Squamish鈥檚 Emma Gilchrist is relatively new to powerlifting but is already setting records.
The 16-year-old, who attends Howe Sound Secondary, competed at the Gord Pronick Memorial Powerlifting Championships in Abbotsford on Nov. 8, when she set a new national record for her sub-junior 14-18 age bracket and weight class. She competes within the British Columbia Powerlifting Association (BCPA), a division of the International Powerlifting Federation.
For the event, the competitors get three chances in each of three categories: the squat, the bench press and the deadlift. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e all compound lifts. They鈥檙e using all the muscles in your body,鈥� she said.
Gilchrist says her approach during competition is to start with a challenging weight she knows she can handle and then move on to set personal records.
In the competition, the best scores for each lift are taken.聽
On her third attempt, she set a national record squat of 187.5 lbs (85 kg) for her class. Her best bench press came in at 85 lbs (37.5 kg), not enough for a national record. For deadlift, on her third attempt, she set a national record was 220 lb. (100 kg).
When the three weights were tallied together, Gilchrist came in with a total of 492.5 lbs (222.5 kg), which set a national record for the total for her class and represented a jump of 17 kilograms over the previous record, set only in April.
Gilchrist was motivated to start powerlifting by her boyfriend Lukas Nering, who trains with her, usually six days a week.
She has been lifting for about two and a half years but started training seriously only recently.聽
She got more involved with powerlifting when she attended her first competition in Abbotsford.
鈥淚 never really started challenging myself till this summer,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 was kind of flatlining.鈥�
For her, this means not being afraid to add more weight to the bar, but it also means not being afraid to fail.
She said the benefits go beyond the physical in that the training helps her focus, and it has even paid off in terms of her education. 鈥淚t鈥檚 completely changed my mentality,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 feel that I鈥檓 more driven in school.鈥�
For the Pronick event, she prepared by undertaking a six-week strength program with the goal of being at her strongest by the time of the competition in November, which helped her set the records.
Records, though, are made to be broken. After she was interviewed, she emailed The 麻豆社国产 to say that her records for deadlifts and total score had just been beaten, but she was taking it in stride, using it as a motivation to keep setting more records and preparing for the provincials next June.
