September 17, 2021 • 23 mins
On this week's episode of DisaAbilityTalks, we sit down with Tokyo 2020 Para Powerlifter of Team USA, Jake Schrom! He discusses his incredible journey to the 2020 Games, finding a proper work/life balance, and his future plans! Don't miss this exclusive insight from a Tokyo 2020 Paralympian. Only on DisAbility Talks.
To find out more about our guest, visit these links:
Website - https://www.teamusa.org/para-powerlifting/athletes/jacob-schrom
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/jake_from_weight_farm/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=9386872&fref=ts&ref=br_tf
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Intro (00:00):
Welcome to DisAbility Talks.
A podcast produced by Abilitiesin Motion.
I'm your host, Shelly Houser.
Join us for real conversationsand no nonsense talk from
everyday people withdisabilities, iving their most
independent everyday lives.
Tune in for the latest newssurrounding disability,
accessibility, and independencefor conversations, aren't
(00:21):
dissed, and stories that need tobe told aren't missed.
So let's talk.
Shelly (00:27):
Welcome back listeners.
I am your host Shelly Houser,and in today's extra special
episode I sit down with JakeSchrom from Carlisle PA who just
returned from the Tokyo 2020Paralympic games.
Prior to the games I had achance to interview his coach,
Mary Hodge from the para, powerlifting team out in Colorado.
At that time, Jake hadn't quitequalified yet.
(00:48):
So I wanted to sit down andcatch up with him to find out
what the games were like as hereached his all time personal
best in Tokyo.
Welcome home, Jake.
Thanks for being on the showtoday.
Jake (00:57):
Thanks for having me.
I'm excited.
Shelly (00:59):
Absolutely.
So you're all caught up onyou're asleep and you're back in
the regular routine.
Is that right?
Jake (01:04):
Yeah.
Life normal life hits me hard onthe way back.
Uh, you know, the day job has tostart.
So as soon as I got home, I gothome at like 8:00 PM on Tuesday
last week.
And by 4:00 AM the next morningI was working, um, I just, I
woke up at like three o'clockcouldn't sleep.
So I was like, well, I'll get toit.
You catch up.
(01:24):
Yeah.
Shelly (01:25):
So, well, congratulations on qualifying
and getting to Tokyo.
That's really exciting for you.
So how did you get involved withpara p owerlifting?
Jake (01:38):
So I always enjoyed weightlifting, like lifting
weights at the gym.
So when I was in high school andjunior high for like, um,
enhancing our ability infootball and basketball, we
would lift weights.
And so that's kind of where Igot the start of it.
Um, and I just always reallyliked it.
I liked, just the immediateresults that I saw of getting
stronger and more muscle andthings like that.
(02:00):
So once I graduated high schooland could focus more time on it,
b ecause I wasn't playing othersports, I just kind of delved
into it deeper.
And then once, u h, when I was20 and I got into a work
accident and ended up losing myleg, I was a student at Penn
State at the time and I was kind o f Googling just like
(02:23):
people running with prostheticsand the ability of athletics
program for t he Penn State hasfor disabled student athletes
popped up.
And so when I got involved withthem, we tried all different
kinds of things.
And I just kind of, went back topower lifting because that's
what I had always done.
(02:43):
And so that kind of just got meintroduced to the two
competitions where I qualifiedto make the national team and
kind of from there, that was myfocus on improving.
Shelly (02:56):
Do you think after, because you had that in that
mindset of regular powerlifting,do you think it kind of helped
you mentally and physically getback and maintain your health
and mobility after youraccident?
Jake (03:11):
Um, I mean, aside from just lifting weights, I was, I
was super active and athleticand, um, sports in general was a
huge part of my life before myaccident.
Um, so just, just craving, likegoal setting and getting better
(03:32):
in my athletic ability that,that was sort of like all I knew
when I got hurt.
So it was like a fun of game ifyou will, on the, on the
physical end of rehab after myaccident of like, okay, what's,
what's the next goal?
How fast can I get there once Ihit that?
What's the next step?
Like okay.
Walking without crutches, thingslike that.
(03:52):
So that was, um, that aspectcame a little easier to me.
Okay.
Shelly (03:56):
All right.
Cool.
So how did you find out that youqualified for Tokyo 2020?
And how did you take in thatmoment?
Was it surreal to you?
Jake (04:07):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, um, in our sport each weightclass for each man or woman for
men, they take the top eight inthe world automatically.
So when I got done with my Dubaiworld cup, I had, basically went
for a bronze metal, which put,so I, I rather than securing a
(04:31):
spot because I thought I couldget both and I ended up missing
my lift.
So I ended up being just outsideof the top eight automatic
qualifier.
Um, so I had to rely onbasically it's called a
bipartite, but it's a wild cardkind of discretionary slot,
which I, I knew that I'd have astrong chance of getting, but
(04:53):
you never know because it's notautomatic.
So, once that competition wasdone, it was sort of like most
people knew if they hadqualified or not, unless you
were going to get thisbipartite.
So it was like a two week waitin terms of applying for it and
then waiting for the decision tobe made.
