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Hello everybody, welcome back to another episode of the pile
lifters den. I'm your host, Cam Smith, and
today I want to bring on bring on Priyanka.
We're going to talk about her journey from raw into an injury,
into her best total today and everything in between.
So Priyanka, why don't you introduce yourself?
Hi, I'm Priyanka Santiago. I started powerlifting in 2014.
I was raw. I stopped for a couple years
because I had a baby, came back and now I'm going to quit
powerlifting. Is that?
Yeah. So just to get started, I like
to get the background on everyone.
So before you kind of stepped out of the platform in 2014,
maybe tell us about what got you there in the first place?
OK so I was in the army in 2012 that's when I joined and believe
it or not like I couldn't pass APT test when I first joined and
like I worked real hard on it. It was only push ups, sit ups
and running. And I remember at the time there
was like a group of kids or dudes in my platoon that would
like always bitch about the standards between females and
males and like how women had to do less push ups than men.
And I remember it was just like really grind my gears and they
worked out at the gym like a lot.
So I would see them and they were strong.
And then I like I heard about powerlifting like through the
Grapevine and like I made it. It just made me so mad to hear
them talk shit about like women not being strong.
And then like on the flip side, when you would see them at the
gym and they would see a strong woman, they would be like, Oh my
God, I can't believe she's like trying to get stronger.
So I made it my, my life's mission to be stronger than
them. And I think that I've
accomplished that at this point. I don't even know where they are
at this point that. Exactly.
Yeah, but yeah, so like, I was married before this, before my
my husband, currently my first husband passed away on a
motorcycle accident. But he was really into like
weightlifting. So I started going to the gym
with him and I started getting stronger and stronger and
stronger. And I was like, I'm actually OK
at this. And I like, Googled, like
parallel federations. And there was an RPS meet nearby
to us in North Carolina. So I like walked up their
records. At the time, I was like, oh, I
could totally beat them. So then I went to that meet and
I broke them. And all the time I had no idea.
Like I thought I was like, wow, I'm the best in the world.
I think I squatted like 240I benched 135, and I think I
pulled like 300. And yeah, I thought I was a
shit. Yeah, I think it's funny kind of
watching like the evolution over the years.
If you look back on like your own career or just like maybe a
friend that's been doing it for a few years.
And kind of like when you first start, you're like, oh, I want
to go for this regional record or the state record.
And now every now once you're like involved and you're hanging
out with like these top dogs, you're like, fuck a regional
record. I want a world record.
Like I want to be top ten all time.
Like I don't care about this random feds local record.
But at the same time, it's still something to be proud of.
Yeah, I think I actually, I still hold RPS military records.
But anyway, the like, so the like I eventually started
looking at the rankings, right. And at the time it was called
like powerliftingrankings.com or something like that.
But you had to pay to look at the rankings.
They didn't have open powerlifting at the time.
So I did that and I remember I was in one the £123 weight class
at the time, and I went to the that page and I found whoever
the top person was at the time and it was Susan Salazar.
And I hired her coach because I was like, I want to be the best
in the world. And yeah, that's kind of how
that went. Yeah.
So from going into obviously you started raw and most multiply
does from there kind of once you decided to hop into a multiply
meet, maybe tell us about what inspired that?
Oh, man. So I did my first two needs raw,
and that was like back 2014, two, 1015.
And my coach at the time was Gracie V and she was an equipped
power lifter. And like, to me, powerlifting
was all about lifting the most weighted humanly possible.
Like, it didn't matter what I was wearing.
So I was like, hell yeah, let's do this.
I ordered my friends, I had, I think I had an SDP and whatever
suit at the time. I'm like, I ordered all brand
new from anger because I didn't have anybody to, you know,
switch with or to like, you know, borrow their gear.
And that was like the first, my first like, OK, I'm going to do
this. But then so my husband passed
away in August of that year and it was actually before my year
ever got there. So like it had always been like
a thing in my head, like I want to do this.
So then when I came back, it was like 2022 and I hired Laura and
I didn't. My first mate was her was raw at
the pro AM. And then after that I was like,
actually I was on lifting large and they sell like a single pie
kit with everything in it. So it's like I I got that kit
and then I talked to Laura and she was like, OK, yeah, like
this is a good idea. And then once I was in single
ply, I was learning it. I actually went to go see
because I didn't have anybody to train with.
I went with Amber and Jimmy Cole.
Like I went to go see them and they kind of taught me
everything. And then I saw Andy Pope in
Florida. Like I was just because I went
to go visit my in laws, but I was like, this is like not
enough. I wanted to do more.
Like there could be another layer.
I wanted it. So that's how I got into
multiply. I never ended up doing my single
ply meet. I just went straight into
multiply and I my first goal, like I don't know, I don't know
why I'm like this. I know there's a lot of people
like this, but my first goal was like, OK, I'm going to get my
pro total and multiply on my first meet.
