What brought you to the sport of weightlifting, and can you talk a bit about your early years in training? I played football throughout junior high and high school. In my sophomore year, a young coach joined our school, and…
This was your first time representing America in an international meet since you competed in the 2009 Pan American Games. Can you talk a little bit about how you might have changed since then, or how the experience differed overall?…
Matt dropped by the echo-chamber and we talked about the shift in attitudes about both weightlifting and CrossFit, as well as how the two modalities have transitioned from feuding sub-cultures to allies in fitness with CrossFit increasing the install-base and Weightlifting…
For those who might not be familiar with your weightlifting career, would you mind summing up how you got into weightlifting? When I was about 12 or 13, I lived in a small town and got in a lot of…
Many thanks to Ricky Redus for taking the time out of his very busy schedule to speak with me. Between lifting for the Texas Barbell Club, competing in the Grid League for the Phoenix Rise, and training for The CrossFit…
Les Simonton began competing as a weightlifter in 1984. During his career, he participated in the 1996, 1997, and 1999 American Open, fifteen National Masters Championship Competitions, and nine World Masters Championship Competitions. He became a USAW National Coach in…
In three weeks Norik Vardanian will be competing at the Pan American Games alongside Iron Athlete Team Member Alex Lee. Many thanks to Norik for taking the time out of his busy training schedule to answer a few brief questions. August…
In the weightlifting community, we see a devout respect for the all-important technique. We all know that the elite possess a wonderful blend of speed, technique, and strength. Speed is largely a product of your genetics, and strength is built…
Last July, I interviewed Rich Wenner, Associate Head Sports Performance Coach for Arizona State University. We talked about his work with the university’s basketball teams and baseball team, about his career coaching NCAA Championship teams, NCAA Champions, Pac-10 teams and…
Please share a little about your athletic background and what drew you to weightlifting: I was born and raised in Bozeman, MT, where I grew up as a competitive gymnast. At 15 years old, I decided I was no longer…