GREENFIELD — Franklin County’s YMCA new exercise trainer and his teenage protege broke records at a Strongman competition in Leominster earlier this month.
Russ “RJ” Johnson and Zachary Graziano participated at the Aftermath Wellness fitness studio, with Johnson tying the national record for the log overpress and setting a new state record in the farmers press, in which Graziano shattered the teen national and state records.
“It was good. Will Fateiger puts on a really good show at Aftermath in Leominster,” Johnson said in an interview. “It’s a great place. He’s very well-organized … everything just goes really smoothly. There’s no hiccups — not the most common thing, so he does a really good job.
“Zac did a tremendous job. He was going against a guy, another teen, from Maine, who’s a year older than him, and [that teen has] never lost,” he said. “Zac just crushed it. He’s got really good grip — better than mine. And I’m not bad, but he’s better.”
Strongman is a strength sport in which competitors perform feats of strength and endurance by lifting and manipulating unconventional, heavy objects such as logs, stones, and vehicles.
Graziano, who started working with Johnson about a year and a half ago, said the competition was a great experience.
“I had a lot of fun with it,” he said.
Graziano, of Athol, and Johnson, of Millers Falls, have both qualified for the U.S. Strongman Nationals in Iowa in June.
“We are incredibly proud of their hard work and accomplishments,” Sara Hannon, the local YMCA’s director of communications, marketing and social media, wrote in an email. “FCY has hosted two Strongman competitions in the past two years, and the camaraderie, dedication, and community among these athletes is truly amazing and something to be celebrated.”
Graziano, 17, said he hopes to compete again in the fall, and Johnson, 57, aims to take part in Abominable Swoleman 2025 in Vermont in February.
Johnson explained he was overweight eight years ago and started working out at the YMCA to get healthier. He quickly noticed he had a knack for lifting heavy weights and he decided to push himself.
“This guy Pete comes up to me one day and says, ‘Where do you compete?’ I’m was like, ‘Dude, you’re crazy. I can’t compete with people like that. There’s no way,'” Johnson recalled. “Then he walked away and he came back and then he was really persuasive. He was like, ‘No, you need to look into this.'”
Johnson entered his first novice Strongman competition four years ago.
“I really just started liking it,” he said.
He finished in seventh at Nationals in Denver two years ago and ninth in Charlotte, North Carolina, last year.
“I like pushing myself. I just like that. I don’t mind competition. I actually embrace it. It makes me better,” he said. “The [Strongman] community is super-unique as well. They don’t care who you are. They care what you can do.”
He started as a full-time fitness instructor three weeks ago and he encourages everyone to consider getting into better shape.
“The hardest is always showing up. Because if you show up you’re going to do something. And I think that’s the key,” Johnson said. “As we age we need some strength training. It shows the highest survivability rates from car accidents and stuff like that, the highest survivability rates if you get a disease, and then the longest longevity are the people that lift heavy.”