And I did, and it was really hard.
I like, hit it on the number. Yeah, on the fucking number.
And I didn't have anything left in the tank.
Nothing. Yeah, for for me it was that was
my mate like that and squatting 800 was my main goal and I could
not get the second bench in for the life of me.
I was having the yips on bench. So that's the one that
strengthened here as I went for that ridiculous pull on the
third attempt, just got folded by it.
And just because I was like I the difference between 1935 and
like 1955 meant nothing to me. It was either 1935 or 2K like go
for. It yeah, that's kind of what
Chris did at this last meet for me, but yeah, so and then I
don't know, I'm trying to think what else like.
Talking about going from Laura, working with her.
Oh, yeah, Laura was great. So like, that was like another
thing where it's like you kind of have to set your goals super
high because like all of Laura's clients are like the best in the
fucking world. And then you have Laura, you
know, like, like, what am I living up to here?
Like there I just wanted to be like, I didn't want to be
another person on there. Like I wanted to be one of the
people that was like higher up, like harasser, you know, but
like knowing that I could never like truly because I could like
there's no fucking. Life.
But like, you know, I would ever, you know, there's Dina and
then there's Leah, there's Taylor and there's Jordan and
you know, it's like all of these people, but those are the people
that I had to look up to. And like, you know, as as long
as I could keep chipping away, that was good enough for me.
And it still is. You know, I like, I have no
aspirations of the like being a world record holder.
Of course, like if that were to happen it'd be cool, but like, I
don't, I don't try not to go into meets anymore like thinking
about what numbers I'm going to hit.
Yeah, and I kind of feel the same way as you.
Like I just obviously I'm starting with Skiba now, so
everyone in that crew is fucking animals.
So and I mean being in 275, that's like one of the toughest
weight classes. So like I'm trying to be
realistic, but yeah, I'll probably never hit an all time
world record. But the same time I'm still
gunning for every single person. And I think, but I also think I
like your mindset of if you're worrying less going into a meet,
you're probably going to perform a lot better.
Oh yeah, yeah. And like, I think also to like
this last meet, I was definitely like, all right, I'm just going
to go in. Anything that I squat was going
to be APR, Anything that I bench was going to be APR, the
deadlift, whatever. Like if I got a 5 LB PR, got a 5
LB PR and I did. But like when I went like the
WPO for the the Pro AM before that, I remember going in and I
wanted like for the Pro AM of 2023, I wanted to squat 600 lbs.
Like that was the goal, but it just wasn't there.
Like, it might have been there, but like, my mentality was not
there. And like, you know, you set
yourself up for disappointment that way.
Yeah. And then for the WPO and like
every like people probably think I'm fucking crazy.
So it's like I never even squatted 600 lbs.
I was like, I want, I'm going to squat 7 like it's MPO like
that's the goal. And then when I got on the
stage, like I, I took my opener at six O 6, I missed it.
I got my second, but it was terrible.
It was absolutely horrendous. So I scratched my fur it just
and like, that's not even close, you know what I mean?
But like during that prep, I wasn't even stuck.
I didn't even my old like what I had hit at the WPO wasn't even
what I like close to the numbers that I was hitting during the
prep. But it just like goes to show
that like whatever is there, I mean like that's just what's
there on me day. I didn't even cut weight.
Like I have no excuse for it. And I think that's something
that with multiplied kind of they always say, like they
always told me, like, let's just get a total first because you
never know it can go wrong. Like you, your squats could be
money that day and then you can't touch or you forget how to
press or you you're gassed because you hit two massive PRS
in your squat and bench and then you can't even pull your opener
or just just so much can go wrong or like your gear doesn't
fit right or your bloat. Like there's so many more things
that can go wrong. Multiply.
I mean, Speaking of things that went wrong, I think we can kind
of talk about your injury and kind of the the road to recovery
on that. So tell us about how that
happened. Oh man, so this is also at the
WPO. There's like no videos out there
of this and I think that they cut it out of the street.
But anyway, the WPOI, you know, I didn't get.
I scratched my third. It didn't hit anything close to
what I wanted to for my squat. So I was like, all right, I'm
going to send bench. When I took my opener and
training, I think I wanted to open at like 375, which is also
stupid because like I my bench before that, the most I ever did
was 350. I ended up opening at like 345
or 335 something like that and it was smoke.
So we went up to 37. It would have been like 360.
I think it was 370, whatever, it doesn't matter.
I like I did it and I got it off my chest, but like I don't know
if I was like into my lap, but I just kept going like this at the
top. Like it just kept like I just
couldn't get it like this. And I think I was under the
weight for so long while I was doing this fucking weird thing,
but it just snapped so I broke my radius.
I actually didn't break. Ulna.
Yeah, so I didn't break my ulna, which I guess like for everybody
that I know, all the other women that I know that got this
injury, they broke both. I don't know how that happened,
but I was lucky because Kelly was there and you know, she is a
nurse and she splinted up my arm with like this box.
