Something crazy happened at the Bay Harbor Hotel in Florida this weekend.
The hotel was hosting a USPA event called “The Jenn,” or the 2nd Annual Jenn Rotsigner Women’s Empowerment Weekend. According to their site, the event was designed “to promote strength in women (absolutely literal, nothing figurative here),” and revolved around powerlifting and strongwoman events.
At one point Rotsinger and Trevor Jaffe, a powerlifting coach at Complete Human Performance (CHP), decided to have a deadlift-off: they would each load up a barbell with triple their respective bodyweight and see how many reps they could crank out. Jaffe managed a very respectable eight reps with 270kg (595lb).
Rotsinger pulled triple bodyweight for twenty-three reps.
Jordan Wong, a competitive powerlifter in the 220lb and 242lb divisions who also coaches at CHP, posted the clip to his Instagram:
That’s 156 kilograms, or 344 pounds on Rotsinger’s bar. All told, Jaffe moved 2,160kg (270 X 8) and Rotsinger moved 3,588kg. The event raised over $1,300 for the Pinellas Country No Kill Animal Shelter.
It’s interesting to note that Rotsinger lifts with a mouthguard, which plenty of athletes (including Hafthor Bjornsson) wear during max-effort lifts. Some do so because they clench their teeth involuntarily, while others clench them on purpose to help create “full body tension” and generate more power.
Rotsinger (obviously) is an extraordinarily dedicated powerlifter, and she’s listed on Powerlifting Watch as holding the world record in the raw squat (no wraps) under the Raw United (RAWU) powerlifting federation, having lifted 341 pounds (154.7kg) at a bodyweight of 114 pounds in 2014. We couldn’t find footage of the 341-pound squat, but you can watch a 340-pound squat (in wraps) at the 2013 SPF Cincinatti Women’s Pro/Am meet below.
Rotsinger works closely with the folks at Complete Human Performance and co-owns the Gorilla Bench Training Center in Clearwater, Florida. Her all-time best lifts in the -52kg class include the 341-pound squat, a deadlift of 408lb (185.5kg), and a 940lb (425.4kg) total. To top it off, she also works as a microbiologist — this is a seriously impressive athlete.
Featured image via @jaffestrength on Instagram.