ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, July 14, 1996 TAG: 9607150152
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
Leroy Johnson and his six-penny nails inspired future generations of his family to be strong.
Lois Johnson, Leroy's daughter-in-law, fueled her sons' strength with her home cooking.
Three of Leroy's grandsons were at the Roanoke Athletic Club on Saturday, entered in the powerlifting competition of the 1996 Commonwealth Games: Rodney Johnson, 26, was in the 198-pound Open division; Kevin Johnson, 23, in the 181-pound Open division; and Tony Johnson, 21, in the 220-pound Junior division.
All Floyd County natives and current Roanoke residents, the Johnsons have made powerlifting a family affair. Cheering them at the RAC was an entourage of their parents, wives, children and girlfriends. Grandpa Leroy stayed home, but his inspiration surely was on the competitors' minds.
``He's probably where we got it from,'' Kevin Johnson said. ``When we were younger, he used to show us his muscle and he used to bend nails.''
Leroy Johnson was tough. He would wrap a six-penny nail in a paper bag and bend it right in half. In his spare time, he was a boxer, a passion he passed on to his son, Tyrone.
Meanwhile, Tyrone's sons have elected to deal with heavyweights that don't punch back.
``There's an anticipation of a buildup and you notice the results. It's unreal,'' Tony Johnson said, explaining his love of powerlifting. Serious weightlifters usually choose between powerlifting and bodybuilding as their pursuit.
``In powerlifting,'' Tony said, ``People come out and see how strong you are. It's a little different feeling.''
Their mother's cooking helped make the choice easy, too. Before breaking into a big laugh, Rodney said, ``I feel more comfortable with a powerlifting diet plan.''
In many cases, that is an oxymoron. Unlike bodybuilders, powerlifters don't have to watch what they eat unless it's the week before a competition and they need to be under their weight class limit.
``As we've gotten older and moved away, the meals have gotten smaller,'' Rodney said. ``But we were never lacking for a good meal.''
``We love to devour food,'' Kevin said.
They're learning to devour the competition. Rodney has placed in all but one meet he's entered and can put up 430 pounds in the bench press, his best event. Tony pulls more than 500 pounds in the dead lift, his specialty. Kevin's favorite event is the bench press, where he regularly pushes 260 pounds. ``I'm the little one of the bunch,'' he said.
Other than their muscles, none of the Johnsons are big, nor are they little. They have thick, compact physiques. ``We all have the same build,'' Tony said. ``It fits our family just about right.''
The Johnson family unity shows when they compete. On Saturday, they helped each other pull on all their gear, such as belts and skin-tight bench press shirts. They hammered on each other's shoulders. And they jumped in each other's faces for motivation. At the same time, they flashed more smiles and had more laughs than any of the meet's competitors.
``You have to get into the state of mind where you feel confident enough to do it,`` Kevin said.
``It's that psyche you get that overrules everything,`` Tony said. ``We have a motto: `Nothing to it but to do it.'''
LENGTH: Medium: 69 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: ERIC BRADY/Staff. Rodney Johnson competes in the benchby CNBpress during the powerlifting event at the Commonwealth Games on
Saturday at the Roanoke Athletic Club.