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So whether you're hitting a heavy squat session or just lounging in style, we've got you covered. Head to PL. den dot company dot site and grab your merch today. Hello everybody. Welcome back to another episode of the power lifters. Then I'm your host, Cam Smith. And to start off the new year, I wanted to have Amber Hansen. We first connected a while back, time got in the way and this past weekend we met up down at F8 and Clarion PA and now we are
here to do an episode. So, Amber, why don't you introduce yourself? What is up? Happy to be here. Happy to be the first episode of 2025. It's pretty cool. But yeah, I'm Amber Hanson. I'm an equipped and raw power lifter, been competing since about 2016 and training before that with different sports and whatnot and I'm just a meathead Air Force roller skating dork. Yeah.
So I guess before we kind of dive into what got you to where you are today, maybe let everybody know but your best raw lifts and your best equipped lifts. So best raw is a 560 I think, yeah, 560 squat, 341 bench and 540 something deadlift. I don't ever remember the deadlifts because and then equipped is 810. This is multiply and then my best multiply bench is 475.
My best unlimited bench is 6/15 and then my best equipped deadlift is like 556. So weird those the raw, the equipped ones aren't too far off. Yeah. So something I kind of noticed about what I do notice is that strong raw athletes tend to make good equipped lifters. And that's something that before I got into equipped, I wanted to make sure I had a decent base. I'm still working on my base and doing a raw meet in January, which the closer we get, the less I want to do it.
I just want to get, I just want to get back in the gear, to be honest. But yeah, so I guess kind of what got you into lifting itself. You said you started in the early 2000s, kind of just training, but didn't compete until 2016. So maybe tell us about what kind of got you from just being in the gym to onto the platform? Yeah, So I've always loved lifting. My dad competed in powerlifting when I was growing up in like high school, middle school and
whatnot. He used to drag me to meet like hole in the wall meets and I was so bored. I'm like, this is stupid. But I was also a kid. So he, he drugged me into the weight room quite a bit. And I, I was a multi sport athlete in school and whatnot. And then I, you know, did track and skating. So I wanted to to, you know, continue to be strong for those things. And then I got stationed out in New Mexico. That's when I joined the roller Derby team out there, which was freaking awesome.
So much fun. I miss it a lot. And then my friend Jennifer and I got together and we were like, you know, it would make pushing people around a lot easier if we were stronger. So we started doing, you know, squats, benches, deadlifts, you know, overhead press, all that stuff. And then I got stationed in Dayton, OH, walked into The Dirty gym one day and was like, oh, yeah, this is where I want to be.
This is this is cool. And then kind of got integrated with the crew that was there and was in my first contest in like a few months of starting powerlifting training. And it was, I just went with it so. Yeah, so I want to know a little bit more about the the roller Derby because that's something that I feel like it's something you only see in like on TV or in movies, but I've never actually driven past like an actual roller Derby rink.
It definitely seems like something where a bunch of bad ass women just get to body each other. So I kind of want to hear more about that. That is pretty accurate of a description. It's so much fun. So the the televised version, the one that people are probably most familiar with is like the bank track stuff, which was really big in the 70s. And then you had the one movie Whip it that came out that was really popular. And I I played in West TX.
So those type of competitions were pretty prevalent out there. But that was a lot more like WWE style, like scripted, OK, you and you are going to get in a fight at this time marker. When I joined, it was more so it was the flat track Derby association. So if you go to any pretty much lots of local roller roller rinks, there's probably a team there and there's like a rink set up and a track and everything that they'll they'll practice at. So that was the type of Derby that I did.
And yeah, it's it's a really cool that that was one of the things that kind of inspired my like girl power powerlifting type of camaraderie things with like main event project and whatever, because Derby is like that and it is all non profit. The the team takes care of everything they do all of the work they do, the recruiting, they do the training and everything like that. So it's like a pretty close knit
type of group. Yeah. So I guess with the aggressive nature of that sport, did you find that a lot of other women were very involved in lifting or competing in some sort of strength sports as well? Yes, some of them were a lot of them. There was a lot of CrossFit athletes that also played Derby, which was pretty cool. And then there was another, you know, crossover with like jujitsu and like combat sports
with those those women as well. But primarily a lot of like because Derby takes up a lot of freaking time. So most of us just did that primarily. But there were there were other backgrounds as well. Yeah. So I guess kind of this will be a good little segue. I know you have a pretty big passion and kind of like the performance or yeah, the hybrid training CrossFit and the importance of that in
powerlifting. I think that's something that is often overlooked and can really help a lifter be able to use their own body, especially in equipped where proprioception and like technique and things like that are very important. So maybe tell us about your experience with that? Yeah, absolutely. Wholeheartedly agree with that sentiment, especially going into equipped lifting. Like I learned how to root from skating and how to to balance from skating and that background.
