Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Kentucky State Championship on June 26, 2021.
Top OVERALL Wilks 2020 (and AGAIN a female)...

Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting?
Tavina Hensley. For about three years. 

Best lifts in competition?
Squat      372.5 lbs 
Bench     271.1 lbs
Deadlift   478.4 lbs
Total       1075.8 lbs

Athletic background?  What you did before powerlifting?
I started getting healthy and working out around 2015. I was just generally trying to be healthy and lift. I began to go out of my comfort zone and start lifting heavier. I started having people at my gym tell me that I could break powerlifting records. So, I started lifting heavy around 2017-18. My first armature competition was a Parks and Recreation in 2019. I won overall Female lifter. 

Article about that competition- 
https://www.bgdailynews.com/news/athletes-prepare-for-bgprs-17th-annual-powerlifting-competition/article_676b2e98-c959-5d2c-90f8-b3b99dd26237.html 

Why Powerlifting?
Because it is a sport where I have found so many people are supportive of one another. It is a sport that I am good at and love doing. I enjoy empowering and inspiring people through my journey in this sport. 

Tell me something about your gym/team.
I have never had a coach/team per say in that I do not work out with a group. I work out alone most every day. I go to Harvey’s gym and am apart of that gym community. If I were to affiliate with a team, it would be Harvey’s gym. 

Trying alone or training partner/coach, team?
I train alone most of the time. I ask for a spotter if I need it and someone is in the gym. I do not have a coach. I am apart of Harvey’s gym. 

Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you
train alone) don't know about you?
Some who follow me do not know that I am a counselor. Also most do not know that I have scoliosis and a piece of my skull has been removed for a Chiari malformation when I was 5 years old. 

Biggest inspiration in the sport?
Jennifer Weed Thompson is one of my most beloved inspirations in this sport. She has gone through medical issues and kept pushing. Another person in my small town I admire and have so much respect for is Randy Richey. He is a preacher and has been both and inspiration and given direction when I was in need.  

What's your favorite lift?
Bench. I enjoy benching because I have trained so hard in it and feel that it is one of my strengths. 

Least favorite lift?
Squat. I used to squat more than I could deadlift but now it is my weakest lift. 

Biggest challenge in your training?
Working around my health issues and making sure I stay strong. 

Ideal training atmosphere?  Focused and dialed in or noisy and high
energy?
I enjoy a gym that is old school and has the powerlifting atmosphere. I tend to be focused and dialed in when I lift. I am calculated and tend to stay focused on what needs to be done to reach my goal. 

Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach?
I am certified through NASM to personal train. I do not have a coach now and have not before. I do progressive overload and change my routine to adjust when I stop growing. 

Social media.  Positives and negatives
I can inspire people and have had feedback from people being grateful for my videos. It does become expected of me to post and interact. I get negative feedback for being a woman and lifting the way I do. I have people who are negative and rude to me for what I do because I am a woman. 

Diet you follow? Supplements?
I do not have a specific diet plan right now. I eat lean meat, rice, greens, and drink mostly Gatorade zero and water. I take hydrolyzed whey protein, highly branched cyclic dextrin, and pre workout. I take a lot of vitamins in the morning and at night. Some of the most important are vitamin B, vitamin C, tamaflex, taurine, and multivitamins. 

Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career?
This last meet, breaking national records for the first time. This was only my third full power raw meets. The only one I have done before this was the one at Parks and Recreation. I broke Kentucky state records in my second full power raw meet. 

What's one of your non-powerlifting goals?
To finish my master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling this November. 

Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout
out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)?
I would like to give a shoutout to Harvey’s gym in Franklin KY. I would like to thank all my family and friends who have supported me along the way. I would like to thank those who have given advice and guidance through this journey. I did not have a coach, but I have had friends at the gym give advice and help me throughout the years. 

Best Lifter spotlight from the WPUSA Kentucky State Championship on June 26, 2021.
Top OVERALL Wilks 2020...

Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting?
Eric Hubbard
26
Powerlifting has been the focus of my training for just under 2 years. 
 
 Best lifts in competition?
Squat 591
Bench 381.5
Deadlift 665.8

 Athletic background?  What you did before powerlifting?
Prior to powerlifting, I played baseball and football in high school and a little baseball in my first year of college as well. 