It was like a, it was like a garbage, like a makeshift
garbage. She splinted up my arm.
Chanel was there who had also gone through the same injury and
she like at the same place at the WPO and she like told me
what hospital to go to. So it was me Mags in Dakota and
we all, you know, went to the hospital.
It was terrible, but it was like being at the hospital was kind
of funny because I was like kind of fucked up.
But like, I remember like I don't do well with painkillers.
So like on the way home I was like, we, I remember we like
pulled over until we were trying to get my meds.
We pulled over until like a Ruby Tuesdays and there was like, you
know, families going out to like, dinner and I'm on the like
in the parking lot puking on the floor with my broken arm.
Oh my God. It was terrible.
So yeah, that that happened. And then I remember.
So like, I didn't get surgery at the hospital because I had to
come back to New Jersey and I get my health insurance through
the VA. So it took five weeks between
the time I broke my arm to the time I got my surgery.
Oh my God, it was yeah. So they, I remember I asked the
surgeon afterwards, I was like, was it really bad?
And he was like, it wasn't easy. You know, the bones were like
going back together long. So around that time, well before
that I have was going to see Chris.
So like for the WPOI was under Laura, Laura was doing my
program, she was coaching me, but I needed help.
And like for all the preps prior to that, like I was going to
Hellbent to train like or at least a squat.
And then like eventually Chris like reached out to me.
He's like, hey, when are you going to come train?
I was like, thank you for asking because I would love to.
So he helped me through the entire prep.
So after I broke my arm, I was kind of just like I wasn't
lifting. And it was like a natural
transition because like, he had already be helping me through
everything and he had eyes on me like during this recovery, like
he was able to see if something hurt, you know what I mean?
Like there was a lot of things that didn't feel right so he
could modify things on the fly. And that's when I started with
Chris for real. So from when you broke or I
guess when you got the surgery toll?
So when did you have the surgery?
December. Of 2023.
So yeah. It was like a year before the
meet. Yeah, it was like exactly a year
before. Yeah.
So I guess over that course of the year, I obviously getting
back to it has obviously physical barriers, but as far as
like the mental of trying to get back under some heavyweight
obviously, what was that like for you?
Oh. God, it was hard and it's still
hard. My grip strength isn't there
anymore. Like there's this weird thing
like now when I like grasp onto something like really hard, like
if you're holding a bench it and you let go, it hurts really bad.
It's not as bad as it used to be.
And then like when you would go back into the bench and you
would hit like, you know, the safety like that reverberations
that goes down the metal in my arm.
So that was like awful. It still is kind of and like my
grip strength isn't at all like there was for a long time.
I couldn't hold anything over 365 for a deadlift.
Once I got back into benching and it's still like not cool.
I remember like and Chris like he God bless him because he has
to deal with me complaining all the time.
I was convinced that my like my other arm was going to break
through this prep. We switched into a banter.
So I was in Poly when I broke my arm and then I went into the
banter because I thought that at least mentally like and still
that like that groove is just slightly.
It's different enough that I didn't have that fear, but it
was still so like a banter is still so hard.
It's not like Polly's hard, but I was used to it.
My shirt isn't like super aggressive, my SDP or whatever,
so I was super duper fina. It's it, it wasn't super tight.
It was just easier for me to touch with that shirt.
With the bad shirt. It's not.
And like I didn't want to, you know, you don't want to put so
much weight on the bar that like you can't hold it.
You know, it's like maybe you could press it, but your arms
aren't used to it. And that was like a big fear of
mine as well. So getting that the bar down to
the touch was like almost impossible.
Like it always felt impossible. Bellying up was like the biggest
thing. And then I remember at the meet
in December, my second attempt, so I took a token for my first
attempt and then my second attempt was four, 19418,
something like that. And I don't even know what have,
I don't even have my bench videos, but I remember having to
hold it at the top, you know, because you have to.
But like it felt like a fucking eternity and I started to freak
out. Like there could have been a
million other reasons why I was red light and I really, you
know, like you don't really know what happened because you're
under, you know what I mean? Like you, you're just like
trying not to die. But I.
Remember, I was like, take it, take it, take it like at the top
because I was like, I don't want to hold it anymore.
I was so scared. And then I ended up getting it
on the third, but I was like so relieved that it was over.
Yes, there's breaking my arm like.
It's not just like my arm so much anymore.
It's like now I'm afraid of like, breaking everything.
Yeah. And I think that's something
that a lot of people in this sport go through when they not
just breaking something, but any sort of setbacks like that, when
you kind of come back to it, it's always going to be in the
back of your mind. And I think it's the the not the
drive, but the the continuation to keep pushing through it is
what sets people apart. Yeah.
