INTERVIEW WITH CARLTON

What kind of training is your business built around?

I designed WPT to be built around training for athletes, corporate executives, business professional men, and women.  Training specialties include speed and strength training, sports performance training, weight gain, balance & stability, and weight loss.  WPT has the capacity to accommodate you with whatever athletic or fitness goals you have.  After the initial consultation an individualized program will be designed and tailored to your needs. 

What is your background?

I was born and raised on my family's farm just outside of Danville, VA.  I grew up working hard on the tobacco farm and going to church every Sunday.  I was always involved in sports from a young age and started playing football at the age of eight years old.  My dad went to Virginia Tech so it is needless to say I grew up a huge Hokie fan.  I really consider myself blessed to have had the opportunity to play at Virginia Tech.  I enjoyed every minute of hard work and success during my college career.  

What got you interested in Speed and Strength Training?

I started working out in high school and honestly just fell in love with training.  I remember being told that I was too small to start at tailback and linebacker before my sophmore season so I took that to heart.  After some hard work in the weight room over the summer I started at those positions and made All District.  Three years later I found myself training under one of the best strength coaches in America at Virginia Tech under Coach Gentry.  To be honest I enjoyed our offseason training programs as much as playing on Saturdays.  There's something to be said about reaping what you sow.  I loved benefiting from hard work and the results really make you appreciate the work you put in to get them.  Each summer at Virginia Tech we were given workout shirts with a slogan on the back.  One that sticks out to me read "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" and I couldn't agree more with that statement.  

You seem to be a big advocator in a blue collar work ethic.  What does that mean to you?

I can't say enough about a blue collar work ethic.  That's what my business is built upon and that's what makes me love what I do.  I guess it was instilled in me from a young age. During the summer I remember getting up at 5:30 a.m. to work on the tobacco farm until football practice at 8:00 a.m.  After practice was over it was back to the tobacco fields to work for the remainder of the afternoon.  I think that carried over to the football field and it made those hard workouts and practices seem not so hard.  I can say that all of the college football players that I played with and against had amazing athletic ability.  A lot of the guys that are still playing today in the NFL have that blue collar work ethic to go along with their athletic ability and NFL prototypical size.  Once you get to that level it takes a killer work ethic on top of talent and size to survive.   

Who do you consider to be your mentors?

I was very blessed to study and work under some of the most respected names in America including Virginia Tech Football and Strength staff as well as Competitive Edge Sports staff in Atlanta, GA.  I learned a lot from those experiences and was able to develop my own training program based on what I learned at both places.    

What makes your training different?

I have some unique training methods that are very different from typical programs that youth, high school, college, or pro programs follow.  I am a big advocator in traditional strength training but I also believe in the cutting edge technology dealing with movement based training concerning speed and agility.  When you mix those together it makes for a powerful combination.