Guerrero Lopez Introduction and interview by Alberto Nunez I still recall in great detail a young man that I had the privilege to watch a few years back in 2007. It was one of those days that truly made me realize just how strong some human beings can indeed be. He had just recently celebrated his 18th birthday, and to say that he appeared physically capable would be an understatement, even at a young age you could tell he was a BIG DUDE! A 600+lbs deadlift and 400lbs bench press both flew up that day, and I was in awe. These days he is stronger than ever, and looking to make a big splash in strength sports very soon. Introducing Guerrero Lopez! 3DMJ: Guerrero Lopez, first of all, thank you for letting us feature you on 3DMJ. Which reminds me, your first name is a very interesting name indeed, aside from it being badass (it means Warrior in Spanish) does it have any deep meanings rooted to it? GL: (Haha) Yes it does have meaning to it. I was named after my grandfather on my mom’s side. The name Guerrero is normally a last name, not a first name. Till this day I have yet to meet someone with the same first name so I guess it‘s pretty unique. 3DMJ: Tell us a bit about what iron games you play, and how you got started with these? When did you start lifting? GL: I started lifting weights when I was 12 years old! In middle school our campus security guard started an after school weight training/conditioning program. The program was designed to get us in shape for the wrestling season. Since then I have always been lifting either recreationally or for a sport. In high school I played football, wrestled, and threw the shot-put. During high school I also had the opportunity to lift with bodybuilding and strongman weight training coaches. I also joined Gold’s Gym Santa Cruz when I was 14, where I would go lift weights after football and wrestling practice. After I graduated, I kept lifting, and by fall of my freshman year of college I competed in a USPF Powerlifting meet. I won the push/pull for my weight and age and I also set the state and national deadlift record for my age and weight. My sophomore year of college I competed in 2 North American Strongman competitions. In my first competition I placed 3rd in the open men’s category. In my second competition I did not place. So you can say that I’ve been lifting for a long ass time and I have had the privilege of being able to train with some very well educated athletes that inspired me. http://ripl.org/images/Men_s_Junior_Records_Single_Lift_Deadlift.pdf
3DMJ: What is your height, your weight, and your best lifts to date? GL: I am 5’11” 220lbs. My best deadlift to date is 700lbs x 2. Best bench is 500lbs x 1. Best squat is 545lbs x 5 (I’ve never maxed). 3DMJ: Now right off the bat you were very strong, and had a gift for this. Tell us a bit about how much you benched when you were 15 years old? GL: When I was a 15 year old sophomore in high school I benched 405lbs. How you ask? I weighed 290lbs. No joke, Burger King was my BFF! I was strong as hell but I had a terrible diet.
3DMJ: How did you lose all that weight? Tell us a little bit about that journey. GL: In 7th grade I weighed 195lbs. By 8th grade I weighed 220lbs and had to see a nutritionist. And like I said, I was 290 lbs when I was 15 years old. Around that same time, I began to develop tendonitis/bursitis in my left knee. Upon talking to my doctor, I was told I had to lose weight and gain flexibility since my joints were beginning to suffer from overuse. So I began doing more cardio, watching my diet and began to wrestle again. Wrestling served as the kicker to my weight loss, after school I would go to football practice, go to track & field practice, then go lift weights, then I’d go to wrestling practice. Within a year I lost 80 lbs! Yet at 210lbs, I wrestled in the 285 weight class. I was able to have the mentality to wrestle like a big guy but I was faster than them which helped me score some big upsets.
3DMJ: All talent aside, you certainly still have to work your butt off to get to your level, what does your weekly training protocol look like? GL: Yeah, I have to spend 15+ hours a week in the gym and watch my diet daily. I try to set aside 3 hours a day Monday-Friday for the gym. Monday consists of chest, Tuesday back, Wednesday shoulders, Thursday legs, Friday bicep/triceps (“Bro-Pumps”). Monday, Wednesday and Friday I run 3.5 miles after my workout, Tuesday and Thursday I shoot for 30 min on the elliptical. I also try to stay active on the weekends so I’ll come into the gym for additional cardio/abs or I‘ll go hiking or snowboarding (during winter). Depending on the day I try to shoot for 2500-3000 calories a day in food as well.
