8/31/04
General--how old you are, what you do, where you live, where you grew up and anything else general you'd like to add about your life outside powerlifting:
I am 21 years old, and am a senior at Elmhurst College in suburban Chicago. I am studying Physical Education and Exercise Science at EC, and will student teach next fall. I hope to become a physical education teacher upon graduating. In school, I am quite active on campus. I write and am the distribution manager for the school newspaper, The Leader. I am the treasurer for Kappa Delta Pi, an education honor society. I am also a member of two other honor societies on campus. I am also a student representative on the Student Government Association, and member of the residence life Peer Review Board.
Your best lifts in powerlifting in competition and training, and at what weight:
All of my best lifts have been in competion. At the AWPC Worlds, I squatted 574 lbs, benched 369 lbs, and had a total of 1372, all personal bests, and done at a bodyweight of 165 lbs My best deadlift is 501 lbs this summer at the AAPF Independence Day Push/Pull at a bodyweight of 175 lbs. My best deadlift at 165 lbs was last summer the AAU Junior Olympics where I pulled 490 lbs.
Your proudest accomplishments in powerlifting:
My proudest accomplishment came over two years ago at AAPF Nationals in Pensacola, FL. After a being out of the sport for a year due to lower back injury, I came back in 2002 and did the AAPF IL State Meet, and just a few weeks later AAPF Nationals, in my first meet out of Illinois. I did all personal bests at Nationals, setting AWPC records in the squat and bench press. I was especially proud of the 501 lb squat on a 4th attempt for an AWPC record, which exceeded what I had lifted in the gym before injuring my back. I also won Most Outstanding Teenage Male Lifter at the meet, the only best lifter award I have won.
Your best moment in powerlifting:
It is difficult to nail down one moment. The above meet, 2002 AAPF Nationals was a great moment for me, especially after getting all my attempts (12 in total with two 4th attempts and one misload). Another great moment was squatting a big meet PR and winning the 165 open class at the 2004 AAPF Nationals after severely pulling my hamstring only a month and a half before the meet. Coaching my girlfriend Jackie Ebben at her first meet, the AAPF Ohio State Meet, was also a very proud moment for me. She only missed one attempt, squatting a big PR, and won Best Lifter in the AAPF Full Power Women.
Your ultimate goal in powerlifting:
My ultimate goal would be to qualify and lift in the professional WPO. On route to that, I would like win the APF Seniors and WPC Worlds. I don't have any aspirations really to be a professional powerlifter full time, but it would be nice to win some money for my hard work. I would also like to try to stay injury-free and continue competing for many, many years. Finally, I would someday like to be coaching high school lifters, and have a large high school program in the AAPF.
How you got involved in powerlifting:
My freshman year of high school I switched from soccer to football to become a place kicker. On the off-season of football, I started lifting weights. I found right away that I really enjoyed lifting and had a good deal of strength for my size, especially in the squat. I soon found that I enjoyed the off-season lifting more than the actual football season, haha. Through the internet, on the Dr. Squat forum, I first heard about powerlifting. Someone on there said that Ernie Frantz ran the APF out of my hometown, Aurora, IL. I entered my first meet, the AAPF IL State Meet, in early 2000 on the third floor of Frantz Gym. The meet had an awesome atmosphere where everybody cheered for everyone else, and the more advanced lifters were more than happy to help out a beginning lifter like myself. I have been hooked from then on.
Type of training you adhear to:
I follow a traditional progressive overload type of training, cycling heavy singles in full gear on the big three, and using basic assistance work that resembles the big three (like pause squats, board press, platform deadlifts). Besides doing singles in gear on the big three, I taylor my training cycle based on what weakness I need to work on. For instance, in my current cycle, I am spending more time doing higher rep, lighter weight lower body exercises to help rehab my injured left hamstring.
I am very big believer in planning out your training in advance. All my working sets, assistance work, and schedule are all planned well in advance. I usually always have a meet I am training for, and set up my cycles to peak for the meet I am training for. Sometimes that means having very long cycles, like 16 weeks long. My whole goal throughout my training is to peak for the meet, I want to do my best lifting on the platform, not in the gym.
I take my ideas mostly from Eric Maroscher, Ernie Frantz, Rickey Dale Crain and Fred Hatfield, and mixing them into my own style.
Type of gear you use and how you use it in your training:
Currently, I use a Frantz double canvas squat suit, double ply poly Frantz briefs, Crain Power Shoes, and TP5000 knee wraps for the squat. On the bench, I use a split neck Crain double Xtreme Power Shirt, Genesis wrist wraps, and Crain Power Shoes. For the deadlift, I use a custom Frantz canvas/denim/poly suit, Frantz briefs, Genesis knee wraps, and wrestling shoes.
I train both in and out of my gear. I train in full gear for singles on my heavy days, and also train out of my gear for reps on my auxilary days. I don't, however, ever really squat or deadlift without at least a looser pair of briefs. Due to my current hamstring problem, and past hip problems, I need to use briefs all the time.
When I have done single ply meets, I used all Crain gear, using a Genesis squat suit and Genesis knee wraps for the squat and dealift, and Mega Power Shirt on the bench.
