…I said to my husband Steve one afternoon in August 2010. After all, I've done bodybuilding shows and, at 4'10" and 97 pounds, I had placed well as a lightweight. I had won several overalls and competed nationally twice, with fourth-place finishes in the overall. "And besides, how much different could powerlifting be than bodybuilding?"
We knew a local guy from years of training at The Gym in Elk River, Minnesota named Lloyd Hemenway that could help us, so Steve made the phone call. "Be at the gym 8:00 am on Sunday, and we will she what she's got. You guys will stay or I will tell you to go home."
Sunday came and we were ready. I broadcast my PL-newbie status by showing up with a Velcro belt and fingerless workout gloves. (Needless to say, I ditched the gloves.) "Arch your back. Pin your feet back. Pinch your shoulder blades together. Now squeeze the bar!" While I thought I knew how to lift, nothing I did as a bodybuilder prepared me for powerlifting. I finished with maybe a 100-pound raw bench but I must have done all right since Lloyd invited me back.
We began to train in the fall of 2010 for a bench-only meet in Monticello. I competed in a borrowed shirt that had seen better days. It was loose and had tucks and folds stitched in it to make it fit better. I hit a 145-pound bench. I was ecstatic! My biggest bench ever! I was on my way!
At the beginning of 2011, we started my first full power meet training prep. It was for Relentless, a benefit for Garth Heckman who was suffering from cancer (and I believe the first Relentless meet). We had successfully coaxed Lloyd out of retirement to coach me. I think he thought it was for just one meet. He never asked. We began to train in our back garage, which is now called Heavy Training Center: Home of West Metro Powerlifting.
Lloyd preached about "mental toughness" as we trained and I got stronger. I was ready and I felt "mentally tough". Apparently, it takes more than just one meet prep to become mentally tough because I proceeded to BOMB out of my first full powerlifting meet. I was able to hit a few good squats (250 and 275 pounds), but I froze when it came time to bench. It was as if I forgot everything about the movement. In addition, I came in at too light of a bodyweight, which was a bad bodybuilding habit that I have since broken. I couldn't sleep the night before. Nothing felt in place. My first taste of a full powerlifting meet was not good.
We decided it couldn't get any worse, so it was back to Heavy Training Center to start training for APF Senior Nationals in Wisconsin. Coach Lloyd told me not to worry about my weight. As a woman, and a former bodybuilder, I cannot help but worry about my weight. Needless to say, I made weight for the 105-pound class at 99 pounds. I went nine-for-nine at 99 pounds. I was becoming mentally tough. I competed once more at 97 pounds and set some pretty nice records in the UPA.
I'm currently one of the top five 105-pound equipped lifters and my totals rank me as a pro or elite lifter in most, if not all, federations. Also, I have held and hold world and national titles in the AAPF, APF and UPA, as well as world and national records at 97 pounds and 105 pounds and finished "best lifter" lightweight at 2012 WPC Worlds in Las Vegas. I'm currently training to earn a spot on the US team to compete in the WPC Worlds in West Palm Beach this November.
My Prep for Relentless
"We got in!" Steve told me.
I was excited to make the cut because not only was Relentless a local meet that books up quickly, the meet benefits a great charity. Relentless is so much more than a local meet. I was proud to be a part of an event that raised over $202,000 for HopeKids® and created bonds of hope between people who otherwise may never have met. Coach Lloyd decided we that our goals should be to set some new records, work towards a 900-pound total, and prepare for WPC Worlds in November.
We began a twelve-week meet prep late in December. We did more raw work in all three lifts than we had done for past meets and added new exercises, such as front squats, (deeper) deficit deadlifts, as well as more chain work. On assistance days, we also focused more on some of the smaller stabilizer muscles.
Coach Lloyd had set a goal to get a 220-pound bench. This is the bench number that has been beating me at the last few meets…beating me bad. We wanted it on paper! He knew I had it in me, and so did I. To make that happen, Coach Lloyd completely reworked my bench training.
I got all three of my benches at Relentless 2014, opening with 203 pounds, a little less than we intended to open with, due to everything feeling heavy during warm-ups. It turns out that the bench bar in the warm-up area was a 50-pound bar, not a 45-pound bar. We did it! I hit my second bench at 220 pounds and I knew I could get the third one at 231 pounds. There was no looking back now!
I really did have my best training prep ever, hitting some PRs in the gym on my squats and deadlifts. We placed a greater emphasis on box squats and critiqued videos of both myself and other lifters, trying to tweak my form and technique. It is always a work in progress and I'm always learning, allowing me to improve for each meet.
As we watched videos of other lifters, we paid particular attention to how their equipment and suits fit. I wear the Metal Jack line, including the Jack Squat Suit, Jack Briefs, Jack Bench Shirt and Jack Sumo deadlifter. We began tweaking the length of the legs on my squat suit and deadlift suit. Because of my build, after I get the suit, I have to get them customized, which we did more extensively for this meet.
I went into this training prep fat and happy, as did most of Team West Metro Powerlifting. I came in at 111 pounds, which kept me strong for the extra raw and heavy work. I began to diet down five weeks out, starting to watch how much and what food I put in my body, and really cranked up my diet the last two weeks, making weight at 105 pounds on the nose.
The night before the meet, I got almost no sleep. My mind was wondering as I lay awake, "What if I just don't go today?" I could not help thinking it. I knew it was going to be a long day. I knew I was registered in one of the most competitive classes I have ever had to face. I also knew that I had bombed at that very same meet a year before. But we had chosen our numbers. I had put in the training. And it was time for me to start getting mentally tough!
I got my first squat and I knew I would be fine, so with my bench opener dialed down a little bit, I knew there would be no problems. I was not going to bomb out; not here, not on this lift! I got the 203-pound bench. I was in the meet and much more confident for my next two benches. By the time I got to deadlift, I knew I would be able to pull. I didn't think I had a PR left in me, but I knew I had three good pulls left.
We didn't get my 900-pound total, but I did have my best meet ever with a PR and a UPA record squat of 347 pounds, a PR and UPA record bench of 231 pounds, and got a PR and UPA record day total of 892 pounds, at 105 pounds open/AD (drug-free) equipped, and the best lifter female equipped! It was a great day for me. We stuck to our plan, paid attention and made adjustments as needed, and it all came together for me.
I would really like to thank my team. First off, Steve: my husband, training partner, and handler. I love you. Also, I appreciate my three daughters (who secretly think I'm crazy). Thank you to Jason and Alyssa Klein for bringing the water and comic relief and, of course, Coach Lloyd…for his years of experience, loud energy, and love of the sport, which is so greatly appreciated.
Heavy Training Center
Collegiate Power Rack
Ultimate Prowler Pack
Band Pack
Battle Ropes