So two or two and a half weekslater, when that, when I finally
(05:14):
got the text that we got the, wegot the wild card slot, um, that
was such a, also moment, like itwas relief because I, I wasn't
sure I was confident, but Iwasn't sure.
And it was just a kind of likeconfirmation of like a job well
(05:34):
done on qualifying for somethingthat I had spent 10 years in the
process of working towards
Shelly (05:40):
This Coach Hodge there when you found out?
Jake (05:42):
She called me yesh.
So she called me and kind ofgave me the news that we got it,
but it wasn't official yet with,um, the USOPC.
They had to, it was still earlyin the morning.
Um, and they had their officeshadn't opened up to officially
accept.
So she called me to let me knowahead of time.
And then she sent me a text,later in the day when it was
(06:04):
officially accepted by team USA.
And then we were, we were goodto go.
Shelly (06:09):
Yeah.
So, yeah, you still made it andyou gave it your best and we're
going to talk about, how thatwas after the break, but how did
you and coach Hodge deal withCOVID and her supporting you a
nd, and Logan Universitysupporting you, I guess,
virtually how did that workduring COVID last year?
Jake (06:28):
Um, it was tough everybody, so, so most of us
were training at gyms.
And so like me, like mepersonally, I was training at a
gym and it closed.
So I went and trained at mybrother's makeshift gym in his
basement during the shutdownsand that lasted for a couple of
(06:50):
months.
And then eventually the gymsopened back up, but it was with
at the time, no certainty, ifthe games were going to be
canceled or postponed.
It was like a really, I figuredthey would be postponed.
And so I was just preparing thatlike, okay, we'll have another
year of preparation.
(07:11):
So try not try an d d oeverything in my power to not
lose ground and keep gettingbetter.
Um, b ut from like a teamperspective like the co ach h a
s j ust tr ied t o do their bestto keep everybody engaged
because everybody's in differentsituations.
Some are younger athletes thatare easily distracted, some are
older athletes and kind of havethe goal of Tokyo in m ind.
(07:33):
Um, t rying that the team triedto send we ights t o some people
that didn't have weights at homeso th at t hey could, they could
still do workouts or do somelevel of workouts.
And we tr y t o do a lot ofstuff virtually, like team
meetings to try to stay feelconnected and stay connected.
(07:54):
And we did some like, just somefun stuff, like trivia games to
try to learn special rules inour sport that most people
probably don't know just to tryto stay engaged.
Um, bu t once kind of like thesummer came around last year,
then gym s we r e so rt ofopening it ba ck up and
everybody was back to training.
And by that time we knew Tokyowas going to happen in 21.
(08:17):
Um, so it was kind of like allhands on deck preparing for the
world cups that were coming up.
Shelly (08:21):
You recently posted, I think on Instagram, how tasking
your journey has been to get youto Tokyo and, and, and to the
games.
How, how mentally, let's talkabout how mentally and
physically draining and taskingthis sport has been for you.
Jake (08:40):
Like all sports in general, the, the, um,
preparation like the, the, theday in day out, um, training
competing, recovering, that'salways very intense for all
sports in its own in its own,right?
Because not only are you tryingto do something at the highest
level, but you also have adisability and that takes energy
(09:00):
away from you.
And some days are good.
Some days are bad, you gottawork with that.
Um, but also you know, the lastyear and a half through the
pandemic you know, I work in thelandscape business and anything
that's landscaping are,construction-related never,
never shut down.
It was busier than twice as busyas it has ever been.
(09:23):
I mean, it's always busy, but ithas, it's been incredibly busy.
So dealing with 60 hour workweeks, week in, week out on top
of trying to train and, anddealing with daily changes to
COVID criticals and things likethat, um, the whole prep, or
sort of like march towards Tokyoand has just been, um, there's
(09:46):
been no break.
So I feel like it's, it's beenworth every step of the way, but
it's been very draining.
Um, so then as we get closer tothe Tokyo, there's so much more,
everything is amplified evenmore because we're getting
emails on a daily basis of COVIDprotocol.
Protocol is changing download.
(10:08):
We had several apps that we hadto download to be able to be in
the village so they can trackour whereabouts for like contact
tracing and then immigration hadits own set of apps and forms to
fill out.
So it was just a lot morepaperwork than you ever have to
deal with for, for internationalcompetitions.
Um, on top of the fear of like,well, I still have to work and
(10:30):
meet a lot of people.
And if I get COVID within 90days of the games, like you're
not allowed to go or under mostcircumstances, you're not
allowed to go.
Um, so there was just a wholelot of like added stress on top
of like the competition itselfwas the easiest thing in this
whole last two months,everything else has just been,
uh, like a distraction.
(10:53):
But like I said, it's, it's, Iguess it comes with the
territory.
Shelly (10:57):
I feel you can take a breather and get back to daily
life, but take a breather,knowing that you got there after
all these hurdles that you'vehad to overcome.
Jake (11:09):
Yep.
Yeah.
I feel I welcome normal liferight now because I feel like I
can, there, there's a smallwindow of relaxation on the
backside, not having to keep upwith all that stuff.
Shelly (11:23):
Yeah.
