The Member Minutes section is the place to let us tell the world about how AWESOME TPS members are. I can’t do this unless you tell me about your accomplishments. When TPS first started, I knew EVERY member and I knew what was going on.

We have GROWN and, sadly, I don’t know every member. The interweb can fix this.

Shoot me an This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it and let me know about your latest event, whether that is upcoming or something you have completed. 5K’s, triathlons, powerlifting, or anything sports-related, We want to let the world know. Now, on to this month’s accomplishments:

June 2013

Jane “Bad Apple” Stabile just had an AWESOME powerlifting meet in Dearborn, Michigan. Read about it in her own words below:

Murph and I went to Detroit for the APF Master Nationals on May 18. Since my last meet I have matured into the Master 5 (60-64) class so she had a new set of records to conquer and she broke all four of them, with a 402 lb. squat, 209 lb. bench press, 402 lb. deadlift and 1013 lb. total. I am especially happy that I finally broke through two important barriers that had been blocking my progress: 400 on the deadlift and 1000 on the total! I also qualified for the WPC World Championship this fall in Prague.

 

More continued AWESOME form the World's Strongest Grandmother.

May 2013:

Candace Puopolo of TeamTPS just earned her Elite ranking in powerlifting at the Women’s Pro/Am meet held by Laura and Shane Sweatt in Cincinnati, Ohio a few weeks ago.

Candace hit a 230 pound squat, a 165 bench press, and a 310 pound deadlift Raw (meaning no supportive equipment) for a 705 total. This is a 30 pound personal record (p.r.) in the squat, a 15 pound p.r. in the bench press, a 50 pound p.r. in the deadlift and a whopping 155 pound p.r. on her total!

For those of you unfamiliar with the sport of powerlifting, increasing all three lifts this much in only one year for an experienced lifter in amazing. Great job Candace.

April 2013:

2013 RPS New England Revolution

March 23 and 24, Johnston, RI

A group of 13 lifters representing Team TPS competed at the RPS New England Revolution Powerlfting meet, setting more records per lifter than ever. No one left without a 2nd place trophy or better!

Highlights

Three competitors, Kim Stabile, Christa Hodapp, and Sue Priver, train in the TPS 5-3-1 Training Group and were competing for the first time—all three placed 2nd or better and Kim set world records.

While simultaneously preparing for his own first meet, Dustin Diedrich also helped his fiancée Jessica Booth, and the couple took home a pair of first place trophies—phenomenal!

Russ Smith did an outstanding job handling his teammates on Saturday before competing himself on Sunday. Fellow TPS powerlifter Rich Malloy did not compete this weekend but also really came through with spectacular handling for the guys on Sunday.

World Record Setters

Lodrina Cherne took first place and once again set World Records for all lifts and her total in the Elite Amateur Open Raw Classic, this time in the 123 lb. weight class. Her results were a 250 lb. Squat, 145 lb. Bench Press, and 320 lb. Deadlift, for a 715 lb. total. These numbers are WORLD CLASS!

Steve Brown continues to show absolutely no signs of slowing down in the Masters 65-69 Amateur Raw Modern Division, 181 lb. class, setting World Records for all of his lifts and his total: 315 lb. Bench, 250 lb. Squat, 425 lb. Deadlift, and 990 lb. total.

Sue Priver also incredibly set World Records for all of her lifts and her total at her first meet, taking the 220 lb. Amateur Submaster Raw Classic division with a 95 lb. Bench, 100 lb. Squat, 265 lb. Deadlift, and 460 lb. total.

In a fantastic showing at her first meet, Kim Stabile set a World Record, with her 150 lb. Bench, and New England Records, with a 160 lb. Squat and 215 lb. Deadlift, for a 525 lb. total in the 220 lb. Amateur Open Raw Classic division.

Gregory Langadinos also set World Records for his Squat (750 lbs.) Deadlift (625 lbs.), and total (1,720 lbs.) and set a New England Record for his 345 lb. Bench in the Pro Raw Modern Master 40-44 division in the 308 lb. weight class.

New England Records

Carlos Moran also set New England records for Squat (635 lbs.), Deadlift (665 lbs.) and total (1,700 lbs.), Placing First in the 220 weight class of the Pro Raw Modern division.

First Place Winners

Devin Draper set a personal meet record at the bench with First-Place lift of 385 lb. Bench Press, in the 242 weight class in the Pro Open Raw Classic division of the Bench-only event.

Jessica Booth had a great showing at her first meet with First Place in the Female Amateur Open Raw Classic, 148 lb. division, with a 210 lb. Squat, 130 lb. Bench, and 275 lb. Deadlift for a 615 lb. total.

Dustin Diedrich also did outstandingly at his first meet with a First Place showing of 425 lb. Squat, 245 lb. Bench, and 430 lb. Deadlift, for a 1,100 lb. total in the Amateur Open Raw Modern division, 198-lb weight class.

Jason “Shoebomber” Figuerido took First Place in the Raw Classic Open Super-Heavyweight division of the Iron Man event, with a 400 lb. Bench and 530 lb. Deadlift.

Even with some bad luck, Russ Smith still took First Place in Pro Multi-Ply Open division, 275 lb. weight class, with a 655 lb. Squat, 455 lb. Bench, and 550 lb. Deadlift, for a 1,660 lb. total.

Second Place Winners

Christa Hodapp, in her first competition, took Second Place in the Amateur Raw Classic, 181 lb. weight class, with a 180 lb. Squat, 105 lb. Bench, and 225 lb. Deadlift (510 lb. total).

Frankie Puopolo also took Second Place in the 308 lb. weight class of the Pro Open Raw Modern division, with a 660 lb. Squat, 425 lb. Bench, and 670 lb. Deadlift, for a beastly 1,755 total. This marks a 100 lb. increase in Frankie’s total over his last meet and his first Elite total in the 308 lb. weight class.

Just another day at TPS!

Outstanding job, everybody!

Deirdre Connolly had an outstanding performance at her last powerlifting meet. She has not done a meet in two years but you’d never know by her results.