And understand, I'm not saying that, you know, lifters should go put on a pair of roller skates, but understanding your body and like dabbling in things that you wouldn't normally choose right off the bat. Maybe taking a break from powerlifting and going to do some CrossFit or some Highland Games. Throwing's amazing for that too. Bodybuilding, just anything to help you acquaint yourself with your own leverages, your own, like weight distribution is
going to be beneficial. And I think a lot of people will just jump into powerlifting and then they won't do anything else. And then they'll just be like, I got to do my powerlifting probably, I got to do SBDI, got to get in my equipment. And yes, you do need a lot of technique work, but when you start to feel beat up, a really great thing to do is to go play around in something else that still kind of scratches that edge. And then you come back and you're even better for it.
Yeah. And for me, I think I got a lot of the learning my leverages and just kind of how my body works when I was doing wrestling because obviously the the better leverages you can create as a wrestler, the better off you're going to be. And I think that's what really kind of fared well for me transitioning into Multiply. Like I picked it up rather quickly actually.
I have like really good influences and really strong training partners like like Robo and basically anyone that knows him and all those people involved can help with anything. But like you said, learning your body is definitely the probably the number one reason that it made it easier to learn the new things. Absolutely, yeah. Some of the best equipped lifters that I've seen have come
from wrestling and gymnastics. And like, you really got to know how you move and like what advantages you have in those two things. And then it translates and it's cool. I love seeing the light bulb moment where someone's just like picking it up or what was it? We had Brady Diamond out to elite last weekend. She'd never had a pair of briefs on, never done anything like that and convinced her to put a pair of briefs on and squat in
the crew. And it was so cool because she's, you know, a lifetime athlete, multi sport. She's predominant and strong, man. She's a bodybuilder. Just did a show and everything, but watching her figure it out so quickly because she just knows herself and it, it was cool. And then she was like, this is freaking awesome. And I was so excited. I was so geeked out that whole day watching those folks get in briefs for the first time.
So it was cool. Yeah, I mean, total side note, I think squatting and briefs, like not full kit, not raw, just squatting and briefs has to be my favorite thing to do of all time. It's the most satisfying, the most it takes. Like you don't have to worry about the straps passing you out. You get to squat more weight. It's honestly just complete side note, it's one of my favorite things. I totally agree. It's a blast. And like that's, I mean, what's the spud briefs?
They call them gateway briefs for a reason. And I really do think like people put it on, they're like, oh, this is nice. This is like a little compression on the hips and they don't have to be gangster tight. It goes a long way, especially if you're doing like box squats or something and you can overload and repeat that overload time and time again. Like your back's going to blow up, your ass is going to blow up, hamstrings going to blow up.
Like there's no downside. Yeah. And then in regards to the cross functional training, how do you incorporate that into maybe the offseason or even during a prep? Yeah, so, so during a prep not so much probably beginning of a prep like I'll still be doing like GPP work. So it it'll be some sort of like low impact type of thing. I do love CrossFit in the offseason. I also really like Olympic weightlifting, even though I'm shit at it, I'm a big fan of it. So I'll do that in the
offseason. Usually right after a meet, I'll just do some Olympic weightlifting to feel good and to open up and to like mobilize. And then right now I'm doing a longer bodybuilding type of programming just to gain size and also like give my spine a break because that shit adds up over time, like, you know. Yeah, for sure. And I think that something that I've started to seen a few people need recently is an actual break from the heavy lifts and powerlifting in general.
And I think it's important to use that break to kind of keep your love for the sport rather than lose it. 100%, yeah. That's something like, the longer you stay in the sport, the more it's going to just punch you in the face and you're going to have your moments of like, God, all this is stupid, this stupid federation drama, this kabuki bar crap, like whatever, like, who cares? Why are we caring about this? And then you're like, OK, I need to take a step back.
Maybe I need to pause, go do something else, maybe get out of the thick of it for a little bit and then come back feeling good and feeling excited to train. Yeah. And I think it kind of helps you be able to get through different obstacles, whether it's injury and I mean to be honest, life
gets in the way a lot too. But I think we can kind of talk about some of the obstacles used overcome with the the stress fractures in your forearm may walk us through that because I I know stress fractures and they are just an absolute nightmare. So. Yeah, they suck so bad. And like, I didn't even know I had them for the longest time. And I was like, man, my forearms, they just hurt.
