Rylie Miller | Athlete of the Week

Rylie joined the TCBB family last fall and is the youngest female athlete in the gym. Although she is a multi-sport, multi-talented young lady, softball is her passion. Working with Rylie is a joy and she stretches our coaching skills by asking no less than 20 questions in a 60 minute session. Every week Rylie works toward strengthening her mental competiveness along with gaining more physical strength and power. Rylie looks at softball not only as a means to her college and competitive dreams, but also as a platform to inspire younger female athletes in the future.

School: Wichita Collegiate School
Grade: 5th
Favorite Subject: Math
Club Team: Cure Softball
Achievements: 5x MVP during 2015-2016 season
Hobbies: Playing softball with her "softball sisters"
Future Goals: Play softball for the USSSA All American Team and compete at the Division I Level

Since starting her journey at Top Crop Barbell, Rylie says she's learned a lot about herself. "I have to tell myself that I have to do this no matter how hard it is and remember when I'm done that I'll be proud of myself." "Hard work pays off and it's worth it in the end," she says.

Cammie Davis | Athlete of the Week

If you're unfortunate enough to be on the receiving end of Cammie's competitiveness, sorry we're not sorry. Last outdoor season, she scored 29 goals and had 12 assists. Cammie is an absolute powerhouse and will push her skills, strength, and mind to ensure success on the soccer field and classroom. She empowers and pushes others on her team and does so with grace and a smile. Since starting her training with Top Crop Barbell trainers 1 year ago, Cammie says, "I have learned so much, but the biggest thing I learned is the importance of having good form when exercising. Also I have learned a ton about nutrition and how I should fuel my body."

School: Maize High School
Grade: 9th
GPA: 4.125
Club Team: SC Cosmos
Hobbies:

• Photography
• Cooking
• Running

Future Goals: Play soccer at the intercollegiate level.

We are so proud to hear that she is doing an amazing job contributing to her high school soccer team, and we can't wait to see what the next 4 years (and beyond) hold for her.

Road to the Record | 6 & 5 Weeks Out

I've been thinking about competing in a powerlifting meet for the past year. The last 6 months was used to gain strength and get back into a consistent workout routine (after my college graduation and founding Top Crop Barbell). The past 6 weeks were used to hone in my technique and start cutting a little weight by massively increasing my protein intake and making sure I'm getting enough sleep.

Week 6 was the halfway point of my focused meet prep and was a deload week in my programming. A deload week isn't a complete week off from training. I trained 3 days that week but with a huge decrease in training volume. All I did was build up to 70% of my max in each lift (squat, bench, deadlift) and repped it for 2. Then I dropped the weight down to 30% of my max and did it for a quick set of 10. I warmly welcomed this deload week because a few of my joints were aching during and after training sessions.

Now I'm 5 weeks out from the AAU Oklahoma Women's Powerlifting Championships and I can't believe the time has almost come for me to attempt to break the squat, bench, deadlift, and 3 lift total in my weight class. My confidence is growing, but I'm training as the underdog. My programming has gotten a lot more powerlifting specific and I'm not straying too much away from the primary lifts. I can't complain, I love pushing heavy weight. I'm excited for the next 3 weeks of training and playing with heavy ass weight!!!

My goals for this next phase of training are:

1. Stay confident under the bar.
2. Stay consistent with my eating and hydrating plan.
3. Get enough sleep.
4. Gain confidence in every other area of my life.

Skylar Goering | Athlete of the Week

Skylar is a dedicated player for her school's varsity and club volleyball teams. Over the past several months, she has made incredible progress toward jumping higher, blocking quicker, and hitting harder. Skylar works hard on the court, in the gym, and in the classroom and one of the most coachable athletes we work with at Top Crop Barbell. Since she began training with Top Crop Barbell trainers, Skylar says, "I've learned good form and now I'm jumping higher!" When she isn't at a volleyball tournament or training in the gym, you can find her hanging out with her friends.

School: Maize South High School
Grade: 9th
GPA: 4.0
Club Team: Wichita Volleyball Academy 15-1
Future Goals: Play volleyball in college

Sydni Hawkins | Athlete of the Week

Sydni has been training hard this offseason and has built greater power, speed, and strength.  Last season she hit a .545, had 36 hits in 22 games, and had 38 runs scored. Did we mention she's only a sophomore?! If you've never seen Sydni run the bases, it's hardly running...she's lightening fast, especially in the first 5 steps.We're excited to see how much she grows and improves during her first year of sport performance training and we feel confident she'll be even more difficult to catch when stealing 2nd base. Sydni says that since starting her journey with Top Crop Barbell, she's learned "I'm capable of a lot more than I thought."

School: Southeast High School
Grade: 10th
GPA: 3.6
Club Team: Renegades 16U Gold
Hobbies: Hanging out with friends and family
Future Goals: Play softball in college