Deirdre did the following:

Squat: 82.5, 87.5, 92.5kg

Bench: 55, 60, 65kg

Deadlift: 125, 135, 142.5kg

Total: 300kg

All at 58.5 kg./128.7lbs

She also won 1st place Female Raw Lifter across weight classes against 3 other ladies, and 1st place deadlift only. These are all Mass. USAPL records to my knowledge. We will confirm that and let you know.

Jeff Bramhall is competing in one of the most unusual strength events I have heard of. It will be a deadlift and a one hand dumbbell clean and press. I don’t have much more information on it but I wish him luck.

Jane “Bad Apple” Stabile is getting ready for the APF Masters National Powerlifting meet in May. Jane is showing a lot of improvement in the gym and we expect it carry over to the platform.

Candace Puopolo is also prepping for the Women’s Pro-Am meet coming soon. Both of these ladies are lifting at the highest level against the best in the USA. We know they will both do great.

March 2013:

TPS member Jonathan Cheevers a snowboarder for Team USA was just featured in Boston Magazine. Read all about him here.

From Sue Priver:

I participated in Belle Believe II event today (Feb 17) with 50' Closer to a Cure. It was my first Strongman competition, and I managed to get points in each event. I am proud that I deadlifted 155 lbs. for 32 reps in 1 minute.

I have also signed up for the RPS Powerlifting competition in R.I. next month as my first powerlifting competition. I'm looking forward to getting my name on the board.

We are proud of you too Sue, keep it up!

TPS member Devin Murray will be going to Southern New Hampshire University as a member of their hockey team. Devin is a great kid who spends his time here working his ass off to be a better athlete. We wish him the best of luck as he moves forward in his career.

TPS member Jack Louie just fought in an amateur boxing match and had a huge victory. A huge congratulations goes out to Jack and to coach Alvarez for getting him in top shape for the fight.

January 2013:

On March 16 in Boston, TPS member Scott Gadd will compete in the GoRuck challenge.  This is a crazy race similar to the Tough Mudder but it is designed to simulate what Special Forces troops face in the field. I look forward to hearing how he does. A portion of the funds from this event go to support the Green Beret Foundation. We all know how I feel about our armed services.

GoRuck is also a company that sells 100% Made in U.S.A. backpacks and gear for the great outdoors. Check them out.

December 2012:

Jane Stabile just returned from two world championships in one week in Las Vegas. Murph was on hand for the first meet, and so were Spud and two members of his team, so there was a fair amount of eating and other recreation.

The first meet, the World Powerlifting Congress World Championship, presented some serious monolift problems, with many of the big lifters bombing on the squat. Jane managed to get in two of her three squats, finishing with 391. She benched 192 and deadlifted 374, winning first place in the 55-59 year old 165 lb. class. Six days later she competed at the WABDL (World Association of Bench pressers and Deadlifters) World Championships and got first prize in both bench and deadlift (there is no squat in WABDL), with a world record of 215 on the bench.

November 2012:

Oh boy do we have a lot this month! Team TPS just competed at the RPS 16th Annual Power Challenge on October 20th and 21st. We had 14 lifters compete, and for many it was their first time.

Below is the list of the athletes and their accomplishments:

Weights are listed in order of lifts (squat-bench press-deadlift)

“wc”=weight class

Lodrina Cherne 225/130/290/1rst 114 wc

Candace Puopolo 150 1rst place bench only 123wc

Felicia Doucette 210/130/260/1rst 132wc AND Best Amateur lifter

Ivy Preto 235/115/270/1rst 148wc

Jess Lyons 160/110/165/1rst 165wc

Mary Southworth X/105/195/1rst Masters push-pull, 1st Masters bench only, 1st Masters dead only *First Meet!*

Micah Goldberg 440/265/405/1rst Juniors *First Meet!*

Dan Fraske 465/275/550/ 1rst 220wc raw classic amateur *First Meet!*

Jamie Smith 535/365/600/

Carlos Moran 610/370/660/1rst 220wc Raw Modern, Best Lifter (Sat) ***ELITE total for the weight class above him!***

Rob Howard 600/365/565/2nd 242 single ply

Devin "Tha Big D" Draper 525/380/705/1rst 242wc raw Best Lifter (Sun) ***first ELITE total****

Will Hendrix 315/225/405/1rst 242raw modern *First Meet!*

Steve Tobey 365/235/345/1rst Master's raw classic

Jason (Bomber) Figuerido 550/400/560/2nd SHW Raw Classic

C.J. Murphy 635/385/500 Pro 272 Master (40-44) Multi ply

Patrick Koch 415/335/550 220 wc

Team TPS also set the following records at this meet:

Lodrina: World Records for all lifts and total Professional Open Raw Classic 114#

Felicia: New England state record for all lifts and total Am. Open Raw Classic 132

Candace: New England state Record for Bench Am Open Raw Classic 123

Ivy: New England state record for Bench and Total Am. Open Raw Classic 148

Jess: New England state record for all lifts and total Am Open Raw Classic 165

Mary: New England Sate record bench, deadlift and total for Am. Master (40-44) Raw Classic 181

Tom Ambrogio: New England State record total Am. Open Raw Classic 198

Dan Fraske: New England State record squat Am. Open Raw Classic 220

Carlos: New England State record squat, dl and total Pro Open Raw Modern 220

Devin: New England state record squat, dl and total Pro Open Raw Classic 242

C.J. Murphy: State Record all lifts and total 272 Pro Master Multi-ply

Congratulations to ALL of the lifters for representing Team TPS and their accomplishments.

Night of the Living Deadlift:

Not only did Lodrina Cherne compete at the RPS Power Challenge, but the week before she entered the most prestigious Deadlift-only event in the country, the Night of the Living Deadlift! Lo was coached by our resident genius, Kevin Delaney and SMASHED everything she touched, winning this event in her class with a MONSTER 314 pound RAW deadlift at 114 pounds. This is an AMAZING accomplishment and we could not be more proud of her!

Watch the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhij3vIZFis&feature=youtu.be

NAS Strongman Nationals

Team TPS will be represented at the North American Strongman National Championships on November 2nd and 3rd by Eric Dawson, Mike Bompane and P.J. Day. We expect big things from them. Wish them luck when you see them.

