On Saturday, Dec. 7, Holbrook’s very own Pat Serna set the national record in the deadlift event when he attended the United States Powerlifting Association’s (USPA) 2019 Christmas Classic in Peoria at the convention center lifting a hefty 585 pounds.
Serna who is also the supervisor for the City of Holbrook Street Department, assistant coach for the Holbrook High School Junior varsity football team and linebacker coach for HHS varsity football team, graduated from HHS in 2001.
An avid lifter now, Serna said he only dabbled in a few sports throughout junior high and high school. “I wrestled in junior high and I played football in high school,” he added, but due to underlying health issues said he was not able to participate as often as he wanted.
In 2013, Serna said he and his doctor had finally figured out his health issues and he was able to begin doing more of the activities that he’d been limited in for most of his life. When he began assisting with the operations and maintenance of the Holbrook Fitness Center and after spending a fair amount of time there, the gym became a way of relieving stress for the single father and something both he and his 14-year-old daughter Jennifer enjoy together. “Me and Jen, that’s kind of our thing,” said Serna. Serna said what he considered a hobby became much more over the course of the next four years into what Serna called “kind of an obsession.”
In 2017, Serna began competing in the Submaster Class which is for men ages 35-39. According to Serna, a friend of his and fellow gym-goer Brandon Queen invited Serna and a few others to join him at the USPA Europa Powerlifting event in Phoenix. Though Serna had never competed before, that didn’t stop him from placing first in the squat, deadlift and overall total.
Since then, Serna’s entered numerous competitions and has yet to return home empty handed. Before setting the national record for the deadlift, Serna has also set multiple state records including his most recent in the open class, which is all ages, for the bench press, managing 342 pounds.
Typically, a competitor in the tested division, which requires that all participants be drug tested to ensure they are drug-free, Serna has tried his hand against the non-tested and still managed to set a state record of 575 pounds in the dead lift event, also open class.
Overall, Serna has placed first in six events in the two short years he’s been lifting for sport and continues to compete. Serna’s many accomplishments have proven to be a true inspiration and demonstration of the possibilities brought by determination, a strong support system and courage through obstacles.