My hands just hurt. And like, I just thought it was part of it. And this was, you know, had a lot to do with the equipped benching, especially the unlimited benching, because when you get that thing down to your chest, like, it will fling you up and then you are left to catch it. And that part like that shearing sort of issue at the top was just cracking the shit out of the forearms. And I didn't even realize it until I was like, OK, I think this is becoming a problem.
Let's go get some X-rays and see what's going on. And then talking with people, talking to Jimmy, talking to my doctors, and then a few chiropractors that are really smart with strength athletes. They were like, OK, you need to take some time off, let's rehab this shit and then make sure
that it doesn't come back. So really the big thing was like, all right, I got to take a step back, which sucks because I love benching and quit Like it's so much fun And I kind of you kind of just have to like, I don't want to say trick you gaslight yourself into thinking that Oh no, this will be fun. Do this for a little while. Do raw for a little while. Maybe don't get under a bench bar for a little bit or like pin presses or floor presses or something that isn't as jarring
to those things. And then over time, like supplementing with calcium, boron, getting those not only X-rays done, but DEXA scans are really big for me because it measures your bone density. So you can see like each section of your body, how your density of your bones is. And you know, it's just good information to have. And then also not rushing back into it because that's a thing that I like to do because I rushed back into it and what do you know, they came back. Yep, that'll happen.
Yeah. And I, I think this kind of brings up a a bigger topic with the the band Ben Church is kind of, there needs to be some sort of protocol or some sort of studies or something to be able to know how much load you can increase like over a month's period or two months or whatever. Because that's where the biggest problem I think most people have with the band shirts is the risk
for injury. Obviously it's kind of easier to use in terms of learning, but in terms of putting on an extra three 400 lbs here raw bench or even doubling your Poly bench for some people, you have to be able to take it slow. And I mean, if you look at Jimmy, he gets X-rays done pretty much all the time because you'd never know when something's going to pop. So that's definitely something I think needs more kind of information on.
No, I absolutely agree. I wish there was more like it's already such a small pool of people that mess around with that. And Jimmy's actually one of the big reasons why I pay such close attention to it because I've seen what has happened to his stuff and he he's a, he's a great example, but also he's not a great example because he's the only one that does what he does. And then trying to be like, well, if that happened to Jimmy, could that happen to me? I don't know. Probably not like weight
difference. Yeah, it's yeah, definitely more info needed, but his I guess influence on yeah, get your shit looked at, pay attention to it. Don't ignore things. A lot of people ignore things and they're just like, I got to suck it up. It'll be fine. Pain is weakness leaving the body. Who's going to carry the boats? Like shut up. Go get your shit checked. Like don't be dumb. Yeah, and that's the one of the things with the band shirts too, is it's not the you could be strong as you.
You're never going to be stronger than what your bones can handle in that shirt. That 100% that. Yeah. So I guess from going into like the Poly into band shirts, what are some of the things that you've noticed, not necessarily like how you feel, but kind of some of the things that you've noticed when you have such heavier weights in your hand? Just the shock factor of it because in order to get used to it, you have to handle those
heavy weights often. And one of the things because Jimmy has done some of my programming, getting used to full range Rep work that is going to be heavier than anything but in like a less gangster piece of equipment. So maybe not in my full shirt, but in A2 ply widow maker, maybe an insert or something like that. And and getting used to that time under tension in your hands, in that tension. It becomes less shocking over time. Like last weekend, I think I've
had 700 in my hands. That was the second time I've ever had it in my hands. And just taking it out, even with the band and the board, I was just like, Oh my God, my hands just want to explode. That bar did help. I was going to say. And then you have the the tree trunk of a bar. That thing is absurd. Yeah, it's like benching with a caber. So I guess we can talk about that weekend a little bit. That was very fun weekend. I mean, we had we had John, we
had Jimmy, we had you. We had a bunch of people and I had to do my my raw opener my second attempt. And I was like, this is boring as hell. I don't want to be doing this shit. So Rob and Tiff, and then they actually just altered my shirt there. So he threw that on and took that to a tube board and just made me want to drop out of the raw meat, to be honest. Oh no, you've come so far. You've done so much work. Just RIP it off, RIP off the Band-Aid, and then you can be done.
