All Sport Report

Brent “Sgt Rock” Howard is a deadlift specialist who has one of the most dynamic personalities and energetic stage presences in the world of strength sports. He got his start in powerlifting as a “skinny 145 pounder” in high school, Gary Viles who was Brent’s high school strength coach saw something special in him and decided to give him a shot…Viles proved to be a very smart man, Brent pulled 335 lbs in his first attempt at the deadlift.

Since breaking into the sport Brent has gone from that skinny kid with a very impressive first attempt to be at the pinnacle of the sport in the deadlift, incredibly managing to pull more than three times his body weight in each of the following weight classes: 148,165,181,198,220 and 242!

Where did the nickname come from?

Brent joined the Marine Corps in 1995, “I wanted to be the best so I joined the Corps.” The nickname comes from the fact that Brent was the only recruit of the Corps, ever, that couldn’t float. After countless jumps into the pool for swim qualification, and countless hours of one on one practice with instructors the Marine Corps brass came to the conclusion that it just wasn’t going to happen, Howard was a freak of nature, a rock - so from boot camp up through the ranks Brent was LCpl Rock, then Cpl Rock and finally Sgt Rock, since then the name has just stuck.

Sgt Rock will again be lifting in “the Cage” at the Arnold Classic in March, “being involved in the Arnold every year is a true blessing for me.”

For those of you that don’t know about the Arnold, it’s a pretty prestigeous event, with a bodybuilding competition and the Arnold Sports Expo that includes a variety of events - strongman, arm wrestling, and for the first time this year sumo. You don’t just walk in and fill out a form to be involved in Arnold, it’s invitation only, and Brent being asked back each year shows not only his tremendous dedication to the sport but the fact that he drastically improves what he’s capable of, enough to where he can continually impress the thousands and thousands that attend the Arnold each year.

For a man who’s so charismatic in competition and who’s done so many very impressive things on the platform, Brent Howard is incredibly humble, “of all the things I’ve accomplished in powerlifting, having the opportunity to help people is the most important to me,” this coming from a man who has deadlifted 600 lbs for ten reps, been on the cover of Monster Muscle Magazine and graced the pages of Sports Illustrated. Sgt Rock is willing to spend more than two extra hours in the gym each day to help other lifters get ready for their competitions, I don’t know of very many, if any, other professional athletes that are willing to go to such lengths in order to help someone else reach their goals.

After putting on what I’m sure will be a very impressive show in the Cage at Arnold, Brent will be heading to the Riverfest in Gadsden Alabama, “a lot of my close friends live in Gadsden, I always put up big numbers there. I love that show, you can look for a big pull there this year.”

If Brent Howard calls for a big lift you can almost bank on it, he’s not one for disappointing the crowd.

Brent Howard is a mere thirty six years of age, which means he’s got a lot of pulls left in him. He’s managed to work through two torn pectoral muscles and a torn bicep without so much as missing a beat. He’s looking to hit an official deadlift of 895 lbs at a weight of 242 before moving up a weight class to 275 to “see what happens.” I personally can’t imagine, but judging from his track record I can tell you that the sky is the limit.

For more info on Brent “Sgt Rock” Howard go here.

powerlifting, deadlift, Sgt Rock, Brent Howard, Arnold Classic

Standing at five foot five inches tall and checking in at a powerfull 220 lbs, Ox will look to grab hold of his first major title(WPO) at the Arnold Classic next month. It would be a pretty nice birthday present for the veteran lifter, Mason will be thirty-five on March 16th.

Ox has been lifting weights since the age of twelve, first as a bodybuilder before making the switch to powerlifting in 1997, “I was tired of all the politics involved with bodybuilding, one of my training partners was a powerlifter and he just seemed to be having more fun, so I made the change. I’ve kept lifting all these years because I haven’t won a world title yet - I have a burning desire to be the best, no matter how long it takes.”

Mason, who had an impressive competition totalling 2199 lbs at the WPO World Semi Finals in Lake George in November of ‘06 despite being injured, will get another crack at being the best at Arnold. Mason has put up some serious numbers at 220 lbs, his biggest official lifts put him at a world class level: bench press - 628lbs; deadlift - 704 lbs; and squat - 948 lbs and a total of 2204 lbs, couple that with his drive and determination and we could definitely see Chris on the podium at Arnold.

Ox wants to be a part of powerlifting for as long as he can, “I’ll compete as long as my body lets me perform at this level, but as soon as I start to slip I’ll bow out gracefully.” I don’t think upon seeing Mason compete there’s a whole lot to worry about as far as him leaving the competitive side of the sport anytime too soon:

But when the time comes for Ox to call it quits as far as competition is concerned he will still be knee deep in the sport with his business Oxsportz. Ox is not only at the top of the field as far as being able to move tremendous amounts of weight, he is also a visionary when it comes to performance and training and he is bringing all that to the public through Oxsportz.