Yeah, but like, I still feel like I'm a giant pussy, you know
what I mean? Like, I like, I, I want to be
able to like, yeah, I gave my, like, give myself so much credit
for it. Like, I am proud of myself for
coming back. But like, I like, there is no
doubt that I was a big baby. And like, even if like you, you
know, you could ask Brian. It's definitely like Chrissy,
Chrissy and Chris. But so like, there.
I remember one point, My other arm, you know, you have your
wrist wraps, right? And they're made out of Velcro.
And like they, they it doesn't just stay the way that it is.
So I was benching and then I hear like the Velcro pop and I
was like, oh, there goes my other arm.
Yeah. So those are things that I'm
still trying to get over. Yeah.
So. I guess since that meet
obviously that went well, you're kind of as the we like to say on
the Internet are back maybe for Next up kind of what do you have
lined up for the for the rest of the year?
So I'm doing AI, don't know why I did this, but I'm doing a
strongman competition in April. It's at the gym that I work at
which is like local to me and it's like 3 of the five events
are all group events, which whatever, but I'm signed up as
novice because I've never touched any of those implements
before. I did like a yolk walk the other
day at Chris's and then it's not easy.
It's like weird. It like it's like running with a
camper bar, you know, like, and then the other events like a
farmer's carry car deadlift, like I don't know if I'm going
to be good at it, but whatever I feel like I need.
You know how there's like dips and valleys in powerlifting
where you're like, I don't know if I want to do this anymore.
I'm coming up off of the the bottom, so I need something
that's like a change of pace. You know what I need that will
keep me strong and in like, and you know what I mean?
Like I don't want it to be like I'm hammering, powerlifting,
powerlifting, powerlifting. I'm the kind of person that gets
bored with everything. Yeah, and.
I think on a deeper level, I think that's something that
personally me, that's kind of why I did multiply, I guess,
quote UN quote earlier than I would have expected myself to
because I want to be changing things up.
That's why I went from multiply back to Rob going back to
multiply. Maybe I was thinking about maybe
doing a 10K at some point. Like I want to keep it
interesting from not burning out because I love it so much that I
want to stay in it for the next 30 years.
And if you just go raw, raw, raw, raw, you're going to be
done in 10 years. Or you just stick with one
thing. If you don't change it up,
especially with someone like me who's like OCDADHD as fuck it
you have that hyperfixation, Once you burn out of that
hyperfixation, it, you never go back to it.
Exactly. Yeah, I'm the same exact like
you could I have got like 1000 hobbies and I don't do any of
them anymore. You know, like I used to be like
big on Rudix cubes and like I used to be do art and I used to
sell art and it, you know, once it fades, it fades.
We're trying to get back into art though.
But yeah, I don't want that to happen to powerless thing.
Like I love the people too much where I'm like, I don't want to
leave. And then like, I know if I, if I
were to just be like one of those people that shows up to
the gym just to help, like Chris would never let me do that
anyway. So like I have to find like, I
have to not just like find the love again, but I have to keep
the love that I have for it. Literally the drive to keep
getting better. Exactly.
Especially if when you're investing so much into it, if
you're not necessarily hitting the numbers or the, the goals
you're wanting to hit on the time frames you're setting
yourself, that's when you're kind of setting yourself up for
failure. So feel like, all right, well,
maybe I'm not going to be ready to do this this year.
So let's, let's do something else to keep, keep me occupied,
yeah. Yeah, so strong, man.
Is that my other? So I, I know that you had
mentioned this on the podcast that you had with Amber where
you're like, remind me never to like trade through the holidays
again. That is me right now.
I'm like, I can't do it because like I have my mom, like my
like, and it goes like October is my son's birthday and then
it's Halloween and then it's Thanksgiving and then it's
Christmas. But it's like it's just nonstop,
like I can't do that again. So I was like thinking like,
what kind of meats are right before that all starts and
Shawna's meat is in September, which would be perfect.
And that gives me enough time to like, I personally think I need
to like relearn how to squat out of bench.
You know, like there's a lot of bad habits that I have accrued
over the years from like having like I started out in multi.
This is like a big tangent, but started out multiplied by myself
in my basement. Like I bought monohooks for like
the rogue rack that I had downstairs.
Like I couldn't even stand wide enough in that rack.
So like my feet are up against the thing.
I have no slaughters obviously. And then once I started going to
the gym and doing it, I had like nothing like nobody to tell me
what to do. So all, like, I watched Laura's
lips and I was so wide, like super wide because that's how
Laura lifted. And then I remember I would send
the videos to Laura and she was like, you know, you could bring
your feet in a little bit. And I was like, no, not now.
This is working for me. And like, eventually I did do
it. But yeah, so I have a lot of
those habits to I'm like picking the bar, like you just have to
stand up, right? But you don't like who knew?
It could be. So it was so hard.
It's it's. So funny that you say that
because like that's one of those things that in multiply it's
like a lot of the time if you can pick the weight, you can
squat it. So some people literally just
can't get the weight. Like prime example I could think
of is Charlie, like phenomenal squatter, but he was had a point
where he was struggling to pick some weights that he was
definitely able to do. And it's there's so many small
nuances that you can learn from other people.
