Hernando County, Florida: All About the Muscle

Weightlifting is big in Florida, far bigger than swimming or water polo, and it's the biggest of all in Hernando County, 40 miles north of Tampa. 

The county of 172,000, tucked between the Chassahowitzka, Croom, and Richloam Wildlife Management Areas and the Gulf of Mexico, has little to recommend it.  3/4ths of the humans live in Spring Hill, a planned community that has been engulfed by suburban sprawl. 

I couldn't find any "there" there except a galleria with a Jiffy Lube, a Publix Supermarket, and and the Breakfast Club of the Seven Hills, and next door another one with a Dunkin Donuts, an Applebee's, and the Orion Rapid Weight Loss Program. 

No museums, no particular sights except the Christmas House and the Weeki Wachee Springs, home of the famously tacky "living mermaid" exhibit (but no mermen) and this dinosaur-shaped gas station.

TripAdvisor lists Pine Island Park, Bayport Park, McKethan Park, Sunwest Park, Veterans Park, Crews Lake Park, Linda Pedersen Park, Hudson Beach Park, and Bulldog Fishin Charters (No g).

I'd hit the gym, too.

Every year Hernando County hosts a high school weightlifting competition, with bench press, clean and jerk, and total in 10 weight categories, boys and girls lifting separately.  Here are the high schools that participate (and one of their weightlifters, if available).

1. The Central Bears. 


















2. The Hernando Leopards.




















3. The Nature Coast Technical Sharks.  I think the team is just "sharks," not "technical shark."  Logan benched 305.

















4. The Springstead Eagles.  Zayne benched 300.


















5. The Weeki Wachee Hornets.  At least they're not the Mermaids. 

















These schools all have wrestling and swimming, too, but they are not nearly as popular.













Hernando County is all about muscle.