – you know, a sweet flavor. I prefer more of a Southern Georgia or North Carolina, spicy, tangy BBQ, but theirs is really good. 

 Q: Do you find it hard staying so focused on the lifting?
A: Not at all. I love it and I have fun with it, and it doesn’t feel at all like work – that’s how I know I’ve found my calling. I’ll be on a roller-coaster somewhere, and all I can think about is getting back to the gym. From the minute I leave the gym, it’s a countdown until my next workout. I want to be a world champion. Someday I want my kids to see that I came from nothing… and became a world champion. I’m driven by it.  

 Q: Do you get professional coaching or training help?
A: I’ve never paid for advice, and I give it away. Some of the hardcore powerlifters who were around when I first started lifting told me, “If you get help for free, give help for free.” Everybody’s looking for the secret formula, the secret routine. But there is no secret. It takes dedication and hard work. It doesn’t matter what sport you’re in, if you want to be great, you never miss a workout. You put your all into it, and you WILL succeed. You’ve got to. 

Q: What’s the hardest part of what you do?
A: The hardest part is resting, healing, and not exerting myself outside of lifting. I used to run and snowboard, but now those things get in the way. To get better and better, your focus has to get narrower and narrower. It’s a gamble, but it’s one that all great champions take. My wife is into endurance mountaineering. She climbed Rainier over two days, no sleep. This summer she’s going to Nepal to climb. I can tell you right now that you won’t find me climbing Mt. Rainier.

 Q: Why not? A: (Smiling) Carrying all this muscle mass into an oxygen-starved environment would not be a good idea. 

Q: How’s Bellingham treating you?
A: It’s the greatest place in the United States. I’ve lived in Louisiana, Florida, Texas, Nevada, California… I’ve been to almost every state in the Union, and there’s nothing better than this place. And I don’t mean the entire Pacific Northwest – I don’t even like Seattle – I’m talking about Whatcom and Skagit Counties. We have everything right here!

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