Yeah. But I think we can talk about the importance of raw training even while you're in equipped outside of like you doing the cross functional training. Obviously raw training is important because there's some people out there that will just stay in their gear year round and they won't do any sort of raw benching or even like modalities like a slingshot or anything like that. And I think it's something that is only going to make you a
better lifter. I absolutely agree with that, something that I tend to pay attention to and I don't know if this is just because my own training at like I don't talk about it cuz it doesn't matter to anyone but me. But if you see the people who incorporate raw training and then look at their equipped lifts and their raw lifts like you, you just look at someone and you can tell the people who stay in their gear all year round, like the, the muscle mass
just isn't quite there. Or if they're not doing, you know, their accessories or if they're just throwing on the equipment doing their squats. I mean like it's dynamic day and then they just cruise out of there or not doing their core work or their ABS and you can it's it's evident. Like I can tell whenever someone picks a bar out of a mono if
their ABS suck. Like it's just like there's a calling card for it And and I. I don't think it's as prevalent as it used to be. I think there's a lot more people that do lift equipped and then they go back to raw and they they use the raw lifting as supplemental movements and I think that's really good. I'm glad that's on the up and up. Yeah.
So as far as like a week of training goes, maybe tell us about like what your split kind of looks like, what your setup is and kind of maybe how you kind of peek. Yeah. So like for if I was in an equipped peak or prep? Yeah, either or is fine. Because like right now my shit's boring as hell. So typically like it. It is a conjugate style training. If you want to put a label on it I will have. It would be four days a week
equipped. There would be a dynamic lower day where I would typically be doing some sort of box squat and briefs against accommodating resistance with really short rest times and then maybe a pull after that. Dead lifting just it takes a lot out of me. So we have kind of pulled back on that. We've done some blocks of just dead lifting, which has been really beneficial. But when I put all three together and some sort of prep, it's it's gnarly.
So usually dead deadlift, unfortunately, it's kind of like an afterthought like, OK, let's not bomb out of the meat and get a total. And then so I dynamic lower, a dynamic upper. Typically that'll either be raw or with some lighter piece of equipment and that will be the same thing. Rep work working in double S
triples. If we're at the beginning of prep, it might be fives eights again, short rest times and then the Max lower and Max upper, which is where we're going to pick a variation and go ham on it. And I think Max like Max effort gets kind of bastardized and has been over time because it's not just about doing a heavy single. Like I can have a Max effort day and I could do a set of five if that was literally the Max effort that I could do.
So it it's a it's an effort, not necessarily like a number. Yeah, And something with the Max effort that that I run kind of a conjugate style to I, but my dynamic upper is more of like a volume accessory kind of day. I found that just works better for me I've for a bunch of different reasons. But the point being I think with the Max effort days, something that I've started to incorporate is leaving a jump in the tank instead of making it a truly Max effort day.
And I think that's something that obviously is going to increase longevity, but can also help with your mindset because if you have these numbers in your head and you're missing them, swinging at them every week, it's just going to fuck you up in the head the whole time. 100% yeah. That's something that I think I overlooked for a long time because I would just go in and fail that shit all the time. And then I'm like, God, what? What's wrong with me?
Like I just suck. And then once you started again, like leaving a Rep in the tank or even on our dynamic days, we would do something because like, I don't know what my box squat is with straps down against this band or whatever chains on this bar. I just don't know what it is at that time. We would work up to a heavy single and it's just something where the bar starts to slow down a little bit and then base our percentages off that. And that was super useful, super good on the brain.
Yeah, and that's one of the things I do like about conjugate too, is that you're changing up the variations so much, especially at equipped, because there's so many different ways you can set up your gear, that the next time you go to do that variation, you could be hitting 100 LB PR anyways. So it's not something that in your head you're like, oh, last time I missed this weight because by this time you should be way stronger than the last time you did that exact same
variation. Yeah, I love. I love that about conjugate and I love that about about equipped lifting too. Like you said, there's so many different variations you could do straps up, straps down, just briefs, like anything, just slingshot or you know, maybe I didn't tighten my laces as much as I would. It's just it's cool to kind of tinker around with that as added
extra layer of annoyance. Yeah. And so as far as your gear setup, kind of tell us what you are wear for briefs, your shirt and all that good stuff. So my briefs I use man, I go all over the place. I it's been a while since I've had like a full set kit. I really love my F8 multiply briefs. I just got those. And then I also just got a 5050F8 like custom canvas. So canvas in the back suit and
then Polly in the front. I think I want to put laces on it cuz I really, really liked my LUP a while back. So I'm gonna reach out to Denise and see if we can do that. That's my ideal squat setup. Yeah, Rupo has the the hybrid suit and obviously it's just one of 1200 in it. So it clearly works. And and then Phil, Phil Harden was trying it on the other day too. So I'm like, well, there goes 1300 so. Yeah, my phone. Just chalk that up.