October 2012:

Sometimes we have very little news for you here and sometimes we have tons. This month, we have tons of cool news about TPS members. Let’s start off with Amanda “Alpo” Alpert. Besides being a pro football player and a gifted strongwoman, Alpo is now organizing a team to pull an airplane for charity!

On Saturday October 13th at TF Green Airport in Rhode Island, Alpo and the N.E.W.S will be pulling an airplane to raise money for the national MS Society. They need a team of all female badasses to pull a plane to raise money for one of the most misunderstood and life-altering diseases known, Multiple Sclerosis. MS just sucks, and if you know anyone who has it, you understand. With MS, most of the time, the people who have it do not look sick and people just don’t see how it affects their lives, unless it is advanced. MS needs to be researched much more than it is now to find a cure. You can help.

The N.E.W.S. and Alpo need you to pull the plane, or make a donation to the cause. Each participant must raise $100.00 for M.S. If you can pull a plane or open your wallet, they would appreciate it. You can also go to TF Greene Airport and cheer them on!

Donate Here

More from the New England Women of Strength (NEWS)

Lisa Lavorgna of TPS, who trains with the Cookie Monster, just dominated the Women’s Open class, winning New Hampshire’s Strongest Man/Woman contest on September 22nd. There were 8 athletes in her class and, by reports I have received, she crushed them! Great job, Sally.

Let’s not forget Kelly Alice Robinson of TPS who has been killing it in the gym. She did the show with Lisa. Congratulations for getting in the game and giving it your best.

From Lodrina (my in-the-field reporter):

Two women are starting a season of cyclocross racing: bike racing that happens at high speeds for up to an hour on varied terrain (grass, gravel, sand, mud, asphalt, and, soon, snow) and involves barriers like planks, stairs, and steep hills that a bike needs to be carried over.

5/3/1 camp member Carmel Kozlov just successfully completed her first cyclocross race. Also, training client Rebecca Wolksi is having a great start to her season in the women's intermediate field, already getting a top-10 finish in a very competitive field. These ladies will be racing all over New England every weekend until the end of December.

Speaking of Lodrina, she will be lifting at one of the most prestigious powerlifting events in the U.S.A, the Night of the Living Deadlift.This is a deadlift-only met where the athletes lift as much weight as possible from the floor to a standing position. Lo has informed me that she plans to win. You can’t teach attitude like that. I’m pretty sure she will win, too. She’s a BADASS!

TeamTPS lifting in Attleboro on October 20th/21st

We have about 4,000 people lifting at the 16th Annual RPS Power Challenge. OK, we don’t have 4,000, but here is a list of who I can remember: Steve Amanti, Carlos Moran, Jessica Lyons, Devin Draper, Mary Southworth (1st meet!), Will Hendrix (no relation to Jimi), Candace Puopolo, Jamie Smith, Felicia Doucette, Ivy Preto (1st meet!), Lodrina Cherne, Shoebomber, Mike “Mailbox” Pelosi, and Murph. There might be a few more that I am forgetting.

You can follow Murph’s meet-prep progress (his first one since 2006) on EliteFTS.com in the “44 and Broken” article series.

 

September 2012:

TeamTPS has a slew of lifters competing at the RPS 16th Annual Power Challenge at Boston Barbell in Attleboro on October 20th and 21st. I don’t have the full list but I (Murph) am making a return to competition after a 6-year layoff. Lodrina Cherne, Steve Amanti and many more will join me there. Come on down to Boston Barbell and cheer TeamTPS on to victory.

Congratulations to Redemption Tattoo for winning Best Place to Inked and Pierced on Boston’s A-List. Owner Mike Shea trains religiously at TPS in the mornings and is regarded as one of the best ink slingers in Boston. I’ve seen his work and his reputation is well deserved.

August 2012:

Melissa Lanier just competed in her first fitness competition and placed 5th out of 34 in her class. She worked tirelessly in the gym, and on her diet and her hard work paid off. Congratulations Melissa!

Gina Melnik of TPS, and the N.E.W.S. just won the Granite State Strongman event in her division! There were 6 ladies in her class, and she won 4 out of 5 events. Great job Gina! Smart and strong! Her training partner, Seth Carnoeau took second place in the 175 class, and big P.J. Day took first place in the big boy class. Congratulations to all. TPS was well represented.

Here are a few testimonials from our members:

From Chris M.

Hello Gentleman,

I just wanted to say thanks for all the blood, sweat and tears (mainly tears), that you have put into helping me get my nutritional/training act together. I am a far cry from the person I was mentally and physically when I came into TPS back in November 2011. Starting at 261 pounds and god knows what % body fat to now about 220 and around 20% body fat. My work is not nearly done; I still round my back when I deadlift, squat on my toes and have horrible form on my bench. One day at a time, right? I took a chance when I gave you my money and you took a chance when you gave me your time. I like to think it worked out for all of us.

Anyway I just wanted to say thanks again, figured it's always nice to hear you’re appreciated.

See you in the gym.

Chris

From Lodrina C.

Okay, I did a shit ton of work and ate a lot of not-takeout, and not-sugar, and drank a lot of not-alcohol the last couple months and Kevin kept me going the right way in the gym.

However I'm really psyched that when I come in to train you've got a place where the following things don't exist (but did among my last 3 gym memberships):

-squat racks with safety bars that aren't adjustable and don't let me get an ass-to-grass squat

-squat "racks" that have benches built into them so you can't actually squat in them; oh but that's okay because there's a Smith machine

-only plates that aren't round

-cardio machines in front of a bank of TVs that you need to sign up for in advance, in (max of 2) 15 minute time slots because all 40 of them are full all the time

-people teaching a jerk incorrectly

-or a squat

-okay I'll stop there

And where there are a million great things happening, like women doing weighted pullups, guys running out of room for plates on sleds, and even being around people I maybe don't know but who obviously care about their training and are on the whole doing more great and purposeful than stupid things.

Thanks!

July 2012

From Russ:

Team TPS competed in Hartford CT on June 29th and 30th at Gene Rychlak’s RPS 2012 Battle of the Champions.

