Henry Combs Lifts His Way to Success

Hannah Resley, Editor

Being a well balanced student is everyone’s dream. It’s hard to achieve, and yet senior, Henry Combs, has figured out a way to be a musician, high achieving powerlifter, and still make school a priority. 

Combs says the key to his success as a balanced student is, “little sleep” and taking “time to plan everything out”. Now this may not be appealing to every student, but if you are as dedicated to your hobbies as Combs is, you make it work.

Last year Combs “broke a state squat record for [his] division and qualified for nationals. So [he’ll] be competing in teen nationals in 2023”. Combs squatted 387 pounds at a weight of 160 pounds.

When asked what made him start his journey into powerlifting his answer was he, “met an old guy that was really, really strong.” Combs estimated that he was around 70 years old and is still “the strongest person he has ever seen.” When this man told Combs about powerlifting he was instantly intrigued and went to work to achieve his goals. 

Combs spends an average of three hours a day at the gym, working hard to increase his max repetitions in squating and other events he competes in. He plans to continue to power lift in college and has hopes to qualify for collegiate nationals in powerlifting. 

Along with his impressive powerlifting skills, Combs spends his free time playing music. While he doesn’t feel as serious about this hobby as he does with powerlifting, it is still something Combs is very passionate about. 

Combs plays the bass and spends time playing with his friends. He feels that making new friends has been the biggest impact music has had on his life. His father is a musician who runs a music school out of Combs’ house which has had an impact on his love for music. Henry Combs helps his father by volunteering to help put on concerts and doing background work to help the music school. 

Henry hopes to continue playing music in college, but is most passionate about continuing his powerlifting in college. Combs is most excited about college in his future, and is excited to continue working towards his goal of going to collegiate nationals for powerlifting. 

This article was initially published in the February issue of the Arapahoe Herald. There was an error in the printed version citing the incorrect squat record weight. Henry lifted 387 pounds, not 287 pounds as stated in the printed version.