Junior Jonah Lin trained for months to fulfill his goal of breaking the Walnut High School lift record of 280 lbs. on Sept. 23 in the weight room after training all summer to hit the record.
Lin is no stranger to lifting. He has been training in lifting for many of his other sports such as football and baseball, but one Tuesday, he took this skill to new heights by attempting a powerlifting movement to showcase his strength.
“It was an Olympic weightlifting movement called the power clean. It’s where you lift up the bar, pull it up to your shoulders and thrust it up,” Lin said.
Jonah trained five days a week starting in August until he broke the school record and practiced consistently to reach this accomplishment. He incorporated a series of exercises into his training to help with his power capability which included deadlifts, squats and power lifts. Along with strength, Jonah feels that preparing for and doing the power clean helps in more ways than just his power.
“I mean, obviously [weightlifting] makes you stronger. It also helps with injury prevention, because the more you lift, the stronger your bones are, and the less likely they are to be injured. A ton of guys on the football team get injured, with at least five guys getting injured almost every game. [However], I’ve been on the team for almost the entire season, and I haven’t been injured a single time. So it helps with injury prevention, helps with strength, speed and power too,” Lin said.
Additionally, Lin felt that he had enough support along the way and felt connected to this goal from before he started his summer training.
“I remember power clean has always been my best lift, and I was just doing it. Then [football coach Eric Peralta] said, ‘Oh shoot, you’re about 30 pounds away from the record.’ [Then I thought], ‘Oh, really, I might as well just go for it,’” Lin said.
During the whole process, Lin felt invigorated and motivated. He enjoyed hitting the record as it connected him to his other sports and gave him the same feeling he loved in sports.
“When you’re on the field and playing [games], you get that adrenaline rush, like getting a big hit, a double or a touchdown. [Breaking the record was] the same high as those adrenaline rushes,” Lin said.
His friend junior Caden Sakai, hearing of his accomplishment, reflected on his change of character.
“He’s just a better person in general and nicer to people now. He’s more humble, and he doesn’t really show off that much as before,” Sakai said.
After breaking the record, Lin is still aiming for higher goals by attempting other records such as breaking the bench squat of 405lbs., squat of 500lbs. and deadlift record of 500lbs. Most of his friends celebrated this achievement, including junior Chris Cheng, who noticed his drive and ambition to achieve his goal.
“His mindset and everything he does is geared towards weightlifting and to getting stronger and more oriented,” Cheng said. “He was really devoted, worked really hard and he didn’t really show it off too much. He just put his head down and got to work, worked really hard at it and then achieved it.”
