Worth the weight Club in
CRANBERRY TWP — USA Weight Lifting Barbell Clubs are few and far between.
But they know each other well.
“We're almost like a fraternity,” Laura Prosser said.
Prosser, a Wexford resident and Seneca Valley graduate, and business partner Ethan Helbig, another Seneca Valley grad, are members of the USAW Barbell Club based out of Coaches Beyond Parallel in Cranberry Township. It is the only such weightlifting club in Butler County.
The closest clubs in proximity are in Akron and Columbus, Ohio, and Bridgeville.
“We all help each other,” Prosser said. “People confuse weightlifting with bodybuilding. Weightlifting is two events — the snatch and clean & jerk — that's it.
“CrossFit is gaining in popularity and weightlifting is a big part of that.”
And Helbig, a Freedom resident, is a big part of CrossFit.
Helbig, now 20, played hockey for 15 years, including two high school seasons. He got into CrossFit two years ago for fitness purposes.
“I realized I lacked the athleticism to advance very far in any other sport,” he said. “CrossFit is a way to measure fitness by doing a number of reps in a certain amount of time.”
CrossFit involves completing as many reps as possible in that time limit. It is a fitness regimen that can include natural movements involved in gymnastics, weightlifting, running, rowing, etc.
Helbig recently finished in third place in an RX CrossFit competition and qualified for the Wodapalooza, scheduled for June 16-18 in Miami, Fla. He barely qualified for the RX competition in the first place.
“You try qualifying through videotaping your workouts and sending them in for judging,” he said. “There were 3,800 people trying out and they took the top 100 ... I was 100th.
“So I was thrilled to end up in third.”Prosser competes in weightlifting and has done state meets. She's never finished higher than second place.“Always the bridesmaid ...,” she said, smiling. “But I'm 32 and I'm going up against younger competition. I'll be in the masters division (35 and older) in another three years, so I'm hoping that will change.”Prosser can squat 152 pounds and her clean & jerk has been at 174.Three other competitive weightlifters are in the club: Eric Hilliard of Cranberry Township in the masters division, junior lifters Ali Restilli of Cranberry Township and Ryder Finn of Mars. Finn has qualified for Junior Nationals.Hilliard, 38, placed third at the Pittsburgh Barbell meet. He only recently returned to weightlifting after an 18-year absence.“He's going to take off as he gets more into it,” Prosser said.Restilli, 22, placed sixth in the Pittsburgh Barbell in her first competition.Finn, 12, is a seventh-grader at Mars Middle School. He's been involved in weightlifting for two years.“My dad does it, so I wanted to try it,” said Finn, who also plays lacrosse and hockey. “I like it because it keeps me in shape for other sports.”Finn said he comes to the gym once a week and will soon up that to two or three times. He works out for an hour at a time.Unlike the other sports, Finn said weightlifting “is something I can do for a very long time.”