I think you deserve it.
Give yourself, you don't atleast a week before Tokyo, you
also were in two other worldcups.
You mentioned Dubai was one ofthem.
Tell us about your competitionin Dubai and where was the other
competition?
Jake (11:36):
The other one was in Manchester.
So Manchester was in March.
That was one of the early ones.
Um, and that was during theirtime of being shut.
Uh, the UK was shut down.
So we, we were only allowed togo because of special sport
exemption.
To be honest, I felt like wewere in a prison cell the whole
time.
I'm just being very blunt andhonest because we had to stay in
(12:04):
our rooms 24, 7 and only leaveto go get food, which was take
out and then go back to yourroom to eat by yourself and then
only leave to go to competition.
Um, so it was very much no, butthere was no spread of COVID
while we're there.
So while it was very tough, um,it was worth it because they did
(12:25):
a great job of managing risks.
Um, so that was where we were inMarch.
And then I was, so we had ourwhole team there and then sort
of, I was basically the only onefrom our team that went to Dubai
because I had the strongestchance of qualifying for Tokyo.
So I'm glad that that was inJune.
(12:45):
Um, and I'm glad that I wentbecause I ended up increasing my
personal, my internationalranking by 10 kilograms and my
personal best.
So that was a huge jump toagain, I felt just shy of by my
own mistake.
I felt just shy at the topeight, but showing such
(13:05):
improvement since March kind of,I think gave me good footing for
why I would deserve the wildcard.
Shelly (13:17):
I think with that, we're going to take a quick commercial
break.
AD (13:20):
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Shelly (13:58):
So we're back.
This is Shelly Houser, and I'mtalking to Jake Schrom, who's
the para powerlifting Tokyo 2021champion.
So I want to talk about yourincredible achievements in
Tokyo.
You came in sixth place in theworld.
That is a huge, huge deal.
And you actually had your bestlift weight of what 480 pounds.
(14:21):
What does that translate inkilograms to?
Jake (14:23):
That's 218 kilograms?
Shelly (14:26):
So you can only go up from here, right?
Jake (14:29):
Yeah, I've, I've, uh, I mean every couple of months,
every training block I keepimproving.
So it's been really cool.
Um, to know that I can kind ofgo like all in, on everything
that our coaching staff wants usto do with like nutrition and
sports psychology and recoveryand things like that.
(14:50):
And I've done that and I justkeep producing better results
each time.
So it's been really, reallyrewarding in that regard.
Shelly (14:58):
Time, will coach Hodge give you since you're back from
Tokyo to take a break where shehas, she already cracked the
whip on you getting intotraining and diet already?
Jake (15:08):
Um, so we have world championships in November right.
Like we would leave the weekafter Thanksgiving.
So everybody pretty much takeslike a week off.
Um, and then it's kinda likeright back to it, usually after
the Paralympic games and afterthe Olympic games, when you have
a normal schedule that rest ofthe year, and then into that
(15:30):
next year, you have like a yearof like downtime to kind of
like, it's such an emotionalhigh and then an adrenaline dump
on the backside that it, thatyou peak, you, you set your
puritization to peak for thisbig day and then to come around
and do a world championship twomonths, three months later, it's
like very difficult in our sportto get back your, your strength
(15:54):
level kind of drops on thebackside, and then you have to
work on building it back up.
And so it's very hard to get to,to get to your, a game again, in
like 11, 12 weeks,
Shelly (16:04):
It's actually better that you stay on task and in
that focus zone rather thantaking too much of a time off.
Jake (16:12):
I guess I should say it's kind of not too well-known yet,
but it's official.
Um, just in terms of my plansmoving forward, I'm actually
going to be retired.
Well, I am retired currently andtaking some time off to focus on
our family and things like that.
So I'm not going to be at thatworld championship and the, you
(16:32):
need to be at specificcompetitions to be on the
pathway to be eligible for, forParis.
So I'm, I'm going to basicallyforfeit the next, I still plan
on training.
I still complainant plan ondoing some competition, but just
not so much on the internationalstage.
So I can be I've been travelingso much in the last couple of
(16:53):
years that I need to kind of, Iwant to be home more and do some
vacations with my wife and, andhopefully start a family here
soon and stuff like that.
So that's my, that's myimmediate goal in the next, the
next couple of years.
Shelly (17:08):
Yeah.
That's what you're going for thegold for next time.
Jake (17:10):
Yeah.
I don't want to, I don't want tofaill that that task!
Shelly (17:14):
Exactly.
Your wife, I'm sure appreciatesthat.
I'm sure.
Jake (17:20):
Yeah, Yeah!
Shelly (17:20):
So y our para p ower l ifting, isn't your only passion.
You talked earlier about thelandscape company that you work
with.
U h, you also have a degree inlandscape architecture, correct?
Jake (17:31):
Yeah.
It's a landscape contracting,which is slightly different than
landscape architecture, butyeah, that's, that's what I do
is I design landscapes for likearound, um, businesses or homes
and things like that.
Shelly (17:45):
So this is in and around the Lancaster county Carlisle
area.
Jake (17:49):
Yeah.
