“How bad do you want it,” is what Brandon Zumhingst tells his son, Brownstown Central Junior, Cash Zumhingst, who has committed his life to weightlifting and physical fitness.

Cash has gone ‘headfirst’ into this lifestyle since he was a freshman, which includes a lot of ‘sacrifices,’ but can be extremely rewarding in terms of health and strength.

Zumhingst put his work ‘to the test’ last weekend in the United States Powerlifting Indiana State Championships in South Bend. Breaking four state records in the process; Zumhingst now owns the state record in Group B for 16- and 17-year-olds in deadlift (523), squat (518), bench (347) and total weight (1,388). Contestants in this group cannot weigh more than 220 pounds.

Cash spoke on the feeling of holding these four records.

“It is relieving for me personally, having high expectations for myself, I worked hard for it, and I’m proud that I was able to achieve it,” he said.

When he began this lifestyle, he looked up to The Rock and Mark Wahlberg as his first ‘inspirations.’ The high schooler produced his own training regime, working out three times a day.

“He created his own weightlifting program,” Brandon said. “I have never seen someone so dedicated to something.”

Zumhingst is hoping to compete again in the late summer and will gear up for the USA Powerlifting High School Nationals in 2025. The contest takes place in Appleton, Wisconsin, in March of next year. Cash was asked about any other future goals he has in weightlifting.

“I would like to continue doing this as long as I can,” Zumhingst said. “I would eventually love to get to Raw Nationals, that’s a long-term goal of mine. If I could even move up to getting a national record, that would be amazing.”

Zumhingst is not just lifting, he is looking to make a career in kinesiology, which is the ‘study of movement.’

The term also is used to describe a form of therapy that uses muscle monitoring (biofeedback) to look at what may be causing ‘imbalances’ in the body and attempts to relieve these imbalances.

Cash is hoping to major in this field at Indiana University Bloomington. The school is attractive for many reasons according to Zumhingst.

“They have the best program for it in the state,” Zumhingst said. “It is close to home as well. I know for sure I want to do something in that realm, would love to do that and go from there.”

The junior spoke about the growth of his lifting techniques.

“I’m way more knowledgeable about how to lift correctly and safely,” Zumhingst said. “I didn’t have a whole lot of information when I started, but I’ve spent a lot of time researching and watching videos to improve my techniques. I have learned how to be safer when it comes to lifting.”

Cash said his favorite part of weightlifting is the ability to go in everyday and improve yourself. His father spoke about the best ‘part’ of watching Cash compete in weightlifting.

“The satisfaction of all his hard work,” he said. “Seeing the numbers on the board after his attempts and seeing Cash work so hard for these goals is what I enjoy the most about it. I am extremely proud of him and his dedication to something he enjoys.”

Zumhingst mentioned there would be ‘more to come.’