Ox’s company manufactures three types of lifting belts including the ‘big bench belt’ which helps a lifter shorten the stroke of the lift and create more interabdominal pressure allowing for, as the name implies, a bigger bench press. Oxsportz is nearly ready to unleash the ‘mechanical ox’ on the market as well, the ‘mechanical ox’ is a revolutionary piece of equipment that will allow a lifter to train the squat, deadlift and goodmorning all at the same time - this will mean a more intense workout which will require less time to complete thereby allowing more time for recovery. The ‘mechanical ox’ could be the invention that let’s Ox realize the American dream and leave the rat race and his pharmacuetical sales job behind.

“I’m always going to lift, I met all my closest friends through lifting, hell I even met my wife in a gym thirteen years ago, but after I win a world title I would like to concentrate on my business more. I have a full line of strength equipment in mind, I’d like Oxsportz to be able to compete with Hammer Strength someday.”

I hope Ox wins his world title in March, but I don’t think I’m alone in hoping that he doesn’t leave the competitive side of the sport too soon. He’s got a lot to offer the lifting world through his business, but the ten year veteran still has alot to offer fans of the sport by being up there on the platform.

To learn a little more about Ox and to see some of his incredible products go here.

It’s the questioned faced by anyone who has ever been involved in lifting weights, anyone who has spent any amount of time in the gym, anyone who has any kind of musculature, “How much can you bench?”

There was a time not long ago that Big Shawn Lattimer could have answered that question with “935 pounds”, he put up nearly half a ton in a lift during training.

Shawn was a BIG kid, in his teens standing six feet and tipping the scales at close to three-hundred pounds. He was a district wrestling champion as a junior in high school, training for wrestling was Shawn’s introduction into the world of weight lifting.

Lattimer’s first steps into the world of competitive lifting were taken in 1997 at a bench competition he went to with some buddies from the gym, “I benched around four-twenty that day, I was hooked.”

Despite his training slowing while attending college and developing his career, the weight did keep piling onto his bench press: 540 in ‘99, 600 at the 2002 WNPF Worlds. “I started to really learn about training methods and worked my way up to 645 in the spring of ‘03.”

After Shawn became a part of the Metal Militia his benchpress really started to grow, he broke the 800 lb barrier at the WPO Bench Bash in Fall of ‘03 and was invited to the Arnold Classic in 2004 where he placed 2nd, putting up 859 lbs. Guys associated with the Metal Militia are notorious for being able to put up enormous numbers and Shawn Lattimer was certainly no exception, “my best competition lift came in August of 2006: 865 at the Iron Asylum APF Backyard Bench Meet.”

Shortly after his 865 lb bench press, Shawn was diagnosed with diabetes. It’s pretty amazing that he’s been able to move the incredible amounts of weight that he has - Shawn has a veritable grocery list of injuries that have plagued him over the course of the last few years: He’s had tears in both triceps and both pectoral muscles, 7 herniated discs, a substantial right shoulder injury in 2003, and a bone spur in the left elbow that may require a surgical procedure.

In 2005 Shawn dealt with a frightening series of heart related issues stemming from stress, asthma and sleep apnea that resulted in him having two minor heart attacks, and ‘06 brought on the diabetes. The illnesses and injuries caused a drastic change in Shawn’s lifestyle particularly diet, bringing his bodyweight down from about four hundred and twenty pounds to around three-fifty.

Shawn’s last meet was in December of ‘06, it was his first since he’s “slimmed down” and he managed to put up 750 lbs, which is pretty impressive all things considered. “As of right now I pretty much have my health together, and am recovered from most of the injuries. I don’t really take the sport as seriously as I did before, I love competitive lifting and will probably do until the day I die - If it’s not fun, why do it?”

Shawn’s next meet is just around the corner on February 17 in Tribes Hill New York, he’s looking to get back up over the 800 lb mark. I for one would like to see Shawn stay healthy and competitive for as long as it takes him to conquer his quest of the ever elusive 1000 pound bench press.

For more info on Shawn, and to find out how you can get a personalized training program from one of the most impressive bench press specialists go here.

At twenty one years of age English powerlifter AJ Roberts already has his name on the pages of the record books more than once. In his last competition Roberts put up a big 2285 lb total by way of an 881 lb squat, a 705 lb deadlift and a 699 lb benchpress, which gave him enough to take home the crown in the 308 lb weight class of the ‘06 WPC World Championships.

