Things get heavy for teen powerlifter

Alex Geib loved winning a national powerlifting gold medal, but he thought the drug test was pretty cool too.

A cough prevented the Cedar Grove-Belgium High School senior from reaching his lifting goals but not from beating six other competitors and earning the top spot on the podium in the 90-kilogram teen division at the Raw Nationals in Chicago last Saturday.

He squatted 573 pounds, benched 330 and hoisted 551 on his deadlift.

But before he lifted anything, officials had to make sure the 17-year-old was legit.

Geib called the drug test one of the “highlights” of the day.

“I loved that. Basically, it just means they think you’re so strong that maybe something’s going on,” he said.

Geib had plenty happening, but nothing having to do with drugs. His prep was as meticulous as it was rigorous.

“I had everything on point, my meal plan for six weeks leading up to the competition. The entire 15-week prep was perfect,” he said. “I had no failed lifts until one week ago. My protein was on point, sleep was good. Eat, drink — I did a ton of research and I had it down to a T.”

On Saturday, Geib stuck to his plan. He drank little and didn’t eat anything before the weigh-in at noon — he was 193.1 pounds — then had “about 80 ounces” of water with a Liquid IV packet, and a Pedialyte “for extra electrolytes.”

He brought his lunch, chicken with rice and honey, and he gobbled up an assortment of Sour Patch Kids for some quick carbs.

He consumed one energy drink, downing a third of the can before each of his lifts.

A cough kept his totals down, but not in bench press. Geib hit a personal record, his first in competition in more than a year.

He started with 308 pounds, went to 325, then 330.

“I was super happy with it,” he said. “The lift took 10 seconds. It was a super long grind. The weight was super heavy.”

His lifts were within a two-hour span. By the time he got to deadlift, Geib was projected to be the champion.

“I was pretty far ahead of second place so I really just needed the one deadlift attempt to solidify the win,” he said.

He lifted 551 pounds first but dropped the bar before it hit the floor and the attempt was disqualified. He tried again and successfully completed the lift, sealing victory.

On his third and final attempt, Geib went up to 573 pounds. He lifted it, but the judges said the bar slipped in his hands so he didn’t get credit for it.

He did, however, get that gold medal.

“It was pretty surreal. A couple of years ago I never thought I’d be a national champion. Maybe it was a goal, but that’s not something I was really thinking about,” Geib said.

“Now that I actually achieved it, it’s still unbelievable.”

Geib has bigger goals in mind.

The Midwest regional competition is in about 13 weeks — that’s Geib’s sense of time when it comes to training — and he has plans to break four state records, the three lifts and total weight.

His goals are to hit 385 pounds in bench press and 645 in deadlift.

A world record in squat is also in sight. Geib is shooting for 672 pounds. He only needs 667 to break the record of 661 — powerlifters increase weight in 2.5-kilogram increments — “but I just like the number,” he said.

He reached 600 pounds in training a couple of weeks ago.

As with recent competitions, Cedar Grove-Belgium School District Director of Information Technology Zone Vang served as Geib’s coach. Vang also competed, taking fifth in a challenging open competition for those weighing 56 kilograms. He was fighting the same illness as Geib and squatted 363 pounds, benched 247 and brought up 413 in deadlift.

Geib also said his mother Angela Toeller provides some of the power in his powerlifting.

“She’s always been super supportive of this. She’s really just giving me the opportunity to chase all of this,” he said.

Geib still has his eyes set on a powerlifting scholarship. His top school is McKendree University in Lebanon, Ill., near St. Louis. He plans to study exercise science or kinesiology.

That means he’ll be sticking to his regimented diet and lifting schedule. He added Saturdays to his workouts a few months ago.

“It takes a lot of effort but it’s worth it,” he said. “To be the best you’ve got to do the best.”