About Vanessa
Before beginning this narrative, I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you and to express my sincere gratitude to my family & friends, my students and colleagues at Winston-Salem State University as well as the citizens of Winston-Salem for their words of encouragement in support of my fitness and strength training endeavors.
My name is Vanessa M. Hood, and I am a Champion Powerlifter. I am employed as the Director of Campus Fitness, at Winston-Salem State University. I am an AAU World Powerlifting Raw Masters’ 1st place Champion, World Record holder in the Bench Press & the Deadlift and Best Raw Master’s Bencher, an AAU National Push/Pull Raw Masters’ 1st Place Champion, World Record holder (Bench Press & Deadlift), and an AAU North Carolina State Regional Raw Masters’ 1st Place Champion (Bench Press). I am a natural and drug-free champion powerlifter with a career as a fitness professional….and thank you for taking the time to share in my fitness success story.
The origin of my story begins many years ago a teen at the YMCA. I have maintained an association with the YMCA throughout my life. As a youth, I became a member and employee of the McCrorey Branch YMCA, Charlotte, N.C. Mr. George Shinholster was the Executive Director. Before I joined the Y, I was not aware that they practiced some of the same character development traits (caring, respect, honesty, responsibility and faith), that my parents were teaching me and that Mr. Shinholster would be the person who cared enough to reiterate their teachings. Currently, I am a member, employee and powerlifter at the Central Family YMCA, Winston-Salem, NC. It was here that I discovered my love for the sport of powerlifting. I’ve been powerlifting for about 14 years and it was at the “Y” where I was successful in winning 1st place at my first 3 powerlifting meets. As I continued to train, and as my years of training progressed, I enjoyed the idea of being a physically strong woman.
Emerging from a lineage of strong women that included my Great-Great-Great Grandmother Ellen Ingram, who was born a slave, my Great-Great Grandmother Sally Ingram, who was the daughter of a slave, my Great-Grandmother, Ender Ingram Waddell, who remembered slavery, my Grandmother Irene Snell, who remembered the renaissance era , and my mother Novella Hairston Hood, who remembered the struggles of the 1950’s and 60’s made me proud to continue this legacy. All the matriarch in my family continued to persevere forward despite their difficult times and the difficult times of the ancestors before them. My mothers’ physical strength and mental discipline was interwoven in the fabric of my being by her example, life lessons and constant presence.
I was eager to know more about the dynamics of the body and developing absolute natural human strength, so, I expanded my interest by becoming a YMCA Certified Personal Training Instructor and earning a certification in the Principles of Health and Fitness. The YMCA hosted many seminars and lectures that focused on strength. The first lecture that I attended was conducted by Dr .Wayne L. Westcott, PH.D. His lecture covered specialized strength training with a emphasis on seniors and other special populations.
Currently, my Personal Training Certification is through Interactive Fitness Trainers of America. Other training Certification include Fitour, & ChicoMetrics. ChicoMertics was introduced to me by the founder and creator Dr. Chico Caldwell. The ChicoMetrics program focused on deep muscle toning based on isotonic and isometric principles for faster toning results. My most recent training certification is with The Battling Ropes Training System. The training was conducted by the founder creator, & inventor John Brookfield. John is known as “The Man With The World’s Strongest Hand”. He has been featured in the Ripley’s Believe It Or Not and the Guinness Book of World Record for his unusually feats of strength and endurance.
A true test of my strength was present when I decided to step beyond the YMCA to compete in the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). At this level of competition, I was successful in winning 1st place at the 2004 North Carolina State Regional and National Powerlifting Championship meets. With this success, I believed that I could go further, and continue competing with the best natural and drug-free female powerlifters in the Amateur Athletic Union at the World Championship events… so I did.
On Friday, October 29, 2004, I competed in the 2004 Amateur Athletic Union World Bench Press, Deadlift and Push/Pull Championships and the Richmond International Powerlifting Championships. The meet was hosted by the Virginia Powerlifting Association at the ShowPlace Annex in Richmond, Virginia. Once again, I was empowered, anointed, and blessed with another win. I clenched 1st place at the World Powerlifting Championship by Bench Pressing (209.8 lbs.), breaking my own World record that I set during the National Championships where I bench pressed (205 lbs.) in June of 2004. I also clenched 1st Place in the World Deadlift Championships. There were approximately 60 competitors from around the world. To view the competition results go to www.aausports.org and click on results.