The Battle of the Champions is one of the bigger meets in the North East. It takes place each year in the Hartford Convention Center. There are many other events going on including strongman, arm wrestling and even figure competition. All these events make for a diverse crowd which adds to the excitement of the meet.

Watch us lift!

 

The RPS federation is fairly new and some of the categories have more of a “history” than others. Yet, this does not discount the outstanding performance of both the lifters and the team as a whole Many state and world records were set and two lifters totaled ELITE! Here are the results. SR = State Record, WR = World Record.

Lodrina Cherne our very own 114 Pro Raw Classic competitor finished with a 215lb WR Squat a 120 WR Bench and a whopping 300lb WR Dead lift (over 2.5x bodyweight) for a raw World Record total of 635! TPS’s Kevin Delany has been working with Lo for a while now; this is her second meet under his guidance and her second World Record! Congrats Lodrina!

Candace Puopolo competed in the 123 AM Raw Classic division and finished with a 200lb SR Squat 145lb SR bench and a 260lb Dead lift for a State Record total of 605! Candace was also awarded the “Best Lifter” for the women’s amateur raw division! Congratulations Candace! 1st Place. Candace qualified Elite as well.

Felicia Doucette does not just work at the front desk, she also smashes weight in the 148 AM Raw Classic division! She finished with a 200lb Squat a 130SR Bench and a 240 Dead lift. Congrats Felicia! 2nd Place.

TPS Nomad Katey Brent was in town all the way from Detroit MI to set a few records in the 198 Raw Modern division she finished with a 245WR Squat a 130WR Bench and a 295WR Dead lift! For a World Record total of 670! 1st Place. Great work Katey!

Steve Brown competed in the 165 AM Raw Modern Master 60-64 division and went 385WR Squat 260WR Bench 470WR Dead lift for a WR total of 1115! Congrats Steve! 1st Place.

Rich Malloy competed in the Iron man Division ( push / pull ) in the 242 AM Division He hit a 300lb SR Bench and a 505 SR Dead lift. Both of these lifts were meet PR’s. Congrats Rich! 1st Place.

I brought my mustache to the meet and entered it in the 275 AM Multi-Ply Iron man Division. To avoid any controversy I entered my mustache as Russ Smith. My mustache was well rested and it managed to Bench 480lbs and Dead lift 610 for a SR! Then to my own surprise Gene awarded my mustache “Best Lifer” in the Overall Iron man Division for totaling 1090! 1st Place.

Steve Amanti entered bench only in the 275 Pro Multi-Ply Division and blasted up a fast 550 Bench! 1st Place. Congrats Steve!

Saving the best for last TPS would like to congratulate Frankie Puopolo for his great lifting & ELITE status. Frankie ended the day with a 605 Squat 385 Bench and a 665 WR Dead lift in the 275 AM Raw Modern division. Totaling 1655 World Record ELITE! Congrats Frankie you deserve it! 1st Place.

Thanks to Murph for having a AWESOME gym that has everything we need to get strong and smash records!

TPS would like to thank Gene and Amy Rychlak for another great RPS meet. If you are thinking of competing I would highly recommend RPS meets, they are well run and the trophies are AWESOME! You can get more info at rychlackpowersystems.com. Thanks to all who helped out including judges, spotters and the staff.

When we are on the platform, we are competing against ourselves first and foremost. Everyone from TPS completed with honors! Time to prepare for the next one. Congrats again to all the lifters and a great Team!

- Russ Smith CFT

View Eric’s photos of the meet here.

 

 

Jane “Bad Apple” Stabile just completed two powerlifting meets with great success. The first one was the APF Master Nationals held in Baton Rouge on May 26, 2012.

Jane ended up with:

413 Squat World Record

374 Deadlift American Record

981 Total American Record

The second was the WABDL (World Association of Bench Pressers and Deadlifters) Nationals held in Portland Maine on June 16, 2012. She finished that one with:

214 Bench (PR)- Best Lifter for all women Bench pressers

376 Deadlift World Record

Stay tuned for more to come from her! Great job.

Carlos Moran of Team Douchebag just lifted at the USAPL New England Open Powerlifting Championships. He weighed in at 207 pounds and finished the day with a 515-pound squat, a 365-pound bench press, and a 615-pound deadlift for a 1495 RAW total.

Carlos also took the following honors:

Best Junior Lifter

Best Open Class Lifter

Best Overall Lifter

Best 220 class lifter

Congratulations, Carlos.

June 2012:

Ed Ciancarelli and Dave Kinahan just completed another Tough Mudder contest in Vermont. Why they do this every year, I don’t know, but congratulations to them.

Jane “Bad Apple” Stabile, the business manager at TPS, is lifting on June 16th in Maine at the WABDL National Championships. I’ll be there with her to make sure all goes well. We’ll let you know how awesomely she does.

Damon Curtis of TPS just took first place at the Proven Performance Strongman contest last month.

From Damon:

 

I was one of six in the middleweight (under 232lb class).

EVENTS: 175lb Keg Press(no staggered grip, clean each rep): I did poorly 3 reps tied 2nd place though.

Car Deadlift(a saturn): Got 1st with19 reps

Farmers Medley: Carry one set of farmers 50’ drop carry heavier farmers back 50’. 260/290 1st place: It was easy but my calluses ripped a foot from finish.

Yoke: “Pain Train” Carry empty yoke 50’ load 2 kegs, carry back 50’ load 2 more kegs then another 50’ . Starting weight 250lb. Final weight 650. Easy 1st place 43 seconds. 750 lb

Sled Drag backwards 80'. Close 3rd place 28.46 sec. 25.5 points overall.

Second place got 22 points. I didn't know any of my competition, so I'd have to think I had it easy. I did will regardless.

Now I'm contemplating doing a platinum plus in Dallas in August, or nationals in Mississippi in November for my pro card. Most likely do the TPS show at 265lb if all goes to plan.

