WESTMINSTER : Weight Training Gives Officer a Lift

Mahn Ingwerson used to be a small, skinny guy, he says.

But about four years ago, the otherwise mild-mannered Westminster police officer decided to take up power lifting. Now the 5-foot, 8-inch, 148-pound Ingwerson has worked his way up to lifting 315 pounds and has become a world champion power lifter. He is among the first Vietnamese-Americans to represent the United States in international sports competition.

This year Ingwerson led this country’s power-lifting team to victory over Sweden and Finland. He won first place this week at the California Police Olympic games in Los Angeles and won the California and Arizona Police Olympic Games in 1992. Next month he will go to Moscow to compete against Russian power lifters.

“I used to weigh 120 pounds--small is not the word,” said Ingwerson, 35, who has been a police officer for nine years. “I didn’t feel good, so I started lifting. It helped a lot with my self-confidence; it makes me feel strong and confident about work. If you’re too small, you feel that if you are confronted by a dangerous situation, you might get beat up. I can do a better job now.”

Ingwerson’s visits to other states and countries to compete have been sponsored by Westminster business owners, friends and the Vietnamese community.

“Doing this helps myself and helps give the Vietnamese community and the Police Department a positive reputation,” he said.

Ingwerson works out 1 1/2 hours a day, six days a week, with a trainer.

Power lifting, Ingwerson said, is as popular as weightlifting, and he hopes that the sport will become a part of the Olympics by 1996. The Institute for Power Lifting and the Assn. for International Culture Exchange are working toward that goal.

Power lifters and weightlifters differ in that power lifters lift weights from a squat position or while lying on their backs, while weightlifters lift weights from the ground to above their heads.

In the meantime, Ingwerson, who immigrated to this country from Vietnam in 1968 with his mother, will continue competing both nationally and internationally. And even without the Olympics, he said, lifting is a positive force in his life--he recommends the gym for anyone who needs a boost in self-esteem.

“It makes you feel good about yourself,” he said. “You stay younger by working out. I tell people not to take drugs but to take vitamins, eat right and hit the gym.”