But yeah, their their briefs are something that I'm definitely trying to get. I'm currently using metal jacks and the the pumpkin ones and honestly those are such great briefs. I love them. These are my first pair. I love those. They have such a special place in my heart. Yeah. Rodney Woodward actually sent me those right before I started my prep for the cuz I was using, I think I was using like old Titan.
They weren't even like super boss, they were just Titan boss briefs that were like 2 sizes too small for me to be starting in and I couldn't even break at the hips until I had like 4 plates on my back and it was a it was a nightmare honestly. He came in very clutch. That's awesome, I love her. I just got to spend a little bit of time with him. Like I've met him a few times but haven't gotten a chance to talk to him. He was out for the crew retreat and I was like, he's just a cool dude.
Yeah. So. Cool. So actually that's a good little segue into talking about elite FDS. Obviously Dave Pays very influential in the powerlifting world, actually coming from West Side and having a podcast as well. Tell us about what it's like kind of being in that environment, being around him, and just some of the things you've learned. Jeez, that's a loaded one. Yeah, take take your time as you
can go off as much as you want. Yeah, like, I just, I have just such an overwhelming freaking sense of gratitude for that place and Dave and the entire crew there. Like it's it's really, I'll walk in there. And every time we do, like, even though I've been in there so many times, it's like, holy shit. Like this is Elite FTS. I used to sit there when the table was in the middle of the gym and like, watch those podcast and like, that was my crack.
Like I consumed all of it. I'm like, Oh yeah, there's a new Elite FTS article. Like let's go watch, let's go look at it, read it, ask questions and getting to go there and just like have them talk shit to you but in a loving way is amazing. And like Todd Brock, Amy Weisberger is out there now too. Tom and Naomi Shepherd, Like the amount of knowledge in that place every weekend just blows my mind. And it's cool too because there's like people from every level.
So we have folks who are just starting off in powerlifting, like young kids that are in there on the weekends. And then you got the like old crusty assholes, you know, on the mono lift and then like the mid levels and then like the
upper level raws and equipped. And it's like, it's surreal to see all of that knowledge from every single level get explained and then also like understood, if that makes sense to like see the light bulb moments or if Dave says something that doesn't make sense to me and I need a different cue toddle habit. Or Tom will be like, hey, think of it like this. Or Matt Smith will be like, maybe try this.
And like it's a little overwhelming because it's a lot of information at one point in time. But if you're able to sift through it and one of those things works for you, it's freaking cool because you're like, I just got eight different ways from 8 different experts that basically just saying to do the same thing, but one clicked.
Yeah, and that's what I think one of the cool things with like the retreats and kind of the podcast episodes is when you're bringing in like these guests are also bringing some of their friends. And it's a learning experience for not only the people coming to visit, but also the people that are at the gym. And I think that's one of the really cool things about the podcast is it's more than just
the episode itself. There's a lot behind the scenes, there's a lot of training sessions and so much more experience to it than just sitting out at a table and talking. Yeah, absolutely. And I'm, I'm, I'm the worst. My boyfriend Jason will mess with me about it because I'm in person, pretty awkward socially and he is not like that. And he's like, hey, what's up? What's going on? And very, you know, like I can start a conversation with anyone and I'll just sit there and be
like, hi, fart joke, what's up? But then like getting out of that shell and like, you know, interacting with those folks as as part of the like the magic of that place. And when you're right that when they do come and visit for the podcast, they'll they'll usually like sit there or bring their friends and then they get to come train with us on the weekends and you're like, Oh, I've never seen that before. Like I, I knew about weight relacer training.
Like I knew what it was, but then I got to watch Naomi and Jacob go through it. I've never really seen it in person, but that was super cool to kind of like see their expertise come through and like, oh, that's what that's good for. And keep it in your back pocket for maybe someone that I coach later might need it or I could use it later. Yeah. And that's why I just saw.
