Dr. Ryan/ Mr. Alcantara
Ryan Alcantara is a Penn State student who has taken on the arduous task of becoming a medical doctor. The Penn State curriculum is very challenging, but Ryan has a method of releasing his stress and over coming his challenges: power-lifting. Mr. Alcantara's photo story encapsulates the essence of hard work in the classroom and in the gym and my photos can capture the paradox that his lifestyle, in the Dr, Jekyll and Mr. Hyde template.
Ryan Alcantara, 20, conducts studies for the psychology department and therefore, has access to a private lab that he uses as an isolated study space. When Ryan is not in the gym, he can usually be found in the Moore Laboratory doing work.
Organic chemistry is one of the most difficult classes as Penn State, and for Ryan, it could bring his 3.9 GPA down, unless he can power through and persist.
Alcantara prides himself on his nutritional and health-oriented eating, but everyone slips up sometimes. In Ryan's time of studying, he ordered the not-so-healthy General Tsao's Chicken from State College's Uncle Chen's Chinese Restaurant.
The double major in biology and psychology took four hours memorizing every amino acid formula and does not mind showing off his chemical compound drawing skills. Ryan is drawing his favorite amino acid, tryptophan.
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Ryan Alcantara hits his deadlift maximum lift at 425 pounds. Alcantara says he enjoys deadlifting the most because he has been perfecting the technique for quite a while and it gives him a great upper body pump.
Ryan takes a slight pause before he attempts to squat his maximum. The Penn State junior likes to focus in and get in the zone before each lift.
Alcantara powers through his third attempted rep at squatting 585 pounds. Ryan earned a silver medal at his last power lifting meet in his weight class of 205 pounds.
At the end of his workout Ryan decides to do box jumps to improve his explosiveness. The gym fanatic was able to box jump over four feet of weights in sets of ten reps.
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