 

Team TPS member, Maria Pelosi is dong the Spartan Race in August. She is busy training for it every day and I’m sure she will do great. When I asked her why she was doing it, she said “I’m bored.” More people should take her attitude when they are bored. Instead, most sit on the couch and eat Ho-Ho’s. If you are bored, talk to Maria. She’ll figure something out for you.

TPS has a TON of lifters competing in the Europa this month. The list is so long that I might forget some. As of now, we have Lodrina Cherne, Candace Puopolo, Felicia Doucette, Steve Brown, Devin Draper, Frankie Puopolo, Steven Amanti and our good friend, Mr. Matt Rhodes.

Adam Lyons, professional man of leisure and former member just sent meet results from his last meet:

Squat-534, Bech-320, Deadlift-485, total-1339 at a weight of 190. Not bad for a guy with an L5 disc held together with duct tape.

May 2012:

TPS member Steven Tobey and participant in AWESOME CAMP just set some new pr’s at the APA Heavy Metal Power Classic powerlifting meet. Steve lifted raw (meaning no supportive gear) and finished with a 375-pound squat, a 230 bench press and a 385 deadlift. All of these were his best ever.

Congratulations to you Steve.

From Candace P.:

Two TPS members, Candace Puopolo and Jess Lyons, traveled to The Sweatt Shop in Cincinnati Ohio the weekend of April 14th for the SPF Women's Pro/Am Nationals Powerlifting Meet.

43 women showed for the 2nd annual event, and both TPS lifters had a great day: Jess going 8/9 with a new PR in her squat and deadlift, finishing with a 460 pound total, and Candace getting two new all-time PR's in the deadlift and bench press, and a meet PR in her squat, placing 5th overall out of the 20 lifters in the raw division with a 550-pound total.

The following day they also enjoyed a seminar with Laura Phelps-Sweatt (gym owner, trainer, world record holding powerlifter and meet director) and Shane Sweatt (gym owner, trainer and Laura's coach and husband), covering just about all powerlifting-related topics they could think of. It was a great weekend for everyone involved, and the girls will be competing again soon in Hartford at The Europa with many other TPS members this coming June. Come out and lift something!

Strong Girls Rule!

Local Strongwoman legend, Gina Melnik and some friends have just formed a new online group called New England Women of Strength (NEWS). Check them out here.

Tough Mudder

Dave Kinahan and Ed Ciancarelli are doing the Tough Mudder again! They will be at Mt. Snow Vermont on May 5th to partake in the most ridiculous event I can think of. If you can, head on down to Mt. Snow and hoist a few at the finish line with them.

April 2012

UPDATE:

We had a bunch of people lift at the New England Revolution Powerlifting meet in RI Saturday.

I haven't gotten all the results in yet, and was not able to attend, but Kevin  told me today about his lifter, Lodrina Cherne. She lifted raw in the 114 class. She ended up with : Sq: 185 Sq2:195-miss Sq3: 205 BP:105 BP2:115 BP3: 120 DL:235 DL2:250 DL3: 270 and then a 4th attempt DL4:282.5 World Record Total: 607.5 WR I kow this is a new federation and WR's are wide open, but this is GREAT lifting for a raw 114 female. Congratulations to Lodrina (lifting) and Kevin (prep and coaching) for doing an awesome job . We had a BUNCH of other lifters and I will get results today.

 

TeamTPS has a bunch of people competing at Gene Rychlak’s next meet, the 2012 New England Revolution. We had a slew of lifters last year and they all did very well. We expect nothing less this year.

March 2012

TPS member and Pro Strongman Kevin Nee is back in Massachusetts after a living in Arizona for a bit.

He is focused on returning to Strongman and being his best. He has been training with Murph for a short time and just returned from the WSF World Championships in Abu Dhabi, UAE, where he took 11th place out of some of the best 25 pros in the field.

Look for big things as Kevin makes his return to the pro Strongman circuit. We’ll be doing our best to keep him healthy and get him to reach his fullest potential.

February 2012:

TPS’s Eric Dawson is in the final stages of training for the Arnold Classic Strongman show in Ohio next month. The Arnold is the BIGGEST show in the country and it is a huge honor to compete there. We wish Eric the best of luck.

Eric's training partner, P.J. Day just competed in the Genetix Gym Strongman contest where he took 1st place in a max reps contest.

The events were:

250 log clean and press each rep-   P.J. got 6 reps

500 2.5 inch axle  dead lift - 13 reps P.J. got 13 reps

250 keg over 48 inch bar - 15 reps P.J. got 15 reps

Watch for P.J. to be a HUGE threat as he continues to come into his own training with Eric.

The Haycraft Muay Thai seminar held last month was unbelievable! See Eric’s photos here.

 

Golden Gloves Update: Lyz-Marie Figueroa of TPS, our first female competitive boxer, is in the FINALS of the Golden Gloves. She has the finals this week. I’ll let you know how she did.

Check out some press form the Gloves here.

Here is some video from the Gloves:

 

 

January 2012

Coach Marc and Coach Eddie brought 6 fighters to a Muay Thai smoker in Quincy last month. In case you don’t know, a smoker is a fight card that is like an exhibition. There is no winner declared as it is unsanctioned.

By all accounts, the TPS crew kicked ass. They were more skilled and in better shape, as usual. Huge congratulations go to all of their opponents and their coaches for coming to the event as well as our athletes too.

TPS members that entered were:

Kamoundy Lamour 136 lbs

Long Lam 150 lbs

Carlos Hernandez 155 lbs

Chris Vaquerano 150 lbs

Samir Ramirez 165 lbs

Andrei Zdanovich 185 lbs

Paxton Strongman 7

Gina Melnik, PJ Day and Damon Curtis of TPS all competed at the annual Paxton Strongman event in December.

Damon had a tough day due to a severe lower back injury and we hope that he heals up soon. Gina won her class and PJ did very well in a STACKED heavyweight class.

Check out Eric’s pictures of the Paxton Show.

 

 

December 2011

TPS at the Whittier School

Last month, Murph and Mike “Mailbox” Pelosi were invited to speak at the Whittier School Health Fair in Everett. We were greeted by a room FULL of kids and their parents who were motivated to listen to what we had to offer.