And that's why I guess I will go into a little rant here on a
deeper level. That's why you go to other gyms.
That's why you train with other people.
That's why you talk to other people.
You don't stay in your bubble, and staying in your bubble makes
pile lifting not fun, no. No, definitely that.
And I'm like, I have traveled. I'm well traveled when it comes
because like I didn't have a crew for so long.
Yeah, yeah, I so we got to meet in December.
I couldn't, I didn't even know what my my last attempt was for
squat, but I remember like I couldn't get the bar out of the
rack. Like I tried to pick it and it
got stuck and then John was behind me and he's like, drop
the rack, drop the rack and they're like, it's as low as it
goes. And I'm like, OK, well, I kind
of like move my feet in a little bit.
And I was like, well, let's just give it a go.
And I came out of it came out of the rack.
But it was like, so obviously I did something different.
Like I must have done it better. Like besides just moving my feet
in a little bit because whatever.
But I'm just not consistent enough.
And that's something that the goal of mine is to be more
consistent because like, imagine, like, like Chris always
says that I do, like, everything is like brute strength with me.
Like there's no technique. And he's right.
So like, I just like, imagine what it would be like if I were
to have some technique. You know what I mean?
Yeah. And I.
Think that's why, kind of touching on what you said
earlier of like you shouldn't really model what you do off of
other lifters because everyone is different and like some are
way wider, some are more narrow. Like when I think of super wide,
it's like, yeah, like Laura squat is super wide.
And then like Danny Tonejero squats pretty narrow and
multiply compared to like most of the other people.
But that's what works for him. He's one of the best lifters of
all time. Like, if you model what you're
doing after other people, it's probably not going to work out
for you. You know, you got to find the
sweet spot. Yeah.
And. Then I guess the raw comparative
is like, I actually literally said this at the gym last night.
I was like, if you obviously John Hack's one of the greatest
raw lifters of all time, if you were to try to model his
technique, you are probably going to be out of the sport in
less than three years. Yeah.
I know I like watching squat like it's all the way up on his
tracks. Yeah, like that.
Looks crazy. But.
On a back to the kind of community aspect of it,
obviously we have a lot of similar friends and we're a
bunch of goofballs who like to lift crazy weights.
So over the years, obviously Laura and Chris and and Kriti
are big influences in you. But who are some of the other
people that have inspired you? Oh my.
God, so like my so the first program that I did RAW was one
main event came out right and I was the that was the girl that
they sponsored that year. Like they sent me to the pro am
or whatever, which was fucking awesome and like I owe like
Amber, Leah, Tara Allison a lot for that, because like that
really got me back into the sport.
So Susan Salazar is the reason why I lift conjugate why I would
ever gotten like she's a raw lifter, but that's why I got
him. Like, if you, you know, do all
those points, this makes no sense.
So Susan Salazar was raw, but she was doing conjugate with
Gracie, who was equipped, who trained with Laura.
And then when I came back, I came to Laura and I, you know
what I mean? Like all of these things like,
like Susan led me here somehow. Yeah.
It's like the. The six degrees of separation,
but in powerlifting. Thank you.
That was what I couldn't think of.
And then like my second meeting I saw Janine Whitaker.
Like I'll never people have heard the story probably 1000
times. Maybe.
No, like I'm sure whatever. But anyway, I like I saw her
squat. It's like well into the five
hundreds. I'd never seen anybody squat
that much late in my life. And like, I think on her first
attempt, she broke a world record and then she took her
second and she missed it, but she still went up on her third
and got it. I was like, you're incredible.
Just like I like, I could not fathom that somebody could have
that much weight on their back. Like besides like Chris, Laura
and Ryan. I don't know.
I like, I mean, I like I the whole, the community as a whole
is what makes it special, right? It makes it it's very different
from raw, even though there's like raw people in this circle
exactly actually to touch. On that I think that's why with
the whole like raw versus equipped like segregation, I
think it's so stupid because I'm still a raw lifter.
I train with equip people I know people that are in equip cruise
that are raw like just because you're a raw lifter doesn't mean
you can't be part of a community.
It doesn't mean you have to wear your singlet and your headphones
and sit in a combo rack for four hours.
You can go lift with your friends.
Yeah, I. Think I think it like it's at
the gym that I work at now. It's like it's a power looking
straw man type of thing. And like when I'm like hey, do
you need help? Or like, you know, did you want
me to go grab sides for people who are, like, taking big weight
or weight that they're not sure of?
Like, a lot of times they say no.
Yeah. Like that?
Which I think is crazy. Like I could, we know we I could
just make sure you don't get hurt.
But. Yeah, I, I agree.
