Barbell Babe Adriana has been with us since May 2018 bringing all the smiles and all the sass.

Adriana came to us after finding us online and wanting to see what we were all about. Prior to coming to us here at HQ, Adriana was doing online training which was not serving her. She was struggling to find consistency and enjoyment training by herself and she was ready to make a change.

Over the last 10 months, Adriana has really stepped into some tough mental blocks that has opened up so many possibilities for 2019. Alongside Coach Tori, Adriana is now setting her sights to hit the Powerlifting Platform for the first time later this year. Something that Adriana never thought possible, we are so excited to be on this ride with her!

Lets hear about all things lifting from the girl herself!

1. What made you decide to start strength training?

I followed a whole bunch of female powerlifters on Instagram and every time I’d see them lift heavy weights I thought it was so cool that their bodies could do that and I wanted my body to do that!

2. What do you like about strength training?

I love how I feel after every session. I could be having the worst day and as soon as we get started, I instantly forget everything that was making me feel horrible. It’s also super rewarding to see improvements week on week no matter how small they are – every session brings out something positive!

3. What do you find challenging?

I’m one of these people that hits a target and automatically focuses on the next goal. I never take a second to acknowledge my successes and that’s really hard in strength training because you don’t hit PBs every session.

4. Tell me about some of your wins since starting here?

My ultimate goal when I first started training here was to be confident enough to train in a crop top and/or shorts and I am so proud to say that I finally achieved that and have been getting my top off in every session since haha! I’ve also stopped tracking my food and have started to work towards rebuilding a healthy relationship with food and I couldn’t have done it without the support of Tori and Ro. Probably my greatest success is that I’ve stopped focusing on the weight on the scales and have started focusing on the weight I’m lifting!!
Oh and I hit 100kg deadlift that I was pining for ever since I started at BBB.

5. Where was your mindset at before starting strength training with us? And where is it at now compared to that?

Mindset was shithouse. I was so focused on losing weight that I didn’t even realise I’d developed a really poor relationship with food. I felt I could only be happy if I weighed a certain number and the thought of food and my weight pretty much consumed me. It was only after I realised I had a problem that I realised just how much it was not only affecting me, but the people around me. Training at BBB has allowed me to realise that I don’t have to be a certain size to be happy and that my body can move some heavy shit and I should be so proud of that.

6. Why specifically do you think it’s grown?

I think I realised that whatever I was doing previously wasnt working – I was losing weight but I don’t think I was actually happy with myself. I wasn’t open to self improvement because I was so deluded that everything was fine health wise but training here and speaking with the other ladies and coaches made me realise that I wasn’t okay and something needed to change. Strength training makes me genuinely happy and I kinda continue to just follow it wherever it leads me.

7. What do you think it is that makes coaching with BBB different?

The coaches are human and they treat you like a person not a client. They’re so honest and open about their own experiences (both positive and negative experiences) and Ro has created an environment where I can open up to any of them about absolutely anything and know that there’ll be zero judgement and so much support. The environment they’ve created is more than just a gym, it’s a family and it’s so cliche but it’s true!

8. What do you now see as possible in the future?

I’m set on making my powerlifting debut some time this year – get me on that platform!!!!

9. What advice would you give to girls who are new to strength training?

Get involved! I can’t describe how good you’ll feel when you hit that first deadlift or squat with a barbell for the first time or bench press for reps and you realise what your body is capable of doing. The hardest step is making that first contact but if you’ve subscribed to this newsletter, you’re already passed that stage!

10. Were there any things that you had heard about strength training that held you back?

Nothing I had heard held me back. I probably steered clear from strength training because the weights section of the gym was male dominated 99.9% of the time and the thought of having to train with them made me feel really uncomfortable. I knew BBB existed and had I known i was going to fall in love with strength training instantly, I would have joined here sooner.

If you too want to know more about starting your lifting journey, reach out!

#JUSTSTRONG