Mike gave a very motivating speech on juvenile obesity and how he turned his life around through strength training. The kids were very surprised to hear that he once weighed 420 pounds! I really think he got through to a few of them.

We finished up with a discussion on basic nutrition geared towards helping the parents make better choices with the kids and a group workout that was FUN. We also gave them some great ideas on how to make fitness a part of their daily lives at home.

We would like to thank Kim Nicotera and Mike McLucas for making this possible.

NAS Strongman Nationals:

TPS’s own Eric Dawson and Gina Melnik went to the NAS Strongman Nationals last month and did very well.

Eric placed 12th in the Super Heavyweight class, and 22nd overall in the heavyweights, which had a HUGE amount of athletes. He also qualified as an alternate for the Arnold Classic Strongman show. If he did just a little better on the log and car deadlift he would have cracked the top 10.

Gina Melnik competed in the Women’s division. Gina trained very hard for this show and was rewarded with a top 3rd place finish at Nationals! Anytime you are in the top 10 at a National event you are looking good, top 3 is awesome. Congratulations to both of you.

 

 

 

 

November 2011

TPS Member Visits Pop Warner Football

TPS member and offensive guard for the New England Patriots, Rich Ohrnberger took time out of his schedule to stop by the Revere Junior Patriots football practice last month and give them some tips. All of the coaches and kids, my son included, were PSYCHED to get some coaching from one of the New England Patriots.

TPS would like to extend a HUGE thanks to Rich for taking the time to come by. It meant a lot to me, the coaches and the kids.

Team TPS just competed at the 15th Annual RPS Power Challenge at Boston Barbell in North Attleboro on October 22, 2011.

In the bench only division, Felicia Doucette of TPS set a New England Regional Bench Press record of 125 pounds in the Raw division. This was Felicia's first meet. She was going to do a full meet (Squat, Bench and Deadlift) but suffered an injury in training and decided to do bench only instead of bailing out. Great job, Felicia.

In the full power division, Carlos Moran lifted in the raw division and hit some impressive numbers. Carlos hit a 525 squat, a 365 bench press and a 630 deadlift. All New England Regional records. Awesome job, Carlos.

Russ "Russtache" Smith of TPS hit a 455 bench press in the bench only division; after bombing in the squat, he switched to Bench only. Must be all the sales training! This was Russ's second meet. Great job, Stache.

Steve DiLello had a tough day in the Bench only division. Steve was hoping for 610 in the bench and should have hit it. Due to some technical issues, he missed his attempts. I know Steve will be back and will dominate his next meet.

Thanks to everyone from TPS that came to support them and help out. If you live South of Boston and TPS is too far away, I highly recommend Boston Barbell. It is THE place to train South of Boston. They have all the toys TPS has for Strength! Tell them we sent you.

 

October 2011

Former TPS member Zac Gipson had a wardrobe malfunction this month, he got a few t shirts from us and mistakenly put on his wife's tank top. Apparently he thought it was his. He looks pretty good in it. Let's hope he's not starting a trend.

September 2011

 

No Corey for 2 weeks!

The TPS member named least likely to play nicely in the sandbox with others due to his inability to share the gym toys committed to sharing his life with ther yesterday. Yup- Corey and Erica tied the knot yesterday (9/17) at the York Harbor Reading Room. We will have 2 weeks of peace before he's back like a Tasmanian hurricane trying to burn off all of the honeymoon weight.

Congratulations to you both.

 

Dr. Chest does it again!

Lauren Cohen of TPS just lifted at the USAPL 2011 Boston Open. Lauren hit an unbelievable:

• Squat – 735
• Bench– 475
• Deadlift– 655
• Total – 1865

These were all pr's (personal records) for him.

He had the highest total at 198, and highest total of any weight-class at the entire meet.

Winning the TPS way.

TPS Powerlifters Hit It Big in Hartford, CT

On Saturday, June 30th, as part of the Europa Fitness Expo, Powerlifting legend Gene Rychlak hosted the 2011 Connecticut State Powerlifting Championships.

As usual, TPS was well-represented by some outstanding lifters, including pink-shirted, Pop-Tart-popping members of “Team Douchebag.” The haul of trophies was impressive.

The winning TPS lifters and their best lifts and totals were:

2nd Place, 275-lb Amateur Open Class

STEVE AMANTI TOTAL: 1,425

Squat: 500, Bench: 425, Deadlift: 500

(Steve competed with an injury and did a terrific job!)

1st Place, 275-lb Raw Amateur Junior Class

RICH MALLOY III TOTAL: 1,140

Squat: 365, Bench: 275, Deadlift: 500

1st Place, 275-lb Amateur Submaster

RUSS SMITH TOTAL: 1,555

Squat: 600, Bench: 405, Deadlift: 550

1st Place, 242-lb Raw Pro Open

BEST LIFTER, Raw Professional

IPA CT State Record for the Deadlift

DEVIN DRAPER TOTAL: 1,500

Squat: 500, Bench: 375, Deadlift: 625

Honorable mention goes to CARLOS MORAN, who even on a bad day would have managed to break the IPA CT State Record for the 198-lb Pro Open class with his 700-lb Squat had he attained a total/

Congratulations to everyone who went out and did their best!

See Eric's pictures of the event here

August 2011

Spartan Race

TPS has a crew competing in the Spartan Race. Eric and Chuck have been getting them ready for it. Let's wish them luck on August 27th when they go through hell just for fun.

It looks like the world's number 1 hockey fan had her photo taken with the "Stanley Trophy."

Carolyn Little, who has never seen a hockey game was lucky enough to see the cup in person at her place of employment. I'm psyched for her, but also a little jealous that it was not me. Oh, the pink hats.

July 2011

TEAM TPS Dominates in Strongman again!

Congratulations to everyone who competed at Art McDermott’s Fitness Revolution Strongman Challenge at his new facility in Tewksbury! The event was held on Saturday, June 25, 2011, and consisted of the Farmers Walk, Axle Clean & Press, Car Deadlift, Tire Flip/Sled Drag Medley, and Atlas Stones.

