(AP)
Sophisticated weight lifting programs are ubiquitous on the high school football circuit, but I can’t imagine many teenagers training like Shawn Lauvao did.
The latest addition to Washington’s offensive line won the 2005 Hawaii Strongest Teen competition during his days at Farrington High School in Honolulu, where he was the Rivals.com No. 6 prospect in the state.
According to his Arizona State bio, the lineman could bench 420 pounds, squat 500 and power clean 300 coming out of high school.
By his rookie year, Lauvao could squat 700 pounds and knock out chin-ups with weighted chains on his back. Back in 2010 he told the Medina County Gazette he understood there was more to football than raw strength.
“There’s a lot of guys who can lift a lot of weight, who are strong, but not very athletic,” Lauvao said. “The biggest thing is playing with better leverage, better knee bend, dropping your hips more, having better reaction, as opposed to trying to run and smash people. You’ve got to do it in a more controlled manner.”
Scaling the Mount Olympus of Meat
Author’s note: Listen to this music if you intend to keep reading.
Cleveland is renowned for arctic weather, which means you can find a variety of heavy comfort food in the Midwest metropolis.
At the Greek Village Grille you can order a 7-pound gyro named the “Mount Olympus.” It contains lamb and beef mixture, chicken, pork, tomatoes, onions, tzatziki and french fries in a 15-inch pita.
Lauvao could not finish it in under an hour. Neither could the 65 people who attempted it before him.