The Virginia Powerlifting Meet Director, Ms. Barbara Beasley, extended an invitation to me to compete in the 2005 AAU Triple Crown Push/Pull Powerlifting Championships that was hosted in April of 2005, as well as the NASA (Natural Athletics Strength Association) Powerlifting Team that was assembled to competing in Columbus, Ohio, in June of 2005.
I was introduced to the Louise Simmons powerlifting principle and I have trained by his method for more than 8 years and throughout my competitive career. Mr. Simmons is the foremost authority on powerlifting in the world and the greatest powerlifting coach of all time. Though he has many training methods, the “maximum effort method” was designed for maximum strength exertion with an emphasizes on the one rep max. On Saturday, January 15, 2005, I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Simmons at the North Carolina Strength Coaches Clinic hosted by Wake Forest University. He lectured, demonstrated techniques and discussed strategies for increasing explosive power in the squat and the bench press. Embracing the opportunity to speak with him I shared my powerlifting accomplishments & photographs, he seemed genuinely impressed and commented that I should “keep up the good work”. Meeting Mr. Simmons is one of the highlights of my fitness and powerlifting career thus far. Having the opportunity to meet Louise and other top fitness professionals at this venue in my life rejuvenated my hunger for maintaining gains in strength and power.
Also presenting at the clinic were Pavel Tsatsouline, Bud Charniga and Gayle Hatch. Pavel is known as a master of sports and internationally known as an authority on kettlebell training for athletes and non-athletics alike. Bud is a former Olympic weightlifter and is a well known authority on Olympic weightlifting and the training methods of weightlifters throughout the world. Gayle Hatch, is the Olympic Weightlifting Coach that coached the 2004 USA Olympic Weightlifting Team in Athens, Greece.
The 2006 NC Strength Coaches Clinic presenters featured John Brookfield, “man with the strongest hands in the world” and founder of the Battling Ropes Training System, Steve Mosley, Battling Ropes Head Coach & employee of the U.S. Government Department of Homeland Securities, Jack Reape, Champion Powerlifter, Mike Burgener, Strength and Conditioning Coach, Olympic Weightlifting Coach & Senior International Weightlifting Coach, Steve Jeck, author, motivational speaker and Stone Lifter, Steve Maxwell, Senior Russian Kettlebell Instructor & 3 times World Brazilian Jiu-jitsu Champion, Steve Cotter, Senior Russian Kettlebell Instructor, Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist.
With the American and World Records to my credit, my quest to become the “The World’s Strongest Women” at this level of competition has become a reality. Powerlifting is a sport that is largely dominated by male athletes. This adversity is a force to be reckoned with, and influences my thrill to compete. Working out and training is much more challenging and creates the mental drive and determination that I require to excel to maximum potential. Because powerlifting is a direct manifestation of human strength, it’s not enough to be just an average female athlete. Hence, I must work harder, longer, and smarter, to be successful and to gain the respect and recognition as a natural female powerlifters. “Perseverance, drive and determination are my motivating forces, and are not optional. They are prerequisites for maintaining a winning attitude”.
My greatest inspiration is my mother because she too was an athlete. She played high school basketball during an era when sports and athletic performance was dominated by males and it was considered “unlady like” for a woman. Hence, she easily related to the challenges I faced in powerlifting. She instilled in me that I must never be limited by societal norms, but rather be driven by my belief in self. Having served as the team captain for her basketball team, she shared many techniques with me when I decided to play. Although I quickly realized that I was only an average player, my mother always complimented me on my performance and strongly encouraged me to keep playing. She often reminds me that one’s physical abilities are only as strong as one’s mental abilities.
I consider myself to be a product of the fitness and strength training environment. My future plans include training and competing, teaching and coaching and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. In addition, I will continue to be a role model and advocate for Natural and Drug-Free Powerlifting as I prepare myself for the powerlifting and strength training challenges that await me.