So we work basically f romaround Hershey, PA down to
Hagerstown, Maryland, Frederick,Maryland in parts of West
Virginia.
Shelly (17:59):
So how do you, how are you going to moving forward
since you're kind of taking alittle step back and
powerlifting.
How are you going to balance,you know, your main focus has
shifted towards family andfamily life?
You know, how are you going tobalance these two passions of
yours?
Jake (18:16):
And I mean, that's been my, my biggest internal struggle
for the last 10 years sincegraduating college and, working
full-time has always been, ourbusinesses, our family business.
So I'm very much invested in it.
And so I, I work a lot of hours.
(18:37):
I'm not forced to do that.
That's just how I am.
Um, so balancing lots of workhours versus training has always
been the struggle of what, whattakes...
try and do get both and notcompromise on both.
And so as a result, I've kind ofdropped off pretty much
(18:58):
everything else.
And I only, you know, I stillhave family time, but w e're
like weekends, but during theweek it's only work or lifting
and not really anything else.
U m, in the last year with oursort of our goals on the team
have been to lessen my stress atwork, which will help my, will
(19:21):
help me in general be a happierperson and not be like wound up
all the time, but also improvemy performance a nd
powerlifting.
And that has proven to besomething that I've needed.
And now that I've gotten betterat, at creating some separation
between personal time and workand not feeling like I'm on all
the time that that has allowedme to feel less stress.
(19:46):
U m, and I went to continuethat, y ou k now, in this next
chapter of my life and not, andtr y to strike a good balance
there.
Shelly (19:55):
And some of my other podcasts I've talked about
mental health and wellbeing.
And, and when I was speaking toOliver Lam Watson out of UK, who
was the fencer in Tokyo, wetalked about Simone Biles and
her choice to take a step backfor this exact reason.
Do you think she made the rightchoice and do you think the
(20:15):
media and her team weresupportive enough for her?
Jake (20:20):
Um, yeah, I definitely think she made the right choice.
Um, gymnastics is a sport thatif your head isn't, you know, if
I'm, if I'm not in the game, I'mjust not going to lift the
weight and the spotters aregonna catch it, and I'm not
going to get hurt, but if she'snot in the game or if she's not
feeling good and not in a goodspot I would imagine you need to
(20:40):
have, you need to be peakedphysically and mentally to be
able to do what they do and notland on your neck or something
like that.
And so I, she has done more forthe sports and sport has ever
done for her or for team USA in,in my opinion.
So not that your skill levelwarrants you to, you know, to
(21:01):
take more personal time oranything like that, if you're
going through something, itshouldn't be a factor, but I'm,
I'm all for her making thatcall.
And you know, all of ourteammates stood up and they, and
they did, and they, and they youknow, sort of took her role and
they, and they got a metaldespite that, so I think the
(21:26):
media definitely came down onher o n warranting the little
hard, I think there's a lot ofpeople that aren't athletes in o
ur, I'm a nobody.
And I felt all kinds of pressureleading into the games.
And during the games, let alonesomebody that's a, m ulti-time
multiple Olympic gold medalistwith all kinds of endorsements
(21:48):
and everything that comes withthat.
Like, I've felt overwhelmed.
I can only imagine how much sheprobably did knowing that she
was kind of bo ggling t hings alittle bit.
And so I respect her decision.
Shelly (22:00):
Yeah.
One of the falls that she couldhave had, if she hadn't landed
the way she did, they said shecould have absolutely destroyed
her knee or her ankle orsomething.
So, um, yeah, I, I think mediadoesn't understand what really
goes into this and they don'ttake the time to educate and
just stop talking and listen andlearn.
Jake (22:22):
Yeah.
Shelly (22:22):
So, um, yeah, I, I'm very proud of the fact that she
took her own mental health andwellness.
Cause you can't redo that.
Jake (22:30):
Exactly.
Shelly (22:31):
It you could take years, It could take years to fix that.
So, yeah.
Yeah.
So one final question.
How can our listeners follow youand cheer you on with your, your
future weightliftingcompetitions coming up?
Jake (22:44):
So I put more of my stuff on Instagram, which is Jake from
weight farm is my Instagramname.
Um, everybody has always said asa joke, like clients, Jake, Jake
from state farm.
And I hear that about five timesa day.
Soit's just a clever play onwords for that.
Shelly (23:04):
Yeah.
So did you wear a red shirt onpurpose today, Jake?
(Laughter)
Jake (23:09):
I always, I typically wear red shirts often, so I probably
don't.
Um, I, I only feed into that.
I kind of, it is what it is.
Shelly (23:18):
So Jake, thank you so much for your time and catching
up with us after Tokyo andcongratulations on your personal
goals and your accomplishmentsin Tokyo and,
Jake (23:29):
Thank you!
Shelly (23:29):
And good luck with everything.
So nice to talk to you and haveyou on the show today.
Jake (23:33):
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Shelly (23:34):
Yep.
And to my listeners, thanks fortuning in for this extra special
episode and hit that like andsubscribe buttonso you don't
miss an episode of DisAbilityTalks.
Outro (24:06):
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of DisAbility
Talks.
