"Build not only a strong body, but also a strong mind!" - strongman Jiří Tkadlčík
Author: In these difficult moments, we decided to confess a man for whom the word "difficult" poses no threat. Strongman Jiří Tkadlčík ranks among the best strength athletes in the Czech Republic, but also in the world. In today's interview you will read a lot of interesting information from Jirik's life, who lives with his family only 40km from the closed area in Litovelsko.
Hi Jirka, right at the beginning of our interview I thought - How are you feeling? Are you healthy?
Hello, you guys. Of course I'm healthy, I feel fine. The only thing that happened to me now is that after about the fourth day of quarantine I managed to block my back because I was training on a draft, but it has nothing to do with coronavirus. I'm trying to use the time I have now to train in the garden, for example.
Do you wear a balaclava?
Of course I wear a balaclava.
You must have shut down your Temple of Power too, or is it still running?
I had to close the temple, like any other gym or club. I'm very sorry, of course. It's a shame, we had a great staff there. Quite a lot of people used to come, we were always on a roll. It's quite sad for me now. It's personal.
How do you feel about the closed gyms and all the sports venues in general? Do you think that was a good move by the government?
As far as closing all the sports facilities, I think it was a wise move. Obviously, it doesn't just upset me, it upsets a lot of other people. But it has to be acknowledged that hygiene could not be policed in gyms, so it is necessary.
You posted a post on Instagram saying you're going to start training more powerlifting now, what does that entail?
I still have some goals in strength sports that I haven't met yet. One of them is maybe 900 kg total. And now it went pretty well - squats started to come back, benches are going well and deadlifts too. I want to focus more on the basic exercises now.
What about some strongman competitions, do you have anything in mind, or are you going to let it go and wait to see how the situation develops?
Right now, I'm just leaving it up to chance. I had a lot of plans, of course. I wanted to take on Arnold. I wanted to go to Brazil and Africa. That's all been postponed and we'll see if these races will happen this year. We'll also see what the sponsors do because I think there's going to be some sort of crisis, so for that reason I just don't know right now. I'm more trying to focus on the little one at the moment, nursing my injuries and when something comes up I'll jump on it.
The strongman association u105 definitely had a number of competitions planned. Are you planning on cancelling them, rescheduling them, or will they be held?
Well our competitions are very much in jeopardy. One of the races was supposed to be on April 18th. The guys did a great job preparing it, it was supposed to be a really great race. I helped them with it too, but unfortunately we'll have to postpone the race. I'd hate to see the races cancelled. It's organized by great people and they deserve to have the race since they've put so much energy into it.
As for the international races I wanted to organize here in the Czech Republic - something like "breaking the barrier" "breaking records" - I don't know if the athletes will be able to come from the countries we planned, so maybe it will just be "breaking Czech records".
I couldn't help noticing that you have got a new monster for the gym - Loglift 165 kg and diameter 38 cm. Can anyone in your gang lift it, or are you the only one?
Yes yes, we have such a beautiful loglift. He was 165 kg, but after he dried out, he's only 155 kg. The worst thing about it is the 38 cm diameter, which is unreal, and you have to be really bent over when you lift it.
So far only two of us have lifted it - me and Patrik Zelezka. The measure is still waiting to be broken. Everybody walks around this loglift rather respectfully, because they are quite afraid of it. On his first attempt, Patrik's log fell on his leg and broke his fibula... So he had to wait three months before he picked it up.
Are you planning to include this loglift in any future races? Or is it too much hard fun?
We will definitely include this loglift in the races. We're going to give it a good coat of paint, put ropes on it and make it an incredible mostrum. That's what strongman is all about, overcoming obstacles that would break a normal person.
You live with your family in Přerov, Olomouc, about 40 km from Litovel and the surrounding villages, which are now under quarantine. How does that affect you? Or does it not affect you in any way?
Yes, the whole situation affects us very much. We have friends in Litovel. Unfortunately, what can be done. The quarantine is set up that way and I think this is much better than letting it spread from the epicentre somewhere else. For example, no one in Přerov has been infected so far. Anyway, my fingers are crossed for all of them.
And how do you feel about the whole BOOM about coronavirus COVID-19?
The whole situation has a negative effect on me, I'm not happy about it. I've been quite upset about it. There's nothing we can do, we have to keep fighting.
You can spend the time you have now in a different way - with your family, with animals, in the garden more. Or you can do things you don't have time for during the year. So I see the positives in that.
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What would you say to those who are always crying and complaining that they can't go to the gym?
Guys, it's not just about the gym. You can go for a run, work out at home and you don't even need any equipment to do it, you can do some tabata workouts for example. I have an airbike in my basement where I can get a great workout in too. So it's more about finding a way and not a reason.
Do you think it's possible to get a good workout in at home?
I think you can destroy yourself at home and you don't really need anything to do it, just your body, a little bit of guts and courage. Of course, for powerlifters or strongmen who were used to lifting max weights, that workout can be completely different and can even demotivate them. Again, probably better than sitting on your ass*. You can go out and do shrugs in a tree, for example. Train as hard as you can right now. You need to not only build a strong body, but a strong mind.
One last question to improve your mood a bit. How's your daughter, does she make you happy? Are you teaching her deadlifts yet?
Of course, the little one makes us happy. She's making progress every day. We're very happy for her. Sometimes she makes us nervous because we don't sleep so well at night, but she's our sweetheart. I don't teach her deadlifts, but the boys have already cast her a little 4kg atlas and we are just waiting for her to take her first steps so she can start lifting it. (laughs)
Okay Jirka, thank you very much for the interview and on behalf of the whole Kulturisitika.com team I would like to wish you good health! Take care.
Thank you very much. Bye.
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