Powerlifter Ashton Rouska just keeps getting better. We’ve been covering the young powerlifter for quite some time now, like when he was just 19-years-old and casually deadlifting an impressive 765 lbs. Any time a young college kid pulls eight plates, we’re here for it!
However, that milestone was only the beginning for the young powerlifting machine, he then closed out his collegiate career (this past April) with an applause worthy 1,930 lb total. Rouska’s collegiate powerlifting career may have just finished up two months ago, but since entering the real world his powerlifting looks like it is only getting stronger. While we don’t know the exact weight of Rouska at the moment, at his final college competition he competed in the -105kg weight class, and weighed in at 93.4kg.
On Monday, Rouska posted a training video where he pulled 716.5 lbs for five reps. While 716.5 lbs would normally be a shy number for a deadlift single out of Rouska, he powered through this five rep set. Over the last couple weeks, Rouska has specifically been improving and training the sumo deadlift. He wrote,
“A little beat up and sloppy, but the weight moved decently. Week 2 sumo work.”
[Curious abut the difference between a sumo deadlift vs a romanian deadlift?]
BarBend got the chance to catch up with Rouska about what his future plans are and current goals. As for when we can next see him compete?
“I’ll be competing at Southern Regionals August 11th and Raw Nationals in October,” Rouska told BarBend.
As a new college graduate, it’s clear Rouska is after some big goals. “I just want to total 2,000+ this year,” Rouska said.
He also added that training deadlift and sumo deadlift has made him better. “I feel like training both style of deadlift have fed off of each other and have made each other better. And to reach my ultimate goal of surpassing 1,000 lbs I should continue to train both,” he said.
We’re excited to see Rouska take the platform in August, and from the looks of his current training, a 2,000+ total is well in the works for the young powerlifter.
Featured image from @ashh17 Instagram page.
