Local powerlifters are not only lifting weights, they’re raising spirits.
During the 2019 Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) nationals from Monday, March 4 to Saturday, March 9 in Ottawa, Carole Vachon and Janine Hebert took part for the first time.
Powerlifting is a competitive sport where athletes attempt to squat, bench, and deadlift the most amount of weight.
Vachon placed fourth in the Master 1 84-kilogram division, while Hebert came in 15th in the open category for 84-plus kilograms.
“It was exciting,” recalled Vachon. “You’re always nervous (going in), you’re never sure how the meets going to go, but once I started getting all of my lifts, (I was good).”
This wasn’t Vachon’s first time competing, however, this was a different level of the sport for her.
“There were eight women in the masters, and she got fourth,” explained Jessica Brennan, their coach. “This was her first nationals, and I think everybody else has been to nationals before that she was competing against.”
Since getting involved in the sport, Vachon has seen powerlifting grow and continues to focus on her own improvement.
“It’s the thrill of setting goals in your mind and reaching those goals on the platform with everybody cheering you on. That’s really good,” she expressed.
Hebert described the experience as awesome.
“There’s no such thing as a mean girl in competition at powerlifting. It’s phenomenal,” she said.
Brennan believes Hebert will see a lot of growth in her training.
“The way her numbers are progressing, she’ll be jumping her numbers by quite a large amount and she’ll be in the top half. Not only that, but, the women that were in her weight class have been lifting for seven or eight years, and these girls were deadlifting 700-lbs. Even if Janine can put on 50 to 80-lbs. to her total every year, she would be in the same position within two years,” she detailed.
In terms of training, the pair spend roughly eight hours per week working on building their lifting abilities.
They agreed the sport has been gaining in popularity in recent years.
Brennan added, “If you look at nationals, even say four years ago, there was only maybe a quarter of the people that were in nationals this year. They’ve actually had to increase the total to get into nationals this year because there’s so many people coming into the sport now.”
Along with building muscle and strength, the added bonus is anyone can participate. For Hebert, seeing women well into their 60s compete was what inspired her.
“These women hadn’t been doing it their whole lives, so that’s what told me this is a functional fitness (activity) for your whole life.”
Now, they’re training for provincials in June.
Hebert encouraged anyone interested to join them in their workouts.
“To all the women and girls out there, if you’re having a hard time loving your body, come to the gym and we’ll show you how to do it.”
