Topic: Please Introduce Yourself

[Brooke Burkhalter]

Name: Brooke Burkhalter

Age: 30

Gender: Male

Occupation: Ops Mgr of family Rigging and Transport Co.

Location: Starkville, MS

Team:

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: Always enjoyed watching, reading, etc. about Oly Lifts. Committed to learning the actual lifts approximately 1 month ago mainly so I can utilize it in the training of my kids when they get older. I would also like to compete if I can get to a respectable level. At 6' 85kg with a training myself lifts of 75x2 and 90x almost 2 as of last week.

Years involved in weightlifting: ONE MONTH

Athletic achievements: Sprint Hobbyist, Avid sports enthusiast

Role in weightlifting: Athlete

Coaching/educational credentials: ZERO

Favorite weightlifter: Kolecki, Dimas, Vanev, Boevski. Lu Yong and Klokov are climbing the ladder

Interests other than weightlifting: God, Family, Work, Music (specifically jazz and anything with groove), Sprinting

Other information you would like to share: When I first got the guts to dive under and rack a clean with a decent amount of weight, stand up with it and jerk it I can't describe that feeling. There is just something really cool about this sport. It has it all - technical requirements, gracefulness and fluidity, speed, power and strength. While some take a cynical, negative view on Oly Lifting as a whole and the US in particular I am coming into it with optimism. 

[Frank Barosky]

Name: Frank Barosky
Age: 60
Gender: Male
Occupation: Water Projects Coordinator
Location: Fairborn, OH

Thank you for a great site.

About me. I was born and raised in Northeastern Pennsylvania and I started out Olympic lifting in 1963. Like many in that era my only coach was the pictures I saw in Stength & Health. I didn't see the actual lifts performed until about 3 years later when I entered a contest in Norristown, PA. I surprized myself and those at the contest since no one had ever heard of me and I cleaned 225 lbs (missed the jerk) as a 132 pounder. A guy named John Bojazi won the class. The contest inspired me and in training I eventually went 215 press, 190 snatch, 275 C&J as a 148 pounder. The lifts were all done in training since I never entered another Olympic lifting contest. The area I lived in was a hotbed of powerlifters (Jim Willaims and John Kuc being the most notable) so I went that route but never lost my love of the Olympic lifts. Quit lifting for about 8 years in my 20's started back in powerlifting in 1979 when I moved to Dayton, OH and met Larry Pacifico. My best offical lifts were 468 squat, 341 bench, and 590 deadlift as 165 pounder. Competed in powerlifting until my late 30's and then just trained powerlifting type routines with out heavy deadlifting. Though I did a lot of powerlifting, Olympic lifting has always been more interesting to me. It seems powerlifting has "lost touch" with the super wraps, super suits, bench shirts, etc. I mean how much is the lifter really lifting on his own power? This past year I attended the "Arnold" in Columbus and watched the Senior Nat'ls. The weightlifting urge hit me as I watched the lifters so I joined the Cincinnati Weightlifting Club and I'm now training the snatch and C&J. However, at 60 years old and not really having done overhead lifting for about 40 years, my shoulders and wrists are giving me fits.

Have any of you seasoned lifters run into this if you just started lifting or returned to lifting after years away from it? Does the older body adjust or does it just get worse?

Thanks for any info you might share.



Team: Cincinnati Weightlifting Club
How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: When I was about 15 years old, a friend got a barbell set as a present. I put some weight on it and lifted it overhead. I've been hooked ever since.
Years involved in weightlifting: About 45 years (most of it powerlifting)
Athletic achievements: nothing notable
Role in weightlifting: lifter
Coaching/educational credentials: none to speak of
Favorite weightlifter: Too many outstanding lifters to chose just one
Interests other than weightlifting:
Other information you would like to share:
 
 

[Josh McLaurin]

Name: Josh McLaurin

Age: 33

Gender: Male

Occupation: Teacher/Coach (Strength Coach, Assistant FB Coach, Assistant Wrestling Coach, Track Coach)/Parks & Rec Part-time

Location: Anson County, NC

Team: Bearcat Power

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: That's hard to really say?  Some form of lifting weights has always been a passion and integral part of my life.  I started out lifting weights in my parents' garage when I was like 8-10, lifted for football and athletics in high school, lifted for football in college, i powerlifted after my 2nd year of college, and got into olympic lifting about 1998. Even having played college football, I never knew how to do a clean the proper way for the majority of my life.  I learned and have been constantly learning about olympic lifting since about 1998-1999. 

Years involved in weightlifting: Olympic lifting - about 9 i guess, we've only had a USAW club here for about 3 years

Athletic achievements: Standout football player in high school.  Played collge football.  Bench pressed 525 raw in powerlifting.  Not the best Olympic lifter, but I have fun doing it, coaching it, and being around the sport. 

Role in weightlifting:  Coach, Spectator, Fan, Mediocre Old Athlete (LOL).

