August 31, 2009

Lifters outmuscle burdens of age, disability

LEE NESSEL
OFF-BEAT COLUMNIST

If there is something Al Anunziato wants to lift, he picks it up.

For the past few years, it has been powerlifting heavy weights into record books.

"I'm trying to become one of the few over-60 people in the world to do a triple-body-weight deadlift," he said proudly.

Sure, the 63-year-old has deadlifted 450 pounds in the 165-pound class for his age, and 425 pounds at 148.

But along the way, he also has picked up the spirits of those around him. The result is an atypical team, Lifters Without Limits, that calls Anunziato its coach.

There's Ron Crawford, 76, and Vito Lombardo, 77, both of Melbourne. Bill Tinkler of Suntree is the baby at 75.

Anunziato uses different routines to separately train disabled lifters, including Stacie Deusch, 33, of Suntree and Thomas Gerhauser, 21, of Melbourne, who has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair.

The personal trainer is a subcontractor for Community Access Providers, which assists disabled clients.

And now, he's a member of four gyms throughout Brevard County, taking his lifters to Space Coast Barbell on Merritt Island, recently opened The Gym in Melbourne and the Pro-Health & Fitness Center in Viera. Each provides something different. "I try to pick gyms where my very lowest-functioning disabled guys would be accepted without (patrons) being taken aback," Anunziato said. "I'll generally go in ahead of time, and if I don't think it's a good fit, I won't take them there." More...

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