Post by Barry Williams on Feb 5, 2007 19:42:59 GMT -5
What a fucked up title; ain't it.
My name is Barry Williams and here is just a portion of what I have to say.
I'll be 37 years old if I live till June 26th of this year. God willing; I'll graduate from Winston Salem Barber School around the 23rd of this month (Feb. 07). I have two beautiful kids that I'm trying to spend more time with. Miranda, my 12 year old daughter. And Logan, my 7 year old that some of you know from various gyms.
My wife Tracie and I are seperated right now but she's still very supportive of my lifting. Not sure if we'll ever get back together or not; but I still love the ground she walks on. She's put up with alot of my shit when some women would have walked away.
Now to some lifting. I started powerlifting around 3 1/2 years ago. I had allways wanted to be a bodybuilder but just didn't care much for all the ego in the sport. I was a member of BODY FIT GYM in Eden NC. Todd Shelton trains there and competes in full power. He convinced me to try benchin'. When I joined AC FITNESS in Greensboro, I entered one of Orlos meets. I Think I placed 2nd or 3rd. At his next couple I did better and won a few swords and Axes for best lifter. Thats about the time I met Mike White. He helped me with my form and training to focus more on benchin' heavy. I did 3 Iron Boy meets and won all 3 for my weight class along with a couple best lifter plaques. (Like him or not, Keith puts on a great meet.)
Don't remember who, but somebody told me to try a bench shirt. So being a dumbass, I ordered a Karins Double Denim to learn in
. My first meet in Mt. Airy I think I hit 500, then made a huge jump to 505. Went to Clayton to qualify for Nationals and opened @ 551. Missed it, hit it on the third then hit 606. My next meet was back to Mt. Airy. Phil Harrington was staying with me and Tracie, so he helped with my training. I ended up hitting 611 which was around #12-15 all time, at that time.
Nationals was where some shit went WAY WRONG. I had picked up some sponsors to help pay for the trip to Vegas. My weight was to high when we got there so I tried a diuretic to bring me down. The result was 8lbs in the next four hours! But I was sick as shit from the trip and dehydration. I made weight @ 198 .4, just enough. Rebounded pretty well with some Gatorade and Pedialite back up to 205-208. I hit my opener (575) with ease; then came the second attempt...... 611 out of the rack smooth as I could ask for; came down easy too. But when I got my press command there was a loud POP on my left side. I thought my fuckin shirt had blown out and the seam stitches had blew. But no, it was my small bone in my forearm broken with a spiral fracture.
Most of you know the rest. I got depressed, qiut lifting and sat on my ass for a couple of months. But thanks to Mike, Chris Clark, and Joey stayin' on me to lift again; I'm about ready to compete again. Much as I hate to admit it, they were right. Going out dur to an injury is a piss poor reason to quit. So, I'm back and really feelin' as strong as ever.
I've gotta thank my friend Jason Coker out in Texas for help with some equipment and telling me not to quit. ( See his interview)
My name is Barry Williams and here is just a portion of what I have to say.
I'll be 37 years old if I live till June 26th of this year. God willing; I'll graduate from Winston Salem Barber School around the 23rd of this month (Feb. 07). I have two beautiful kids that I'm trying to spend more time with. Miranda, my 12 year old daughter. And Logan, my 7 year old that some of you know from various gyms.
My wife Tracie and I are seperated right now but she's still very supportive of my lifting. Not sure if we'll ever get back together or not; but I still love the ground she walks on. She's put up with alot of my shit when some women would have walked away.
Now to some lifting. I started powerlifting around 3 1/2 years ago. I had allways wanted to be a bodybuilder but just didn't care much for all the ego in the sport. I was a member of BODY FIT GYM in Eden NC. Todd Shelton trains there and competes in full power. He convinced me to try benchin'. When I joined AC FITNESS in Greensboro, I entered one of Orlos meets. I Think I placed 2nd or 3rd. At his next couple I did better and won a few swords and Axes for best lifter. Thats about the time I met Mike White. He helped me with my form and training to focus more on benchin' heavy. I did 3 Iron Boy meets and won all 3 for my weight class along with a couple best lifter plaques. (Like him or not, Keith puts on a great meet.)
Don't remember who, but somebody told me to try a bench shirt. So being a dumbass, I ordered a Karins Double Denim to learn in
. My first meet in Mt. Airy I think I hit 500, then made a huge jump to 505. Went to Clayton to qualify for Nationals and opened @ 551. Missed it, hit it on the third then hit 606. My next meet was back to Mt. Airy. Phil Harrington was staying with me and Tracie, so he helped with my training. I ended up hitting 611 which was around #12-15 all time, at that time. Nationals was where some shit went WAY WRONG. I had picked up some sponsors to help pay for the trip to Vegas. My weight was to high when we got there so I tried a diuretic to bring me down. The result was 8lbs in the next four hours! But I was sick as shit from the trip and dehydration. I made weight @ 198 .4, just enough. Rebounded pretty well with some Gatorade and Pedialite back up to 205-208. I hit my opener (575) with ease; then came the second attempt...... 611 out of the rack smooth as I could ask for; came down easy too. But when I got my press command there was a loud POP on my left side. I thought my fuckin shirt had blown out and the seam stitches had blew. But no, it was my small bone in my forearm broken with a spiral fracture.
Most of you know the rest. I got depressed, qiut lifting and sat on my ass for a couple of months. But thanks to Mike, Chris Clark, and Joey stayin' on me to lift again; I'm about ready to compete again. Much as I hate to admit it, they were right. Going out dur to an injury is a piss poor reason to quit. So, I'm back and really feelin' as strong as ever.
I've gotta thank my friend Jason Coker out in Texas for help with some equipment and telling me not to quit. ( See his interview)