Coaching/educational credentials: I currently teach and coach in high school. I have a M.Ed and principal's license.  I am a USAW Club Coach.  I also have a CSCS from the NSCA. I have a SSC and SPN from the ISSA.  We've had athletes make it to the Schoolage Nationals, Collegiate Nationals, and Masters' Nationals so far. 

Favorite weightlifter: Vasily Alexeev.  No doubt about it!

Interests other than weightlifting: Work, Coaching, Highland Games, Football, Home Repairs

[Patrick Dupont]

Name: Patrick Dupont

Age : 19 1/2
Height: 191 or 192 cm (never twice the same result)
Weight: between 118 and 120kg

Gender: Male

Occupation: Trainer

Locations: Geneva, Switzerland, and Liverpool

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: After having seen Leonid Taranenko
Years involved in weightlifting: almost 4 years, five days a week, 30 minutes to 2 hours each session.

Athletic achievements (no competitions):
Press : 122kg @ 115-120kg BW
Clean and Jerk : 150kg @ 118kg BW
Snatch : 110kg (practice is rare)
DL : 270kg @ <120kg BW (BW maybe between 118-120) Okie bar.
SQ : 240kg @ <120kg BW (BW maybe between 118-120)
No bench press records set, as I don’t train this lift.

Role in weightlifting (in general, NOT Olympic weightlifting): Athlete/Coach

Coaching/educational credentials: DF
 
Favorite weightlifter: Taranenko

Interests other than weightlifting, powerlifting and bodybuilding: Music (mainly playing heavy metal… well, I know…)

Many thanks to Chris Leroux for having allowed me to come and post a poll very important to me right now.

[sirozanana]

Name:  Sehzad Nandoo
Age:    23
Gender:Male
Occupation: Student
Location:     Mauritius
Team:         Mauritian weightlifting Team
How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: at the age of 18
Years involved in weightlifting: 6
Athletic achievements: 6 time mauritian champion, indian ocean and african junior
Role in weightlifting: Athlete

Favorite weightlifter: Rezazadeh
Interests other than weightlifting: Bodybuilding, boxing, scuba diving,
Other information you would like to share: Im training really hard everyday for futher international competition.....

[Brian Ballard]

Name:Brian Ballard
Age:48
Gender:Male
Occupation:Sales
Location:New Jersey
Team:n/a
How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?:Started powerlifting after finishing college athletics
Years involved in weightlifting:27
Athletic achievements:Competed at college in both Swimming and Track (pole vault)
Role in weightlifting:lifter, fan
Coaching/educational credentials:none
Favorite weightlifter:Norbert Schemansky
Interests other than weightlifting:fitness, reading, family, faith
Other information you would like to share: former powerlifter; began to do triathlons and half marathons but decided that I had to get back into weightlifting; wanted to try something different so started olympic lift training for personal enjoyment - not to compete (but who knows!?!). Interested in hearing from other "Masters" lifters; interested in training tips
 
 

[Danny Nemani]

Hi everyone, glad to be onboard.  I hope to meet new friends on this forum and learn alot in the process too.

Name: Danny Nemani
Age: 27
Gender: Male
Occupation: Athlete
Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Team: NorthSport Weightlifting
How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?: Started at school (Auckland Grammar School) in 1996-1997, had a break then met a guy (Richard Patterson) at Uni and re-started in 2003.
Years involved in weightlifting: 7 years
Major Athletic achievements: 2007 3rd Arafura Games 105kg class, 2007 3rd Commonwealth Champs 105kg class, 2006 1st Oceania Powerlifting Champs 110kg class.
Role in weightlifting: Athlete
Coaching/educational credentials: Bachelor of Sport (Coaching Major), Unitec, Auckland
Favorite weightlifter: Pyross Dimas
Interests other than weightlifting: Bodyboarding, rugby league, any sport really
Other information you would like to share:
PBs Snatch 135kg, C&J 165kg, Raw Back Squat 240kg, Front Squat 192.5kg, Suited Back Squat 285kg, Bench Press 185kg, Deadlift 280kg.
I used to compete in Weightlifting and Powerlifting, but have decided to focus on weightlifting.  My goal is to qualify for the 2012 London Olympic Games. Wish me luck 

Cheers and Beers
Danny

[Dan_Chamblee]

Name:
Age:  35

Gender:  Male

Occupation:  Directional Driller (Oil & Gas)

Location:  Grand Junction, CO

How did you get started/involved in weightlifting?:  High School Sports (Unfortunately the weight program wasn't very high quality.  We did dead lift, but we half-squatted and did a lot more bench than the other 2 combined.)

Years involved in weightlifting:  Not much.  Just started back into real lifting after wasting much time on worthless workouts.

Interests other than weightlifting:  Spending time with my daughter, MMA

Other information you would like to share:  Had surgery on my right shoulder in December.  Tore 2 of the 4 tendons making up the rotator cuff along with the bicep anchor.  For 4 months I couldn't lift my arm above parallel to the ground, and for a little while after that I still lacked the shoulder flexibility to put a bar on my back to squat.