Athletic Lab is the training home of professional and elite athletes as well as adults looking to get in the best shape of their lives. We have a diverse and vibrant community. The common thread across all our members is that they are hard-working and goal-minded.

Each month we highlight one (or more) of our members in our member of the month feature. For the month of July, we’ve chosen our Weightlifting Team. The Athletic Lab Weightlifting Team is one of our 3 competitive teams. Despite our forced facility closure in response to COVID-19, the team has been diligently training in their garage gyms and being coached in virtual practice sessions.

You can also check out our previous members of the month here.

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Name: Natasha Duell

What city were you born in San Jose, CA

What do you do when you’re not working out at Athletic Lab (occupation, hobbies, etc)? Has your occupation changed during the Pandemic I’m a postdoc fellow in developmental psychology at UNC. I research how and why teens make decisions, especially risky ones! Fortunately, my occupation has not changed during the Pandemic. I’m able to do all my work from home. In my free time I enjoy hiking and camping with my husband and our puppy!

What’s your favorite part of being on the Athletic Lab Weightlifting team It feels so good to finally have found a space where I can focus on Olympic weightlifting. For years, I tried to get my “fix” in other gyms and through adjacent classes like CrossFit. In the few months that I’ve been working with Jarrod, I’ve improved so much more than all my previous years of training combined! The exceptional facility at AL is also a bonus.

How are you staying fit and active during the Pandemic I’m still receiving programming from Jarrod. At first, I was doing barbell work and bodyweight circuits in the guest bedroom of my apartment. But we just moved to a house so now I’m enjoying my regular programming in my new garage gym.

What has motivated you to continue training during the COVID-19 The motivation comes from within. I genuinely enjoy weightlifting. Also, exercise is an outlet for me. It keeps my stress at bay and gives me an opportunity to improve myself with each session.

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Name: Matt Konar

What city were you born in Gdansk, Poland

What do you do when you’re not working out at Athletic Lab (occupation, hobbies, etc) Day job is being an architect. Owner of Matthew Konar Architect, an architecture firm that specializes in design of food and beverage, from dirt to dish, from farms to restaurants. Outside of work and lifting, I am renovating a 1930s farmhouse in Durham as well as love to escape on adventures, like getting ‘lost’ in Barcelona for a month, walking to the end of North America in Northern Canada and hiking up volcanoes in Guatemala.

Has your occupation changed during the Pandemic Definitely working longer hours during the pandemic in order to support the food and beverage industry. and let’s remember to support all our favorite food and beverage concepts who thrive on the gathering of people. Even if we do not visit them in person, let’s order out, get a gift card online, or just leave an extra generous tip!

What’s your favorite part of being on the Athletic Lab Weightlifting team Definitely the vibe and hard work of my fellow lifters – oh, and Jarrod is pretty cool, too!

How are you staying fit and active during the Pandemic I built a basement gym in the old Farmhouse and had to just grind it out late nights in the dark!

What has motivated you to continue training during the COVID-19 Just remind myself that this shall pass and, one day soon, we will have competitions again, Nationals, PanAms and Worlds, when this Pandemic settles down.

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Name: Rachel McKinney

What city were you born in Apex, NC

What do you do when you’re not working out at Athletic Lab (occupation, hobbies, etc)? I’ve been spending more time in my room because of the pandemic which has inspired me to totally rearrange and redecorate everything! It was fun shopping for everything I needed and it’s nice to be in a space that feels fresh and new.

Has your occupation changed during the Pandemic Pre-pandemic I did a lot of work freelancing behind-the-scenes for TV broadcasts of college sports, so I’m looking forward to the day where it’s safe for student athletes to get back to competing- and broadcasting it to your living room!

What’s your favorite part of being on the Athletic Lab Weightlifting team It’s hard to pick just one favorite part! I love that even after a year of being on the team there is still so much more to learn and room for growth as an athlete. A few years ago I never would have thought I would be doing something like weightlifting and I’m really proud of how far I’ve come and grateful for the community I’ve met along the way.

How are you staying fit and active during the Pandemic I’ve been attending Zoom sessions with the weightlifting team from my garage gym, but I’ve definitely been missing the Athletic Lab atmosphere (and air conditioning!). I’ve also been going on a lot more walks around town as well.

What has motivated you to continue training during the COVID-19 Training gives me something to look forward to during a time when it’s really easy for the days to seem really drawn out and boring. I’ve been very grateful to be able to continue my training during these past months. Plus, it’s fun to be able to spend time with Coach Jarrod and my teammates even if it is just online.

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Name: Haley Seaton

What city were you born in Raleigh, NC
What do you do when you’re not working out at Athletic Lab (occupation, hobbies, etc)? Work for Duke Energy as an Envs scientist and love going to shows/festivals.

What’s your favorite part of being on the Athletic Lab Weightlifting team I really enjoy being around a group of athletes that are very positive and always work hard in the gym.

How are you staying fit and active during the Pandemic I’m weightlifting only about 3 times a week inside of my family barn (the horses don’t like it ha).

What has motivated you to continue training during the COVID-19 Motivation has been very up and down during this time period. I didn’t have much equipment to work with in the beginning which was very frustrating considering weightlifting was my main outlet. I plan on competing once this mess is over with so I can’t be lazy and let time pass me by without being productive with the barbell. I love weightlifting so I’ll always find a way to do it, even if I only have a bar.

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Name: Tanya Watson

What city were you born in Near Seattle, WA

What do you do when you’re not working out at Athletic Lab (occupation, hobbies, etc) I am the CEO of a video game company called Squanch Games. I’ve got two busy kids, ages 2 and 6. I don’t have a lot of free time between that and weightlifting, but back before the pandemic, my husband and I could be seen out at the racetrack, driving our 2003 BMW 330i’s at VIR.

Has your occupation changed during the Pandemic No, thank goodness. Games have been a nice escape for folks right now.

What’s your favorite part of being on the Athletic Lab Weightlifting team? The coaching. Jarrod puts care into his programming, and clearly cares about the athletes and his team. I’ve been a member of a lot of different lifting gyms, and have been a coach myself (back when I had the time), and this gym and the coaching are top-notch. Some of the best that I’ve experienced.

How are you staying fit and active during the Pandemic I do a trail ride in Umstead park 2x/week and weight lift 4x/week. It keeps me sane.

What has motivated you to continue training during the COVID-19? I am one of the few in the position to have had equipment before the pandemic started, so I’ve been very motivated to use it. The zoom weightlifting meetups have been super useful for me too – I’m there every day because I know Jarrod and the team will be there, and I don’t want to miss out. Plus, I just want to be strong :) :)