I started at Superior in 2012, the summer before my junior year of high school. I originally wanted to work on my strength and speed as I was working towards furthering my baseball career in high school and college. I saw results after training with Will and Boone for a few months and solidified myself on the varsity baseball roster with the extra power I gained in my arm and my bat. I ended up leading the team in multiple batting categories my junior and senior year and acquired multiple looks from DI and DIII baseball programs. After my senior year, I was accepted to the Coast Guard Academy and earned a spot on their baseball roster while concurrently serving in the military. The strength that I gained from SAA helped me during boot camp and got me through that with ease.
Fast forward to 2018, I recently moved back to Chicago and got involved in Olympic Weightlifting. I had a sound basis of the technique that I learned all the way back in 2012 when I first trained at SAA, but I had not trained full time for a while. I wanted to find a program that I could get personal feedback from while having a tailored and individualized workout made for me. I was confident that the coaches could bring me to another level with my lifting abilities. So I decided to take a chance and see what I could learn with the coaches at SAA.
I started training with Will and Kurt in August of 2018 and I have seen tremendous gains in my technique, strength, and volume that I can lift. My lifts have gone up various amounts, and I have learned so much about training methods, technique, recovery, and programming with the coaches here. I came in clean and jerking 127kg/279lb, and SAA has helped me get to a 140kg/308lb clean and 151kg/332lb jerk. My squats have increased by 10kg/22lb in the back squat and 15kg/33lb in the front squat. I feel stronger, and I can handle much more volume in training than when I came into SAA in August of 2018. My technique has improved immensely, and I consistently receive feedback on how to lift better.
Overall, the community at SAA is hard to beat. Everyone knows each other and motivates one another to reach their goals. The atmosphere is a great place to train and learn in. Everyone is there to help, and the coaches put a lot of time and effort into writing each workout and explaining each part to you. I have felt that if I ever have a problem with any part of the lifts, I can come to any one of the coaches and ask them how to fix it. I am looking forward to the future with SAA, and I am proud to be part of this community.