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High School Powerlifting Phenom: Rees Burt
-by Alex Campbell
Let me introduce you to a high school phenom in USAPL. His name is Rees Burt, and he has only been lifting for one year. Rees has only lifted in three sanctioned meets but has accomplished more than most people will in a lifetime. I still remember when he contacted me by email wanting some training help with training for powerlifting. He had just played his first year of football and wanted to attempt to do a powerlifting meet. He told me the numbers he was working with and it just sounded too good to be true. Those numbers were astronomical like 600 pounds on the hex bar deadlift without him ever really training. Luckily for him there was a big unsanctioned high school push/pull meet nearby and he showed. He pulled 575 and benched 250 all raw in his first meet. After the meet he was very excited and told me he wanted to do a sanctioned meet. I immediately suggested the USAPL for its depth of lifters, high school and teen nationals, drug free stance, strict rules, and the gateway to a true international platform. At his first USAPL meet he squatted 507, benched only 185 (after opening really light raw then putting on my used shirt which was so tight he had to take the American record of 342 to touch and was just about three inches from locking it out), then broke the American deadlift record with 557 and then just missed a 600.
His next meet was a deadlift only meet called the Night of the Living Dead. He was still 15 years old and pulled his first triple with 625 at 207. Before the TN USAPL meet, he had big plans of breaking all the American records in his weight and age group, but he tore his neck muscles in a wrestling accident five days before and decided to just bench press to break the American record. He tokened on the squat due to the pressure on his torn neck muscles. His bench press record attempt was missed at lockout by an inch or two and he decided he was not leaving without a new record despite his injury. He had to go raw since he did not bring his deadlift gear. He broke it with 560 and then 575 and stopped due to the pain in his neck breaking or rebreaking the American deadlift record two more times raw and injured.
He was now ready to step onto the national stage at the 2006 USAPL High School Nationals in Omaha, NE. He was very nervous on that day and had to cut about seven pounds to make weight. He was also placed in the varsity flight of the 220 class despite him being a sophomore since his openers were so high (which gave us an invaluable place of watching all his junior varsity competition go before him). He opened with a 500 squat and crushed it before going straight to the national record of 555. There was some really strict judging, and I took him very deep in those squats so if he got it, there would not be red lights for depth. I must say that he had a bad squat on that 555 and still got it up. He went very low, did not set back in his suit and use the spring but still broke the record. He had to grind it up and his back was fatigued, but he then went 573 to up his record and we decided he would just start up whenever he felt deep enough since it was just for fun. He was so pumped he forgot to tighten his belt but got it half way up before folding.
On the bench press the plan was to open with 275 raw just to get in the meet. He crushed it and put his shirt on to attempt the national record of 352. He pressed it but got called for a belly bench. He said the weight was too light to touch in the groove, so we went up to 367. He pressed it too, but again was called for a belly bench but it was very close. He was a bit disappointed that he would leave without all four records, but his favorite lift was upcoming. He opened with 555 to break the national dl record and it was a joke. This also gave him a new total record. He then went to 600 on the deadlift and hit it nice and smooth to up both the deadlift and total record again. On his third, I wanted him to go 611 but he wanted 617, and I let him choose since he had already set the record and deserved to have a little fun. He got it above his knees and held it there for a while, but it was just about five pounds too heavy.
He broke or rebroke five national records at his first national meet to go with his three American records he had set in his first two USPAL meets. He easily won the 220 jv division and won the best lifter for the third day of lifting. His biggest thrill of the day was when Johnnie Graham complimented him on his lifting. He has already focused on his future goals. He wants to be the first person in world history to deadlift 700 or more before they are 18 years old. He cannot wait to step up to the varsity division next year and see if he can compete. He also wants to break more American and national records with an ultimate goal of earning a spot on the sub-junior world team to represent the USA.
Rees Burt's meteoric rise to the top in such a short time is not just a result of genetic gifts. He is the hardest working athlete I have ever been around. He often wakes at five am to go and lift before school, does his advanced physical education workouts during school, then goes to track or wrestling practice afterwards. Last summer when he could not drive, he paid his friend's brother to drive him thirty minutes to train with me so he could learn more. He is coachable and listens to what more experienced lifters tell him. And most importantly he is a great person and makes excellent grades in school. Keep your eye out for this promising young lifter, because who knows where his next stop will be on the powerlifting ladder once he has a couple of years of experience under his belt.
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