As an officer with the U.S. Army and a current doctoral candidate, Ashton Rouska seems to be a person of many talents. It’s his strength as a powerlifter that recently garnered a lot of attention.
On May 21, 2022, Rouska shared footage of himself squatting 375.1 kilograms (827 pounds) during a training session. Later, he bench-pressed 215.4 kilograms (475 pounds) and deadlifted 381 kilograms (840 pounds), giving him a 971.6-kilogram (2,142-pound) total. Rouska donned a lifting belt and knee sleeves for his squat, and just a belt for his bench press and deadlift.
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The squat is Rouska’s new PR, exceeding his previous competition best of 370 kilograms (815.7 pounds) from the 2022 USA Powerlifting (USAPL) Arnold A7 Grand Prix. The bench press is a new PR, too, surpassing Rouska’s previous best of 210 kilograms (462.9 pounds) that he set at the 2021 USAPL Virginia Pro. Finally, Rouska even eclipsed his top past raw total of 955 kilograms (2,105.4 pounds), which he also notched at the 2022 USAPL Arnold A7 Grand Prix.
Here are Rouska’s complete stats from this training session:
Ashton Rouska | May 21, 2022 Lift Stats
- Squat — 375.1 kilograms (827 pounds) | New PR
- Bench Press — 215.4 kilograms (475 pounds) | New PR
- Deadlift — 381 kilograms (840 pounds)
- Total — 971.6 kilograms (2,142 pounds) | New PR
Notably, the squat and total would’ve also unofficially exceeded the since-defunct USAPL U105-kilogram weight class records — each of which Rouska held. With the USAPL organization officially returning to “old weight classes” at the start of 2022, Rouska will not have an opportunity to break either former U105-kilogram mark at his next competition. That will be the 2022 USAPL Mega Nationals in early June.
All of that said, Rouska capturing three PRs in one fell swoop remains nothing to sneeze at.
[Related: Powerlifter Jessica Buettner (76KG) Captures 4 National Records During 2022 CPU Nationals]
Rouska at a Glance
In his near-decade as a competitive powerlifter, Rouska has kept busy. Since Spring 2014, the athlete has participated in 39 separate sanctioned competitions. A prolific and consistent winner, he hasn’t finished in something other than first place since October 2019.
Here’s a rundown of some of Rouska’s more notable career results:
Ashton Rouska | Notable Career Results
- 2014 USAPL Raw Nationals (Raw) — First place
- 2014 International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) World Sub-Juniors and Juniors Powerlifting Championships (Single) — First place
- 2015 USAPL Men’s and Women’s Nationals (Single) — First place
- 2016 USAPL Raw Nationals (Raw) — First place
- 2017 USAPL Raw National Championships (Raw) — First place
- 2019 USAPL Collegiate Nationals (Raw) — First place
- 2020 North American Powerlifting Federation (NAPF) Arnold Grand Prix by SBD (Raw) — First place
- 2020 USAPL Virginia Winter Wrecker (Raw) — First place
- 2021 USAPL Virginia Pro (Raw) — First place
- 2022 Arnold A7 Grand Prix (Raw) — First place
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[Related: Powerlifter Samantha Eugenie (63KG) Breaks 4 Junior Records At 2022 FFForce French Nationals]
The Mega Nationals Are Next
At the time of this writing, Rouska has not confirmed his weight class for the 2022 USAPL Mega Nationals on June 7-12, 2022, in Las Vegas, NV. His only competition thus far under the new USAPL guidelines — the 2022 USAPL Arnold A7 Grand Prix — was an Open meet, giving him leeway to compete where he pleases.
Rouska did disclose on his Instagram post that he currently weighs 103.4 kilograms (228 pounds). With the Mega Nationals meet so close, if it’s not Open and Rouska plans to compete in the USAPL 100-kilogram weight class, he will have to cut some weight. If not, it appears he will compete in the 110-kilogram weight class. Though, that would be uncharted territory considering Rouska has never competed above 105 kilograms in his career.
Whatever path Rouska takes, he’ll assuredly look to make his mark wherever he can during the meet.
Featured image: @some_strongash_guy on Instagram