And I, I think like this like circle the equip community and
the raw lifters within the equip community and like, I feel like
they're very special. Like I, I don't know, like when
I like look on Instagram or social media and you see like,
there's so much drama going on. I don't want to just say like,
well, I guess it is mostly the raw community, but it's just
they're like always talking shit about each other.
And I guess there, there's a fair amount of that here, right?
I feel like there's a lot of competitiveness, especially
among men. Yeah.
Honestly, it's yeah, I think seeing both sides of it, it's
definitely different and multiply versus raw, like
multiply. Like, yeah, it's like, I'm going
to beat you. I'm going to chip you on the
squad or the stupid, crazy come like AR variation.
I'm going to throw an extra chip on there just because like fuck
you, but and and raw, it's like, no, I want to see you miss this
lift. I think that's what the
separation is. And like prime example, like
let's think about this. The first the the best raw total
of all time. Dan Bell, guess who he trains
with? Danny Denaehero.
A quick lifters like it's If you're going to model the
community after anything, look at that one.
Look at other people who have the best totals in raw.
They're still training with equip.
Shane Haller, one of the strongest guys.
He's friends with Dan. He's friends with both of them.
He has been in cruise with raw people and equip people like it.
You learn a lot of things back and forth.
Yeah. I agree and I think that like so
like what I can under this is so random, but like an underrated
aspect of like lifting and multiply and then going back to
raw like your total goes. Up a lot, I'll tell you that
right now. Yeah, that's what I was saying.
Like there's, there's it's people don't realize like that
being able to prime your CMS for like lifting heavy things, like
when you're doing it, you know, multiply, single ply, whatever
it is. And then you go back to doing
raw, like you're not really afraid.
Oh yeah. No, you go to pick a squat,
you're like, oh, this is fucking easy and like.
What I I. Can think of like I just hit
like a 30 LB bench PR and for me that is a massive PR.
Like I was stuck at like 3:45 for three years.
So going from slowly chipping up to 360, then 363 to hitting 390
with maybe 400 in the tank like that.
Obviously I trained and got stronger, but I did six months
of equipped lifting. Like there's no way I didn't get
carry over. So that's why I hate when people
like the gear does all the work. No way, no way.
And like, I think so the you did the two years ago, you were in
strength of heroes me, right. You did the the raw day.
Yeah. So.
I I was supposed to do that to me raw as a full power meet, but
then I was like fuck that because Ryan is was doing full
power the next day and he would be the one handling me and I was
like that's not cool. So I ended up doing bench only,
but I into like going into that meat prep, like my best squat
before that raw was 3 05. I don't know, whatever it was,
it was like low 300 and then I was going to open at like 425.
And it wasn't like it was scary because like it's you don't have
the same support. Like, you know, you stand up and
you're like, Oh my God, like it's my hips feel a little bit
funny. But like that was going to be my
opener and that was huge. I don't know, that's like the
the stuff that people don't realize.
So you just like you have to push yourself.
And I think. Yeah.
And something that I think people need to learn too is
finding that balance of pushing yourself but not being stupid.
This came up the other day. The line between bravery and
stupidity is a very fine line. And I think the prime example of
people who teeter that is multiply lifters.
Oh yeah. Yeah, that's me.
Or that was me. It's not me anymore.
I'm, I'm very changed this cat, like breaking my arm definitely
changed me. I'm a lot more cautious when it
comes to these kind of things. And I'm like very happy to take
the small wins, even if like there are bigger numbers there.
That's just like, I'll save it for another day.
But yeah, before that, like for the W, the WPO was like, I was
just so dumb. I think I was dumb.
And I can't believe that, like, Margaret, for instance, like
didn't tell me to shut the fuck up.
Like, imagine like telling your friend like, I squatted 580 at
the program a couple months before.
And then I go, hey, so I want to squat 700.
That's the goal. And she was like, yeah, sure.
Like, yeah, it's good idea. Great.
But I mean, that goes to show Margaret has like, like, more
faith in me than anybody that I know.
Yeah. And I.
Think I think people like that are what makes having a crew and
like friends in the sport so good because some people are
people that won't attempt things that other people think you're
capable of and vice versa. Sometimes you need to be reeled
back. I'm definitely someone who used
to be reeled back. I have, I set goals probably a
little too high and then then I get delusional and then we set
myself up for disappointment. And then, but at the same time,
there's people on the other end of the spectrum.
And I think that's why having a coach is very important because
they can kind of bring you back to reality.
And I always say that everyone needs a coach.
It's just whether that coaches your gas pedal or your brakes.
Yes, yes. And Chris is really in tune with
like, not only is he like in tune with what you can and can't
do, but he's also like I'm diff, you know, like I'm different in
the sense like where I'm like, I, I could, I'll stop.
Like you're like, oh, I hit 540 on my Max effort squat.
Like that's enough for me. And he's like, what do you mean?
You have like six other jumps? I was like, hey, but he's like,
he's like finesse it in a way that it's like, oh, you know,
like, like he doesn't do it. So I get nervous, if that makes
sense. Like he won't be.
