The Strongest Thing We Build Isn’t Always a Total

The numbers, the PRs and winning all matter, but coaching has always meant more to me than just adding pounds to someone’s total. I believe the lessons we learn under the bar have the ability to change the way we approach everything else in life. I know that because it happened to me. After high school, I didn’t have a degree. I didn’t have some great career mapped out in front of me. I felt stuck and unsure of what I was capable of or where I was heading.

Powerlifting started to change that. It taught me that I could set a goal that seemed almost ridiculous, work toward it for years, fail along the way, adjust, keep showing up and eventually accomplish something I once wasn’t sure was possible.

I went on to be the first in Rochester to total 2000lbs, but what powerlifting gave me was much bigger than that total. It gave me the mentality to believe that maybe I could accomplish more outside of the gym too. Today I have a career earning over six figures working as a security supervisor at a local nuclear power plant, I opened Legends 24/7 Gym alongside of my business partner Dave, and I built my own online coaching business with The Crew through my own LLC. Most recently, after undergoing three surgeries in three years, I went from the worst shape of my life, to the best shape of my life and won Mr. Western NY bodybuilding show less than one year after my last surgery. The reason I even chose to step on that stage after that long string of setbacks was because of everything I’ve accomplished before those surgeries, reinforced why I knew that I could.

None of those things were inevitable for the kid I was after high school. I had to become someone who believed in themselves and that's a huge part of what I try to instill in the athletes I coach. I coach the person behind the total.

One of my athletes, Haley is a perfect example. She has openly shared her story of overcoming addiction. I've watched her continue to push herself in the gym while building an entirely different life outside of it. She recently earned her BSN and became an RN… and throughout that process, we had multiple conversations through some of her hardest days. That's strength.

Then there’s an athlete of mine, Nick… There was a point when Nick was going through a difficult relationship, between jobs, and had a bad motorcycle accident all at the same time. He felt like he had hit rock bottom and he could have stayed there. Instead, he started rebuilding. He lost 50 pounds, he earned his CDL, he rebuilt his confidence, and today, he's the strongest he's ever been. That's strength too.

These are the transformations that mean just as much to me as anything that happens on meet day and it's also why the way I coach isn't for everyone. I'm going to challenge you, I'm going to push you outside of your comfort zone, I'm going to hold you accountable and expect more from you when I know you're capable of more, I'm going to challenge the negative voice in your head instead of allowing you to reinforce it. Not because I expect perfection. I expect effort, communication, accountability and a willingness to be challenged.

That’s because every time you do something you weren't sure you could do, you collect another piece of evidence that maybe you're capable of more than you thought. The barbell just gives us a place to practice it. You struggle, you fail, you adapt, you get back up, and you keep showing up.

Eventually, something that once seemed impossible becomes something you can handle. Do that enough times and you start asking yourself, “if I can change this, what else can I change?” That's the mentality I want my athletes carrying with them when they leave the gym, because someday the PRs stop and there won't be another meet, but the person you became while chasing those things gets to come with you.

We use the barbell to build stronger lifters, but if we do this right, we build stronger people too.

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