She may only stand at a height of 4’11; however, Kristi Polizzano is making mountain sized moves.

To start, Kristi found a love of lifting heavy weights at a very young age. She’s competed at a few world championships for powerlifting, with her highest finish being 4th in the world as a junior competitor.

For reference, this 4’11 powerhouse has the personal bests of:

• Squat: 300 lbs 
• Deadlift: 315 lbs
• Bench: 185 lbs

However, she has done something much more amazing than her competition total. Kristi just hosted the first sanctioned powerlifting meet in a prison… IN DECADES!

Kristi has found a passion in working in prison setting through her work with the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program. This program involves having college students study alongside incarcerated men and women. Check out the Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program here: www.insideoutcenter.org

However, just being part of this program is not enough for Kristi. She wanted to take things a step further. After finding out that there was a powerlifting team at the prison where she works, Kristi’s curiosity took over. How could she combine her two passions into a meaningful vice for incarcerated athletes? Also, what is Kristi going to do next?

Listen to this episode of The Bomenclature Podcast to hear all about this amazing journey!

*Want to get involved? Have questions for Kristi? Want to donate to incarcerated athlete powerlifting memberships and meet expenses? Kristi can be reached at [email protected]

SCI Graterford Powerlifting Results:

State Records:

Raw Open Total:

• John Brookins 723.5 kg

Raw Open Total Push Pull: 

• Dave Francisco 199.6 kg
• John Brookins 492.2 kg

Raw Open Deadlift: 

• John Brookins 326.6 kg

“H’s” Training Program:

Thanks to these great individuals for putting on this meet. More meet pictures coming soon!