Tom Eiseman (an inspiration to all)

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TweetMedford Lakes man sets uplifting feat


Monday, December 18, 2006


By BILL DUHART
Courier-Post Staff

From all accounts, Tom Eiseman is a mild-mannered chiropractor. But get him near some hulking metal weights and he's a monster.

"Simply put, he's probably the greatest male dead-lifter, regardless of age, in the world," said Gus Rethwisch, a former weightlifter who now heads a competitive association of weightlifters, the World Association of Bench Pressers and Deadlifters. "You have no idea how good this guy is."

Eiseman, 48, of Medford Lakes, is a dead-lift specialist. That's when you lift a barbell from the floor to an upright standing position with the weight hanging downward at arm's length.

He hoisted 760.5 pounds last month in Las Vegas at a WABDL tournament. Rethwisch and Eiseman say that's a world record for his 181-pound weight class. Rethwisch said his organization is the keeper of such records.

Only one of more than 300 other contestants last month dead-lifted more than Eiseman. Nearly all of them weighed more and were younger.

Then to add insult to injury, in a culture of behemoths who vacuum in protein-rich food to build muscle, Eiseman is a vegetarian.

And there's more.

A childhood bicycle accident left him without an ACL in his right knee and no lateral meniscus. Much of the power needed to dead lift comes from the legs, which are usually hinged by two good knees. But not in Tom Eiseman.

"I want to be an inspiration to someone with arthritis in their joints," Eiseman said. "Someone in their late 40s can beat anyone with the right state of mind and technique."

Eiseman said he always wanted to lift weights, especially after his knee injury.

"I just wanted to be strong and have muscles," Eiseman said.

"I don't really have muscles now, but my lifting is more of a magic trick."

He said his secret is technique.

"You get your body in the right position and use the right technique, you can lift a lot of weight," Eiseman said.

"You can be a lot stronger than you think."

Despite his success and ability to train just two days a week, during lunch, to continue to compete, his wife wants him to quit competitive weightlifting.

"She wants me to quit yesterday," Eiseman said.

Rethwisch said Eiseman told him he'll quit when he reaches his goal of lifting 800 pounds, about 40 more than his record 760.5 lift. Rethwisch doubts if Eiseman can lift that much at his 181-pound weight, but he's not counting him out either.

"If you were his agent and went to all the bars in New Jersey to hustle, you'd make a killing," Rethwisch said.

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[T-Man007]

TweetNo way! That's the dude? That's the dude who lifts 750.5 pounds? Holy crap, he looks like a little dweeb. Good Lord, that last comment in right on the money! That dude could make a fortune betting people he could lift just 600 pounds. I would never give him credit for even that, looking like that.

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No way! That's the dude? That's the dude who lifts 750.5 pounds? Holy crap, he looks like a little dweeb. Good Lord, that last comment in right on the money! That dude could make a fortune betting people he could lift just 600 pounds. I would never give him credit for even that, looking like that.

True. Tom is a hell of a guy too, I've talked to him a few times and he's always willing to help anyone out. He's drug free (I usually don't believe this cause there's tons of people that claim to be drug free, but I tend to believe it about him more so than others) and badass!