3DMJ: Why do you choose to train naturally? GL: I can’t say that I made the choice to train naturally, rather it was the way I was raised that kept me away from steroids. I was raised in a disciplinary household which consisted of a bread-winner father and a home-making mother. Since I was 3-4 years old my father took me to work landscaping with him on the weekends so I had very little time to go out and be influenced by peers. We didn’t even have cable! Point being, I was raised by a hard working father who would not hesitate to discipline me when I was not doing the work I was supposed to be doing whether it be on a job or in school. For this reason I’ve always had a fear of doing things that would entail negative repercussions such as performance enhancing drugs. When I began playing sports and doing well in school, it served as a way for me to get out of going to work on the weekends. The discipline I was raised with carried over to sports so when it came to drugs or steroids, staying away from them was second nature to me. Even now, I’ve seen Chris Bell’s Bigger Stronger Faster documentary on steroids and I’ve seen how steroids are stigmatized. I still stay away just due to the principle of gaining strength. After years of lifting I’ve figured out that no matter how many steroids, protein shakes, and hormone boosters you take, it comes down to your mental discipline to go to the gym and hit it HARD. Believe me; I’ve met people who even after taking steroids, half-assing their workouts, and drowning their bodies in alcohol, still manage to complain that they’re not getting in better shape. I wonder why. I was constantly offered steroids though, mostly at the gym’s I trained at. When I started lifting on my own after the high school sports ended, I began to work out with some individuals who did take anabolic steroids, and who also knew a thing or two about gaining mass. But just by lifting with these individuals I was able to feed off of their intensity and I quickly caught up to them in strength (but never in size). Till this day I follow the same workout structure that they taught me. This is not to say that I am a 100% straight-edge lifter though. I eat my protein bars, take my pre-workout supplements (N.O., Redline), take my vitamins, glutamine and glucosamine. Being a college student at UC Davis and having 2 jobs, you can bet your ass I have a Starbucks card so I can get my daily caffeine fix as well.
3DMJ: What are your current goals as of now? Any future competitions you are planning on doing? GL: As of right now my main goal is to finish a double major at UC Davis. I am in my senior year of college so this is my home-stretch year. I am also working for the UC Davis Fire Department as a Student Resident Fire Fighter/EMT. Through the SRFF program I am also working on obtaining a Firefighter 1 certification as well as a Truck company qualification. I am taking my training week by week and I’m just focusing on getting in better conditioning shape while maintaining strength. I hope to jump back into some strongman competitions and maybe some powerlifting whenever I get the time to do so. I am due for a competition though, as you probably know, it is hard to train hard week after week with no set competition.
3DMJ: I recall watching you at your first powerlifting meet back in 2007, and could not believe your age. Your age to strength ratio makes for some shock value. Where does your work ethic come from? (This by the way is especially impressive coming from a younger individual) How do you balance school, training, and all the other extras? GL: I mentioned earlier that I was pretty heavy back in high school. After I lost some weight I was able to retain some muscle memory and after time, my strength to weight ratio was crazy. I have to say that my work ethic comes from the way I was raised. When I was young I had to go to work with my father on the weekends and I hated it. At one point he gave me the choice of working a back-breaking job for the rest of my life or excelling in school. I took the latter option as a way to get out of hard landscaping work and I spent the rest of my middle/high school career training hard and studying hard. As I got older I began to appreciate the work ethic that my father taught me, as well as the manual skills. I honestly have no clue how I am able to balance going to school, working at UCD Fire, working as a bouncer at a bar, a girlfriend and the gym. When I first got to college it all seemed too overwhelming to me, but after time I began to adopt a mentality of “Get err done!” I get crap from friends all the time for not having enough free time or the freedom to eat what I want. But when it comes down to it, I have to pay my bills and get my degree. So no matter how much is on my plate, my goal is not to fail and to get it done.
3DMJ: Any tips you have for other young lifters out there? GL: Lifting is a 100% mental game. What I mean by that is that no matter how great of genes you have, it won’t mean anything if you don’t put them to use. If you want to get in better shape it is going to take time. There is no quick or easy way to gain muscle. If you want to get bigger, it will hurt both mentally and physically. Don’t be one of those people that go to the gym to do passive half-assed workouts week after week. You will not see results. If you’re serious about improving your physique, get educated, read training articles, ask other lifters for advice, and use what you learn to push yourself. Always aim high in order to get strong; if you’re not working out hard then you are just a waste of gym space and a waste of other lifters’ time. And if you’re playing a sport, being that weak link can be detrimental to your team’s success, so get serious!
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