Strength Athletes in Midlife: Tom Roselli Interview

Raw Unity Elite Lightweights

At this year's Europa Expo in Hartford, an old acquaintance of mine got his 540 pound raw squat  into the record books and in the top 20 of all time at 165 lbs.  Tom Roselli is a Rhode Island strength athlete who I met about a decade ago.  In the picture above, he stands with other elite, lightweight athletes immediately after the 2013 Raw Unity Meet (the top competition in the USA for unequipped powerlifters).  

Why would I write about actively competing, elite level powerlifters on a blog about fitness in midlife?

Surprise!  Tom (2nd from the left) is in his 40's and Tony Conyers (at the upper right) is in his 50's!!!!  And for all of you unfamiliar with the science of strength, men's physical strength peaks around the mid to late thirties.  This is usually followed by a rapid decline, but not as much for aging powerlifters.

I gave Tom a laundry list of questions about fitness and here is what he had to say:


Let's get some basic info first.
How old are you and where do you live now?

Tom: I am 40 and I'm from Rhode Island.

In which Federations do you lift and what are your best lifts?

Tom: I have competed in USPF, APF, AAU, IPA, 100% RAW, RAW UNITED, USAPL, I've also done several non sanctioned events and a few strongman competitions.  These are all raw (unequipped) numbers and I competed in the165 lbs weight class.My best squat is 540 (currently tied for 15th of all time).  My best bench is 365 and best deadlift is 550.  My highest total is 1450 lbs at 165 lbs of body weight.

Those are elite numbers regardless of age.  What kind of training routine and diet do you use?

Tom: This is a tough question for me.  My training isn't typical. I really don't have a program that I follow and I don't keep a training log. I like to do heavy triples. Getting close to a contest I do heavy singles. Usually I do a down set of something I can do between 5-8 reps. I consider those two sets as my working sets. I believe that if you are having a good day, then push yourself with the heavier weights. If it isn't going so well then back off a bit on the weight. I train 3 days a week.... Monday, I squat. Wednesday, I bench, and Friday, I deadlift. I do all my primary lifts first then the accessory lifts. It takes about 2 1/2 hours. OK, my diet isn't the best and it's something I battle with.  I mean it's so easy to pick up a pizza or fast food. 

I can relate.  Sometimes it seems like diet requires more will than training.  
So do you do anything unique to get stronger?

Tom's 170 lbs anvil lift

Tom: I build counter-tops so it's a physical job and I scrap things on the side. I've always liked to pick up heavy things. I grew up on a small farm so I always did things like split wood or haul 50lbs of grain to the animals. Look on my FB page and you'll see a pic of me with a 170lb anvil over my head.

When did you start training and when did you first compete?

Tom: I started lifting weights as a freshman in high school.  I was 13 years old. In gym class we had a choice of taking soccer or conditioning.  I have asthma so I choose conditioning. The first day me and 3 other guys did the bench press, which I had never done before. We worked up to 135 and one of the guys asked me what I weighed.  I said 132 lbs. He said that if you could bench body weight, that is good. So, I easily benched the 135. Up next was 185 and I thought I could do it; well I was wrong.It buried me and it took me my whole freshman year before I could bench that weight.

When I was a senior in HS (1990) they had a weight lifting contest which consisted of the bench and a strict, no leg drive military press. I weighed in at 138 and I military pressed 155 and benched 260 at the age of 17. That was my first lifting competition. I easily won my weight division and was the only one to military over body weight  I also had the 5th highest bench in my HS regardless of weight. In late 92 I found out what Olympic Lifting was and I joined a team at my old HS. I was decent at it and always placed in the top 3 in New England. I converted to powerlifting in 1998 when our coach decided to move to Savannah, Georgia. 1998 was my last Olympic Lifting and my first Powerlifting contest.

I've always thought Olympic lifters turn out to be great powerlifters.  Who are some of the powerlifting athletes you respect most?  I'm talking about your role models and heroes.

Tom: Of course I like seeing the biggest lifts like everyone else such as Ed Coan, Donnie Thompson, Fred Hatfield, Andy Bolton, and many others. But I really look up to the guys that are my size. My favorite 165'er of all time is Tony Conyers. He has competed at an elite level for over 30 years! Brian Schwab is another favorite as is Johnny Vasquez and Eric Talmant. 3 out of 4 of those guys live in your state, Rolo.  There must be something in the water. I have competed against all of them at one time or another and they have all beaten me, but that has made me a better lifter.

There are some crazy, strong light weight lifters in Florida.  I've never understood why, but maybe there is something in the water.  I also like your comment about getting better by losing to stronger lifters.  I've trained with a lot of guys that won't compete unless they think they can win and their game never rises to that level.  
Are there any other things you've had to overcome to get to where you are now?

Tom: I was very sick as a child. I had 20 something allergies and had to get allergy shots every week for a few years and eventually once a month till I was 17. I did outgrow some allergies. I was also born with curved shin bones and shallow hip sockets. I had to wear special shoes with a bar connecting them that had to be adjusted every so often. I couldn't walk till I was 3 years old.

And now you squat over 3X bodyweight.  Nice.

Ok.  What is next for you?

Tom: I've always liked to give back to powerlifting because it has given me so much. I have helped out at the Special Olympics for about 10 years but last year I started coaching some of the athletes so I will continue to do that. I've learned a lot about lifting over the years and it's nice to share my knowledge with others.

Great job, Tom!  

Thank you for taking time out of your schedule to share with us and I wish you continued success on all of your endeavors.  

Tom is an excellent example of someone who overcame countless obstacles to achieve his goals and this foundation of strength training is now paying dividends as he enters midlife. The habits that he's built around strength games will serve him well during the next few decades.  
As with all things in this life, you must use it or lose it.  This applies to strength, agility, intellect, and the rest.  
This doesn't mean that we can't start late and succeed.  It only means we need to start and continue until the end.

Stay strong!