Powerlifting USA Magazine

HARDCORE GYM #96

 

April 2010 - Vol. 33 No. 6

WEIGHTLIFTING UNLIMITED

by Rick Brewer | rick[at]houseofpain.com
www.houseofpain.com

 

Last month we talked about MPS (McDole Performance Systems) in Canada, and I told you that there was a brand new state filled with powerlifters! Something in their water is causing prehistoric monsters to grow at an incredible rate. In fact, it is stuffed full of cool hardcore gyms—stuffed like a powerlifter at the buffet line (after making weight).


I can’t wait to tell you about this new land full of dinosaurs because some of you need to pack up and move there. But I’m gonna give you another month to guess where the new Iron-State is.


This month, I’m going to let Russell Pugh tell you about a cool gym in VA. He needs to talk to you NOW, because they have a bench press contest in a few days. It is their 20th Annual BP Contest; if you are near VA, you need to go! Russell will take it from here:

 

Weightlifting Unlimited
There is no child care here, and you can’t sign up for a spin class. Hell, there’s not even a water fountain. It’s cold in the winter and it’s hot in the summer.It smells like a mixture of ammonia, sweat, Bengay, and chalk.This is Weightlifting Unlimited, located inWinchester, VA.The gym is nestled inside an old storage room behind a shopping mall. The gym is void of any creature comforts. If it doesn’t make you stronger, you won’t find it here. (I hope there is a toilet! RB) Most of the equipment is old; it isn’t pretty, but it is functional. When you walk in the front door, the first thing you see is a monolift, a power rack, a reverse hyper, and a glute-ham raise. So although the gym isn’t filled with the latest commercial-gym wonder-equipment, it has what you need to get strong. (My system is old and ugly too, and sometimes I need a toilet! RB)


In the second room there are two competition benches. There is an incline bench, a cable pull-down machine and some dumbbells. In the corners you will find assorted bands and chains and against the back wall, behind the Metal Militia bench, a full set of boards from 1 to 5 sit ready to go.


This is more than a gym, this is a club. Members don’t just pay dues, they accept and step up to the responsibility of taking care of the gym. When you join this gym you get a key; access is 24 hours a day, and 7 days a week. Members help buy new equipment for the gym.(Novel idea. RB) Guys will come in with chalk, toilet paper, soap, etc.(YAY for the toilet paper! RB) The radio in the gym was brought in by a member, and CD’s belong to various members. Mirrors were brought in and put up by guys after workouts. (It’s good to have mirrors in the gym, so that you’ll notice if a piece of toilet paper is hanging out the bottom of your shorts. ‘Cause no one will tell you. RB)


Every person in the gym either competes, or supports the other members who compete. If you don’t lift in a meet, you go and spot, or lift-off, or help out where you can. Many times guys will be finished lifting, but they stay an extra hour or more to help someone who is getting ready for a meet. That’s what makes this gym special or HARDCORE. It’s an atmosphere that is hard to find; it’s tribal.


Everyone is pushed every workout. No one cares what kind of day you’ve been having; once you step through those gym doors, you’d better be ready to train. You’ll hear the sounds of weights slamming together, and the smell of chalk mixed with ammonia. Randy Robinson yells out “Wrap ‘em up tight” across the gym. “When you get your ass on this bench I want you to get tight, squeeze the bar and use your lats to lower the weight!” If a lifter misses a lift, there is always someone there to tell him what he needs to work on to improve. Every lift is coached, every lift is watched, and each lift is critiqued without mercy. There is no prejudice about gear here. If you want to lift in equipment, fine, if you don’t that’s fine as well.(Sounds like a rare balance; perfect! RB) This place is about being strong; it is about being the best at your particular iron game. That’s why the boards on the wall in the bench room show 4 IPA world records, 3 competition benches over 600 and 4 more over 500 pounds.


To an outside observer, a typical workout may sound like someone getting beaten to death with metal poles and chains while others cheer the suffering on. This is merely the sound of a good work-out; it’s the sound of a tribe gaining power.


This gym has been around for more than 20 years. While other mainstream gyms have opened and closed, Weightlifting Unlimited continues to thrive on the core values of the men who want to get stronger and stronger. In 1980, Weightlifting Unlimited hosted the Virginia Nationals. The overall owner is Randy Brooks. Randy has lifted and competed for years. On any given Sunday morning, he’s in the gym lifting and giving advice on technique or form. Randy is the reason this gym is here, and Sunday mornings (with Randy) are a big part of WU. He’s the guy who puts his name on the power bill, and on the lease. He doesn’t do this to make any money, but he does it so guys will have a place to train.


There are two basic crews that lift at WU. Randy Robinson (IPA world record holder) has a small stable of bench enthusiasts who meet up three days a week and compete in four to five meets a year. Dave Sands (another IPA record holder sponsored by Rychlak Power Systems) has another group. This second group trains for full meets, and they have a growing number of lifters getting started in the sport. Both of these guys will help new lifters and guide them. I’ve seen both of these guys take time out of their day (in training and at meets) to help new lifters and discuss problem areas.


Larry Short, who owns Anytime Fitness comes here to train with other competitive lifters. He trades in his elaborate gym for the sparse, cold confines of Weightlifting Unlimited so he can get the feedback he needs to get stronger. Larry has several health issues; including diabetes and fibromyalgia, but still has held IPA world records for both the bench press and full meets. (Go Larry; never quit! RB)

 

It Takes A Village
Weightlifting Unlimited would not be here if it weren’t for some really good people out there who have been a part of this journey. We would be grateful to thank some of the guys who have helped us along the way. Thanks to Gene Rychlak for advice on benching and support, thanks to Louie Simmons for help and assistance, thanks to Matt Wenning and Chuck Vogelphol at Lexen Extreme for help in finding equipment and trying to figure out how to squat. Thanks to Bill Crawford for building up equipment and working with us to get what we needed. Thanks for every person who has competed, helped spot, helped judge, or helped move equipment in the past 20 years of Weightlifting Unlimited bench press contests.

 

Thanks to Bud Drummond, Palmer, Leo Brown, Dud, Carl West, Rick Singhas, Walt Cook and Anthony Burgess. There are too many people who have been a part of this gym over the years to include everybody, but you know who you are and your efforts live on every time we step on the platform. Finally thanks to Powerlifting USA, and also to every one of you.
Thanks, from TEAM WEIGHTLIFTING UNLIMITED!


Finally, please come out and take part in our 20th Annual Bench Press Contest, April 24th, 2010. Better hurry; it’s almost here!


Gym and event contact: weightliftingunlimited@gmail.com.


Special thanks to Russell Pugh for all of this info from VA! Don’t forget to go to the 20th BP Contest on 4.24.10, and tell ‘em that you heard about it here in PL USA magazine! Next month, we’ll start looking at the new land of monster lifters! Until then, lift big, eat big, and sleep well!


Care to guess what state we’ll be in next month? Email me at rick@houseofpain.com.

*photographs courtesy of Weightlifting Unlimited