Powerlifter survey part 5: I have no more words

Editor’s note: I was going to write a preamble, but it’s not necessary. Everything you need is below.

In case you missed the others, here are all the posts in this series:

What do you love about this sport?

What does it give you?

Peace. Space. Internal power. It allows me to be “different”. A sense that there is something I can do right. A quiet place to fail and try again without ridicule. Be a badass. A host of amazing friends that are my family because most of my family sucks and thinks I’m useless. It gives me a home and family and love and acceptance and courage.

I love that there’s always something to strive for. I love that it tests my resolve every training day. I love that nobody’s technique is perfect but the we’re all trying to make it so every day. I love that progress can be measured in so many ways. I love that I can train alone or with others. I love that it’s not what people expect me to be doing. I love that the platform crew cheer every lifter on. I love that I can do it for me and find joy in the worst training day, because I’m doing something I love and something I want to keep doing for decades.

It gives me shape and attitude!

I love the people I meet. The beautiful strong women who amaze me every time I compete. I love the confidence It gave me as a very overweight person ( 230lbs when I started). I had bariatric surgery due to severe health issues. It has been a struggle coming back afterwards I lost a lot of my strength but It is coming back slowly. It makes me focus on getting good nutrients into my body.

I love the structure and quantifiable metrics. You can either do it or you can’t do it. I love the rhythm of a training cycle and, having done it for a while, knowing that bad days are balanced by good ones.

I love to feel I have mastered (conquered) the weight i have set in my mind.I also love bringing new women in and infecting them with the passion.. as I am not a small person so was never dainty ( no ballet dancer or gymnast) so I feel a kinship to these bigger women that could never participate or were never good in sports. It gives me pleasure to see them reach their goals like a mother hen.

inclusive to many groups such as para and blind and most important no age limit. Gives me motivation to work out and be a proud member of powerlifting family.

I love the camaraderie with my fellow lifters – it is very supportive and encouraging. I love challenging myself to do more than I ever thought possible and proving other people wrong. I love getting the competitive juices flowing at competitions – it is a rush! I love feeling strong, being more mobile and looking much healthier and more fit. It is always a work in progress and it is never work when it is something you enjoy so much. I love how it has given my confidence a huge boost – I am willing to take more chances and put myself out there more. My quality of life has improved immensely.

Confidence; the feeling that I can do something more than myself.

Camaraderie – something that the sport of bodybuilding did not give so freely. I have always been a team sport athlete (aside from my 15 years of bodybuilding). And so, powerlifting has allowed me to come back to my roots – but in a way that I thrive – to do something with others AND by myself.

I love the powerlifting family. I have friends all over the world from powerlifting and I have coffee every morning with several of my American friends online! I also feel good! It is awesome to just go out and pick up heavy weights because I can.

I am good at to, I love the travel and the people I meet. I love lifting heavier as I train harder
The people I train with…. personal achievement….. seeing people improve

Sense of accomplishment

The comeraderie and the sense of accomplishment.

I love how strong I am. I love how healthy it keeps me both mentally and physically. I love setting goals and reaching them. I love the type of dedication and hard work it takes to achieve my goal numbers. I love how a women can be identified and valued by her dedication and achievement in this sport, and how that helps to overshadow how women are normally perceived by their aesthetic beauty. (Both by others and oneself.)

Love the confidence and strength that it gives me — this “bleeds” over into my work life for sure

Empowerment and strength

The camaraderie is amazing. Like I mentioned above, I recently competed in my first meet and women whom I’d never met where giving me pointers, hugs, cheering for me…it was AMAZING.
This sport feeds my competitive nature, gives me a sense of accomplishment and strength–both physical and mental–that I didn’t know I was capable of.

Love–the people and friendships that are almost 20 years old; the new friendships that are formed; the ability to prove you can age and still gain strength without drugs; camaraderie; chance to see the world
Gives me–a reason to stay active and an opportunity to represent Canada from time to time; pride of being an athlete at a high level; the opportunity to give back

Confidence, and team environment, being part of something different out of the norm.

love how it is training me to be patient, resilient, pay attention to my body, increased physical and mental strength
it gives me camaraderie with like minded people

I love the fact that I am doing something I never even thought about before. I love the whole community of lifters and the opportunity to meet like minded people.

Feeling of achievement

A real buzz

Likeminded people

It gives me confidence-more than I had before. It strengthens my body. And perhaps most importantly, it serves as a great mental therapy.

I love that it’s given me a confidence I didn’t know I could have. I love that I’m a competitive athlete even though I’m still losing weight. The sport didn’t require me to be picture perfect before I started. I love being strong.

i love feeling strong and bad ass. i love doing things that a lot of other people could not do. i also love the lifting community.

strength is a good thing in general. helps with confidence and helps decrease arthritis symptoms

Fun, confidence, strength, new friends, traveling, focus, goals,

I love feeling strong. It makes me feel confident. The circle of people at the meets are so welcoming and supportive.

Feeling powerful and strong.

The community of women I have met online and in person. I love that no matter the weight on the bar people cheer for that PR lift. I love that it’s about getting stronger and becoming more. I’m done with trying to be less.

Empowerment, equality. This is the one place in life where my gender makes me equal. The bar doesn’t care what gender I am and there’s no special “women’s” plates

It makes me feel strong. It gives me the “runners high” but without the running!

I love how supportive everyone is, I love that you are in essence only competing against yourself and making yourself better, I love getting better, getting stronger, and making my kids proud…… I love the team I lift with, they make it so pleasurable, and I love my coaches who always know when I am having an off day and encourage me, and I LOVE that the weight never changes, just me……

Oh, so much! A better relationship with my body–something to celebrate and cherish rather than see as an enemy. A measurable sense of progress. A community. The peace of mind when under the bar–a big boost to mental health.

I love it, it is empowering and increase self esteem and has brought me new amazing friends

I love the feeling of empowerment and strength gains

Having started at age 62, I love that I can actually be competitive even tho my weights may seem awfully light to younger, stronger women. I have competed in 3 meets and I feel that my efforts are appreciated and respected, a real high.

People. It gives me wonderful people. It gives me a chance to improve myself constantly, to learn more about my body and how it behaves in the face of challenges. It gives me ways of finding strength and courage and it has shown me a part of myself that is in many ways my truest self.