Weightlifting with Mark Evans

Mark Evans, FSA, MAAA, is vice president and actuary in the equity derivatives area of AEGON USA Investment Management, LLC, and a competitive weightlifter. Learn more about how this actuary is disciplined in his work, in his sport and in his life.

How did you get involved with competitive weightlifting?
I wrestled four years in high school.  I started lifting my freshman year of high school to improve my wrestling.  By the time I was in college, it was pretty obvious that I had a lot more ability lifting weights than wrestling.  I went to the University of Nebraska, largely for the actuarial program.  They were the pioneer in lifting for football and other sports.  I did intramurals my first two years, and then was invited to be on the powerlifting team my third (senior) year.  I won one meet and placed second in another.

How often do you compete?
I trained but did not compete for about two years after graduating from Nebraska, but once I finished my actuarial exams, I started looking for meets to get into.  By that time I had gained more strength, particularly in the bench press.  Since then I have entered several meets a year, and some years, probably more than that.

How many competitions have you participated in?
Probably about 200 contests of one sort or another.  Powerlifting consists of the squat, bench press and deadlift.  I also do a less popular, but similar sport called powersports which consists of the curl, bench press and deadlift.  I also do single lift meets.  Up to about age 35, my bench was very good, well over double body weight.  I am very good at the curl, and excel at the deadlift. 

For those of us who don’t know much about weightlifting, is there a league?
When I first got into powerlifting there was one very strong national organization.  Because of debates over testing for steroids and other issues, it is now a very fractured sport organizationally.  Each organization has its own rules (but they are similar) and keeps its own records.  I hold about a dozen national records in one of the larger drug-free organizations, and have held or hold many state records in several organizations.

Do you compete in a specific weight class?
Yes.  I have competed anywhere from the 132 lb weight class to the 154 lb weight class.  My natural weight has been between 135 lb and 145 lb most my adult life.  On occasion, I will “cut” weight to get down to a particular weight class. 

How often do you work out to prepare for competition?
I usually lift twice a week, with the weekend workout often lasting over three hours.  I don’t do anything regimented otherwise, but am fairly active outdoors.

Do you adhere to a specific diet?
I don’t do anything exotic, but I eat fairly healthy.  I limit consumption of fat and simple carbs.  I consume a lot of protein, mostly via chicken, turkey, fish, beef and pork.  I have never consumed alcohol.  My total food intake is pretty high to support my lifting.

How would you say weightlifting has helped your actuarial career, or vice versa?
My employer rarely has to worry about me calling in sick and never has to worry about me showing up at work hung over or stoned.  Being fit allows for greater powers of concentration at work.  If there is a common thread between success in my career and my avocation, it would be discipline.  I was in Navy ROTC my first two years at Nebraska.  If I had stayed in the Navy, they probably would have supported my lifting efforts as far as time off to train more and to travel to competitions.  There are some competitive situations where being able to do math in my head including kilo/pound conversions comes in pretty handy.    

Do you have any other hobbies?
I do a fair amount of pretty difficult math and logic puzzles.  I dabble in chess and bridge.  I am also some what of an automobile enthusiast, and of course I own a “muscle” car.

Is there anything else you would like to add?
Steroid usage is a serious problem in my sport.  It is even more prevalent in professional wrestling and competitive bodybuilding.  I will leave it to others to debate ethical considerations surrounding competing fairly, but the detrimental health impact is the bigger issue, which the press tends to understate and misunderstand.