RPS North American Championships

The last weekend of January, Lee and two of his teammates from The Refuge competed in the 2013 New Jersey State Championship and North American Championship Meet, put on by RPS.  The meet was quite large - approximately 120 lifters competed over two days.  The girls and I traveled to Newark, New Jersey with Lee and four members of The Refuge for the weekend.  It was a very long day - rules started at 8 am and it was almost 7:30 pm when we got in the car to head home - but it was worth it.  Lee, Pete and Dave all competed in the Full Power event, which means they competed in Squat, Bench Press and Dead Lift.  Lee finished first in his division and was the best lifter in his weight class by more than 100 pounds.  Along the way, he picked up a competition PR in Squat (555 lbs) and tied his PR in Bench Press (410 lbs); by the time Dead Lift came along, he was out of gas, but did manage to pull 560 pounds, which was good enough for a new PR Total.  Pete and Dave also managed PRs in all three events, as well as their Total.  Pete's total was good enough to move him into the Pro Division (Lee totaled Pro last June).  It was a great day for The Refuge, especially at such a highly competitive meet.
As a result of his hard work, Lee moved up in the national rankings.  According to Powerlifting Watch, he is currently ranked 34th in Squat, 25th in Bench Press and 33rd for his Total.  The girls and I are so proud of him and his dedication to physical fitness!!

Sunrise in beautiful Newark, New Jersey.

Wrapping his knees before squat.

Squatting 530 lbs.

555 lb. squat - new meet PR for Lee.

The role of Emily was played by Nick....

Wrapping the wrists for bench press.

410 lb. bench press - tied a meet PR.  If you listen closely, you can hear Elizabeth say "come on Daddy" right before he lifts.  It's amazing that these videos are as clear and steady as they are because she gets so nervous when he lifts that she closes her eyes really tight (she doesn't do that when the other guys are lifting).

560 lb. dead lift.

Love this shot of Lee and his girls.

Dave, Pete, Nick, Adam and Lee

The video of Lee and his teammates that I made for The Refuge.