Dave posted today like looking to get new guests for the next year and I tagged Rupo because I obviously I would love to see him on there. Exactly so. Let him know if you see this, but I'll go find it and. I'll go smash it and then I'll go tell him and be like, hey, this is this one. Absolutely, because. I, I want to get out there myself because like I said, one of the goals I have for this year is to learn more. And I think that's a perfect environment to learn,
absolutely. Yeah, there's so much going on depending on the weekend because some weekends are pretty quiet, but like so much going on and then so much weird shit. Just like it's like, I don't know, Do you remember the old cartoons with like, Igor in the laboratory with the hunch on his bags? Like, what are we doing today, Master? And that's like, what it is like, I don't know, we put liquid paper on a bee and it
died like, whatever. And it's cool because sometimes it hits, but most of the time it hits, but sometimes it doesn't. Yeah. So. Obviously pile lifting and this has plenty of stories and tons of memories. So I want to hear about your favorite pile of fixed story. The the sauna story in Vegas. The sauna it's not. Even that, like it's a totally normal story, but the, the impact that it had on me as a young female lifter, like I'll never forget it.
And I've told her this a few times, actually. Yeah, she she knows it. But this was my first Nationals and I was cutting weight because I don't know why. That's another rant we can get into. But I was cutting weight and I was in Vegas for USPA Nationals and Susan Salazar was competing there and she was one of the women that I looked up to for a very long time. I just thought she was badass and she was just so nice and
act. And at that meet she got, I think it was like the first 600 dots or not dots. It was Wilkes at the time that a woman got and she she snagged that. But we were up in the sauna of the Golden Nugget and I could not get this last freaking pound off to save my life. My training partner, Chrissy, she was smuggling up vodka to me because like, we were like, yeah, alcohol dries. Yep. This is to be perfect. Nothing could go wrong here. And we were just, you know, it was just stupid.
Didn't know anything. It did work, but that's besides the point. But I was sitting in the sauna with her and, like, two other girls just dying. And I was like, oh, my God, I'm sitting in the sauna next to Susan Salazar, like wanting to just die. And I thought it was so cool because I, you know, this isn't like me. But I started talking and she was just so sweet, so kind. And she was like, oh, it's OK.
Like, this is just what happens. And she was like, giving me tips about it and talking about what she wants to do the next day and all that stuff. And I just thought that was the coolest thing in the world, that Susan Salazar, like my Queen of Queens, was sitting next to me dying in a sauna in Vegas, just talking to me and, you know, having a good time, joking around and whatever. And then I made way and thank God. But it was cool because that was
my first interaction with her. And we're still friends today. And yeah. And that was it. And that's, I met Stevie, her Chihuahua there. And yeah, that. I mean, that really wasn't that great of a story, but it was one that I'll never forget because it kind of goes to show like, no matter who you are, what level you're at, you can have an impact on someone if like it in
the right circumstances. And like just don't be an asshole because it could have been really easy for her to be like shut the fuck up New Girl, like stop. And that's. That's something that every time I have a woman on this episode, that's something I commend you guys on, is how supportive you guys are of each other. That's something that it's funny. And in powerlifting, men are more the feisty ones with each other than women are. So it's kind of like backwards
from society. But it's something that definitely, I think needs to change within the culture for men. Yeah, I, I. Definitely, yeah. The dudes like beef all the time, random beef, beef that doesn't make sense, beef that is like made-up. Yeah, it's. Honestly, and knowing about a lot of it and getting involved in some of it, like not necessarily there's like the main guy but just with the people I'm friends with it it it gets so tiring and boring and it just makes pilotry not fun
sometimes. Yep. And I've, I've been in those situations too. And I'm not saying women are not perfect, by all means, there's some shit like that on the ladies side, but for the majority of it, especially in equipped, like we're so small to begin with, like we can't be being Dicks to each other. Like it ain't going to work. We're not going to grow if we're
assholes. Yeah. Exactly. So while we're on this topic too, I kind of want to hear about the main event project, maybe tell us about that and kind of your involvement in it. Yeah, for sure. So. Unfortunately, we haven't been super active because, you know, you said life gets a vote, But it was me, Leah Reichman, Tara
Duncan and then Allison behind. And basically we got together and said this is stupid because we were participating in meets where, you know, prize payouts weren't equal for women. And there were issues with, you know, predatory coaches and gyms that did not treat women well. And it wasn't like a safe space for things and predatory federations and predatory meats
And that that shit exists. It's a lot less now and basically we just wanted to start raising money, raising awareness, raising education levels so that we can tell women like, hey, these are really good places to go.
