DEWAYNE HOLLOWAY/dewayne@mcnews.online
Mount Ida is known for the beauty of the Ouachita Mountains, but most people aren’t aware of the mountain of a young man known as Brody Davis. Davis, who weighs in at a powerful 380 pounds, squatted 900 pounds in the Arkansas Championship held recently in Little Rock.
Brody was all smiles when he sat down to talk about the recent milestone at the state championships held Saturday, June 26. This was his third meet to compete in and by far his best of his young career.
The 900 pound squat is an elite lift with only 17 people in the world recording a squat of 900 pounds or more this year. There have
only been 113 people squat at least 900 pounds since openpowerlifting.org has kept record of sanctioned events.
Brody didn’t stop with the awe-inspiring squat. He went on to bench press 465 pounds and deadlift 685 pounds for a total of 2050 pounds. This total is enough to make him the third strongest powerlifter in the world in his weight class and age group.
At 21, Brody is one of the youngest competitors in his age group to reach this feat. However, he’s not satisfied with his most recent accomplishment. He is working to break the 1,000 pound barrier in the squat when he competes in December. He is also working toward a 500 plus pound bench press and a 700 plus pound deadlift.
To reach this next level Brody plans to lose 50 pounds as he trains. He stated it shouldn’t be hard since he has done it before. It’s all about diet and exercise he says.
Brody’s love for weightlifting began as it does for a lot of young men, in high school while playing football. He recalled an event his senior year that pushed him to pursue a path that has led to powerlifting. His senior year he dropped 45 pounds to compete in the state weightlifting meet. He squatted 500 pounds, but scratched on his final lift and lost the meet. Being a Lion means winning at the highest level and the loss didn’t sit well with him. He continued to train while attending Arkansas Tech University with that loss in the back of his mind. Although he would never be able to avenge that loss, he did find a love for powerlifting that has taken him in a new competitive direction.
Brody has returned to Mount Ida where he works at Mountain Harbor during the day and trains in Hot Springs with his coach Nick Ramey. He’s excited about the meet in December and an opportunity to become the best he can be. When lifting this kind of weight consistency is the key to success in the sport. He is working to break the Junior Division World Record by the time he ages out at 24. He hopes to break the record within the next year. Ever the competitor, Brody pointed out that there is an 18 year old lifter in Tennessee who has also squatted 900 pounds.
His goal before he turns 24 is to squat 1,050 pounds, bench press 550 pounds and deadlift 800 pounds. He sees his goals as attainable. When training he sees the next weight as just one step closer to the guy in front of him.
Brody gives credit for his physical ability to God and sees powerlifting as a calling. He hopes his journey can expose the sport to others and points out that age isn’t an issue when powerlifting. Anybody can lift weight and he hopes to see others get involved.
900 pound squat puts local man on powerlifting map
