Powerlifting the way it should be!
printed with expressed permission from Rick Fowler

Much too often powerlifting is viewed negatively by the public.  Between the
myriad of organizations and records that are recognized and gear that runs
the gamut from wearing none to suits of Camelot-like armor, it seems that
the spirit of it all has been lost somewhere along the way.  There is at
least one place located in Middle America, where the flashiness and sour
grapes of today's lifting scene has yet to spoil the scene.  This is the
story of the Granite City YMCA, a throwback facility to the old days.
        Granite City, IL is a blue collar town of about 35,000 people
located across the mighty Mississippi river, just minutes from St. Louis,
Mo.  Home to a thriving steel industry dating back to1877, GC was built by
hard work and heavy labor.  In 1924, a YMCA was erected in the shadows of
the factories that forged cold hard steel, and remains one of the city's
best-kept secrets.
        The YMCA in Granite City is home to about a dozen or so average
lifters that train with above average passion and intensity.  In the 1970's,
it was home to Curt Mathes and an extremely wild group that included Dr. Ken
Leistner for a brief period. Somehow, the place has managed to keep a pulse
through the years.  Today though, there is a pretty strong heartbeat coming
out of the basement of the old Y, thanks to the current regime of lifters.
        Just traveling downstairs to the sidewalk level weight room, one
gets the feeling of going underground or taking a trip back in time to do
some heavy duty training.  Training like it used to be done.  At first
glance it's obvious that this isn't a place to be concerned about fashion,
there are no dress codes in this dungeon.  With as many steelworkers as
there are at this gym, bluejeans, cut up shirts and construction boots are
seen regularly.  And there are no rules about going shirtless or wearing
tank tops in this place, the lifters wear what they want.  Much like the
places seen in old black and whites of Arnold and Franco training, the Y is
for the truly hardcore.
        With a stereo pumping out everything from classic rock to the hard
stuff like Metallica, Korn, ACDC and Ozzy, it's much more inspiring to train
with than trying to train with the voguish dance stuff played at more
popular social club gyms.  Along with that, there are also no rules about
bringing your drink into the lifting area.  Here, there's a ledge at every
window that allows the strongest of steaming coffee to cool perfectly for
drinking between sets.  And what about the style and décor of the GC YMCA?
Plain and simple: with the exception of the high ceilings and radiators that
heat the place, there is none.
        Unlike most high profile gyms, there are very few mirrors in this
one; most have either been broken or stolen.  The cinderblock walls are
either plain, or covered with some type of lifting article or upcoming meet
info.  A few exceptions to this are the 8 ft. color mural of Dr. Squat, Fred
Hatfield thrusting his fist into the air; the other is a black and white
mural of Jay Rosciglione pulling a deadlift to win the 1982 Sr. National
Championships at 148 lbs. Jay, who lives in nearby St. Louis, was a frequent
visitor to Granite City over the years.  These are just a few things though,
that add to the extreme environment.
        Summers and winters at the Y can be brutal and are a serious test of
a lifter's dedication to the iron.  Winter months aren't quite as bad once
the plastic is put up over the drafty windows, but the summers break most of
the non-lifters.  Built over 75 years ago, air-conditioning didn't exist
then, and to this day the YMCA of Granite City still doesn't have it.  The
100 degree-plus temperatures of St. Louis are manageable only through the
use of giant fans and small coolers that contain plenty of ice water and
cold towels.  On days like this, matching outfits and shiny mirrors are the
FARTHEST things from the minds of these lifters. Even in such adverse
conditions, the training still goes on.
        The equipment here is a collection of dusty pieces gathered one
piece at a time through fundraisers such as taco sales, powermeets and car
washes.  It's a gym for the lifters, by the lifters.  And thanks to the
Executive Director Rich Whittmann, it's a "no holds barred, take it in the
direction you want to" type atmosphere.  If we have an idea, he supports it
as long as it conducive to the Y.  Not too many directors will be ok when
you just decide to paint some of the walls red because it's thought to be an
aggressive color.
  Although there is a separate area for Nautilus and cardio machines, the
lifters don't frequent that side too often except to stretch and do
abdominal work.  For the most part, it's the hydraulic squat stands, and the
8' by 8' platform for squatting and deadlifting that gets used the most.
And, like all good training gyms, there are Texas Power bars, hundred lb.
plates and a power rack in the house.
There are plenty of other pieces at our gym, and even plenty of gyms out
there whose equipment easily outnumbers ours; but what do the true lifters
need?  That's right, not much.  A good bar, plenty of iron, a few extras and
that's about it.  Past that, most of the stuff isn't totally necessary
anyway.  But I'd be lying if I said this industrial strength lifting gym was
the only draw.  For this lifter what really makes it attractive is the crew
that comes together to push themselves hard each Saturday morning, the way
it should be done.
        The members of this team are as nameless and faceless as any.
Though there are no big names here, you wouldn't know it in the way they
trained.  With a lineup that spans ages 14 to 62, and includes both male and
female lifters, the common bond for all is to get strong, make progress and
