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

I wanted to congratulate one of my clients, Tommy Miller. Tommy is Assistant Strength Coach at the University of Minnesota. He is also an officer in the United States Army and is currently stationed in the Middle East. Tommy has been training his rear end off. Sometimes, he will have to be gone for unspecified amounts of time and I have no idea what he is doing; he can’t tell me. What I do know is he works his butt off and he is aggressive. Recently, he competed in a US Army powerlifting meet in Kuwait. He hit PRs in all three lifts RAW. He hit a 700lb squat, 415lb bench and an easy 600lb deadlift. He even hoisted up 675lbs but dropped it after the weight was locked out. Lots of people make excuses why they can’t get it done. Others get it done no matter what. Tommy is one of those get it done, no matter what, types. Tommy, I am honored to work with you. The US Army and the University of Minnesota are both very fortunate to have someone that leads by example.

Check out a video of Tommy’s lifts!

Congratulations to my brother Noah. The Track & Field News (“The Bible of the Sport”) shot put rankings for 2011 and he was ranked number 5 in the United States. He had a best last year of 20.80m (68’3”), which was also a PR. The really great thing about this throw is that it came in the USATF Championships in Eugene. Noah is a tough competitor and does his best when the pressure is on. The Olympic trials will be in Eugene in June.