Lon Kilgore PhD

Lon Kilgore earned a Ph.D. from the Department of Anatomy and Physiology at Kansas State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. He has competed in weightlifting to the national and international level since 1972 and coached his first athletes from a garage gym to national-championship event medals in 1974. He has also competed in powerlifting and currently holds several continental and world records, won his division in the first CrossFit Total event, was a decent high school wrestler, caught a number of crabs during his short collegiate rowing stint, was and still is a hack at golf, and was a regional fish cutting champion and competitor at nationals. He has worked in the trenches – as a qualified national-level coach or scientific consultant – with athletes from rank novices to the Olympic elite, and as a consultant to fitness businesses. He was co-developer of the Basic Barbell Training and Exercise Science specialty seminars for CrossFit (mid-2000s) and was an all-level certifying instructor for USA Weightlifting for more than a decade. He is a decorated military veteran (sergeant, U.S. Army). His anatomical illustration, authorship, and co-authorship efforts include several bestselling books and works in numerous research journals. His fitness standards for weightlifting and calisthenics have been included in textbooks and multitudinous websites. After leaving a 20-year plus professorial career in higher academia, his teachings can be found in vocational-education courses offered through the Kilgore Academy, and in articles like these.