If you're a woman and you want to start powerlifting, these are good meats to look at. And then advocating and putting money towards prize pots, putting money towards like the pro AM and things like that, that really lift the ladies up and and showcase the bad ass stuff that they do 'cause like women power lifters are amazing. I am just in awe by them. Like I go on open powerlifting and don't filter a damn thing
women. And then one of the like biggest things that we did, well, the biggest thing that we did is we were like, it's kind of bullshit that women's weight classes end at 198 and anything above that is just super heavyweight. So like me right now, someone at, you know, 2/10, 2:15 is competing with someone who's 300 plus. And you're just like, how does that make sense? And also like, what's the, I guess what's the, the image or the message that we're sending here?
Because there's there were women that we talked to and got testimonials from and they're like, I want a power lift and I want to get my name on the gym board. But I feel bad about being labeled a super heavyweight. And there's a whole lot of like body dysmorphia shit that comes with that and eating disorders and whatever. So we were like, screw this. It's time, it's time to expand.
So we put together the petition, got a crapload of signatures, and we're able to expand weight classes in every single one of the major power machine federations, and we're super proud of that. Yeah, that's awesome, I think.
That's something that definitely makes it more inviting into the sport as well, because like you said, the the name super heavyweight can obviously have some like negative connotations and, and like expanding it like that to also kind of expands the the options or the competitiveness too. Because like you said, if you're competing with people that are 100 lbs, like I don't want to compete against the Super heavyweights out of 275, let alone at 200.
So for real? Right and like the barrier to entry the and we're we're seeing it now a few years after it has expanded like the 220 class and women is getting nasty like. Gnarly. Nasty 242 same thing like and we're we're seeing those 190 eights who cut down cut down cut down and now they have a place where they can really throw around what they have and it's it's cool to see that yeah so as far. As you for the for the new year, what are some of the goals you have, maybe just in life in
general or with lifting? Life in general just, I guess just being chill. I don't know if that that's not really a smart goal. It's not measurable, but like, just be, be chill, man. I'm a, I'm a stability girl. I like my routine. I'm very boring. I'm like if an old man was a girl, I go to bed early. I eat, eat my things when I'm supposed to eat them. But yeah, that and right now I actually just started with Olivia O'need and bodybuilding coaching.
So I'm, I'm not competing in bodybuilding. That ain't me. But I do want to put on good muscle mass and I, I want to get up to 242 and see what I can do there. And I'll probably spend the next 6 to 8 months doing that type of stuff. I'm still training equipped bench. I'm still pushing that heavy, but I'm not squatting heavy or dead lifting heavy. And my bones are very grateful for that. Yeah, so are you. Planning to just kind of train and build muscle this year.
Do you think you'll be stepping on the platform sometime this year? I'll probably. Compete, I'll probably do a bench only maybe and like the spring or summer and then I might be looking to compete in the winter of 2025 or early 2026. There we go, and. Doing an equipped. Meet in the summer sucks, yeah. When we were in Florida at the storm, even in May, that meat was the hottest meat in gym I've ever been in as making me start. To sweat just thinking about it,
Yeah, I think. I'm kind of on the opposite side of this. I will never prep during the holidays ever again. It is an absolute nightmare. That's. Fair, totally understandable. Yeah. You got all this stuff like, well, I got family time and like gym, I guess, opening, closing, whatever. And then are you going to have a crew? Are you going to have people there? That's probably a big one, Yeah.
Oh, I think. This is a good time to talk about having a crew because that's one of the most important things I think in powerlifting outside of all the basics training, sleeping with all the all the stupid bullshit no one wants to talk about or do. The having a crew is definitely especially multiply because you need one, but even raw and it's something that in the raw world isn't nearly as prevalent.
I think the environment you're in and the crew you have is what's going to make you an elite lifter. Not all the training and the sleeping. Yep. Preach preach. I absolutely agree because if you're in there by yourself, headphones on and I've had these days I like to lift by myself depending on what it is. But if I need to send something, I need people to make sure that I'm not going to snap my shit up. I need a hand off on these benches. You need someone.
You need multiple sets of eyes too. Because people are going to see different things and they're going to be able to give you different feedback. And especially if it's a crew that you've spent time with and who knows you, they'll call you on your shit. And I have been humbled so many times just by people who, you know, know how I left or know what? Like you just sandbag the shit out of that. Like, come on. Or hey, maybe you need to stop because that was like ass. And then also to.
Like pump you up to like they're going to be there, they're going to be screaming at you. They know what cues you need to hear and just the Peace of Mind, having good spotters, getting under a weight that is terrifying. It'll it gives you the confidence to try things that you wouldn't try by yourself. Yeah. And I think. Even on top of having a crew, I think having someone that you're either right on their tail or they're right on your tail is such a chase.
