Maxim Filippov. arm wrestler

Maxim Filippov, deputy head of the construction organization department and chief engineer of the Chkalovskaya project, works at the Inzhproekt Institute. The father of three children, an active member of the trade union, he is an international master of sports of Russia in arm wrestling. About the passion for arm wrestling (from the English arm– "hand") and we talked.

– I graduated from MIIT in 2008 under the program “Construction of railways, bridges and transport tunnels”. He worked at Mosinzhproekt, Mospromproekt, from where he moved to the Inzhproekt Institute in 2016. He was involved in the reconstruction project of the Filevskaya line, the Leninsky Prospekt station, the Tsaritsyno - Kantemirovskaya section of the Zamoskvoretskaya line. And today my colleagues and I are working on a project for the reconstruction of the existing Lubyanka and Chkalovskaya stations. I like the work, especially when you achieve results and enjoy it.

–When did you start getting involved in sports?

- Ever since school. In the tenth grade, I went to the arm wrestling section with my friends and got hooked. I’m still doing it now, for 23 years. I didn't think I could achieve anything because I was one of the weakest. At first the coach didn’t want to take me. Gradually, as I practiced, I began to show results. Six years later, he became a prize-winner at the Russian Championship, playing for Moscow, selected for the Russian national team, and in 2010 won the European Arm Wrestling Championship.

- Where did he go?

- In Moscow. In 2009, I took second place at the European Championship in Bulgaria, and the next year I won in my home country. Thanks to this, I was awarded the title of international master of sports. He also participated in the world championships, but was not among the winners there.

- Are competitions held by weight categories?

- The weight category for women starts from 50 kg, for men – from 55 kg with an increase of five kilograms in the following categories. I won the European Championship in the 75 kg category, and now I compete in the up to 80 kg weight category. As for age, as a rule, up to 40 years are young athletes, and from 40 to 70 are considered veterans.

- How many fights must be fought to win gold?

- It depends on the number of participants in the weight category. If there are about 20 people, you need to win about six fights and never lose. If you lose, you drop into the lower bracket of the table, and then you have to win a lot more fights. With two defeats, the athlete ends the fight.

- How long does the fight last?

- It varies: maybe up to a second, sometimes it can be prolonged – up to five or six minutes. True, this risks losing your strength, since the tournament involves several fights. Much depends on the style - fighting on horseback is faster, while in a hook it is a more protracted fight. My tactic is a quick victory on horseback to save strength.

- Why do athletes have their hands tied with a strap?

- In order to avoid disruptions during captures. This is quite common.

- Are you right-handed or left-handed?

- I am right-handed in life, but in fact I perform better on my left hand. According to the rules, you can fight on both your left and right hands. But all my best results, including the European Championship, I showed on my left hand.

- Do you scream during fights?

- Yes, but this is for myself, to release emotions, relieve stress.

- And the battle of views?

- This is practiced in armfight - professional commercial tournaments where several fights take place between two athletes. The one who wins the most wins. These competitions take into account not only the strength of the athlete, but also his endurance and ability to wear down his opponent.

-Who are the strongest in arm wrestling?

- Previously, Russia dominated both men and women at the World and European Championships. Today, the first places are mainly taken by Georgian and Kazakh armwrestlers. There are a lot of strong guys from America in armfight. If you watched the movie “Fight All That” with Sylvester Stallone, an arm wrestling tournament was organized for this tape, and the main prize was a truck, which was won by John Brzenk, nicknamed the Professor, 26-time world heavyweight champion, auto mechanic. He is a professional arm wrestler, a legend in this sport.

- How are your training sessions going?

- I work out in the gym of the Bauman Moscow State Technical University with my coach, Ivan Matyushenko, Honored Master of Sports, multiple world and European champion. Together we analyze past matches and draw up a program. Basically, these are specific workouts to work out different muscle groups. And, of course, practice: we fight at the table. Bodybuilders come to us who seem to have a mountain of muscles, but they are easy to defeat because they have not worked out the muscle groups important for arm wrestling.

- Should you train every day?

- Nowadays arm wrestling is becoming more and more popular, and the competition between arm wrestlers is constantly growing; in order to show a good result, you need to practice a lot. I used to train three times a week, from one to three hours, and for the last five years - twice. Work takes up a lot of time. Accordingly, this affects the result. At the last Russian champions I was in the top ten, and in 2020 I became fourth. I recently added an additional fifth workout every two weeks because I want to compete more.

- Do you do anything else besides the gym?

- This year I started running 5 km. I took up winter swimming, following the example of my father, and plunged into an ice hole, but it took away my strength. To show decent results in competitions, you need to focus on one thing, or be average in the rest.

HELP

Arm wrestling is a type of arm wrestling between two participants. The task of a competitive armwrestler is to press the opponent’s hand to the surface. Although not an Olympic sport, arm wrestling is popular in many parts of the world. The possibility of including arm wrestling in the Paralympic Games is being considered.

- How do you balance training, work and family?

- My wife knew who she was marrying, so she adapted to my regime. And when children began to appear, and I have three of them - Yura, Ulyana and Andrey - I began to devote more time to my family. Previously, when it was possible, I traveled with my wife to my competitions abroad, combining business with pleasure.

- Do your children know that you are an arm wrestler?

- The children watched my armfight via online broadcast and were delighted. The older one is interested in karate, and the younger one, when asked what you want to do, answered: like you, arm wrestling.

- What does arm wrestling give you?

- I enjoy it, especially when I win and understand that my work and efforts have borne fruit. And, of course, playing sports makes you feel good. I'm so used to working out that when I'm on vacation I miss it. After intense meetings at work, you come to the gym, talk to the guys, work out and feel that your head is unloaded, you can go back to battle.

Interviewed by Sergey Zhivaev