Sergey, you are a medalist of A1, a prestigious event. We have not seen you in international – level tournaments before. How did you get this good?

The incentive for me was meeting Ivan Dobrorezov, who used the stick and carrot method on me, to give me proper motivation. It has been eight years ago. I wanted to get to A1 for two years now, and after finishing my army service I've decided to give it a try, though I wasn't in my best shape. I had about two months of proper training – and here we go! Usually I weigh in at about 108 – 110 kg, but due to army service my weight has dropped to 100kg and I could fight in a new category.

Your category was strong. In the first three to win there were also Krasimir Kostadinov and Andrey Barskov. I saw you stop Krasimir's arm for a while. What are your impressions from fighitng him?

He's not as scary as people say he is. It's never wise to be scared of a name, just give it all you've got in a fight. I couldn't say I was weaker than him, I just wasn't thinking during the fight, and I had too little experience.

Do you think you can prepare for the next tournament enough to take first place, not third?

If god allows, I hope to go to the next A1 in much better shape. I have experience now. The draw also plays a major part.

Why haven't you fought in OPEN?

I didn't think I was ready for OPEN.

Who would you like to meet in an armfight?

I would like to take on Todd Hutchings.

I know that in best shape, your biceps size is 50 cm. What exercies do you do for biceps?

I use only preacher's bench with dumbbells, almost no barbells. I do a couple of workouts and then I lose steam.

And what do you do for wrist?

I use fat and regular grips, up and down settings of regulated pulley. Not as often as I should, but that's a different topic …

What's Sergey's advice to beginners?

Don't rush anything, work on technique from the very beginning, because it gets harder as you go. Don't quit after a first disappointment.

Izman Ilya