Roodhouse’s Eric Little marks decades of strength
By Ben Cox
Photos/Special to The Source
For Eric Little, powerlifting has never been just a sport—it has been a lifelong journey built on discipline, perseverance and community.
That journey reached a new peak recently when Little captured first place in the men’s 55-59 age group, 198-pound weight class at the SPF/ISPF World Powerlifting Championships in Huntsville, Alabama.
Competing at the Von Braun Center against more than 400 athletes over three days, Little’s victory marked a special milestone. It was his first time back in the 198-pound division since 1998 and his first world-level competition of that scale. The win added another major chapter to a career that began more than three decades ago.
Little and his wife, Stacey, are the owners of Just A Little Gym, a powerlifting and training facility in Roodhouse that opened in November 2024. The gym recently celebrated its one-year anniversary with a members appreciation event, underscoring the close-knit community they have built around strength training and fitness.
Earlier this fall, Eric Little also claimed a national title at the National Powerlifting Championships in Russellville, Arkansas, held at The Proving Ground, where he won the 220-pound weight class. That victory made him a four-time National Powerlifting Champion.
His first national title came in 1997 in Aurora, Illinois, when he competed in the Law Enforcement Division of the 220-pound weight class. Over the years, he has won the 220-pound class twice and the 250-pound class twice on the national stage.
Little’s powerlifting journey began long before his recent success. He started training in October of 1990 shortly after becoming a correctional officer at Western Illinois Correctional Facility in Mount Sterling. His first competition followed in 1992 in Griggsville, where he was coached by Doug Pool, a longtime gym owner who had previously operated a facility in Springfield.
Today, Little’s coach is his wife, who works alongside him as both a training partner and mentor. He also credits training partners Kerry Roberts and his son, Kenny Little, as key parts of his support system.
Throughout his career, Eric Little has competed in multiple federations, including the APF, Midwest Weightlifting Federation and, for the past five years, the SPF.
He competes in the “raw” division, meaning he uses no supportive lifting gear—a testament to pure strength and technique.
Despite the physical demands of the sport, Little has avoided serious injury for most of his career. A groin strain prevented him from competing at the 2023 National Championships, but he returned to win titles in 2022, 2024 and again this year. He also captured the Illinois State Powerlifting Championship in his division in 2022.
His personal bests include a bench press of over 500 pounds, an 800-pound squat and a deadlift approaching 700 pounds outside of competition. Remarkably, his last defeat in a sanctioned meet came nearly 30 years ago, at the Monsters of the Midwest competition in Peoria in 1995.
Beyond competition, Eric and Stacey Little focus on developing future athletes as well as offering personal training and youth strength programs at their Roodhouse gym—proving that their greatest legacy may be the strength they build in others.
