Spotlight: New EFS Log Addition – Q&A with Powerlifter Clint Smith

Q: Give us some background info. How and when did you get into Powerlifting?

My first taste of hardcore lifting was when I enrolled at UF and joined the Gainesville Gym. That place was awesome. I learned a lot while training there and ended up competing in the Mr. Gainesville. That experience taught me that I hated contest dieting, however. I was always obsessed with increasing my bench press and continued to push the lift up. In 2002, UF held a campus-wide bench press competition. I ended up winning this for two years in a row until I graduated. After graduating, I moved to Jacksonville and kept an ear out for any local competitions. I entered the first one I found and bought my first shirt. During the first two weeks, I just tried to learn as much as possible from the internet about shirted training. I ended up benching 525 pounds at the meet. I came in second place to Adam Driggers at this competition, so naturally I introduced myself to the man who beat me and asked him where he trained. Adam told me about Team Samson and invited me to come train with them and he would share what he knew about shirt technique. I started training out there occasionally, on bench days at first…and then eventually all three lifts. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Q: What are your PR numbers and what achievements are you most proud of?

Squat 935
Bench 805
Deadlift 755

I am proud of my fourth place finish last year at the Cincinnati Pro-Am. All of the best lifters were assembled at that meet and I’m proud of the fact that I hit some good lifts and stayed in the mix.

Q: What is you favorite lift and why?

My favorite lift has always been the bench press. This really just has to do with the fact that it has become the lift that most people associate with strength, even though I don’t agree. I would say that either squat or deadlift are better indicators of overall strength. In the past couple years, my favorite lift has been the one that is increasing the most at that particular time!

Q: What are your current goals?

My current goals are to total 2500 at 242 pounds. Then, I’d like to hit it in the 220 pound class. I also want to finish top three at the Cincinnati Pro-am.

Q: What are you current training methods?

I train three times per week; bench day, pull day and squat day. I constantly rotate movements and rep ranges to manage my CNS response and keep from overtraining. In the off-season I like to do three week blocks with movements that I think target my weak points in each lift. I’ve been working with Brian Carroll to set up my meet training cycles for the past couple years and I couldn’t be happier with the results. The main focus of a meet cycle is to be at your peak on meet day. To achieve this, we get into the equipment early in the cycle and stay in it. We also start with low to moderate weight in the main lifts and gradually increase them week to week. I think that this prevents overtraining by slowly acclimating the CNS and saves handling the heavy weight until closer to the meet. I also rarely handle third attempt weight full-range until the meet. My belief is that hitting that third attempt weight 2-3 weeks before the meet lowers the chances that you will hit it on meet day, because you’ll realize your peak during your training cycle rather than on meet day. Additionally, training too heavy too often can lead to chronic inflammation that can rob you of explosiveness in the hole or off the chest. Deload days for each lift are strategically scattered throughout the cycle. Timing of the deload days is very important when trying to make it through the cycle without overtraining. When I set-up a meet cycle, I’m now at a point where I first figure out what dates all my deload days need to be – then fill the training days in after that point.

Q: What are you best/worst/funniest moments in the sport?

My best moment is when I locked out my second attempt deadlift at the 2009 APF Senior’s to secure a 2400-plus total. I had been hovering in the 2300′s for a while and endured a couple bomb outs along the way. My worst moment is when I went to put on my squat suit at last year’s Cincinnati Pro-Am and realized that I left my squat suit at the hotel. I was very fortunate that I got moved to the next flight and Carroll’s wife picked up the suit for me. My funniest moment was at one of Brian Schwab’s meets. I was stuck on my third deadlift attempt, but trying to lock it out. My body finally shut down and I dropped the bar, got tunnel vision, and began to drift backward until Schwab caught me. It felt like my head was a balloon that someone had untied from my shoulders. What a buzz. Even after all of that, I came back to earth and waved to the crowd, who was now all laughing at me.

Q: Have you dealt with any injuries?

Fortunately nothing major. Just rotator cuff issues and forearm tendinitis that I was able to work out.

Q: Take us through a typical day for you.

I sit at a desk and do drainage/stormwater treatment design. At 5PM I head to Adam Drigger’s house to train. It’s about a 40 minute drive to Adam’s. A few hours later, I go home to catch up with the wife and my three year old, Keira. After reading some stories to Keira at bedtime, the misses and I will catch some late night TV. We like Conan, especially his hair. His hair seems to move independent from his body at times.

Q: Tell us about your training partners and what it’s like to train with them.

I train with a great bunch of guys at Team Samson. A lot of guys have came and went, but the constants have been Adam, Tony and Brian. We all generally insult each other and critique to keep each other’s form in check. Adam has been training a long time and has a lot of experience to share. I know Brian will always tell me when I’m about to do a set that I shouldn’t. Tony is great at dialing in a shirt at meet time and making those adjustments to come back and get the weight that you just missed.

Q: What is your diet like? What is your favorite binge?

I usually abstain from carbs until lunch time, as Keifer recommends. So I’ll wake up and have coffee with whipping cream. A couple hours later I have whey protein or some scrambled eggs. I eat pretty normal from lunch on, with a protein shake after the workout. Favorite binge is my wife’s homemade chocolate chip cookies.

Q: Do you take any supplements?

Whey Protein, multi vitamins and fish oil. I buy domestic sources of whey. A lot of companies use Chinese sources of whey, which are full of filler and unusable protein.

Q: Who do you admire most, who inspires you?

Chuck Norris and Tim Tebow.

Q: If you could give one piece of advice to the average lifter (not necessarily a powerlifter), what would it be?

Lift big to get big. Focus on performing heavy compound movements in proper form in order to stimulate systemic growth.

Q: What will you bring to EFS, and why should our readers be interested in you?

It might be interesting to follow my log as I train for meets and find out what works for me and what doesn’t. I will include the reasons for how my training is set up throughout the year so that EFS readers can understand why I did what I did and then eventually see if the results justify my thinking. Maybe my log will give someone something new to try or allow them to avoid the same mistakes I make.