Want to keep the conversationgoing then visit our website at
abilitiesinmotion.org or connectwith us on social media.
And remember don't dis myability.
Welcome to DisAbility Talks.
A podcast produced by Abilitiesin Motion.
I'm your host, Shelly Houser.
Join us for real conversationsand no nonsense talk from
everyday people withdisabilities, iving their most
independent everyday lives.
Tune in for the latest newssurrounding disability,
accessibility, and independencefor conversations, aren't
(00:21):
dissed, and stories that need tobe told aren't missed.
So let's talk.
Shelly (00:27):
Welcome back listeners.
I am your host Shelly Houser,and in today's extra special
episode I sit down with JakeSchrom from Carlisle PA who just
returned from the Tokyo 2020Paralympic games.
Prior to the games I had achance to interview his coach,
Mary Hodge from the para, powerlifting team out in Colorado.
At that time, Jake hadn't quitequalified yet.
(00:48):
So I wanted to sit down andcatch up with him to find out
what the games were like as hereached his all time personal
best in Tokyo.
Welcome home, Jake.
Thanks for being on the showtoday.
Jake (00:57):
Thanks for having me.
I'm excited.
Shelly (00:59):
Absolutely.
So you're all caught up onyou're asleep and you're back in
the regular routine.
Is that right?
Jake (01:04):
Yeah.
Life normal life hits me hard onthe way back.
Uh, you know, the day job has tostart.
So as soon as I got home, I gothome at like 8:00 PM on Tuesday
last week.
And by 4:00 AM the next morningI was working, um, I just, I
woke up at like three o'clockcouldn't sleep.
So I was like, well, I'll get toit.
You catch up.
(01:24):
Yeah.
Shelly (01:25):
So, well, congratulations on qualifying
and getting to Tokyo.
That's really exciting for you.
So how did you get involved withpara p owerlifting?
Jake (01:38):
So I always enjoyed weightlifting, like lifting
weights at the gym.
So when I was in high school andjunior high for like, um,
enhancing our ability infootball and basketball, we
would lift weights.
And so that's kind of where Igot the start of it.
Um, and I just always reallyliked it.
I liked, just the immediateresults that I saw of getting
stronger and more muscle andthings like that.
(02:00):
So once I graduated high schooland could focus more time on it,
b ecause I wasn't playing othersports, I just kind of delved
into it deeper.
And then once, u h, when I was20 and I got into a work
accident and ended up losing myleg, I was a student at Penn
State at the time and I was kind o f Googling just like
(02:23):
people running with prostheticsand the ability of athletics
program for t he Penn State hasfor disabled student athletes
popped up.
And so when I got involved withthem, we tried all different
kinds of things.
And I just kind of, went back topower lifting because that's
what I had always done.
(02:43):
And so that kind of just got meintroduced to the two
competitions where I qualifiedto make the national team and
kind of from there, that was myfocus on improving.
Shelly (02:56):
Do you think after, because you had that in that
mindset of regular powerlifting,do you think it kind of helped
you mentally and physically getback and maintain your health
and mobility after youraccident?
Jake (03:11):
Um, I mean, aside from just lifting weights, I was, I
was super active and athleticand, um, sports in general was a
huge part of my life before myaccident.
Um, so just, just craving, likegoal setting and getting better
(03:32):
in my athletic ability that,that was sort of like all I knew
when I got hurt.
So it was like a fun of game ifyou will, on the, on the
physical end of rehab after myaccident of like, okay, what's,
what's the next goal?
How fast can I get there once Ihit that?
What's the next step?
Like okay.
Walking without crutches, thingslike that.
(03:52):
So that was, um, that aspectcame a little easier to me.
Okay.
Shelly (03:56):
All right.
Cool.
So how did you find out that youqualified for Tokyo 2020?
And how did you take in thatmoment?
Was it surreal to you?
Jake (04:07):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So, um, in our sport each weightclass for each man or woman for
men, they take the top eight inthe world automatically.
So when I got done with my Dubaiworld cup, I had, basically went
for a bronze metal, which put,so I, I rather than securing a
(04:31):
spot because I thought I couldget both and I ended up missing
my lift.
So I ended up being just outsideof the top eight automatic
qualifier.
Um, so I had to rely onbasically it's called a
bipartite, but it's a wild cardkind of discretionary slot,
which I, I knew that I'd have astrong chance of getting, but
(04:53):
you never know because it's notautomatic.
So, once that competition wasdone, it was sort of like most
people knew if they hadqualified or not, unless you
were going to get thisbipartite.
So it was like a two week waitin terms of applying for it and
then waiting for the decision tobe made.
So two or two and a half weekslater, when that, when I finally
(05:14):
got the text that we got the, wegot the wild card slot, um, that
was such a, also moment, like itwas relief because I, I wasn't
sure I was confident, but Iwasn't sure.
And it was just a kind of likeconfirmation of like a job well
(05:34):
done on qualifying for somethingthat I had spent 10 years in the
process of working towards
Shelly (05:40):
This Coach Hodge there when you found out?
Jake (05:42):
She called me yesh.
