Grand Rapids mom Koley Hockeborn, 51, a champion powerlifter for 30-plus years
Five years ago, at age 66, Ken Donnelly’s knees were swollen and he was forced to walk with a cane.Now he is a world champion powerlifter, and has Koley Hockeborn to thank for his transformation.
Donnelly met Hockeborn after he had been retired for a year.
"I had sat around for a year and had not done a thing, so I was just getting back to the gym," Donnelly said. "She taught me how to lift weights properly and she helped me get healthy again."
Hockeborn, a 51-year-old mother of two whose father worked for NASA during the early Apollo missions, graduated from Rockford High School and Chic University of Cosmetology and has been powerlifting for more than 30 years.
Hockeborn has set 23 world records in her lifting career, including six in the 2011 World Single Event Drug-Free Powerlifting Championships last month at the Frauenthal Theatre in Muskegon.
"When I was younger, I weighed only 89 pounds and lifting was the only way I could change my body," Hockeborn said. "When I first joined a gym in the '80s, women weren’t really into this. I started as a powerlifter but then I got into bodybuilding, but eventually I went back to lifting."
Being named Miss Grand Rapids 1988 was the highlight of Hockeborn’s brief bodybuilding career. She won the title at Grand Rapids Community College’s Ford Fieldhouse.
Strictly a steroid-free lifter, Hockeborn belongs to three powerlifting federations -- the American Drug-Free Powerlifting Federation, USA Powerlifting and the World Natural Powerlifting Federation.
Hockeborn, who is 5-foot and 128 pounds, set six world records in Muskegon, in the bench press and squat lift events and in the Open and M-3 divisions. Masters divisions begin at age 40, with the M-1 divisions being reserved for those lifters 40-45. The M-3 division is for lifters 50-55.
Hockeborn also competed in the equipped and unequipped divisions, meaning she lifted with and without compression shirts and suits. Her unequipped bench of 231.25 pounds earned her the Open and M-3 world records, while her equipped bench of 248 pounds also earned her world records in the Open and masters divisions.
Her unequipped squat lift of 220.25 pounds earned her the M-3 world record, as did her equipped squat of 292 pounds.
"She is unbelievable," Donnelly said. "I train with her five or six days per week, and I can’t believe what she does every day.
Bench Press Shirts - News
Extreme focus is often required when bench pressing heavy weight with or without a bench shirt. “There's no room to think about anything else,” said Goto. “The focus is on the weight and to keep it moving.” The training mindset of high weights/low reps

Hockeborn, who is 5-foot and 128 pounds, set six world records in Muskegon, in the bench press and squat lift events and in the Open and M-3 divisions. Masters divisions begin at age 40, with the M-1 divisions being reserved for those lifters 40-45.
Smith weighed in near the bottom of the weight class at 282 pounds, but had little trouble with 765 despite not having competed in a bench-press shirt for more than 18 months. After setting a new personal mark in the second of three attempts,
Events will include team bench press, three-man sled push, dodge ball, tractor tire flip relay, obstacle course relay, L-Drill, agility drill, tug of war and long snap competition. Each team must consist of at least five athletes.

Capps, 43, now holds the world record in the 242-pound Master's Division for 40-44-year-olds for his quarter-ton “raw” lift, meaning with no supportive bench shirt. Though he sometimes does use a shirt to lift up to 615 pounds and to support a shoulder
Everything You Ought To Know About Bench Press To Developing Your ...
Time is actually a really crucial aspect to think about when attempting perfecting your bench presses. It isn’t effortless to bench press with quite large weights immediately. You have to give your physique time to obtain utilized to this kind of teaching ahead of you progress to lifting large weights. In terms of creating the muscle tissues time can be a extremely critical aspect and in case you attempt and rush your muscle improvement you may wind up injuring your self severely. One other aspect to think about when pushing to best your bench presses is sacrifice. Without having sacrifice you are able to not have the ability to enhance you bench presses due to the fact it will take a whole lot of determination and correct diet plan. Bench presses aren’t really straightforward to carry out and generally result in a good deal of physique aches; you as a result should persevere.
So that you can ideal your bench presses additionally you must get sufficient relaxation. If you aren’t inside the fitness center, you’ll want to make sure which you permit your physique lots of relaxation to ensure that your muscle tissue may be capable to recover. Resting assists lessen the sensation of exhaustion which typically tends to make numerous men and women not able to carry out there bench presses appropriately.
If you are performing your bench presses you have to guarantee which you train in correct kind. In the event you don’t preserve correct kind once you are performing bench presses you can wind up injuring your self. Other than injuring your self you might wind up failing to train the targeted muscular tissues.
If you are performing your bench presses you ought to often put on bench press shirts. This may allow you to attain maxes ranging from 150-200 kilos. In case you don’t put on these shirts you may not have the ability to obtain these kilos. The great factor about these bench press shirts is the fact that they are available in different measurements and selection.
One other factor you’ll want to contemplate to ensure that you’ll be able to enhance in your bench presses would be to consume a appropriate diet plan. It is possible to not enhance in your bench presses should you don’t have enough fuel within your program. If you consume a correct diet plan which is composed a lot if calories, you’ll be in a position to best you bench presses.
Additionally you should contemplate using bodybuilding dietary supplements if you would like to increase in your bench presses. The excellent factor about dietary supplements is the fact that they’re ready to really feel the gaps which a appropriate diet plan has left out. You can find specific vitamins which may only be derived from taking physique creating dietary supplements. You must nonetheless steer clear of using steroidal primarily based dietary supplements and rather consider natural physique creating dietary supplements.
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