YPSILANTI, Mich. – Watching 22-year-old Cranon Worford work out is impressive.
After a quick warmup, she was squatting in front of our cameras with 135 pounds, 225 pounds to 315 pounds and she didn’t even break a sweat.
Turns out, the former track athlete just figured out she’s pretty good at picking up and throwing down very heavy objects.
“Growing up with a parent who was a pro athlete, he was serious and stern,” Cranon says of her dad, Joe. “My dad pushed track and field on me.”
Cranon’s dad, Joe Worford, was a football letter-winner at Eastern Michigan and even made it to the NFL with the Detroit Lions.
Early on, father and daughter had a plan for Cranon to run track, first at Lincoln High School and later at the University of Kansas.
“I wanted to leave and expand,” she said. “My dream was to be in the Power Five and I was able to achieve it. But, when I got there, I struggled with mental and physical health as a D-1 athlete.”
Cranon came home to Ypsilanti and as she describes it, hit rock bottom.
“I did a leg press with 1,000 pounds and I did this squat with 315 pounds,” Cranon said of the videos. “When I have a spot next to me and someone tries to touch the weight, I said, ‘I got it.’ That went viral. One video is up to 4.7 million views and one around 4.3 million.”
Cranon did some research and realized for her age and weight class, she was already lifting heavier weights than the American Powerlifting Federation world records.
Why not try to break those records?
So, that’s her plan two months after getting in powerlifting seriously.
Currently the American Powerlifting Federation world record for her age and weight in deadlift is 402.3 pounds. In front of our cameras, she deadlifted 405 pounds.
She goes for the world records in squat, deadlift and bench press April 23 in Toledo at the Meet on the Street.
But Cranon said if she breaks the records or not, she’s found her new passion. Look for her on social media showing other women that strength is beautiful.