RICHMOND, Va. – Dr. Mychal Smith lives what some would call a double life. He lifts hundreds of pounds in international weightlifting competitions and also teaches biochemistry classes at Virginia Commonwealth University. While the activities may seem to be complete opposites, one stable, the other adrenalizing, Smith integrates the two.
“At the beginning of every semester, I do an introduction and just show them [the students] videos of my lifts and they think it’s really good because a lot of professors probably do something as far as trying to stay in shape but I don’t think there are too many that are doing Strongman and lifting as heavy as I’m lifting,” Smith said.
Smith was most recently invited to compete at the Arnold Amateur World Championships. He qualified as one of the top 80 athletes globally.
The competition features a press medley with six implements. Smith lifted a 240-pound keg, a 275-pound log, a 220-pound dumbbell, a 260-pound sandbag and a 300-pound axle all while competing against other men in his weight class.
As a scientist, Smith uses his weightlifting as an opportunity to experiment with his own body.
“I keep data. I write down every lift and every time I do a lift just to make sure to see I’m progressing and getting stronger,” Smith said.
Smith says he fell in love with chemistry because it is logic-based. He enjoys piecing together information; “I’m not the best at memorization. I need to understand, ‘Why does it work the way it works?’”
Smith connects weightlifting and biochemistry in his classroom, “through nutrition and talking about where your muscles store glycogen, talking about glycogen storage, or how your body breaks down glucose.”
Exercising gives Smith a real-life reference to use in the classroom. Many of his lessons surround bodily functions.
Many students view Smith as a role model. He says showing videos of his Strongman competitions often ignites a love for weightlifting in his class.
His main piece of advice is “to do research and look at what works for your body because everybody is different and things might work well for one person but not the other.”