TPS winners were:

1st Place, Heavyweight Division: TPS Trainer ERIC DAWSON

1st Place, Lightweight Division: CHRIS BURKE

2nd Place, Lightweight Division: DAMON CURTIS

JON BALDWIN also came in at a fairly close 4th place in the Lightweight Division, a terrific achievement for his first contest and considering the top 3 were national-level competitors!

WAYNE McGUIRE, who is not a member but trains for Strongman at TPS occasionally, also took 2nd Place in the High School Division. MURPH took on judging duties and a big thanks to Mary Southworth and Russ Smith for making the contest run smoothly.

 

Tough Mudder

Dave Kinahan and Eddie Ciancarelli of TPS just finished the ridiculous Tough Mudder race. From the looks of the pictures, they had a lot of fun. I can't think of any better way to spend a Saturday.

 

Bad Apple Update:

In Powerlifting Watch’s rankings of All-Time American Multi-Ply Women Lifters, Jane Stabile placed in the top 50 for two weight classes in several categories.  For details, go to Powerlifting Watch and search the weight classes listed below.

Note that these rankings are for women of all ages, not just Masters.

In the 148-lb class, Jane holds all-time 25^th place in the squat, 25^th in the deadlift, and 30^th in the total.

 

In the 165-lb class she placed 40^th in the squat, 32^nd in the deadlift, and 42^nd in the total.

 

Her goal is to break into the top 50 for bench.  It’s going to take some work.

 

 

 

 

May 2011

TPS at the IPA Europa

TPS will have a ton of lifters at the IPA /Battle of the Champions/ Europa meet in Connecticut on Saturday July 30th. The meet will be run by Gene Rychlak who always puts on a great show.

As of now we have Team Awesome consisting of Kevin Delaney, Steve Dilello. Team Douchebag will be led by Carlos Moran and will consist of the following non-douchebags: Steve Amanti, Devon Draper , and Ben Puccio. Russ Smith will be heading up Team Moustache. Tracy DeJesus will probably be a part of Team Awesome. We haven't figured this out yet. She is pretty awesome, Steve will have to make a ruling on this. Rich Malloy should be on Team Douchebag, but as of now is not.

We expect great lifting from our crew. Matt and Vincent will be there too. It is looking like it's going to be an awesome Saturday.

 

Contest Update

The excitement is building, the entries are coming in. August will be here before you know it. On August 27th, TPS and Nathan Fitzgerald will host the 2011 NAS/Mass State Strongman Championships and the Police/Fire/Military Nationals here at TPS.

We've got some awesome sponsors lined up, including: Ironmind, Spud, Inc., Kayem, Muscle Milk, ANC of Everett, Bodybuilding.com, the Diesel Crew, Lisa Lynn Nutrition, and we are working on more. As usual, we will be donating a portion of the profits to the Chelsea Soldiers Home, so come on down and help us out the day of the show. You'll see the USA's best strongmen and women compete in your favorite events like the Atlas Stones, Tire Flip, and more.

We also need a staff of volunteers to work the day of the show for no pay. I know this sounds enticing, but it's a worthwhile cause and we'll feed you, give you a t shirt and pay for beer after. How can you go wrong with that?

If you are a local business owner or know someone who is interested in reaching hundreds of local consumers for a small investment, contact Murph or Jane at TPS soon. Most of our sponsors are long-time ones--that shows you that it is effective. For a small investment that helps us raise a charitable donation, you can reach potential customers the day of the show, and in the months ahead of it, too. We will list and link you on the website and in our newsletters. It's a no brainer.

April 2011

The TPS crew is going to be at the big IPA meet in Connecticut in July. Steve DiLello, Russ Smith and Tracy DeJesus will be lifting. This will be Tracy's first powerlifting meet. We'll have someone there to video all the action for you.

March 2011

TPS's own Tomasso Whitney aka Tomasso Ciampa is making his television wrestling debut  Monday March 14 on HDnet (783 on Comcast) on the Ring of Honor show.

Friday, April 1st and Saturday, April 2nd - he will be performing on two IPPVs (internet pay per views) for Ring of Honor. This will be his first ever opportunity on a live internet streamed pay per view event.

The shows will be streamed on www.gofightlive.com . Also, the shows will be taking place in Atlanta (the city hosting Wrestlemania this year) and the shows take place on the same weekend as Wrestlemania - This is major because Wrestlemania weekend draws the largest gathering of wrestling fans of the entire year

Boston Weightlifting Wins Atlantic States Championships

On February XXX, 2011, in Lynn, MA the Boston Olympic Weightlifting Team won the Atlantic States Championships, for the third straight year. Boston Weightlifting found a new home in January at Total Performance Sports in Everett, MA, and it showed in the results.

The meet was run in two sessions, with women and light men in the first session. Theresa Baker, our sole female competitor, won the 75kg class with a 54kg snatch and a 72kg clean and jerk for a nice 126kg total. This was a strong performance for Theresa after only a couple of weeks back in training.

Matt Delaney and Chris Dolan finished 1st and 2nd in the 77kg class. Chris looked a little sluggish from the beginning, but made all three snatches. Chris finished the snatch with 102kg. The real struggle came in the clean and jerk, when Chris missed his first two lifts. Chris came back out focused and made the third attempt to finish with a personal record in both lifts and the total (227kg). Matt snatched a strong and smooth 110kg, then made his first two clean and jerks (125/130kg) seem light. On his third clean and jerk, he asked for 134kg to qualify for national championships. Matt had a great clean but barely missed the jerk, finishing with a 240kg total. Matt and Chris will attempt to qualify for the national championships at our next meet in Connecticut.

In the second session, the meet became hectic. We had six lifters and the meet was run on two platforms. To help out, Matt and Theresa celebrated their wins by coaching their teammates. In the 85kg weight class, we had two lifters, Brian Smith and Franklin Herman. Brian’s warm-ups were rushed as we figured out the two-platform setup—he had to skip his last two to take his first attempt, likely causing him to miss his first snatch with 75kg. He recovered nicely and made his last two attempts to finish with 80kg. Brian clean and jerked 95kg, finishing with a 175kg total in his second meet.

