Heart condition warning doesn’t dim Pendleton man’s powerlifting spirit

PENDLETON — Despite doctors warning him to slow down due to a serious heart condition, Dan Logman trained harder.

He pushed his body, climbing pound by pound on the bench press to lift more than 800 pounds at the 2025 U.S. Powerlifting Federation competition.

Powerlifters across southeastern Washington and northeastern Oregon gathered at Impakt Fitness in Kennewick on May 17 to compete in the 2025 U.S. Powerlifting Federation’s Monster Bench, showcasing their iron strength.

Logman, 53, competed with his team wearing a three-ply bench shirt to lift heavy weights. Although he can bench 415 pounds without that shirt, the stiff, supportive shirt improves a bench presser’s performance during competition.

With his arms locked and back pressed to the bench, and five spotters ready, Logman lifted 804.7 pounds to set another national record with the U.S. Powerlifting Association. The lift earned him the No. 8 all-time spot worldwide in the 50–54 age group, 308-pound weight class.

Thrilled as he was, the road to that moment was anything but easy.

A heart out of rhythm

Logman in 2022 went to CHI St. Anthony Hospital in Pendleton for surgery to treat a staph infection in his thigh. During the procedure, doctors detected atrial fibrillation, an irregular heartbeat, and brought it to his attention. Logman, though, wasn’t too concerned at first, assuming it was stress related to the upcoming surgery.

But within weeks, the condition sent him to the emergency room four times in a span of 15 days. Doctors told him he had experienced heart failure and diagnosed him with ventricular tachycardia, a condition that can lead to sudden cardiac death.

Logman said doctors discovered his heart wasn’t pumping properly.

“They did an angiogram and found there were no blockages,” he said. “That’s when they started me on medication. It helped at first, but eventually, the medicine stopped working.”

Despite his cardiologist’s warnings about lifting heavy weights, Logman returned to the gym with determination.

“I just think people have to follow their passion,” he said. “I watch my health closely with my doctors. Yeah, there are risks with heavy lifting — but that’s true for anyone.”

Doctors in July 2023 implanted a pacemaker in Logman’s chest in hopes of stabilizing his condition. But the device didn’t fix the problem. Logman began experiencing dangerous spikes in his heart rate — sometimes jumping from 75 beats per minute to more than 200.

About three weeks after receiving a pacemaker, Logman learned he needed a heart ablation. Three months later, doctors performed a dual procedure, and his heart has remained in rhythm since.

Although his heart was back on track, Logman said the anxiety lingered long after the episodes stopped.

“Even now, if I get heartburn or something, my mind still goes, ‘Is this the one?,’’’ he said. “It’s scary but you can’t live your life like that. You’ve got to get out of that mindset. It was tough to shake, but once I got back in rhythm and the A-fib stopped, it got better. Still, it’s always in the back of my mind.”

Since the surgery, his strength and confidence have steadily returned.

Logman takes several medications, including beta blockers and other heart drugs to manage his condition. Despite the strict regimen, he has made lifestyle changes to support his recovery, including cutting out caffeine.

“June 1 will be three years without an energy drink or preworkout,” he said.“I miss it, but honestly, I’m more scared to drink a Red Bull now than anything.”

After spending time recovering and closely monitoring his heart, Logman sees his cardiologist once a year.

Finding strength in coaching

In the Roundup Athletic Club weight room on May 28, Logman and his team, the Angry Apes, push through intense power training sessions fueled by hard work and strong camaraderie. Logman flipped open his notebook, where he keeps detailed records of each team member’s lifts and progress — a testament to their dedication and steady gains.

The 10 members including his three sons — Christopher, the eldest, and twins Craig and Curtis — who train with their father and have caught the iron bug, competing in powerlifting events of their own.

Logman trains with his bench team in Kennewick every Tuesday. The rest of the week, he trains with his main team at the club in Pendleton.

Wednesdays are bench nights, Thursdays focus on squats and Fridays are reserved for speed bench sessions. Saturday mornings, the team meets for deadlifts, Sundays are dedicated to core workouts, an all-around session where members can choose their focus. Mondays rest days.

Although Logman enjoys lifting, he has embraced the coaching side of training.

Dave Lilienthal, 57, the oldest member of the group, serves as a co-coach alongside Logman.

With decades of experience and a few battle scars, Lilienthal understands the challenges of training later in life and looks forward to working out with the group.

“After 50, you start slowing down — you get the aches and pains,” he said. “I’ve had surgeries. Both of my knees have been reconstructed.”

Despite the setbacks, Lilienthal continues to powerlift, crediting the team’s focus on safety and support.

“Powerlifting is still possible, especially when you’ve got people around you who protect one another, making sure everything’s done safely,” he said. “If something goes wrong, they’ve got your back. That lets you be more confident, and that’s really important.”

Angry Ape member Jamal Vann, 26, said his progress in the gym has been dramatic since training with the team for the past seven months.

When Vann started, he weighed 286 pounds. Now, he’s down to 277. His lifts have seen major jumps in that short time. His 455-pound squat now stands at 625 pounds. He moved his deadlift from 405 pounds to 625 pounds. And he is inching his bench press from 345 pounds to his goal of 365 pounds.

“I kind of dig the coaching,” Logman said. “I don’t know how many more years I’ve got left of this heavy lifting. It can take its toll. I’m pretty beat up most of the time. It’s pretty crazy.”

Living his life

Although Logman knew the risks of lifting weights while managing his heart condition, he said each person has to evaluate their own situation and decide if the risk is worth it.

“My wife and I have had serious conversations about the possibility that this could go badly,” he said. “But she understands my passion for the sport is so strong that if I weren’t doing this, I probably wouldn’t be very happy. She supports my decision. If she ever asked me to stop, I would consider it.”

Logman said the gym is his free space — a place where he can focus on what he loves without distractions. He compared life to powerlifting, seeing both as the challenge of confronting something seemingly immovable and figuring out how to move it.

Like lifting, he noted, life presents obstacles that can stop people in their tracks. The choice is whether to let those challenges cause a setback or to find a way around or through them.