This year, we tried something new. We wanted to see how much we could accomplish with strength training within the school day. Thirteen seniors stuck with me for an entire year of training, 2 or 3 times per week, 35 minutes per session at the most. I know, it’s not a ton of time, but they worked hard, and it adds up. These guys put in effort, and we saw some amazing results. I want to share some highlights.
One athlete started the year with a 23.4″ vertical at a bodyweight of 165. He finished out with 27.3″ vertical at a bodyweight of 179. No surprise, he also brought his clean up from sub-185 to 225. Rock solid.
Another athlete started the year with a 23.7″ vertical and 8 pullups at a bodyweight of 117. He finished the year with a vertical of 27″ and 18 pullups at a bodyweight of 123. He also added over 25 lbs to his clean and squat.
A third athlete brought his vertical from 23.4″ to 26.6″, and brought his pullups from 15 to 25.
A fourth brought his already-incredible vertical from 30.7″ up to 33.6″.
The fifth and final athlete I want to mention showed massive increases across the board. This kid started with a 95×10 squat rep-out, 125×7 bench, 21.6″ vertical and 11 pullups at 133 lbs. He finished with best lifts of 255 squat, 190 bench, 160 clean, 25.3″ vertical, and 20 pullups at 145 lbs. You read that right.
The last of these young men continued to lift with me this summer, and on the last day, he thanked me and told me this year had changed his life. Not to be immodest, but I sincerely hope so, I don’t doubt it, and I’ll tell you why. I was that young man not long ago. I had never lifted a barbell in my life, but once someone took the time to teach me, there was no stopping me. It means the world to me, beyond expression, to pass that on to another person.
A lot can happen in a year; even more can happen in a lifetime. My hope for all 13 of these young men is that they carry the physical and mental skills they acquired this year to college (and beyond!), where they continue training and growing, and share with anyone who cares to learn.
Bare Strength 