🏋️ 73-year-old's astounding deadlift

In a wise sage's (paraphrased) words: Strength moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.

Mattie Rogers seems to break a new weightlifting record every other week. Frankly, we're having trouble keeping up with her greatness.

In powerlifting, 73-year-old Mary Duffy continues to open our eyes. She looks the part of a seasoned and powerful vet with her latest deadlift PR.

Do you want to perform the heavy movements of the world's greatest Olympic weightlifters? Make sure you know which game plan will have you on the way to weightlifting greatness.

Weightlifting

Business as Usual for Mattie Rogers

At this point, if weightlifter Mattie Rogers is going to feature in an official competition, we might as well assume she'll break some record. That's simply what she does, and we all need to accept it.

During the 2022 Pan-American Championships in Bogotá, Colombia, Rogers set a new Senior American Clean & Jerk record of 141 kilograms (310.8 pounds) in the 76-kilogram division. With a 111-kilogram (244.7-pound) top snatch and a 252-kilogram (555.5-pound) total, the 26-year-old ended up taking home her second Pan-American title in three years.

Oh, and did we mention it's the ninth straight year (!) she's stood on the Pan-Am podium? As she told us over text, Rogers clearly knows everyone expects something special from her every time she has a barbell in her hands.

“It feels great to have medaled at the Pan Ams so many times in a row," Rogers said. At this point, for me, there’s kind of an expectation to come and secure medals here."

The World Championships this fall are next for Rogers. There's plenty of suspense behind what she might accomplish there. We, for one, hope it lasts.

Read more about (and watch) Rogers' latest record-breaking star turn.

Powerlifting

Mary Duffy's Jaw-Dropping Trap Bar Deadlift

Mary Duffy first started competitive powerlifting when she was 65 years old. Years later, in 2022, at the powerful age of 73, she seems only to be getting stronger.

On July 27, the septuagenarian athlete made us turn our heads when she locked out a 250-pound trap bar deadlift. Sorry, we're underselling that. She locked out a 250-pound trap bar deadlift with 50 pounds worth of chains attached to the implement.

Goodness. Did you just get goosebumps on your arms? Well, we did!

Feats of this excellent measure are nothing new for Duffy. As a Masters 70-74 competitor in the 56-kilogram division, she holds the bench press World Record of 57.5 kilograms (126.8 pounds). If that's not impressive enough, she also owns the third heaviest totals in the Raw and Raw With Wraps categories (235 and 249.5 kilograms, respectively).

What we're getting at here is that Duffy is one incredibly strong human being.

Read more on this powerlifter who keeps getting better with time, and watch her latest PRe.

Training

Approach Olympic Weightlifting With a Plan

If you've seen an Olympic weightlifter compete, you probably wanted to emulate them. Let's be honest. When they notched that earth-shattering clean & jerk, you couldn't stop thinking about what it'd be like to be in their shoes. "That was SO cool," you said about it, probably.

The good news is that you can, right now, start training your clean & jerk and snatch to match. The bad news (which is still good!) is that you should approach your Olympic weightlifting training with a plan and purpose. These definitely aren't movements you should do every day, especially if you're inexperienced.

Here's our guide on how often you should practice Olympic weightlifting movements and potential training plans to consider.

Everything Else

The 2022 CrossFit Games Have Arrived

• Do you feel that? Oh yeah. It's THAT time of year. The 2022 CrossFit Games start this week. Here's how you can keep up with all the electrifying action from home.

• By the way, there will only be one significant cut during this year's Games. That means more time for more dynamic athletes to astound us.

• Ever wondered what the private gym of an elite strongman and elite strongwoman looks like? Husband and wife Maxime Boudreault and Samantha Belliveau are here to fill in the gaps.

• A new study suggests you should do more overhead tricep extensions than pushdowns if you want to build the pistons, er, arms of your dreams.