So she called me and kind ofgave me the news that we got it,
but it wasn't official yet with,um, the USOPC.
They had to, it was still earlyin the morning.
Um, and they had their officeshadn't opened up to officially
accept.
So she called me to let me knowahead of time.
And then she sent me a text,later in the day when it was
(06:04):
officially accepted by team USA.
And then we were, we were goodto go.
Shelly (06:09):
Yeah.
So, yeah, you still made it andyou gave it your best and we're
going to talk about, how thatwas after the break, but how did
you and coach Hodge deal withCOVID and her supporting you a
nd, and Logan Universitysupporting you, I guess,
virtually how did that workduring COVID last year?
Jake (06:28):
Um, it was tough everybody, so, so most of us
were training at gyms.
And so like me, like mepersonally, I was training at a
gym and it closed.
So I went and trained at mybrother's makeshift gym in his
basement during the shutdownsand that lasted for a couple of
(06:50):
months.
And then eventually the gymsopened back up, but it was with
at the time, no certainty, ifthe games were going to be
canceled or postponed.
It was like a really, I figuredthey would be postponed.
And so I was just preparing thatlike, okay, we'll have another
year of preparation.
(07:11):
So try not try an d d oeverything in my power to not
lose ground and keep gettingbetter.
Um, b ut from like a teamperspective like the co ach h a
s j ust tr ied t o do their bestto keep everybody engaged
because everybody's in differentsituations.
Some are younger athletes thatare easily distracted, some are
older athletes and kind of havethe goal of Tokyo in m ind.
(07:33):
Um, t rying that the team triedto send we ights t o some people
that didn't have weights at homeso th at t hey could, they could
still do workouts or do somelevel of workouts.
And we tr y t o do a lot ofstuff virtually, like team
meetings to try to stay feelconnected and stay connected.
(07:54):
And we did some like, just somefun stuff, like trivia games to
try to learn special rules inour sport that most people
probably don't know just to tryto stay engaged.
Um, bu t once kind of like thesummer came around last year,
then gym s we r e so rt ofopening it ba ck up and
everybody was back to training.
And by that time we knew Tokyowas going to happen in 21.
(08:17):
Um, so it was kind of like allhands on deck preparing for the
world cups that were coming up.
Shelly (08:21):
You recently posted, I think on Instagram, how tasking
your journey has been to get youto Tokyo and, and, and to the
games.
How, how mentally, let's talkabout how mentally and
physically draining and taskingthis sport has been for you.
Jake (08:40):
Like all sports in general, the, the, um,
preparation like the, the, theday in day out, um, training
competing, recovering, that'salways very intense for all
sports in its own in its own,right?
Because not only are you tryingto do something at the highest
level, but you also have adisability and that takes energy
(09:00):
away from you.
And some days are good.
Some days are bad, you gottawork with that.
Um, but also you know, the lastyear and a half through the
pandemic you know, I work in thelandscape business and anything
that's landscaping are,construction-related never,
never shut down.
It was busier than twice as busyas it has ever been.
(09:23):
I mean, it's always busy, but ithas, it's been incredibly busy.
So dealing with 60 hour workweeks, week in, week out on top
of trying to train and, anddealing with daily changes to
COVID criticals and things likethat, um, the whole prep, or
sort of like march towards Tokyoand has just been, um, there's
(09:46):
been no break.
So I feel like it's, it's beenworth every step of the way, but
it's been very draining.
Um, so then as we get closer tothe Tokyo, there's so much more,
everything is amplified evenmore because we're getting
emails on a daily basis of COVIDprotocol.
Protocol is changing download.
(10:08):
We had several apps that we hadto download to be able to be in
the village so they can trackour whereabouts for like contact
tracing and then immigration hadits own set of apps and forms to
fill out.
So it was just a lot morepaperwork than you ever have to
deal with for, for internationalcompetitions.
Um, on top of the fear of like,well, I still have to work and
(10:30):
meet a lot of people.
And if I get COVID within 90days of the games, like you're
not allowed to go or under mostcircumstances, you're not
allowed to go.
Um, so there was just a wholelot of like added stress on top
of like the competition itselfwas the easiest thing in this
whole last two months,everything else has just been,
uh, like a distraction.
(10:53):
But like I said, it's, it's, Iguess it comes with the
territory.
Shelly (10:57):
I feel you can take a breather and get back to daily
life, but take a breather,knowing that you got there after
all these hurdles that you'vehad to overcome.
Jake (11:09):
Yep.
Yeah.
I feel I welcome normal liferight now because I feel like I
can, there, there's a smallwindow of relaxation on the
backside, not having to keep upwith all that stuff.
Shelly (11:23):
Yeah.
I think you deserve it.
Give yourself, you don't atleast a week before Tokyo, you
also were in two other worldcups.
You mentioned Dubai was one ofthem.
Tell us about your competitionin Dubai and where was the other
competition?
Jake (11:36):
The other one was in Manchester.
So Manchester was in March.
That was one of the early ones.
Um, and that was during theirtime of being shut.
Uh, the UK was shut down.
So we, we were only allowed togo because of special sport
exemption.
To be honest, I felt like wewere in a prison cell the whole
time.
