Gotta Get Big for Football!

On the first day of Football practice when I was entering the 10th grade, the coaches took our height and weight, and told us to bench press our bodyweight as many times as we could.



I was fifteen years old, 6 feet tall and 160 pounds. I played Center and Defensive End. The only bench pressing I had done was lying on the floor pressing the 100 pound plastic-coated cement weights my parents bought at the department store. The guys I was lifting with on my first day of practice were a little smaller than me, and had to press 135 pounds, but they only did it for a few reps. Before adding anymore weight, I wanted to try the 135. It was a good thing that we didn