BILLY DEMPSEY
My fitness journey began as a senior in high school. I started lifting weights a couple days a week after school. I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but I enjoyed the feeling during and after workouts, especially the soreness. After doing this for a couple months I began to notice some results in the mirror–at this point I became hooked.
At first my routine basically consisted of doing every upper body machine in the gym for 3-4 sets to failure. It wasn’t until a few years later when I was introduced to squats that my training began to become more logical. For the first time I was consistently training legs, as well as training for functionality and performance instead of aesthetics. Around the same time, I began constantly reading fitness articles online to try and educate myself on how to continue making progress. I had become obsessed.
Given my interest in exercise, I decided to major in Kinesiology in college, where I picked up powerlifting as a hobby, and got certified as a personal trainer. I spent the next several years trying to maximize my squat, bench press, and deadlift, while also teaching clients the fundamentals of strength training.
At some point training for powerlifting became boring to me, so I spent the next year or so just lifting for fun. I then realized I needed a little more direction, and decided I wanted to dabble in olympic weightlifting. This is what brought me to Solidarity CrossFit. I began taking barbell classes and haven’t looked back since.
Over the years, exercise has taught me a great deal about hard work, discipline, and delayed gratification. It has also instilled a sense of self-confidence that simply was not there before. As the weightlifting coach at Solidarity, I hope to facilitate these valuable lessons in others, while also improving their strength and lifting technique.
Education:
USA Weightlifting Level 1 Coach
B.S., Kinesiology, James Madison University