Soph. Lauren Travis laid down on the sturdy black bench. She tightened her grip, took a deep breath, and began the first rep with 75 pounds resting on the 45-pound bar. Each rep was another 110 pounds going down onto her chest and back up. She struggled to finish her first set, placing the bar back onto the rack. This was only one month ago.
Fast forward to earlier last week, Travis is now benching 155 pounds. She credits the majority of her success to her new trainer at Raw Mana Strength and Conditioning in Holland. “I’ve recently started working with a strength and conditioning coach. I’m honestly so proud of myself and how far I’ve come with my lifting. Just at the beginning of this school year, my starting bench max was 95 pounds, and last week I was able to bench 60 more pounds more than that,” Travis said.
Travis does not give her trainer complete credit, though, “My dad was the one who started all of this. He knew that he needed to lose weight, so he started working with someone to help with that. Once he started noticing a difference in himself and feeling more confident, he encouraged my sister and I to do the same thing.”
Not only has Travis improved greatly in her benchpress skills, but she has also become quite the beast on the squat racks. “My starting max this school year was 155. As of last week, it has changed to 240. That is a difference of 85 pounds in just a short amount of time,” Travis said.
The 215 pound, 5’7” sophomore varsity shot putter has some advice for amateur lifters, “Rest days are very important. Lift one day, rest the next. You don’t want to do the same lifts every day unless they are the core lifts like squat and bench. Always do different amounts of sets and reps each day.”
Travis achieved a lot of personal gain from this experience. Her trainer, Jesse Garza, has high hopes for her in the future. “I am impressed by her execution in the gym and her ‘never give up’ attitude. I see Lauren reaching her goals and more, whether it’s in the weight room or her personal life,” Garza said.
