Coming off of my first official powerlifting meet in February, I felt incredibly energized and motivated to push myself harder and reach for some big numbers. Somewhat on a whim, my husband and I floated the idea of competing to my dad and his mom. Both of them had been lifting for around 9 months at the time. They surprised us with an enthusiastic "yes," and so all four of us signed up to compete at the Liz Freel Classic in Long Beach, CA. It was a very quick turnaround for me from my previous [...]

Although I feel like I have been powerlifting for many years, until this meet I had never actually competed in a powerlifting meet! I had competed three times in strengthlifting, a newer, similar sport where the contested lifts are the squat, the overhead press, and the deadlift, and greatly enjoyed those experiences. But I decided the time was right to compete in a sanctioned meet, so I signed up for the 2019 USPA PowerFest in Richland, WA. My goals for the meet were threefold: set PRs in the squat and deadlift, prioritize my bench press [...]