Many times bodybuilders are stereotyped as all-show and no-go. Unfortunately, a lot of times, this is true. Who wants form without function? One bodybuilder that breaks the mold is powerbuilder Johnnie O. Jackson. I had the pleasure of training Johnnie for the RAW Unity meet in Corpus Christi, Texas. His previous best was three years ago; he deadlifted 815lbs (equipped). He easily deadlifted 832 RAW on his second attempt. However, the attempt was red lighted because he pulled the weight so easily and got overzealous and dropped the weight at the top after locking it out. He came back to easily hit it on his 3rd attempt, having the highest deadlift of the meet and a huge lifetime PR. His previous PR was equipped, and the recent one was RAW, so it makes this accomplishment that much sweeter.

He trained deadlift with me one day a week at Metroflex Gym. On the other days of the week, he did bodybuilding training. If he decided to go full-bore at powerlifting, there is no telling how strong he could be. He is also no spring chicken. He competed his lift at the ripe, young age of 40 years old, making this one of the most incredible feats of a Masters deadlifter ever. To bring his deadlift up, we really had to bring up his glutes, hamstrings, and speed while making sure he stayed consistent. The first few weeks were a bit rough but Johnnie got better and better as time went on. He is a very tough man with a great work ethic. Now, he is focused on bodybuilding. Look for some big things in both iron sports in the near future.

Here is a training video of Johnnie deadlifting 805lbs:

Here is the training in Johnnie’s words:

We have all heard the age-old story; Veterano Uncle gets released from the big house and family throws a party for his release. His nephew, a young, champion Golden Gloves boxer, who has won his first few professional fights, smarts off to his 63 year old uncle. The uncle beats him down in a New York minute. On paper, the young buck should have whipped him. The reality is he got whipped. To quote Adam BenShea, “Fury beats theory any day of the week and twice on Sunday.” You are probably thinking to yourself, “JoshStrength.com is taking a bizarre twist.” Just hang in here. Lots of stuff on paper does not make sense. How many times have you seen the strong guy at the gym take a break to go outside and smoke a cigarette? How many times have you seen the 180lb middle linebacker lead his high school district in tackles and have the other team scared to death? Let’s look at the flip side, how many times have you seen the geek at the gym that can quote any study or any of the latest research on muscle building but walks around with 12 inch pipes and sports a neck like a stack of dimes? We have all seen the football player that looks like Tarzan and plays like Jane. On paper, these things don’t make sense. The reality is it shows how important the mental game is. Would the strong guy be stronger is he quit smoking cigarettes between sets? Of course. Would you be stronger if you had his mental toughness? For a lot of you, probably so. So what separates these situations where some exceed paper expectations and others fall miserably short? It’s the mental game!

I want to congratulate one of my clients, BJ Whitehead. BJ recently won the 275 class at the RAW Unity meet via 738 squat, 501 bench and 661 deadlift. He hit PRs in all lifts and pulled a similar feat to what Bob Beamon did in the long jump at the 1968 Olympics. Beamon amazingly increased his PR from 27 feet to 29 feet, skipping 28. BJ had previously totaled in the 1700s and skipped straight to 1900, leaving the 1800s untouched. He has gone through some trials this year that would have put most people out of the game. It was almost like he was the Job of powerlifting. At the meet, someone asked, “Where is BJ?” I half jokingly said, “Probably outside chewing tires off his truck.” The bottom line is the dude is an animal. He is the type of person I always have to keep an eye on because he will do too much. I’m sure he would love to squat 7 days a week and twice on Sunday. He has one of the best work ethics I have ever seen. I predict huge things to come for him. He is already great, but is on the way to becoming one of the all-time greats.

Here is a video of BJ’s 738 Squat