Tom Berthier shone at the Southeast Streetlifting Championship, claiming the title in the -94kg category with a top-level performance. We look back on his day and his results.
Introduce yourself in 10 seconds – name, weight category.
Hi everyone, my name is Tom BERTHIER and I compete in streetlifting in the -94kg category.
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How did you discover streetlifting?
I discovered streetlifting years ago because at the start I was doing bodyweight street workout in the classic Chris Heria style, chaining sets and reps at home on an old pull-up bar wedged between two walls. One day I came across videos of Russian athletes loading themselves with absolutely terrifying weights – I asked myself how that was humanly possible – and as soon as I could join a gym, since I was still young at the time, so at 18, I started adding weight and got a taste for it. Ever since then, everything involving added load has never left my training, and I evolved that way over more than a decade of practice.
Why did you decide to compete at the FNSL Southeast?
Because now the FNSL (French National Streetlifting Federation) structure requires you to go through the regional competitions in order to be selected for nationals, and so logically, if I am ever going to compete internationally one day, I have to go through there.
Were the weighted muscle ups easy or mission impossible?
It was rather easy. Unfortunately – and this is obviously just my personal view – there was a last-minute rule change negotiated that same night, which imposed 25kg weight increments. That prevents you from balancing the weights between your legs. Meaning that if you want 30kg for example, instead of two 15kg plates you end up with one 25kg and one 5kg plate. The problem is that creates an imbalance, and in a discipline as strict as streetlifting where you are pulling, even one extra kilo on one side you feel it straight away – it can lead to a no-rep. Unfortunately I was a victim of that.
Did you hit your weighted pull-up attempts, or were you left wanting more?
I was left wanting more, because of exactly the same issue I just described. There was a serious imbalance problem and on one side I had a 15kg plate that was bothering me around my knee. On the way up the plate hit my knee, which made it move just slightly, and I got a no-rep for a knee shift.
And on the weighted dips?
Well, I was really really happy because I was able to match the score I hit at Dips Only – and in Dips Only it is the only movement, so you are completely fresh. Here we come to it after weighted muscle ups and weighted pull-ups. So hitting 160kg again, I was genuinely really really happy.
And with all that accumulated fatigue, how did you feel going into the squats?
I was quite doubtful during my warm-up because I could feel my body getting tired. So I stepped things up carefully, warmed up properly, and my original plan was to open at a fairly comfortable 220kg. But I was encouraged to open at 225kg, which would lock in a 500+ total. I listened to that advice, it went very smoothly, and I even managed to hit a personal record of 240kg – so I am genuinely very happy.
And if you had to sum up your competition in one word?
Excellent – beyond my expectations!
Follow Tom on Instagram: @berthier_tom
