Nabeel Dabeet is a junior at MHS and a member of the thousand-pound club, meaning that if you combine his personal records on squat, bench press, and deadlift, he can lift over 1000 pounds. Last year, he began competing in powerlifting competitions and is now taking a break in preparation for his return next year.
Unlike other guys in the gym, Nabeel trains frequently to push his body to its limits; lifting weights is what he’s mastered, but his journey into powerlifting began when he started seeking something more after competing in other sports.
“I first started in middle school, doing basketball. In my seventh- and eighth-grade years, I liked it. My freshman year, I wanted to try something different… I tried football, but I didn’t like it.”
Both he and his brother joined the football team in the summer of 2024, but they realized it wasn’t something they loved. They continued to try out new things, but most importantly, they did it together.
“Freshman year, my brother started going to the gym, and he wanted me to get in there.”
Alongside his brother Anton, Nabeel began to train for strength. This was a transitional period of learning for the two. Without having any prior knowledge of lifting, they began learning about strength training and form.
After a period of learning and lifting, Anton came up with another new idea for Nabeel.
“My brother showed me a couple of TikTok videos about these people, power lifting, and I said, ‘Yeah, I’ll just give it a try.”
Nabeel realized that lifting competitively involved 3 main components: support from a coach, support from family, and a disciplined mindset. With a tough mentality alongside the motivation from his brother, Nabeel was almost set. The last part was to reach out to someone for guidance.
“I emailed some coaches. They emailed me back. He gave me a prep. I was eight weeks out. And then, yeah, just started there.”
From then on, Nabeel had to make some serious changes to compete in his first competition. He had to cut out over 1,000 calories from his diet and attempt to drop weight while retaining strength.
“Going into sophomore year, I started cutting weight, and then I maintained that weight. I stayed in that weight class and then started getting stronger, so I could compete.”
Though cutting weight allowed him to compete, lowering his caloric intake made it difficult to reconstruct the progress he had already made.
“I had to go through, like, a year-long phase to rebuild all that strength, so I could start and get my form right and ready.”
His coach guided him on which lifts would be most beneficial for muscle growth, yet would give him a good enough challenge.
“He’s, like, an online coach. So he sends me my workouts, and I send him videos of my top sets. So, he programs each week for me.”
Nabeel’s switch from his original split to the one programmed by the coach was demanding, but making the change highlighted the distinct things his coach organized for him.
“I went from 6 days of training to 4 days, but these 4 days of training, they’re like way more workouts and more intensity.”
His new split included a day for bench press, a day for squats, a day for deadlifts, and an accessory day programmed by his coach. This new split meant lifting weights closer to his one-rep max, eating more to sustain himself, and giving his body more time to recover. Taking lifting seriously has made him realize his achievements, allowing him to reap the benefits of his discipline.
“Before that, I would not, like, fully commit to stuff, but this, I’m, like, fully committed to and keep working every day for it.”
Nabeel has reached the mental toughness aspect of the sport and has his own internal drive to keep going, but everyone has their off days. Regardless of how he feels, Nabeel will always have people in his circle to push him to keep working.
“I have Anton, my coach, and my dad… every time I’m tired, and don’t want to go to the gym, some days I have those, he tells me, I have to go work hard.”
The days he wants to skip are a reminder of how much he values the hard work he’s already put into the sport.
“If I want to be good, I have to train the best. ‘Cause I can’t let the person in my same weight class outwork me.”
The preparation isn’t the hard part; the most intense part is listening for the first command on the platform. In these anxiety-inducing seconds, Nabeel remains calm while focusing on his execution.
“I tell myself repeatedly, I have to lift this.”
Through his journey through the trial and error of sports and the difficulties of powerlifting, Nabeel has learned one thing that has changed his mindset permanently.
“If you’re gonna do something, put full effort into it. Don’t half-a** on anything. If you’re gonna do something, do it. Don’t quit midway through.”
Follow Nabeel on his socials to keep up with his lifting!
@mass_monster690 on instagram
@massmonster_690 on tiktok