And he's not like, like interface like, yeah, you can
fucking do this. No, no, no, no.
Because like, I'm not the kind of person that, you know, is
motivated by that. Like he's just, I don't know,
he's very in touch with how to handle me versus the rest of his
lifters. Yeah.
And I know you said that kind of the winter mute was like one of
the first meets where you had that full, I guess, crew
handling experience. So maybe tell somebody, if
somebody was this and that has never had that, tell them why
it's important. My God, it's like life changing
really. Like I can't believe that this
is how people live. You know, like I went to all
these meets before. Not that I didn't have help, I
did have help, but I was getting help from people that I didn't
normally train with. My first, the the pro am meet,
the first multi play program. I had one of my friends come out
to specifically just to wrap my knees and then Margaret and then
there was the hellbent crew. But like so Andrew was handling
Jordan and Bobby was handling Denise and like they helped me
when they could, But it's one of those things where it's like you
know, you're there to handle another person and it's like
it's I've handled before and it's really fucking hard.
It's. More stressful than competing, I
agree. 100% it's very fucking high.
So like I completely get that. And then like going into the WPI
had Dakota, who I don't normally train with, and I had Mags who I
don't normally train with come with me and it was super
helpful. But it's not the same like, you
know, they don't see you all the time.
And then having it was Chris, Chrissy and John and then me,
Tom and Jeff were competing and they like ran that thing, you
know, like a well oiled machine. Like they had everything and
like changing things on the fly. It was just like incredible to
have. I didn't have to pick my
attempts like I did, but I didn't.
I remember I was like, I took my second squat and I was like, I
could cut it here, right? And he's like, you can if you
want, but I think you have another jump.
And I was like, all right, well, you do whatever you want.
And I wouldn't have picked 700 or 705.
I would have like maybe taken like a 10 LB jump.
But, you know, he saw that that day and it happened and that,
you know, I'm, I'm grateful for that because that was always
like a huge call. Yeah.
It's like it really. You don't even have to ask for
help, you know, like, you just have everything, like having
straps tightened, whatever. Yeah.
And like. The prime, like this past
weekend when I was competing, like I was down by, you know,
the platform just sitting and waiting and like Brittany was
wrapping my knees and I didn't have to go looking for them.
I was just sitting there. And then all of a sudden I'd be
4th out and John and Brittany would come over and I didn't
have my headphones and didn't have to say a word.
Didn't even know was I had an idea was on the bar because I
had a game plan, but I didn't care if he moved it up or down
because I trust in my hand handlers.
And I think that's a huge thing is trusting your handlers
because if you're there on your own, you maybe think you can go
for a lift that you're not going to get or maybe you think, oh,
I'm tired, I'm not going to get this.
I'm going to scratch it. So I guess like, for example, I
hit my 670 on the squat. I smoked that we went for seven,
got a depth call that not going to go into that much.
But so we had to readjust the game plan and I'd hit, I smoked
my open arm bench, hit the 375 on my second like nice.
And then it was kind of like a coin toss whether we were going
to go like 390 or go go for the 400 because that was another one
of my goals. But the main goal is 1700, so we
went for the 390 and I think if we went 400 I might have missed
it. But if I was there alone, I
would have absolutely put in 400, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, that's how that works.
And like, I feel like before this I was an overestimator of
myself. And then after I broke my arm,
I'm like a perpetual underestimated.
I'm like, it's good enough. Yeah.
So it's good. To have somebody there that
pushes you and definitely good to have somebody there that
could pull the brakes if you need it.
Yeah, and. Then as far as actual like meet
day mechanics, when you have that crew with you, like I
always say, if you were to rank like what parts of the meet are
the most stressful? Spotting, loading, obviously
that shit's exhausting, very important, but very exhausting
handling is second. That's you have to worry about
all the numbers and all if they're wrapped and all that,
especially equipped. And then I say judging because
you can make a bad call or you slip up or something like that.
The easiest part of powerlifting is actually competing.
I. Know and it like that's like
another. It doesn't drive me crazy.
Like I know people like get into their zones and shit like when
they're they're lifting, but I just wish people were like, I
don't want to say took it less seriously because like, you
know, you have to respect the hustle.
Like people like obvious, like if you.
I just wish people would smile more sometimes.
I know, yeah. But.
You know, and I usually I like haven't had this issue in like
forever where I felt like, oh, that person hates me, you know,
but like it hasn't been like that for a while.
But I do get those vibes. Yeah, and I think that's why
something that I learned in football was don't be too
serious. Like, yeah, focus, get hyped up,
don't go crazy. It's the same thing a pile
lifting. If you get too focused or too
worried or start thinking about everything and or get super
hyped up and take like 20 hits of smelling salts and have
someone slap you across the face like you're going to miss the
lift. But if you're focused and you
you're confident, I think confidence comes into play.