And like, that's going to push you so far, maybe a little too far sometimes when your ego is fighting you as well. But having someone that's like right on your ass on something or like, like I said, right behind you, like don't let him catch up. And that's going to push you to, who knows, Yeah. Exactly. There's been so many training sessions. So one of my buddies, he's been a training partner of mine for years now. James Blair, he was there this
past weekend. He was mentioned with you guys and we are constantly like back and forth, back and forth on things. And I love him to death and he loves me. And but it is so good for both of us because if we're training together, I'm an asshole. I'll put a chip on there and I won't say anything. I'll put a chip on there and be like, Oh yeah, I'm done. And then he's like, what the fuck? Or he'll do the same thing to me. And I'm like, God damn it. That's why I'm always like, I
want to go first. Yeah, The the. Satisfaction of being able to throw a chip on and hitting it is the best. It's or the the absolute utter ego crushingness of when you see someone put the chip on and you know they're going to hit it is also the complete opposite of fuck, do I have to make another 20 LB jump now or I probably should call that one, but he got me and I can't let that happen. And that's what I love about having a crew.
Well, it's so good, but it's. So underrated too, as I do think that it maybe not underrated, but it's hard to come by, especially as a woman in this sport, depending on where you're at like here, you know, have the whole sweatshot or not sweatshot, but Tiger fitness down there with like the best equipped females in the world. But that concentration of women
is not everywhere. And I. Think that's something that like Someone Like You where you're pretty much like and a 1%, like one of 1% where, like you said, you're competing with James. Like that's that's something that in our gym, it's kind of like something that it's there's not that much. It's pretty spread out because I mean, you have Frupo who's just fucking light years above everybody there. And then you have some of the younger guys that are still doing raw, but they're starting
to think about equipped. And then there's me and a couple other kids that I know are going to start going neck at neck at each other for the next few years. Oh, that's so exciting. I'm excited for you guys. I can't wait. But I think for you, I know you said you just restarted your Patreon as well. Maybe tell us about that and kind of what you your your purpose for it is. Yeah, so. That was Jimmy years ago, inspired me to start mine
because his his is really cool. And if you don't subscribe to him, like he's got so much good information. He'll post on, you know, free socials and everything, but he'll go in depth on his stuff with voiceovers and everything like reverse grip, how to do it. A lot of what he does in his seminars he posts on there that's available.
And I kind of wanted to do something like that, go a little more in depth, put a little more like care and thought into different types of movements, training programs, like the methodology and philosophy behind programming and that type of stuff. And I can't, can't really do that. Like I'm not a YouTube whiz either. So that was a good Ave. and also like, shit, if I can make some money on it, that'd be great.
Yeah. That's one of the things with powerlifting, it's like you don't make money competing, but there's definitely some money to be made with other things for sure, actually. Know what? I'll plug my. Merch store while I'm here to make sure that's how you get support me in the podcast and it's something that it does take a lot of time and effort to put into, but it's so rewarding, even if it obviously the money is cool, but like that's not why we do this.
So it's to build relationships, build friends and build the community 100%. Yes, I think we can. Wrap things up here. So I'll ask you my final question. If you could give a new lifter or someone going into their first meet a word of advice, what would that be? I can't say don't be nervous because that is not realistic. I would say this is what I've told other folks. You only get one first meet. That's it. It's never going to happen again. So carve out a time.
Set a reminder on your phone or some shit in between squat and bench or bench and deadlift. Carve out a piece of time, 60 seconds, 5 minutes that you just look around and take it in and feel grateful for the people that are there that are helping you, the people that put on the meet, the announcer, the spotters, the loaders. Like look at all this shit that has to happen for you to do the thing that you want to do. And just also all the work that you put in to get to that point.
And just give yourself a little moment of reflection, a little moment of gratitude and say, hell yeah, like I just did my first powerlifting meet. Like, I'm here, I'm doing this thing that I said I was going to do and kind of, kind of hang on to that because I've lost it a few times and it sucks and it's hard to get back. And that's a way that has helped me maintain it. Yeah, I'm a, I'm a. Huge fan of that piece of advice. That's definitely something that no one said before yet.
So definitely a big fan of. I like to say be a sponge, taking, taking everything. You can learn a lot by just looking around the room. So also. Bring Imodium and a roll of toilet paper to your meet, especially if you're equipped. Yep, Imodium. And a roll of toilet paper if you have go to a meet with a bathroom that's not so great. You will be everyone's BFF if you have a roll of TP. Well, I want to do thank you again for taking the time to come on.
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