Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Piedmont Power Showcase on January 29, 2022. Top OVERALL Wilks 2.0...
Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting? Henry Craig, 33 years old and I have been powerlifting competitively for 6 years, training for roughly 18 years Best lifts in competition? 903 squat, 551 bench, 777 deadlift Athletic background? What you did before powerlifting? I started lifting weights when I was 15. I played football in school Why Powerlifting? Powerlifting gave me an outlet for all the negative energy I had in my life. I was able to channel all the bad stuff into the weight room. Once I started competing I was hooked with the sport. It's me vs me to be a better stronger version of myself each day. It takes dedication and a goal oriented mindset to achieve a huge total or big lift. The community in powerlifting is like no other Tell me something about your gym/team. I train at legendary strength in Lynchburg Virginia for the time being. It's a solid gym oriented around strength specific sports like powerlifting and strongman so it makes training for powerlifting a great place to train Training alone or training partner/coach, team? For the most part I train alone or my wife is with me pushing me. Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you train alone) don't know about you? I train and compete completely beltless Biggest inspiration in the sport? I would have to say my biggest inspiration in the sport would be Dan Bell and Andy Huang What's your favorite lift? Favorite lift is definitely the squat Least favorite lift? Deadlift Biggest challenge in your training? The biggest challenge in my training is learning to continue to push myself even on days when I have no motivation or feel burnt out. I personally think powerlifting is more of a mental challenge Ideal training atmosphere? Focused and dialed in or noisy and high energy? Focused and dialed in Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach? I have a coach I am currently coached by Cam Scott from smart strength official Social media. Positives and negatives. Social media definitely both. The positives is you can share your story and journey and inspire others and help others along the way. At the same time social media can create a false sense of what's real. No one wants to show the failures and missed lifts or bad days of training even though we all have those Diet you follow? Supplements? I just eat enough protein and calories a day to fuel my body and maintain where I feel good. Supplement wise I use protein powder, vitamin D, and bcaa's all from my sponsor 50 cal labz Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career? My biggest accomplishment to date is hitting a beltless 903 squat in competition. I have wanted that number for so long now. My lifetime goal is to squat 1000+ Beltless in a meet What's one of your non-powerlifting goals? One non powerlifting goal of mine is to continue to be a successful man with my job as well as be the best husband I can be to my wife who supports the life and goals I have Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)? First and foremost I have to acknowledge my lord and savior Jesus Christ for blessing me with the ability to do what I do. Also my wife Mackenzie who gives me the most support and believes in me and wants me to succeed in my goals with powerlifting she's the real MVP. Also shoutout to my sponsor 50 cal labz who support me along the way and then my coach and smart strength for setting me up for success
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Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Piedmont Power Showcase on January 29, 2022. Top Men's Raw Wilks 2.0...
Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting? Rondell Kelley 31 6 year Best lifts in competition? Deadlift 804 Athletic background? What you did before powerlifting? Play basketball when I was a teenager Why Powerlifting? Love setting new goals for myself Trying alone or training partner/coach, team? Coached by Josh Bryant What's your favorite lift? Deadlift Least favorite lift? Squat Biggest challenge in your training? Squat Social media. Positives and negatives Instagram rondell.e.kelley Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career? Totaling over 2K What's one of your non-powerlifting goals? Own a gym Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Tennessee Open on January 15, 2022.
Top Female Raw... Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting? Brandi Shanks and I am 33 years old. I've been powerlifting around 2 years. Athletic background? What you did before powerlifting? As a teenager I played softball. I played in high-school and a short time in college. Why Powerlifting? I enjoy powerlifting bc I believe it can be transferred over into life lessons. For example sometimes in the gym you get beat down, but you keep pushing, sometimes you fail, but you get back up and just bc something is heavy or hard it doesn't mean you can't do it. Tell me something about your gym/team. My gym is etowah barbell owned by Dustin and Brittany reed. Trying alone or training partner/coach, team? My team is the walls of Jericho and my coach is josh rodda. What's your favorite lift? Least favorite lift? My favorite lift is the deadlift and my least is bench. Biggest challenge in your training? The biggest challenge I have in training is trusting the process. Ideal training atmosphere? Focused and dialed in or noisy and high energy? I prefer to train with loud music and motivated people, but I can also do my thing alone. Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career? Finally hitting a 400 lb deadlift. Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)? I would like to acknowledge and shoutout my grandfather Eddie pulley who is no longer here, but taught me a lot of things that I apply to powerlifting and life in general. I also appreciate my coach josh rodda and my previous coach Dustin reed who have helped get me to this point. Shoutout to my wife Olivia who grinds with me, my gym family who helps and pushes me and last but not least my family who are always in my corner. Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Tennessee Open on January 15, 2022.