I'm just being very blunt andhonest because we had to stay in
(12:04):
our rooms 24, 7 and only leaveto go get food, which was take
out and then go back to yourroom to eat by yourself and then
only leave to go to competition.
Um, so it was very much no, butthere was no spread of COVID
while we're there.
So while it was very tough, um,it was worth it because they did
(12:25):
a great job of managing risks.
Um, so that was where we were inMarch.
And then I was, so we had ourwhole team there and then sort
of, I was basically the only onefrom our team that went to Dubai
because I had the strongestchance of qualifying for Tokyo.
So I'm glad that that was inJune.
(12:45):
Um, and I'm glad that I wentbecause I ended up increasing my
personal, my internationalranking by 10 kilograms and my
personal best.
So that was a huge jump toagain, I felt just shy of by my
own mistake.
I felt just shy at the topeight, but showing such
(13:05):
improvement since March kind of,I think gave me good footing for
why I would deserve the wildcard.
Shelly (13:17):
I think with that, we're going to take a quick commercial
break.
AD (13:20):
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organization dedicated tohelping individuals with
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Abilities in Motion strides toeliminate psychological
stereotypes, physical barriers,and outdated attitudes that
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(13:41):
for individuals withdisabilities.
For more information aboutprograms and services, Abilities
in Motion provides call 610-376-0010, or visit our website at
www.abilitiesinmotion.org.
Shelly (13:58):
So we're back.
This is Shelly Houser, and I'mtalking to Jake Schrom, who's
the para powerlifting Tokyo 2021champion.
So I want to talk about yourincredible achievements in
Tokyo.
You came in sixth place in theworld.
That is a huge, huge deal.
And you actually had your bestlift weight of what 480 pounds.
(14:21):
What does that translate inkilograms to?
Jake (14:23):
That's 218 kilograms?
Shelly (14:26):
So you can only go up from here, right?
Jake (14:29):
Yeah, I've, I've, uh, I mean every couple of months,
every training block I keepimproving.
So it's been really cool.
Um, to know that I can kind ofgo like all in, on everything
that our coaching staff wants usto do with like nutrition and
sports psychology and recoveryand things like that.
(14:50):
And I've done that and I justkeep producing better results
each time.
So it's been really, reallyrewarding in that regard.
Shelly (14:58):
Time, will coach Hodge give you since you're back from
Tokyo to take a break where shehas, she already cracked the
whip on you getting intotraining and diet already?
Jake (15:08):
Um, so we have world championships in November right.
Like we would leave the weekafter Thanksgiving.
So everybody pretty much takeslike a week off.
Um, and then it's kinda likeright back to it, usually after
the Paralympic games and afterthe Olympic games, when you have
a normal schedule that rest ofthe year, and then into that
(15:30):
next year, you have like a yearof like downtime to kind of
like, it's such an emotionalhigh and then an adrenaline dump
on the backside that it, thatyou peak, you, you set your
puritization to peak for thisbig day and then to come around
and do a world championship twomonths, three months later, it's
like very difficult in our sportto get back your, your strength
(15:54):
level kind of drops on thebackside, and then you have to
work on building it back up.
And so it's very hard to get to,to get to your, a game again, in
like 11, 12 weeks,
Shelly (16:04):
It's actually better that you stay on task and in
that focus zone rather thantaking too much of a time off.
Jake (16:12):
I guess I should say it's kind of not too well-known yet,
but it's official.
Um, just in terms of my plansmoving forward, I'm actually
going to be retired.
Well, I am retired currently andtaking some time off to focus on
our family and things like that.
So I'm not going to be at thatworld championship and the, you
(16:32):
need to be at specificcompetitions to be on the
pathway to be eligible for, forParis.
So I'm, I'm going to basicallyforfeit the next, I still plan
on training.
I still complainant plan ondoing some competition, but just
not so much on the internationalstage.
So I can be I've been travelingso much in the last couple of
(16:53):
years that I need to kind of, Iwant to be home more and do some
vacations with my wife and, andhopefully start a family here
soon and stuff like that.
So that's my, that's myimmediate goal in the next, the
next couple of years.
Shelly (17:08):
Yeah.
That's what you're going for thegold for next time.
Jake (17:10):
Yeah.
I don't want to, I don't want tofaill that that task!
Shelly (17:14):
Exactly.
Your wife, I'm sure appreciatesthat.
I'm sure.
Jake (17:20):
Yeah, Yeah!
Shelly (17:20):
So y our para p ower l ifting, isn't your only passion.
You talked earlier about thelandscape company that you work
with.
U h, you also have a degree inlandscape architecture, correct?
Jake (17:31):
Yeah.
It's a landscape contracting,which is slightly different than
landscape architecture, butyeah, that's, that's what I do
is I design landscapes for likearound, um, businesses or homes
and things like that.
Shelly (17:45):
So this is in and around the Lancaster county Carlisle
area.
Jake (17:49):
Yeah.
So we work basically f romaround Hershey, PA down to
Hagerstown, Maryland, Frederick,Maryland in parts of West
Virginia.
