lifting with power

Garlits, 28. “It’s great to have achieved them.”

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By JoAnn Guidry

Rodney Garlits, grandson of legendary drag racer Don Garlits, has found his own niche and is enjoying success in the sport of powerlifting.

Just call him the strongest man in Ocala.

As of this writing, Rodney Garlits is the topranked 275 Raw Division powerlifter in Florida. He is also ranked 33rd in the country and in the Top 100 in the world, according to the United States Powerlifting Association. Garlits achieved those rankings following his winning performance at the USPA-sanctioned Battle of the Bay III in Tampa Bay this past March. That victory also qualified him for the International Powerlifting League World Championships on November 2-5 in Las Vegas.

“I’ve been competing since 2012, and these were goals that I’ve been striving for,” says

In powerlifting, competitors must do three lifts—squat, bench press and deadlift. In weightlifting, however, athletes must do the snatch and clean-and-jerk and lift the weight above their head. Powerlifters are categorized by gender, age and weight, and each competitor is allowed three attempts at each lift with the best lift at the most weight added to their final weight total. The lifter with the highest weight total wins; if two or more lifters have the same total, the person with the lightest bodyweight wins.

I train Monday through Friday, usually two to three hours [each day].

The latter was a personal record for him. His winning total weight lifted was 1,813 pounds. “I train Monday through Friday, usually two to three hours [each day]. In addition to the weight work, I also work on my flexibility with stretches and resistance band exercises,” says Garlits, who with his DarkHorse Barbell teammates works out at Ocala Strength and Conditioning. “I generally eat between 4,000 to 5,000 calories a day.”

In addition to the weight work, I also work on my flexibility with stretches and resistance band exercises.

“I compete in the 275 Raw division,” explains Garlits. “The weight class is 242.1 to 275 pounds. In the Raw class, you are only allowed to use minimal equipment like a belt, wrist straps and knee sleeves. I only use knee sleeves.”

At the Battle of the Bay III, Garlits top weights were 685 pounds in the squat, 424 pounds in the bench press and 700 pounds in the deadlift.

Garlits, who is working toward becoming a certified physical therapy assistant, has also converted his girlfriend, Emily Sparks, to the powerlifting sport. The couple trains together, and Sparks has recently begun competing as well.

“My next goals are to be ranked in the top 10 in the country and to qualify for the U.S. Open,” says Garlits. “To get to the U.S. Open, you have to hit a 2,000-pound total in a competition, so that’s the number that I’m aiming for.”

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Home Again

Oak Hill Hospital is pleased to announce the appointment of Steve Young as chief operating o cer. Young replaces Sonia Wellman, who left to accept the position of CEO at Memorial Hospital of Tampa, another HCA facility. Young returns to Oak Hill Hospital from Doctors Hospital of Sarasota where he also served as chief operating o cer. Young’s career in health care began at Oak Hill Hospital where he served as director of physician relations and business development. In 2012, he left Oak Hill Hospital when he was accepted into the COO Development Program at Osceola Medical Center where he served as associate chief operating o cer. From there, he was appointed COO at Doctors Hospital of Sarasota. Young is a graduate of Leadership Hernando and Oak Hill Hospital’s Ambassador program, which makes him particularly familiar with the local community, and he holds a master’s in business administration degree from St. Leo University and a bachelor’s in applied physiology and kinesiology from the University of Florida. He is a member of the American Heart Association Executive Board, the American Congress of Healthcare Executives and a member of the Medical Group Management Association.

An Outstanding Volunteer

Regional Medical Center Bayonet, in Hudson, is proud to announce that one of its volunteers was recently a proud recipient of the President’s Call to Service Award Certificate. The award comes from the o ce of the President of the United States. It was instituted to acknowledge the outstanding achievements of volunteers and volunteering throughout the nation. The recipient received the certificate, an order of congratulations from then-President Obama and a beautiful pin commemorating the event. In order to receive the order, an individual must have volunteered for a minimum of 15 years and logged in over 7,500 hours of service. Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point’s volunteer recipient this year was Susan Mesi. Susan began volunteering over 15 years ago and has over 26,000 hours of service. She received the Five Star Award in 2010 and serves as an example to volunteer peers with her positive attitude and excellent customer service.

The Gift Of Life

Ocala Health recognized National Donate Life Month in April at its two hospitals, Ocala Regional Medical Center and West Marion Community Hospital. During the event, butterflies were released and the Donate Life flag was raised. Donate Life Month is an opportunity to inform and educate the community about the critical role we all play in saving lives. Speakers included families impacted from donation or as recipients as well as Darwin Ang, MD, trauma services medical director at ORMC.

In 2016, more than 33,600 patients nationally received life-saving organ transplants, more than 2,000 of whom were transplanted at Florida centers. There are nearly 120,000 patients on the national organ transplant waiting list, and it is estimated that every 10 minutes, another person is added to this list. LifeQuest Organ Recovery Services, the federally designated organ donor program serving a 36-county region of northern Florida, and Ocala Health are encouraging Floridians to learn the facts about organ and tissue donation and to join Florida’s donor registry at DonateLifeFlorida.org.