Top OVERALL Wilks 2.0... Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting? Tyler Cummings. 30yo. 9 years competing. Best lifts in competition? Best lifts in comp- 805/530/760 Athletic background? What you did before powerlifting? Before powerlifting I played high school football and rec basketball. Why Powerlifting? After high school I continued to excel in the weight room. I've worked out since I was 10 and lifting was a part of my life. When I was training in college I decided to try my first competition and instantly fell in love with the sport. Tell me something about your gym/team. My gym and team do not coincide due to location. But both are comprised of an amazing group of diverse, motivated, and positive athletes that I'm blessed to call my family and friends. Trying alone or training partner/coach, team? I typically train alone. This gives me less reliance on a partner, a more productive routine, and better focus on my training. Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you train alone) don't know about you? I've competed in 3 countries outside of the US.- Finland, Australia, and Colombia. Biggest inspiration in the sport? Inspiration- Breaking records. What's your favorite lift? Favorite lift- Bench press. Least favorite lift? Least favorite- Deadlifts. Biggest challenge in your training? Biggest challenge in training is balancing it with my work schedule. Working as a contractor often requires long, and sometimes exhausting days. Ideal training atmosphere? Focused and dialed in or noisy and high energy? I prefer noisy with high energy. I focus better with a lot of background noise and being surrounded by serious lifters. Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach? I have a great coach, Josh Rodda, who I plan to continue training under his advisement. Social media. Positives and negatives Social media is great in moderation for the right purpose. Too much of it distracts us from focusing on ourselves. Diet you follow? Supplements? My diet has always been high protein, moderate-high Complex carbs, and moderate amount of good fats. I avoid sugars, fried foods, and processed foods as much as possible. Exceptions are made around meet (aka weight gaining) time but still regulated. Fish oil, vitamin D, vitamin E, zinc, MSM/glucosamine are taken daily. Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career? Biggest powerlifting accomplishment was winning the junior division at the 2014 GPA worlds in Sydney Australia. What's one of your non-powerlifting goals? Non powerlifting goal is to travel as much of the world as possible. Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)? I would like to acknowledge my team (Walls of Jericho) for their hard work and support and support for one another. Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Tennessee Open on January 15, 2022.
Top Junior Female Push/Pull... Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting? My name is Ashley Parrish and I am 17 years old. I have been powerlifting for 6 months. Best lifts in competition? This was my first competition and my best deadlift in competition was 313 pounds and my bench press is 130 pounds. I have not done squats in competition yet. Athletic background? What you did before powerlifting? I have been doing sports all my life. I am currently a thrower in track and field. I originally started powerlifting to become stronger for track and field. I now powerlift because I like to prove to myself that I have grown from who I was when I started training. Tell me something about your gym/team. My team is composed of a group of four girls including me. We are a Christ driven team. All of our accomplishments are thanks to God. I train with my team and our amazing coach, Kent Johnson. My team is like my family, they know almost everything about me. Biggest inspiration in the sport? My biggest inspiration in the sport is my Coach. He pushes me, encourages me, and teaches me how to be the best version of myself. What's your favorite lift? My favorite lift in the sport is deadlift and I do not have a least favorite lift. Biggest challenge in your training? My biggest challenge in my training is the mental aspect. Ideal training atmosphere? My ideal training atmosphere is noisy and high energy. When other people are getting excited about their lifts, it just encourages me to work harder. Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach? My coach creates my training plan. Diet you follow? Supplements? I do not have a diet I follow and I do not take any supplements. Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career? My biggest accomplishment in my powerlifting career was probably the last USPC competition. It was my first competition and I did a lot better than I thought I was going to do. What's one of your non-powerlifting goals? One non-powerlifting goal I have is to become an engineer for NASA. I would love to go to space one day! Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)? I would like to acknowledge my mom for believing in me, my amazing coach, Kent Johnson, and most of all God. You're not seeing double...we had the husband and wife team of Amira and Zach Smith win best lifter in the women's and men's division!
Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting? Zachary (Zeus) Smith, 35, 16 years Best lifts in competition? Z- 651 squat, 480 bench, 751 deadlift (also this past meet) Athletic background? What you did before powerlifting? Z-football, wrestling, rugby, bodybuilding Amira actually coached me for my first strongman competition and I spent almost 10 years fighting boxing & Muay Thai Why Powerlifting? Z- i had actually torn my acl and labrum training for WKA's and in my rehab I used powerlifting as a measure to regain my confidence, oddly enough I met Amira about this same time and the rest is history. Tell me something about your gym/team. Z-My gym is Flex Gym, I've been training there since I was 13, my team is actually the Legacy Team Flex, the original Team Flex was started by Al Walke my mentor. Everybody that wears a Team Flex Shirt had to re-earn it nobody was grandfathered in including myself. Trying alone or training partner/coach, team? Z-I prefer a training partner most specifically Amira Smith but I'm ok with a small training group as long as they understand watching the kids and the front desk come with the territory. Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you train alone) don't know about you? Z-So my brother and I were drinking at a bar one time, and on our way out we got into a fight with a group of guys in the parking lot anyway the ambulance came and took a few of them away and the police took my name down. Few weeks later my client who was a circuit court judge calls me and tells me that I was in trouble and my name came up and that I was going to have to go work for the sheriff for a few years....and that's how I became a deputy. Biggest inspiration in the sport? Z-my biggest inspiration is my wife, I literally wait for her to grind out a lift just to be fired up to do mine. What's your favorite lift? Z- Deadlift for sure Least favorite lift? Z- also bench Biggest challenge in your training? Z-definitely distractions during training. Kids/buisness/ solving drama or simply coaching. At one point in prep someone was showing me their bench video mid squat on a max effort triple. Ideal training atmosphere? Focused and dialed in or noisy and high energy? Z-ideal is focused and dialed in, I don't mind high energy for the max effort lift but when the work starts let's just train. Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach? Z-we both coach and program ourselves Social media. Positives and negatives Z-not entirely sure what's so positive about it except that but def takes up more time than it's worth. Diet you follow? Supplements? Z- I write diets for prep, post prep and maintenance and I typically order health supplements from Revive ie powdered greens, blood pressure, creatine, glutamine Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career? Z-biggest accomplishment to date is totaling elite at this past meet What's one of your non-powerlifting goals? Z-one of my non powerlifting goals that still need to be met is to purchase commercial real estate (specifically the building Flex is in) Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)? Z-honestly the person that has always held me the most accountable is Amira despite what we have going on she has always made our goals a priority and that's rare to find in a partner. Outside of that the team and the gym fam are so supportive and always come together for whatever we need. That being said there are two people that I personally would have not made it this far without and that's Pat McMillan and Nichole King. Literally Pat has been my powerlifting mentor and got me into the sport and has been there behind the scenes for every single prep I've ever had and Nichole (our family friend, business partner and physical therapist) has without hesitation dropped everything to address every single injury and issue we have, literally performed miracles and kept us healthy despite our best efforts! Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Raleigh Ruckus on January 8, 2022.
Top Women's Open Wilks 2.0... Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting? Amira Smith, 29, 10 years Best lifts in competition? This past meet! 344 squat, 143 Bench, 421 Deadlift Athletic background? What you did before powerlifting? i played Basketball, Soccer, and did track in highschool. Zach and I actually both played college Rugby, done bodybuilding shows, and strongman. Why Powerlifting? I choose powerlifting because it is an individual sport as much as it is a team sport. If I fail there is no one to blame but me. Tell me something about your gym/team. My Gym is Project Sixkiller Performance and my team is the Sixkiller Squad. I coach my entire team including myself. Trying alone or training partner/coach, team? I train with my Husband, Zachary Zeus Smith who has his own gym and team; flex gym and team flex. Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you train alone) don't know about you? Something a lot of people don't know is I am also a full time teacher ! Biggest inspiration in the sport? MY biggest inspiration is my husband. What's your favorite lift? My favorite lift is the deadlift! Least favorite lift? The Bench! Biggest challenge in your training? I would have to say our biggest challenge is distractions! Whether it is our two kids one being a 1 year old or the people around us we have learned we need to eliminate those distractions as best we can Ideal training atmosphere? Focused and dialed in or noisy and high energy? Focused dialed in as well as high energy with the correct people around us. Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach? Both of us write our own programs and coach ourselves. Social media. Positives and negatives Social media is a great way to document your training through a cycle but can also be a distraction. Diet you follow? Supplements? I eat fairly clean nutrient dense foods and don't do any additional supplements. Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career? MY biggest accomplishment was this past meet coming back after a terrible pregnancy with 100 lbs weight gain getting back to the 181 class after 2 emergency c-sections and a knee surgery to total my best meet ever. What's one of your non-powerlifting goals? One of my non powerlifting goals is to travel as many places as possible with my family. Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)? I would like to thank my husband who is my backbone and my training partner. We both are pretty hard on each other and don't let the other one slip up in order to produce the best results possible. I would secondly like to thank Pat, who does everything that no one sees to get us to where we need to be. Last but not least I would like to thank the Sixkiller Squad and Team flex for always showing up and showing what real teamwork looks like. Yall are the MVP. |