You've got to be a special kind of crazy to be a female powerlifter. It's not always the most gratifying of sports; you don't get extra points for being pretty or having a winning personality. Your gender gets questioned daily, you get unsolicited advice from men who are certain that you can't possibly know what you're doing in the gym. You get comments from women about your bulky and muscular appearance and you get looked at funny when instead of spending hours on the elliptical, you're grunting through a heavy set of dead-lifts. OH, and society thinks you are 200 pounds overweight and a lesbian. Call me a masochist, but since August of this year I have put 100% of my special kind of crazy into becoming a powerlifter.
I have always been a competitive athlete, and incredibly proud, borderline obsessed, with the genetic strength I possess, from racing the boys in elementary school to challenging random strangers to an arm wrestling match. I have always wanted to be the best at what I do. So, when I saw a team of powerlifters at Gold's Gym practicing three magical lifts while everyone else was waiting on the long line at the leg press machine, I had to be a part of this elite group. I will admit, my first day training with them at Sarasota Barbell was intimidating. The gym was dark and filled with tires, chains and other barbaric torture devices I had never seen. Where are all the treadmills, I thought. As soon as I started lifting we quickly formed a bond and my successes from then till now have been huge.
I have always been very critical of the way I look. I am awkwardly built with large broad shoulders and small boyish hips, my weight is unevenly distributed, and I tend to store fat in a fun spare tire around my waist (thanks a lot Mom and Dad!). In attempts to change my body I have done some silly things, as do most women, to ensure my pant size does not go up. It's embarrassing to admit, but I have duct taped my stomach to give the illusion of a smaller waist, I have tried a no-calorie diet, I have binged and purged and I have ran hours upon hours on the treadmill to no avail. Who would have guessed that adding compound movements to my work out regimen would change my body completely? I am now on a 1900 calorie diet maintaining at 132lbs, leaner than ever and above all proud of my nice big glutes (thanks a lot Squats). Still, I tend to get more negative feedback than positive!
One mention of the fact that I am a powerlifter seems to trigger an overwhelming amount of concerns, "be careful you don't hurt your knees/back!" "Aren't you afraid you're going to get big and bulky," or my personal favorite "You're lifting that much weight? You must be a dude!" At times I have gotten offended and argued at the arrogance of these statements, but I've learned no matter what you do in life there will always be naysayers. There will always be someone telling you, you can't or you shouldn't or I wouldn't if I were you, and to them I say, you aren't me, you will never be me, appreciate the crazy hard work and passion I put into MY sport, and be motivated to do something that brings you joy.
Since August I have competed in three powerlifting meets - RAW United which I won overall best female lifter, RAW Unity (nationals) where I placed third amongst some of the best lifters in the country and USAPL State where I again won overall best female lifter. I will be competing again in July with USAPL Nationals. I am confident that with every meet I will get better and better and I fully intend on being one of the best out there. Everyday I go to the gym, I go with determination, focus and with a goal in mind because you have to be a special kind of crazy to ignore everyone and everything that is trying to bring you down! I will be one of the best.
