What a day!

36 degrees here in Melbourne and our ladies Kris and Jess hit the platform over the weekend.

We had first timer Jess experience her first competition on the Powerlifting scene and what a day she had.

Jess has been building up to this moment for the better part of the past 12 months. Over the last 12 months Jess has worked extremely hard on habitual changes to support her goals.

She has made huge improvements with consistency and focus in her training which allowed us [coaches] to challenge her. Recognising and respecting recovery practices for both the body and mind allowed us to step into comp prep having her feeling comfortable and confident to run her own race.

She focused on her own intentions for the day and managed her state of mind so well backstage. When she needed to take a moment to breathe and soak it in we could see her sitting in front of the fan listening to either the soundtrack from The Sound of Music or Bohemian Rhapsody. She remembered all of her sequences and didn’t let the heavy atmosphere and heat get to her.

Finishing her day 8/9 Jess has caught the bug! Not just to compete, but to continue to challenge herself in more ways than she ever imagined.

Squat
80 ✔️ 85 ✔️ 90 ✔️

Bench
45 ✔️ 48 ✔️ 50 ✔️

Deadlift
87 ✔️ 92 ✔️ 96 ❌

“Colourful socks, colourful personality.”

Kris, aka Aunty, came to this comp wanting to prove to herself that she could squat 150kg again! The first time Aunty has competed using conventional [deadlift, as opposed to sumo deadlift], we were here to see where her transition would take us.

Battling the heat, her spirits still soared.
Hitting beautiful openers, on all her lifts, we were looking forward to what was to come.

Squatting alongside the big boys, Aunty hit that 150kg once again, narrowly missing 153 as she fell forward.

With a technical error in her third bench, the 90kg must wait for another day. We will hunt you down 90!

Finishing with a mighty effort on her third deadlift at 166kg, matching her strength to her sumo [deadlift] we are looking forward to spending a good solid amount of time building further here.

The valiant grind on her last lift shows how much grit and heart Aunty has and we love being alongside her as she keeps moving forward.

Squat
140 ✔️ 150 ✔️ 153 ❌

Bench
81 ✔️ 86 ✔️ 90 ❌

Deadlift
150 ✔️ 158 ✔️ 166 ✔️

We have many first timers moving through prep this year hitting the platform at various times.

It is a wonderful time for women in strength sports. It is so great seeing so many women stepping into this world and having a great time in the process!

With 4 comps over 7 weeks, we are 2 down! It is an exciting time for us and our ladies here at Barbell Babes Brigade.

An exceptional day for both Aunty and Kris last Sunday.

Both in their performance and attitude.

Well done Queens!