Franklin Herman, a 57 year-old, had a phenomenal meet. Franklin made all three snatches (75, 80, and 83kg). His 83kg lift is a new New England Masters record in the 55-59 year age group. In the clean and jerk, Franklin broke the three-digit barrier for his first time, finishing with 100kg for a 183 total. Brian and Franklin are separated by 32 years in age but ended up separated by only 8 kg in the total.

We also had two lifters in the 94kg class. David Tao was competing in his second meet and made his first five lifts impressive ones. After missing his last clean of 105kg, David finished with 78/101/179kg for personal records in both lifts.

Jason Poulos was our second 94kg lifter. Jason also made five attempts, making all three snatches to finish with 100kg. Jason’s cleans were strong but he missed the jerk on his second attempt with 127kg. He came back and made the third attempt look easy. Jason finished with 227kg for a 30kg improvement over last year!

Our second master lifter, Jason Edmonds, barely missed the 105kg weight class and competed in the super heavy weight class (105+kg) for the first time. Jason made 5 out of 6 lifts. He finished with 84kg in the snatch. Jason’s clean and jerks looked stronger than ever and he finished with 115kg. The 199kg total was a meet record for Jason.

Our last lifter was Yasha Kahn (105kg), who will be competing at the Arnold Classic next week. He continued the day’s theme of making five out of six lifts. Yasha made all three snatches with a progression of 140, 147, and 152kg. The last snatch was a personal record for him. Yasha then clean and jerked 165 and 170kg. On his last attempt with 175 kg, he couldn’t turn his elbows over fast enough and missed the clean. Yasha looks ready for nationals right now; he dominated the 105kg class and won best lifter for meet.

All in all, this was a great meet for Boston Weightlifting. In tough conditions, nearly every lifter set meet records and performed admirably. Once again, I’m proud to coach and train with all of Boston Weightlifting!

Benjamin Fuller

Boston Weightlifting President

 

 

On June 12, 2010, at the AAU New England and Massachusetts State Championship, TPS's own Steve Brown was honored as the Overall Best Male Lifter. The meet was held in Scituate, MA, and competition for the best overall title was incredibly close. Congratulations, Steve!

February 2011

TPS member Bill Pietrantonio does it again!

Billy has set new world records at the FFCC, read all about it from Bill in his own words:

Firefighter-Combat Challenge World Championship

The Firefighter-Combat Challenge World Championship (FFCC) is now 20 years old. I have competed for 19 of those years. The FFCC is a test of firefighter skills and conditioning. It was developed for fire departments to help keep firefighters battle-ready for any and all types of challenges they might encounter on the fireground.

The course consists of six events. All competitors are in full gear and, with their breathing apparatus on, then proceed with a tower climb (six stories) carrying a 42lb hose pack. Then the firefighter must hoist up a 45lb hose pack, come down the tower on to a Kaiser machine. The machine simulates a force entry by using an 8lb sledgehammer and driving a 150lb weight 5’. The next station is the delineators, which is a 140ft run, which leads to the hose drag. In the hose drag, a charged hose line must be dragged 75’ and a target knocked down. The final station is the dummy drag. A 175-lb mannequin must be dragged backward for 100 feet to the finish line.

The World Finals have been seen on ESPN and Versus and are billed as the “Toughest Two Minutes in Sports.” Teams from Canada, Russia, Germany, Iceland and several other nations compete. In order to compete at this level I needed training help and five years ago, TPS offered to assist me to attain peak conditioning. The TPS staff broke down all the events and set up training segments and programs tpo develop the necessary strength and conditioning I needed to be competitive. Being one of the elder statesmen of the FFCC at age 62, I appreciated their expertise which has been invaluable to my training program and none more than this year at the World Championships. There are three categories of completion: Individual, which the competitor competes the course by himself, and the Tandem where two competitors run as a team. The final area is the Team. The Team consists of five competitors, each of whom runs a section of the course. In the Tandem, the Chuck LeBlanc and I set the World Record for the over 60 bracket. Also, using the TPS training program, I trained the Winston-Salem, NC, over-50 Tandem that won first place. In addition, again using the TPS training program, I trained and was part of the over-50 Team Relay that also won the gold and set a world record for that category.

Because of the TPS training program, I am, at age 62, able to compete against firefighters from around the world, most of whom are half my age. I have a renewed strength and energy that has inspired younger firefighters to compete and stay fit.

 

 

 

 

Connor Brickley of TPS was just drafted 50th OVERALL in the NHL Entry draft by the Florida Panthers. Congratulations Connor. He'll be training here for the summer before going off to Vermont for a year or two. We'll keep you posted on his progress.

Click here for an interview with Connor.

 

 

Josh Bagley of TPS who is currently deployed in Iraq just received the US Army's prestigious Army Commendation Medal.
Congratulations Josh, and come home safe soon.

 

Bad Apple Update

On May 8, Jane Stabile won Best Amateur (“amateur” means drug-tested) Woman at the annual Canadian National (CPF) meet in Montreal, competing against a field of strong Canadian women ages 13 to 57. She won using both age-adjusted and non-age-adjusted calculations. There is some confusion about what weight class she was in officially because of a paperwork issue, but she either (1) broke her own world drug-tested bench press record in the 148-pound,55-59 year old class, with a personal record of 193 pounds, or (2) set new 165-pound, age 55-59 class world records in the squat, bench, deadlift, and total. Either way, Jane is happy to have been Best Lifter, and she is determined to do much better at the squat next time.

Lauren "Dr. Chest" Cohen, the World's Strongest Harvard Professor of TPS just competed iat the USAPL New England Powerlifting Meet.
Lauren finished the day with some great lifts. His best lifts of the day were:
Squat - 711 (322.5kg)
Bench - 430 (195kg)
Deadlift - 650 (295kg)
Total - 1791 (812.5kg)
He also took :
1st place in Men's Open 198 - Powerlifting Competition
1st place in Men's Open 198 - Bench Press Competition
Overall Best Lifter - Bench Press Meet
Overall Best Lifter - Powerlifting Meet
Lauren used this meet as a tune up for the USAPL National Championships where we are confident that he will win!