isha moments

Ridiculously small kitten: “Myam myam myam. Njam njam njam njam njam njam njam! Myam myam myam nyam nyam myam. Mmmam. Mrrrrram. Meep!”

Passive voice: Your book was loved

Tell us a bit about your powerlifting journey? How long have you been powerlifting for? How did you get into it? I’ve been powerlifting for a little over five years, and competing for three. When I started, I had already tried lifting with dumbbells and machines, but it never occurred to me to pick up a barbell! I happened to meet a powerlifter who encouraged me to try it, and eventually I got curious enough to overcome any hesitations. I joined an online fitness community, picked up “Starting Strength” by Mark Rippetoe, and started following the basic strength template. I got hooked pretty quickly!

Do you do competitions like this often? This was my fourth powerlifting meet ever, so no, not that often! I took off all of 2016 from training heavy to recover from some injuries, but even so, my limit is three meets per year. Peaking for a meet (i.e. building strength while prepping my body to get used to lifting heavy weights at low volume) is intense, and it usually takes me a couple of weeks after each meet to get back into the swing of things.

What was it like competing in your home Gym? IT WAS AMAZING. I don’t doubt that competing at my home gym contributed to my good results. All of my gym friends were there either competing, volunteering, reffing or cheering, and some of my friends who had never seen a powerlifting meet were able to come watch. I felt so lucky.

What were your results? Were any of these results PR’s?  In pounds, my best squat was 303, bench press was 165, and deadlift was 320. All of those were PRs - the bench was a meet PR, meaning I had done it in the gym before, but the other two were all-time bests. I was SO happy to get a 300-lb squat! I also placed first in my weight class and qualified for USAPL Raw Nationals.

What would you say made the biggest impact on your great results? Setting aside a great training cycle and constant support from my fellow lifters, I really think the thing that made the biggest impact on the day of the meet was my mindset. I recently started reading “With Winning in Mind” by Lanny Bassham, which completely changed the way I approached my training and meet day. Instead of thinking, well, I hope I make this lift! I KNEW I had the strength, and just focused on the process of lifting the weight. I don’t think I’ve ever been so confident.

How long have you been preparing for this event? How many times per week do you train? No matter the time of year, I train four days per week. I started training specifically for the District Open at 9 weeks out from the meet.

What are your training essentials? And competing essentials? Training: Inzer belt, knee sleeves, squat shoes, Chucks, chalk, and preworkout mix. 

Competing: All of the above, plus my singlet, knee-high socks, and tons of easily digestible carbs for after weigh-ins to keep my hydration and energy up. This time it was Pop Tarts, Gatorade, pretzels, pb&j sandwiches, and a million gummies.

Any advice for any of our members who would be interested in getting into Powerlifting? Where is a good place to start? There are so many resources out there that there’s no one answer, but for strength training beginners, I recommend reading Starting Strength to learn about powerlifting form and the physics behind it. Also, use technology! Follow powerlifters on Instagram, and watch Youtube videos - Juggernaut Strength is well-regarded, and our girl Megsquats (a Balance alum) has a ton of resources on how to get into powerlifting, what the different movements look like, etc. That said: there’s NO BETTER WAY to get into the powerlifting world than to meet the people. Come to the second floor at Thomas Circle on any given weeknight (and especially Saturdays at around Noon), and I guarantee there will be powerlifting men and women who will welcome you with open arms. I want to emphasize this for the women in particular: being strong is the most confidence-building, empowering thing I’ve ever done with my life, full stop, and strong women want other women to feel the same. We’ll spot you, film you for the ‘gram, and share our snacks!

Whats next for you? I won’t be competing again until Nationals in October, so first I’ll spend a couple of months gettin’ strong and swole with programming from Megsquats (so excited!). Then I’ll start a strength peaking program to lead into October. I also plan on eating everything I can.

Want to see more from Isha? Follow her on Instagram @powerisha