The Rik's Mind Podcast Episode 71- Bill Gillespie

Bill Gillespie

Strength & Conditioning Coach, World Record Bench Press holder (1129.8 lbs., 2x NCAA Shot Put National Champion

Today we are joined by Bill Gillespie. Bill is a Strength & Conditioning Coach with over 40 years of collegiate sports and NFL experience. Bill is also a world-renowned and highly decorated weightlifter. He is a 133-time and current world record holder in the equipped bench press with an unbelievable lift of 1129.8 lbs (!). He just set his current record on Jan. 22, 2022, at the 365Strong New Year Power Bash in Charlotte, NC, at the age of 62. Bill is a 23-time world champion in the bench press.

Bill attended college at Liberty University, where he was a four-time All-American and two-time small college national champion in the shot put. He held the school record for 24 years with an outdoor mark of 55’ 8-1/2".

Gillespie started off his brilliant career as an assistant strength and conditioning coach from 1983-1991 at Liberty University. After leaving Liberty in 1991, Bill became a member of the strength and conditioning staff at t he University of Washington, where he coached for 11 years. He started off as an assistant coach in 1991 and was named Pac-10 Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year. In 1999, he was promoted to the Director of Strength and Conditioning. During his time there, Washington made nine bowl appearances and three consecutive trips to the Rose Bowl.

In 2003, Bill joined the strength and conditioning staff for the Seattle Seahawks in the National Football League where he stayed until 2005 before making his return to Liberty as the Director of Strength and Conditioning. Bill is a native of Tacoma, Washington. He and his wife Anita, have two children, Cameron and Rachel. You can find more about Bill on his Instagram.