“Over the top”, starring Sylvester Stallone, was a great way to promote armwrestling. When that movie came out, the number of armwrestlers al over the world grew exponentially. This was also the case with Artem Babenko.

This movie made me try armwrestling for the first time – recalls Artem. – This kind of movie was very popular at that time, everyone wanted to be like Stallone and Schwarzenegger. It was at that time that I’ve first gone to a gym. I’ve gotten into armwretsling when I was at the university. Mu first coach was Alexander Denysiuk; he’s shown me the basic rules of training and techniques. When the time came for my first university contest, my coach promised to perm his hair if I got one win, and grow a mustache if I got too (laughter). This was a great motivation, so I did win twice. That taste of victory was a great stimulant. After a year of hard training – almost four hours every day – I started again, taking 2^nd place. A year later, in 2005, I’ve been nominated Master of Sports, taking 2^nd place during the Ukrainian Championships. That’s how my career’s begun. I evolved quickly in my first years, because I was training with stronger and more experienced guys, so I had enough competition, I wanted to be the best. I was hungry for victories and progress. My training plan back then was far from perfect, but motivation and loads of time spent on sparring, finally paid off.

After Artem’s graduation, he moved to a regular gym. Dmitri Bakanov became his new coach – a guy who’s trained many achieved strongmen and bodybuilders. One could ask, what could an armwrestler learn from a guy with no experience in armwrestling?

Thanks to Dmitri I’ve climbed a new level, learning the training process – says Artem. – I’ve started to use sets in my preparation period, learned to peak during tournaments, controlling my strength factors. My training process took on new meaning, which made me that much stronger.

His first coach made Artem realize the specifics of training, the second one taught him to control his body and it’s potential. It was time for Artem to take on the international scene. Babenok started to fight the best guys abroad. In 2007, in the Nemiroff World Cup, he took 19^th place, but the next year he’s climbed to 7^th. In 2009 he went to Nemiroff again, placing 9^th, and in 2010 he placed 5^th in the Europeans in Moscow.

Each time I’ve felt more confident – says Artem. – I’ve always felt the podium right near my feet, but never quite got to it. But outcome aside, starting in events like Nemiroff World Cup, Europeans and World Championships – that’s a great experience! I’ve met world – class contestants, learned their techniques and exercises. I’ve learned a lot from my mistakes. I’ve transmitted my strength training into tactical work at the table, using various tools. Now I work out three times a week, for about two hours. The number of exercises, sets, reps and weights depends on my training stage.

An armwrestler’s diet is a very important issue. Many sportsmen are certain that dieting is a bodybuilder’s thing, not armwrestler’s. That’s hard to deny, looking at the world’s top contestants, who say that they eat whatever they want. Let’s just say “different strokes for different folks”, and leave it at that.

Nutrition is a very important factor when it comes to making progress, you cannot just ignore it – says Artem. – A healthy diet is the basics of building muscle mass, the body needs its share of microelements and vitamins. During the training process, tendons get overloaded, small injuries are unavoidable. One should use supplements that strengthen the gristle. I cannot use proteins and aminoacids, due to intolerance, but I do use creatine. It’s hard to evaluate the effectiveness of supplementation, one needs to trust the manufacturer. But supplements or not, diet needs to be observed.

Artem has no favorites, but he has loads of respect for fighters, who have a lot to be learned from – John Brzenk – fightsmanship, Engin Terzi – thinking at the table, Babaev – explosive start, Prudnik – strength of will. In Belarussian armwrestling he’s always favored Pavel Poltoran, winner of Nemiroff, Europeans and World Championships. Artem’s tried to defeat him many times, and each time Pavel told him “you’re getting better”, and Babenok went away with silver.

Pasha’s left armwrestling without losing to me once – says Artem. – Now I await the return of the fighter that many follow – Alexey Voevoda. He’s a very wise guy, I believe in his success. I also wonder what will happen if Larratt comes to Europe. I’d like to see a tournament with the world’s elite on the roster.

Artem’s organized a tournament in Witebsk once, invited fighters from Russia. It was a spontaneous affair, but nobody’s left unsatisfied, and good memories remain to this day.

I’m working on a bigger event now, I want to include the Belarussian Armwrestling Federation this time, and have guests from other countries – says Artem. – I’m struggling with the financial side now. After I get the funds, information will be posted on all sports sites about the event. I want this to be high – level. It would be great to get all Belarussian armwrestling activists together, pool our resources towards the common cause.

Who’s a real champion? A guy with many titles, or the guy who has none, but keeps on fighting? Maybe both of them are? Artem thinks that master is the last step in the pyramid he’s built on his road to medals. A lot of things come into this – hard work, good coaching and support – from family and friends.

To be the winner, one needs to travel a bumpy road, gain experience and skills, be fast and strong, learn to think quick and tactical, eat well and train well, rest well too; explore oneself, learn constantly and five up many things … - says Artem. – And that’s not all that it takes. A win is only a moment of happiness, with years of hard work and analysis behind it. Some people are predisposed, but never enough to become masters. A master is a person with iron spirit, who can take into consideration the maximum number of factors affecting their performance. Being a master means that you’ve done everything right.

Artem feels that time has come to sum his work up. Four years have passed since his last start. He’s been working hard all that time. The time has come now to step up to the table and take on the world’s best. In this year’s World Championships Artem’s going to go all out, for his family, for Belarus and for armwrestling!

Artur Grigorian