enjoy being a team.  The gang has a handful of teenage lifters that compete
regularly on the national level that are supported and funded by the members
of the gym.  The camaraderie is unmatched at any gym seen by this author
when it comes time to get the kids to the meet.  Even the non-competing
members have a sense of pride about supporting the young guys.  And who
better to support than the teenagers?  We like to give back to them and hope
that it's passed along someday in someway.  Staff member Bud Gates is
especially generous.  Not only does he help get the kids to the meets, but
he also opens the gym on holidays for a few hours to make sure the gang can
lift.  So for the sake of them being more important, I'll focus on the young
guys instead of the older guys.
        The young guys are led by 18 year old, Josh Anderson.  Josh is a 165
lber. who has some pretty respectable lifts, but takes special care in
handling the kids at the meets and in the gym.  Josh has two twin sisters,
Jennifer and Jessica, who are just 14 years old, but follow each and every
instruction without question.  Just getting their feet wet, they've already
qualified for the Women's Teenage Nationals and have made great progress.
Others include Justin Newsome, a 6ft. 285 lb. 14 year old with an
overabundance of potential. After only 12 workouts, Justin pulled a massive
500 lb. deadlift.  Talk about hardcore, this kid lives in nearby Venice, IL
and gladly takes the bus to make the workouts, rain or shine.  I've even
picked him up as he was walking to the gym after missing his bus.  This is
real dedication.  The rest of the young gang includes nationally ranked high
school wrestler Jake Janek, Mike Orender, Eddie Ray and deadlifting machine
Ross Accardi.  Accardi is a thin, lanky 132 lb. 18 year old whose limbs are
long and dense with muscle.  Only at it a year and a half, this kid pulls
over 400 at will.
        The "elders" include college kid Jonas Janek; Maureen Post;  Tim
Fisk; steelworkers Terry Stanley and Jim Stanley; James Bell; Rick Fowler,
(author of this article); and a fiery 62 year old by the name of Pat
"Hurricane" Patterson.  Patterson, an Irish look alike to Mr. Clean, has
been known to show up to the gym with a black eye after a weekend of
carousing.  Pat keeps us all loose with his sharp wit and off-color sense of
humor.  He's always game for teaching a kid the correct way to throw a punch
and keeps the team in line.  The number one theme for this group though, is
to make progress and push each other hard like it's supposed to be.
        Our lifters compete in Dr. Mike Cissell's drug tested, single ply
gear power meets held around the St. Louis area.  Although we're not
crusaders, we do believe it's important to show our young guys that even
though it may take longer, you can train and get strong without strength
enhancing drugs.  For the sake of the teenagers and our own health we
wouldn't have it any other way.  As far as the federation holy wars are
concerned, most of our lifters are not even aware that the politics of
powerlifting exist.  We go to the above-mentioned meets because they're what
are area has to offer and they fit the criteria we're looking for. Not only
that, but Dr. Mike has been running good meets for almost 20 years.  He
works hard at giving the lifters a good product and our team is always happy
to help at his meets.
Some of the other serious people that train, but do not compete include
Chief Joe Valencia, Joe Muller, Terry Biggs, Jaime' Ybarra, and big Mike
Leonard.  These guys train hard and are always available for a spot no
matter how many forty-five lb. plated are on the bar.
        During the workouts each lifter plays a part in the whole operation.
Loading and spotting is done continuously like clockwork.  The rotation is
ran much like a power meet, with the order being decided by who will be
lifting the lightest weight up to the heavy hitter of the day.  It's nonstop
for two or three hours, much like being in the eye of a hurricane, slowing
down only to put on gear or get wrapped.  From the onset of the first
lifter, the bar gets heavier and the noise level of the group reaches a
maddening crescendo.  With the music cranked, chalk dust in the air and
training partners taking an "in your face approach to getting you ready",
it's hard not to be pumped for a big lift.  But this is serious stuff.
Every Saturday morning is a giant gang fight.  It's lifting the way lifting
should be done.
And when the workout is over, a line of lifters is formed from the platform
and the plates are all rolled over to the racks.  Like a group of worker
ants, the team even works together after the workout cleaning up the lifting
area. There is one small deviation from this ultra-hardcore lifting
environment, and it's in the shower area.  Even though the shower and locker
room area is the original area, the lifters do have a steam room and
whirlpool.  This is a wet steam room that few places have nowadays;
different from the dry, intense heat of the saunas.  And for recovery
between killer training sessions the hot whirlpool is hard to beat.
There is currently a plan to build a new YMCA that should be under
construction in a year or two.  Our leaders have put in a lot of hard work
coordinating the plans and are to be commended for their supreme efforts.
For the city, this is a good thing,  and I'm willing to bet that it will be
much nicer than the current Y.  But for some, nicer doesn't always mean
better.  When the day comes that the old Y has closed and the crew takes
their iron to the new YMCA, it will be quite an adjustment.  But the Y gang
is used to adverse conditions.  Hot weather, cold weather, gritty
environment, lack of equipment; you name it and this group of powerlifters
can probably make due and adapt to any less than desirable situation...even
(gulp!) having to train in a brand new facility!