If I think, OK, let me back up. I think the more aggression and
hyped up and like focus that whole like locked in, the more
you try to do that, the less confident you are you're going
to hit the lift. When you're standing around
joking with people up next or sitting there getting your knees
wrapped, cracking jokes and stuff.
That's just pure confidence. That's like, I'm going to go out
there. I'm going to do the damn thing.
Yeah. Exactly.
I totally agree with that. Like, and I do think like, you
know, whatever works for people, honestly, because like, I also
just don't have it in my personality to be the kind of
person that's like, you know, like I'm like, do this and I'm
the best in the fucking world. I don't know.
But I do admire it. I just say it could never be me.
Yeah. And I.
Totally. Like I said, I totally get
sometimes you do need to hype yourself up.
You might not be confident going into a lift and that's OK, but
do whatever it takes it Don't don't leave anything out there
on the platform. Don't go out there and be like,
oh, I missed it because I wasn't focused or but it definitely
don't go out there and say I missed it because I hyped myself
up way too much and I couldn't see because someone slapped me
across the face. Yeah, I don't know, I feel like
it's always like, what's it called Anti climactic when that
stuff happens, you know? Yeah, but like there's something
that I wanted to say about Chris in that regard.
Oh, so Chris like is this is so he's like amazing because he is
a world record holder. Whatever.
He's super fucking strong, one of the best in the world.
But like, if you train with him, he's the most unserious fucking
person ever, ever. Like you, well, like get under
the bar and then he'll say something so fucking dumb and
like, you know, you're, you're I'm trying real hard to get into
position and pick a star. And then he'll like, sit there
and say something really stupid. And then you can see it in
Chrissy's video. She just like, kind of, you
know, like she's laughing. You like completely let go of
that. But like, even Chris, like the
whole time he just do like they're being an idiot, you
know, And I think that's what makes it super fun.
Yeah. I.
Think yeah, on a the least the less serious you can do and
still get the The caveat here is if everyone's still getting the
work done, everyone's still focused and keeping people safe.
If you can have a crew that does that, can be safe, efficient and
strong but can joke around, you can't beat that.
Yeah, I. Agree.
I agree it makes me miss lifting with Ryan and Brian to be
honest. Yeah dude, it's like a whole
nother beast. They.
Those two combined, there's fucking like rodeo clowns.
It's awesome for real. Like it's and it's one of those
things that you can't even properly articulate.
You just have to experience it because it's like the most awe
like outlandish off color shit. Yeah, they're just fucking
crazy. Well, I think so.
The first time I met them was at strength.
The heroes. What was that?
Three? And they're like, yeah, this is
gritty and this is Whopper. And I was like, OK, these dudes
look funny already. Oh my God, I didn't even like.
I don't like. I look back in those times.
I'm like, how did we ever get anything done?
Yeah, I like we would. Exactly.
But I think before we wrap things up, as far as like I know
you're looking forward to Frank the heroes, but as far as maybe
just some some personal goals or some final words to say, what
what do you have? I know over here it says if
Chris was answering you want to squat 800, but Oh yeah.
It's like the first time I see him after that, he's like, OK,
so you know, you got to squat 800, right?
And I'm just like, do I have to, you know?
I mean, sure, yes, that'll be a goal, right, Eventually to do
that. How soon that's going to happen,
nobody knows. And that would definitely be
something really cool to do because I think there's only
four women who have done it. Four or five, right?
There's Leah, Amber, Crystal, Tate, Becca.
Becca and. That's it, right?
I believe. So Jordan will definitely.
Do it? Did DNA do it yet?
I don't know. I want to look it up, but I
don't know. Yeah, no.
We'll just yeah. But either way, 800 LB squat for
anyone is really impressive. So.
But yeah, I think I'll ask you my final question for wrap
things up. If you could give a new lifter
or someone going into their first meet a word of advice,
what would you say? Don't take it so seriously.
Like, go in, have fun. Like, yeah, you know, especially
don't cut weight. Yes.
Agreed. That's like.
That would be #1 besides, even before having fun because you're
not going to have fun if you're like worried about cutting
weight. I like, I did that for my first.
It was terrible. I don't know why I did like.
Why would I do that? Yeah, anyway, it's.
Like unless you're like already super like you came from like a
wrestling background, anime background where you're like
you're, you know what you're doing, then whatever.
But like I wouldn't recommend it.
It takes away from the experience.
Go in, have fun, smile at people, make new friends because
like really like besides just being fucking strong and cool,
whatever. And like the best part about
powerlifting is the community. So like for more people that you
meet, go to different gyms, you know, I guess that's not really
going into a different like, you know, this is your first
competition, but after that, you know, go around train with
different crews. Everybody has something to teach
you, you know, like even people you know, like they, you might
think are not as strong as you, but there's always something to
learn from everybody. I fully agree.
Well, I want to thank you again for taking the time to come on.
It was my pleasure. Thank you so much for
everything.