He does heavy lifting
Taking after his father, defensive tackle John Simon revels in being a 'workout freak'
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
By Tim May
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Kyle Robertson | Dispatch
Always in search of a new and challenging workout, sophomore John Simon recently was recognized by ESPN.com as being one of the top 10 "workout freaks" in college football.
Normally, a parent would be angered to hear someone refer to his or her kid as a freak.
But make it "workout freak," and John Simon III has no problem with the reference to John Simon IV, a defensive tackle at Ohio State.
"I take it as a compliment," his father said. "He works extremely hard, and he sacrifices a lot. Growing up, he would miss parties or doing something with other kids on occasion if he knew he had to get a workout in. That was always his priority."
It started when he was about 3 years old. His father, who is a salesman and - big surprise - a weight-lifting freak in Youngstown, would take him to the gym and sit him at a table with a toy to distract him. It didn't work.
"He'd see me and the guys working and say, 'Can I try this?'" his father said. "So, supervised, we'd let him do a chin up or a press, something small. It grew from there."
