This Saturday Spotlight series showcases the participants of the Kim to Zim Outreach Group.
Q: How did you get started in powerlifting?
A: I started powerlifting after a year of body building style training. I was watching videos on youtube of popular you tubers and used that as motivation in the gym because at this time fitness to me was being lean and shredded and making sure I could see my abs. Eventually I became so obsessed with tracking my macros and making sure I was eating the right things that fitness was a job for me rather than a passion. During my freshman year of college my school had an actual weight room and thats where my powerlifting started. I went to the weight room right when it opened at 6 am so that I would have an empty gym and I could just lift weights and not feel self-conscious about how much I was lifting, from there I couldn't be stopped!
Q: What is your favorite lift and why?
A: My favorite lift is definitely the bench press. I love that lift the most because guys in the gym never expect me to say that. Its my weakest event and the hardest for me to train but I love doing it because all the men in the gym expect me to go do some leg and glute work outs but instead I get on the bench press and prove them all wrong.
Q: How has strength training impacted your life?
A: Strength training has has huge impact on my life because it not only has became my sport but also my career. I changed my life around when I started powerlifting because not only was I doing it for myself I wanted to get other people into the sport, especially women. I was so self-conscious when I first started because I was working out in a gym with only men who would constantly ask me how many sets I had left and that always me made me feel like because I wasn't lifting as much as they were or because I am a female that my workout was not as important. So I became a personal trainer to help try getting people into the gym in a space where that is something that they would never have to deal with.
Q: What motivated you to want to be a part of the Kim to Zim Outreach Trip?
A: I actually found Lift 4 Life on instagram almost a year before Kim to Zim was even announced. I loved the message and image and I wanted to be apart of it so bad, getting people into powerlifting is my whole mission and seeing people doing that and taking it a step further was something that made me so happy. When the applications for Kim to Zim were announced I got so excited because that was my chance to become apart of this amazing group and message, there was nothing stopping me. I was at work when I saw the instagram post about the deadline for applications and I went into the bathroom and applied right there.