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WHY POWERLIFTING?
Hello to all who were curious enough to click on the link which brings
you here! My name is Nancy. I am a 39 year old wife and mother of
a 15 year old son. I am employed as a nurse paralegal. In addition
to weight lifting, I am involved in high school soccer as my husband is
a coach and my son, a player.
I currently compete in the USAPL and NASA. I plan to compete in other
organizations in the future. I hold several national and state titles in
the benchpress. I am also tied for seventh place over all in the top 25
women BP'ers nationwide. My personal best record is 265 lbs (wearing a
bench shirt), but my official record (NASA) is 253 lbs (Nov '96). Due to
major jaw reconstructive surgery, I had to take a lifting vacation and
have just recently returned to the gym. Jason has suggested I address the
issues of women and weight lifting as they apply to competition.
For my first contribution towards the topic of women competing in powerlifting,
I would like to encourage participation. If you have the opportunity to
review publications which focus on power lifting and meet results, you
will notice for the most part, the women's divisions are most often not
represented. Only at national or full women's meets, do you see appreciable
numbers. I am always encouraging women to enter a meet, if for nothing
else, to see if they get "bit with the bug" just as I did. Who knows, you
may enjoy it. You may win. You may even establish a state or national record.
Basically, there is no monetary reward. But - there are rewards, and a
trophy or plaque is not the top one. You'll meet other women who are dedicated
to the sport and enjoy displaying their personal achievements. You can
gain knowledge about the sport. You may even have valuable training tips
and ideas of your own to share. You will make friends who share your dreams
and goals.Competitions are great for self-rewards for all your hard work
back home at the gym. Whether you win in a meet or not, you will leave
a meet knowing you gave your all and it will give you the determination
to keep training hard to improve and set new goals for future meets. Competition
is a great motivational tool.
In my future articles, I will talk about basic event rules, equipment,
drug testing, supplements and various training routines. Until then, if
you have questions or comments, you can e-mail me at nenutt@earthlink.net.
Remember "iron" is good for women.
Deepsquatter's Note: Nancy recently hit a
PR 285 lb Bench in training. I predict 300 will fall in '98!
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