Girl Power-Strong and Feminine
photo by Traci Bunkers via flickr
(Girl Power photo from Traci Bunkers)
On Saturday my Mom went on to prove that, once again, women can be strong AND feminine.
You may remember that a few months ago my Mom competed in her first push/pull meet. (You can check that out here => Weight Loss, Strength Training - There are No Excuses). At that meet she weighed in at 148 pounds and benched 115 and deadlifted 235.
After that meet her goal was to lose weight, but also compete in another powerlifting meet.
Well after some dedicated training (with Fat Loss Detour), she managed to weigh in at 119 pounds for this meet. She lost a total of 29 pounds since the previous meet!
Not only did she drop two weight classes (she was in the 123 weight class this Saturday), but she increased her push/pull total by 15 pounds! She bench pressed 110 pounds and deadlifted 255 for a push/pull SPF world record in her division.
Check it out:
Unfortunately women are still being told to lift light weights for high reps (or use the Shake Weight!) and do nothing but long, slow, boring cardio because anything else will cause them to get big and bulky; especially lifing heavy weights. Yeah right . . .
In an effort to put this myth to rest, I am going to share with you some videos of some strong and feminine women.
This woman trains at Cressey Performance and busted out 8.5 perfect chin-ups. Heck, most guys can’t do this! Oh, and if you are anywhere near Boston, Massachusetts then you should be training at Cressey Performance. The coaches there are absolutely amazing and are by far some of the best in the business.
This is another tough gal from Cressey Performance. Not only does she not do “girl push-ups”, she does push-ups with chains!
This athlete trains at Joe Defranco's gym in New Jersey. She absolutely dominated 135 pounds!
This woman trains at Renegade Gym (owned by Jason Ferruggia) in New Jersey. She squatted (and dominated) 185 pounds.
All of these women prove that women can be strong and feminine. And not to mention, getting stronger and improving their performance has allowed them to build some incredible bodies!
If you want to lose weight and build the body you want, then check out Fat Loss Detour.
Comments for This Entry
FlamingJune-
I'm so glad you liked the videos! I just wanted to show PROOF that women can be strong AND feminine.
I know what you mean about being the sole woman in the weight area. Keep up the good work and claim your rightful place!!!
Posted by Nia Shanks at 8:07am Mar 17, 2010 [permalink | flag as inappropriate]
I loved this post. It is so inspiring to see what other women can do. At my gym, I only ever see women on the machines, and sometimes I feel like such an oddball sticking to the free weight side. Thanks for the encouragement!!!
Posted by FlamingJune at 9:19pm Mar 16, 2010 [permalink | flag as inappropriate]
Awesome video!and thanks for this post!it just inspired me for what I can not do still............I will sure be on my aim of weight loss...and get slim look soon!!
Posted by r4i gold carta at 5:33am Feb 17, 2010 [permalink | flag as inappropriate]
Michelle-
Glad you like them!
Posted by Nia Shanks at 1:36pm Feb 16, 2010 [permalink | flag as inappropriate]
Awesome vids Nia, thanks for posting.
Posted by Michelle at 12:57pm Feb 16, 2010 [permalink | flag as inappropriate]
Charmed-
Oh yeah. Those ladies ROCK!!
Yeah, I've read some of Mike's articles on vegetarian/vegan eating. Good and interesting stuff. ; )
Thanks again, Charmed!
Posted by Nia Shanks at 12:23pm Feb 15, 2010 [permalink | flag as inappropriate]
Nice pictures. I haven't thought about using chains for pushups just weights or a person on my back, 1 arm 1 leg pushups and planche holds (can't do the pushups yet. your mom is very impressive but that can't possibly match the power of shake weights. Off topic, I reading about rice protein, very interesting, it seems if you combine that with the pea protein you would get a more complete protein. Mike Mahler is a vegetarian over at mikemahler.com. Full squats rule!
Posted by charmed1taz at 9:54am Feb 15, 2010 [permalink | flag as inappropriate]