Why Powerlifting?
 I continue get stronger in my training and see it as a great competitive outlet. 

 Tell me something about your gym/team.
 I train at the high school that I work and coach at, in the field house/lifting room. 

Training alone or training partner/coach, team?
I train with a group of friends that have really pushed me to giving powerlifting a shot. 
 
Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you train alone) don't know about you?
I teach special education and train around coaching year round. 

Biggest inspiration in the sport?
Dan Green

What's your favorite lift?
Deadlift

Least favorite lift?
Bench

Biggest challenge in your training?
 Finding ways to improve my bench press. 

Ideal training atmosphere?  Focused and dialed in or noisy and high 
energy?
The rowdier the better. 

Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach?
I use a variety of different programs that I have found online and made adjustments based on what I feel my needs are at the time. 

Social media.  Positives and negatives
Positive is that it can allow people to creatively express themselves. 

The negative is the way people use social media to degrade people. 

Diet you follow? Supplements?
To be honest, I watched YouTube videos of every body builder I could think of and realized that chicken and rice must really work.  I really focused eliminating all of the useless food within my diet. 

Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career?
Improving my total from my first meet to my second. 
 
What's one of your non-powerlifting goals?
To provide my children with the best possible life. 

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 wife and the guys that I train with for pushing me to continue to better myself. 

Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Hickory Classic on June 19, 2021.
Top OVERALL Wilks 2020 (again going to a female!)...

​Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting?
 Amanda Smith, 21, 3 years 
 
Best lifts in competition?
 Best lifts in competition: squat-166kg bench-95kg deadlift-196kg 
 
Athletic background?  What you did before powerlifting?
 Before powerlifting I played basketball and volleyball in high school until my senior year and then I lifted weights to stay healthy before actually becoming a powerlifter. 
 
Why Powerlifting?
 I chose powerlifting because it was something that I enjoyed doing and my competition would always be myself. I like that I was just me and the weight and nothing else stopping me. I love the mental challenge it brings and testing those boundaries that you’ve never experienced before. Plus I LOVE the community that powerlifting has. 

Tell me something about your gym/team.
 My team consists of a group of guys that lift a lot heavier than I do but have pushed me and motivated me to fight for what I want. We all met at liberty university through our powerlifting club and all have so much fun when we lift together. They are guys that are more like family to me than just lifting partners. The most important one is my boyfriend Zach Tyree who I get to compete with (and against lol). He is my biggest motivation and coach as we have been programming and training each other.  I know I can always count on him and know that he has my best interest in mind. 
 
Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you train alone) don't know about you?
 Most people don’t know why I train powerlifting. I train powerlifting as a way to show girls, especially younger girls that it doesn’t matter what everyone else thinks. Strength is strength. Who cares what you look like as long as you are having fun doing it, that's all that matters. 

Biggest inspiration in the sport?
 My biggest inspiration in this sport is one of our training partners named Duncan Hundley. He is the one that got me into powerlifting and is the most motivational person I know. He is the biggest example of fighting for what you want throughout his career. 

What's your favorite lift? Least favorite lift?
 My favorite lift is deadlift and my least favorite is well I don’t have one lol. 
 
Biggest challenge in your training?
 My biggest challenge in training is overthinking and mentally getting to where I need to be. I have to be happy and laughing keeping my mind off of the lift to do well and I think ever since I have started dating Zach I have been able to get over that slowly. 
 
Ideal training atmosphere?  Focused and dialed in or noisy and high
energy?
 For me the ideal training atmosphere is where everyone is encouraging and positive. Personally I like to be in a happy state of mind not focusing on the specifics of things. I like a high energy and noisy environment but not to the point where I can't focus on anything. I'm the type of person who listens to country music while lifting if that tells you anything lol!  

Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach?
 I am currently programming myself with the assistance of Zach as we like to bounce ideas off of each other. I plan to start a strength block coming up in the next two weeks and then start meet prep 8 weeks after that so that we can peak correctly coming into the October meet. 
 