Rick Fowler

OK Roger asked if I would start telling some stories from the downtown YMCA days. To be truthful Rick Fowler is the guy to tell these stories because you will bust a gut just listening to him. Oh and I do have Rick stories that is for another time and place.

Here it is.

YMCA story 1 and this is a classic. The BO Man and The Blind Lifter.

There use to be a guy that would literaly wonder in off the street to lift every once in a while and I promise the guy never bathed. His BO was so bad he would stink up the entire gym. I am not kidding you could smell him coming up the stairs. At the same time there was a blind man that would come in every day and do his lifting routine on the machines. One day I look over and their is a little can attached to the blind lifter's weight lifting belt. I am sitting there thinking what is in the can. No sooner than I get this thought out I can smell BO man coming. He walks in wonders around the gym for a while and come close to the blind lifter. The blind lifter pulls the can off his belt and commence to spray air freshener all over the gym.

I kid you not this is a true story, I was there, and thought I was literaly going to die from laughing. More to come at a later date from the downtown YMCA cronicles.

Rodney
 
 

This one is not funny like the other night, but very interesting. This was told to me by my good friend Rick Fowler that lifts at the YMCA in Granite city and is a bigger history buff than me.

Back before there was weight rooms in the YMCA's they had rooms for all kinds of activities like boxing, bowling alleys, karate, and closets. The Circus use to come to town one time a year and a strong man would come in to perform great feats of stength and several acts required a large dumb bell. The strong man would leave the dumb bell in a closet at the Y so that he didn't have to travel with the large bulking item. After many years this carnival or strong man stopped coming to St. Louis and they forgot about the dumb bell. Many years later as some one was cleaning the closet out they stumbled across the dumb bell and they came to the conclusion that this was the first piece of weight lifting equipment in St. Louis. Some one took the dumb bell home and still shows it to lucky people with an interest in the history of wieght lifting. Rick was one of those lucky ones to get to see this interesting piece of history found in an old YMCA closet.

Rodney

Some of this is funny and some of it a great expereince enjoy.

I really appreciated Rick Fowler telling us about the YMCA and the crew that lift at Granite City. I would like to say that everything he says is the truth and I can add to his article. In September I had the privilege of lifting in the Meet On The Street (Steel City Bench Press Championships) in Granite City. I have to say it was one of the best meets I have ever participated in and here is the story.

My friend George Heliene and I rode up together telling old stories about days and times of when I lived in Rolla. When we got there we both were over weight, so we got to spend more quality time in the great wet sauna Rick described. After making weight we are sitting around talking with Rick and the Y crew and this is when the antics started. As Rick said there is no AC and the windows are open from April to October. As people were walking by on the street Rick would jump into a window and invite people to come in and join the power lifting team. He would invite them in for a work out of squats and dead lifts, funny he never mentioned bench pressing. The blank and confused stares from the windows were priceless. After getting board of inviting people in Rick decides for the next unsuspecting victim to jump in front of a window and start jumping up and down, grunting, and carrying on like an ape. The response this time was a string of profanity that any drunken sailor would have been proud of. Needless to say the pre meet entertainment was free of charge.

The next day is when I found out what a great place the Granite city Y is for power lifting. I got to meet a lot of great people and had a great time. They had blocked off a street next to the Y and the lifting was done under a tent right in the middle of the street. The meet’s MC was Pat Rankin and he literally made the day. When I say MC I don’t mean just names and numbers he kept the lifters and crowd pumped up all morning. I witnessed my first big bench by a really big man. Jeff Lewis of Arnold Missouri put up a huge 575 and just missed 600. The interesting thing about Jeff is he stands about 6’2” and weighs 500 pounds. I was told he lost 50 pounds to get in shape for the meet and I didn’t know how they were going to get his bench shirt on him. Jeff is one of those big men that is a really class act. Several other great benchers came to lift and help run the meet, including several IPF caliber lifters.

What follows is what made this meet special to me and convinced me that most power lifters are the greatest people on earth. George had a miss handle during his first lift so I went outside to help and see if I could get him back on track. By the time I got back in the warm up area I was running behind. George got my shirt on me and I went to do my last warm up. Right before the bar touches my chest my shirt rips right down the center. The funny part is George and Ed Finnel another good friend are standing there with their mouths wide open staring at me with the bar on my chest. I asked, “George could you take the bar now.” Later Ed told me the next time that happens he and George would try not to stand around like a couple of idiots staring at me. It was kind of comical. This is when great things started to happen. Rick held the second flight up so I could get a second shirt on. George gave me his shirt, which is the same size as mine. Karen Chrun helped get the shirt set up to reduce the chance of this one tearing. Everyone rallied around me to help get me on the platform. I went from be totally unglued to having the biggest bench of my life. This was all made possible because a group of lifters rallied to help me out and I am greatly indebted to each and every one of them.

Found memories of the YMCA at Granite City, a great place with a lot of great people.

Rodney