The people who have most influenced your training and powerlifting career in general:
I have been lucky to be surrounded by some great powerlifters in my career. Lately, I have lucky to train on the Frantz and Maroscher Power Teams, training under Ernie Frantz and Eric Marocher. I also have gained alot of knowledge from Maris Sternberg on the meet directing and political side of powerlifting. Ernie Frantz especially has been the biggest influence on my career in powerlifting.
My parents, family, friends, and training partners have also been a great influence on my career. My parents especially have financially supported me in this sport--I would not have been able to go to so many meets around the country without them. The rest of my family, friends, and training partners have also been of great support to me.
Your training partners and how they affect your training:
Up until last fall, I never really had any type of training partners. I would train with the football team, with my friends, and with my brother. But since none of them were ever training for powerlifting, they do not have the level of intensity that a competitive powerlifter training for a meet has. I often had to train by myself in the past, which was very diffcult. There is nothing more difficult than doing heavy deadlifts in an empty weight room without even music to listen to. But I do feel that not having to rely on others in training for so long gave me a self-drive and a determination to train myself, even when others do not.
Training this past year with the Maroscher and Frantz teams has greatly helped my training, and have also made training much more enjoyable for me. Training in an evironment like Frantz Gym is as close to training in meet-like atmosphere as you can get. Having 5-6 people spotting you and more than a dozen more cheering you on for a big lift really aides your training. It especially helps having someone else to help you with gear and lift-offs, etc. Especially having someone wrap my knees saves me alot of energy and helps my squats.
I love having consistent training partners, especially my girlfriend Jackie Ebben, and my friend Sharra Powell this past year. It is also great to have great lifters coaching me like Eric Maroscher, Ernie Frantz, and Maris Sternberg.
How long you see yourself continueing powerlifting:
I see myself powerlifting for as long as humanly possible. I see myself like Ernie at 70 years old still getting under the bar and squatting every week. Ernie did his best lifting in his 50s, so I figure I have a long time to keep making gains. And then I'll even have many years after that to lift in the masters category and continue competing. I can see myself without powerlifting, it is an intregal part of my life. For me it is like eating and sleeping, I just have to lift. When I was unable to lift heavy or train for powerlifting, I was quite depressed, and didn't seem to have the same drive in my life.
Your opinion of the supportive equipment used in powerlifting:
I feel that equipment does support the health of the lifter, keeping them tight and safe, and prevents injuries. Obviously it also adds tons of pounds to your lifts, which I think is great also, haha. I will wear whatever is legal in whatever federation I lift in. It doesn't matter that much to me as long as the playing field is relatively level. But mostly I feel this is an extreme sport where the ultimate goal is to move as much weight as possible. So I say suit up, strap it up, wrap up, and lift and much as possible.
Your opinion of drug testing in the sport:
I myself do not use any banned substances, so I will lift in either drug tested or non-tested meets. As long as lifters are honest as to where they lift, I do not have a problem with testing or not. Athletes will always be looking to get that extra edge, so drugs will always be a part of this sport and many others. I don't have a problem with lifters using AAS or other PEDs, as long as they lift in open, non-tested competitions. For those you choose not to use any banned substances, tested meets will always be offered.
For the younger lifters, like the high school lifters, testing is necessary to be credible in the eyes of parents and school administrators. Plus, young kids do not have a clue about the real effects of drugs or how to effectively and safely use them, so they should generally should be kept away from them. Once a lifter is older and has a better concept of life and the real effects of drugs, they are better equiped to make an informed decision one way or the other.
Your opinion of the professional movement in powerlifting like the WPO and Mountaineer Cup:
I think professional powerlifting is the future of the sport, and is the most likely path to bring the sport forward. Giving young lifters and beginning lifters that ultimate goal of getting ot the "show" of professional powerlifting will drive the sport forward. The only problem is that the grass roots lifters that will never make it to the "show" cannot be neglected. For the beginning 55 year old master powerlifter, going to a professional meet is not likely to be that important to him. He is just looking for an enjoyable contest to test his strength. Both the grass roots lifters and the high end lifters need great attention, and we will walk a fine line in the future trying to accomodate both.
What you think about the Olympic movement in powerlifting:
I think being in the Olympics, like professional powerlifting, could be that ultimate goal for the young powerlifiers to shoot for. It certainly would bring more credibility to the sport in the eyes of the public. And I do think both the professional goal and Olympic goal can co-exist. The WPO and IPF go in very different directions with powerlifting, but both can exist in the powerlifting world.
After seeing the recent Olympics, however, I question whether we really want to be in the Olympics, and whether it would really be a good thing for the sport. Would they eliminate weight classes? One of the three lifts? Equipment? I would only like to see powerlifting in the Olympics if it does not have to drastically change to get in. With sports like ball room dancing being considered as a sport, I wonder why powerlifting isn't considered. The only conclusion I can come to is that there just isn't enough money in the sport.
Anything else you would like to add:
I have throughly enjoyed being the webmaster of ChicagoPowerlifting.com. I would like to thank all the lifers of Chicago who have helped me make this a great website, and have had such kind words for me about the website. I hope to keep adding and making this website into a great tool for the powerlifters and aspiring powerlifters of the Chicago-area. Thanks for reading my profile!
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