Social media.  Positives and negatives
  I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I like that my family and friends can stay in touch and keep up with my competitions but I hate the way that people can be and how it makes you feel like you have to live up to everyone else's expectations. 
 
Diet you follow? Supplements?
  I currently don't follow a specific diet however, I can't eat much gluten, sugar, and dairy as I tend to have stomach problems when I do. I typically eat meat and vegetables on a daily basis and I also eat the same thing almost everyday throughout the week. On the weekends I don't have many restrictions so that I can enjoy my time out especially when I am with friends. I do think that a diet is important if you want to gain strength and still maintain a certain weight. If you try to cut wait at a fast pace a day or two before the competition then it can be difficult to not let it affect your strength during the meet. 

Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career?
 My biggest accomplishment in my career was pulling 405 for the first time right before COVID hit at age 19. 
 
What's one of your non-powerlifting goals?
 One of my non-powerlifting goals is to become a high school strength and conditioning coach this fall and be able to work with the football team of that school. 

Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout
out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)?
I would like to shout out to my gyms back home Kinetix Health Club and Legendary Strength Gym. I would also like to shout out to my friends and family who are always there to support me, the Liberty Powerlifting team, my professors that taught me everything I know (Justin Kilian and Jessi Glauser), and last but not least my coach and boyfriend Zach Tyree. 

Best Lifter spotlight from the USPC Hickory Classic on June 19, 2021.
Top Men's Open Raw...

​Name, age & how long have you been Powerlifting?
 22 and been powerlifting for around 3 years
 
 
Best lifts in competition?
 Squat 595
Bench 414
Deadlift 551
 
 
Athletic background?  What you did before powerlifting?
 Before I started powerlifting, I played football and wrestled for about 10 years.
 
 
Why Powerlifting?
 I was always working out with all of my sports throughout my teenage years and fell in love with lifting. After graduating a friend of mine introduced to Powerlifting and I have been doing it ever since. 
 
 
Tell me something about your gym/team.
 I actually train at two gyms, both located in Lynchburg, VA (Legendary Strength Gym and Kinetix Health Club). As a team, I have been volunteering and assisting with Liberty Powerlifting based out of Liberty University. 
 
 
Trying alone or training partner/coach, team?
 Most days I train with my girlfriend, Amanda, who also coached me for this last meet and we will continue coaching one another for the next meet in October. 
 
 
Something most people you train with (or those who follow you if you train alone) don't know about you?
 I am honestly a big version of a child and enjoy video games like Dragon Ball Z and Pokémon. 
 
 
Biggest inspiration in the sport?
He's not affiliated much with Powerlifting, but Eddie Hall has been my inspiration for pushing myself in training for the last few years.
 
 
What's your favorite lift?
 It's a tie between the bench press and squat.
 
 
Least favorite lift?
 Deadlift for sure. 
 
 
Biggest challenge in your training?
 My biggest challenge in training is my mobility. I've torn multiple muscles, ligaments and tendons in my time training and it makes it difficult to be flexible and stay loose at all times.
 
 
Ideal training atmosphere?  Focused and dialed in or noisy and high energy?
I can do a blend of both. I keep the music loud but when it's time for a big lift, always get dialed in. Just me and the bar at the end of the day.
 
 
 
Training plan. Do your own programming or have a coach?
 I somewhat do my own coaching. My girlfriend and I bounce ideas off one another to give ourselves the best options for training.
 
 
Social media.  Positives and negatives
I mainly use Instagram for social media. The positives for me are always whenever I can motivate someone with my posts to go out and push themselves to reach their goals.
 
 
Diet you follow? Supplements?
Don't really have much of a diet unless I need to cut weight.
 
 
Biggest accomplishment in your powerlifting career?
 I suffered a complete tear of my pectoralis major muscle that required surgery back in December 2017 and in January 2020, after being told my bench wouldn't be normal, I hit 405.
 
 
What's one of your non-powerlifting goals?
Definitely to finish school.
 
 
Finally is there anyone you would like to acknowledge or give a shout
out to (team, coach, spouse, sponsors)?
Definitely the gyms, Kinetix and Legendary, my teammates from Liberty Powerlifting, the guys from Complete Nutrition in Lynchburg, my family and friends, and my girlfriend Amanda Smith.