AJ’s beginnings with the weights came as many other’s had, he started lifting to get bigger for football, “that’s when my obsession with lifting started.” His entrance into competitive powerlifting, however, came a bit differently.

Roberts came to the US as an exchange student and international students are only granted one year of eligability. In an attempt to avoid this complication AJ’s parents actually signed over guardianship to the family he was staying with, but false rumors circulated that he was an international recruit. The OSSA ruled him ineligable, and despite several attempts of appeal AJ was banned from playing high school sports during his senior year. The world of powerlifting was about to be blessed with one of it’s most promising young competitors.

AJ started breaking records in 2003 in the teen division with a 470 lb deadlift and the numbers kept growing. By November 2005 AJ held IPA World Records in the 275 lb weight class with a 903 lb Squat, a 600 lb benchpress and a 2138 lb total.

His next full meet, the IronGladiators Classic ‘07, will come in April of ‘07 in Spokane, WA where AJ will look to improve his total to over 2400 lbs. Roberts will be twenty two in a little over a month, which in the powerlifting world means that he hasn’t even begun to hit his stride. He is at least of few years away from being at his peak, he’s going to keep getting bigger, stronger and more proficient.

“I’m addicted to lifting,” he says, “it’s my drug of choice. I keep going back day after day because I love everything about it - the smell, the sound, the blood, the pain. Powerlifting has become part of who I am, without it I’m not sure how I would function.”

At last years IronGladiators Classic AJ set Oregon state records with a 950 lb squat and a 650 lb bench press and a personal record total of 2300 lbs. A 2400 pound total is definitely within Roberts’ reach for this coming April, as far as what we’ll see from this phenom down the road - your guess is as good as mine, but I will tell you you should bring your calculator to add up the total ’cause it’s gonna be huge!

For more info on AJ Roberts go here, or to get info on how you can be trained by AJ go here.

For all of your metal maniacs out there who didn’t quite get your fill from Monday’s profile of Randall Truscott, here’s a little something to hold you over until this Monday:

Here’s Randall squating 578

Here he is pulling 578

and here he is locking out 540

These are hot off the press from Truscott’s last meet, they should give you your powerlifting fill until we talk Iron again Monday at ten. This week is another one not to be missed when you’ll get a look at another Heavy Metal Monster in AJ Roberts.

Randall Truscott is not your normal everyday sixteen year old, sure he’s like them in some ways - he’s a junior in high school, he’s done some time on the football team, even dabbled in some guitar but that’s pretty much where the similarities end.

After a brief discussion with this exciting Canadian athlete a few things struck me about him that definitely weren’t “sixteen”, he’s polite, he’s respectful, he’s got drive and direction. He speaks as if he’s got his head on straight, which I know I didn’t at sixteen and Oh Yeah, he can Squat 600 pounds!

In his last competition Truscott hit a squat of 578 lbs, with no doubt; benchpressed 320 lbs and deadlifted 540 lbs. The squat stands as a Canadian record for juniors, the bench and deadlift are Ontario Records. Below is Randall in the gym pulling well over twice his bodyweight - 530lbs.

Randall stands 6′2″ at a rock solid 225 lbs, he assures me he’s getting bigger and I most certainly believe him. He started lifting weights at fifteen and was turned on to powerlifting by Andy Childs, a competitive lifter and owner of Phoenix Fitness. After training for about ten months at Steel City Powerlifting Club, perfecting technique this sixteen year old took his training to where he lived, literally, getting the equipment to build a gym in his basement, where he still does much of his training.

Randall has still been hitting the road to train a bit, every few weeks he makes his way to a powerlifting gym in Guelph, which happens to be the home away from home for some worldclass and champion lifters. Truscott also told me that upon graduating from high school, he plans to go to the University in Guelph, I wonder if his decision has anything to do at all with the proximity to the gym.

Keep your eyes peeled for changes to the record books coming late in March (29th to be exact), when Randall will compete in the CPU Nationals at 225. He’s looking to up his total from a very impressive 1425 lbs at the Ontario Juniors to 1540 at the Nationals.

Randall attributes a lot of his success to the support of his parents and to having trained with so many elite lifters at the gym in Guelph. I attribute a lot of his success to the tremendous drive it takes to perform all day long in school, then come home and do homework for a couple hours, then still have enough left in the tank to go down to his gym and workout, hard, for a couple hours - lather, rinse, repeat.

If you’re looking for a rising young athlete to follow, Randall Truscott would certainly be a good choice, I’d tell you now about his September plans to move up a weight class to reak havoc at 242 lbs at the IPF junior Worlds, but there’ll be plenty of time for that when we talk about him again in April after he breaks his own records at the CPU Nationals in Halifax.

If you want a little more info on Randall, you can check out his website here