Shelly (17:59):
So how do you, how are you going to moving forward
since you're kind of taking alittle step back and
powerlifting.
How are you going to balance,you know, your main focus has
shifted towards family andfamily life?
You know, how are you going tobalance these two passions of
yours?
Jake (18:16):
And I mean, that's been my, my biggest internal struggle
for the last 10 years sincegraduating college and, working
full-time has always been, ourbusinesses, our family business.
So I'm very much invested in it.
And so I, I work a lot of hours.
(18:37):
I'm not forced to do that.
That's just how I am.
Um, so balancing lots of workhours versus training has always
been the struggle of what, whattakes...
try and do get both and notcompromise on both.
And so as a result, I've kind ofdropped off pretty much
(18:58):
everything else.
And I only, you know, I stillhave family time, but w e're
like weekends, but during theweek it's only work or lifting
and not really anything else.
U m, in the last year with oursort of our goals on the team
have been to lessen my stress atwork, which will help my, will
(19:21):
help me in general be a happierperson and not be like wound up
all the time, but also improvemy performance a nd
powerlifting.
And that has proven to besomething that I've needed.
And now that I've gotten betterat, at creating some separation
between personal time and workand not feeling like I'm on all
the time that that has allowedme to feel less stress.
(19:46):
U m, and I went to continuethat, y ou k now, in this next
chapter of my life and not, andtr y to strike a good balance
there.
Shelly (19:55):
And some of my other podcasts I've talked about
mental health and wellbeing.
And, and when I was speaking toOliver Lam Watson out of UK, who
was the fencer in Tokyo, wetalked about Simone Biles and
her choice to take a step backfor this exact reason.
Do you think she made the rightchoice and do you think the
(20:15):
media and her team weresupportive enough for her?
Jake (20:20):
Um, yeah, I definitely think she made the right choice.
Um, gymnastics is a sport thatif your head isn't, you know, if
I'm, if I'm not in the game, I'mjust not going to lift the
weight and the spotters aregonna catch it, and I'm not
going to get hurt, but if she'snot in the game or if she's not
feeling good and not in a goodspot I would imagine you need to
(20:40):
have, you need to be peakedphysically and mentally to be
able to do what they do and notland on your neck or something
like that.
And so I, she has done more forthe sports and sport has ever
done for her or for team USA in,in my opinion.
So not that your skill levelwarrants you to, you know, to
(21:01):
take more personal time oranything like that, if you're
going through something, itshouldn't be a factor, but I'm,
I'm all for her making thatcall.
And you know, all of ourteammates stood up and they, and
they did, and they, and they youknow, sort of took her role and
they, and they got a metaldespite that, so I think the
(21:26):
media definitely came down onher o n warranting the little
hard, I think there's a lot ofpeople that aren't athletes in o
ur, I'm a nobody.
And I felt all kinds of pressureleading into the games.
And during the games, let alonesomebody that's a, m ulti-time
multiple Olympic gold medalistwith all kinds of endorsements
(21:48):
and everything that comes withthat.
Like, I've felt overwhelmed.
I can only imagine how much sheprobably did knowing that she
was kind of bo ggling t hings alittle bit.
And so I respect her decision.
Shelly (22:00):
Yeah.
One of the falls that she couldhave had, if she hadn't landed
the way she did, they said shecould have absolutely destroyed
her knee or her ankle orsomething.
So, um, yeah, I, I think mediadoesn't understand what really
goes into this and they don'ttake the time to educate and
just stop talking and listen andlearn.
Jake (22:22):
Yeah.
Shelly (22:22):
So, um, yeah, I, I'm very proud of the fact that she
took her own mental health andwellness.
Cause you can't redo that.
Jake (22:30):
Exactly.
Shelly (22:31):
It you could take years, It could take years to fix that.
So, yeah.
Yeah.
So one final question.
How can our listeners follow youand cheer you on with your, your
future weightliftingcompetitions coming up?
Jake (22:44):
So I put more of my stuff on Instagram, which is Jake from
weight farm is my Instagramname.
Um, everybody has always said asa joke, like clients, Jake, Jake
from state farm.
And I hear that about five timesa day.
Soit's just a clever play onwords for that.
Shelly (23:04):
Yeah.
So did you wear a red shirt onpurpose today, Jake?
(Laughter)
Jake (23:09):
I always, I typically wear red shirts often, so I probably
don't.
Um, I, I only feed into that.
I kind of, it is what it is.
Shelly (23:18):
So Jake, thank you so much for your time and catching
up with us after Tokyo andcongratulations on your personal
goals and your accomplishmentsin Tokyo and,
Jake (23:29):
Thank you!
Shelly (23:29):
And good luck with everything.
So nice to talk to you and haveyou on the show today.
Jake (23:33):
Thank you.
I appreciate it.
Shelly (23:34):
Yep.
And to my listeners, thanks fortuning in for this extra special
episode and hit that like andsubscribe buttonso you don't
miss an episode of DisAbilityTalks.
Outro (24:06):
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of DisAbility
Talks.
Want to keep the conversationgoing then visit our website at
abilitiesinmotion.org or connectwith us on social media.
And remember don't dis myability.
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