I won’t lie. I am so tired right now that I can barely keep my eyes open. Wanna know the best part? It’s 7:30pm. That being said, this post probably won’t be as amazingly awesome as the first one in this series, but I’m willing to bet it’ll get my point across and hopefully inspire some of you ladies to take what I said to heart!

I was at a powerlifting meet a couple weekends ago to watch a couple friends compete, and I saw some familiar faces from the meet I had attempted back in Sept. I was like, “ya know, these chics look really good. Oh shit! I should use them as examples for my ‘Hey, Chics….‘ series.”

Not only do they look good, but they’re strong as hell too! Then, as if it couldn’t get any better, I just so happened to pick out the three that finished 1st, 2nd, and 3rd. Fuck, I’m good!

So, being the Creepy McCreepster that I am (kidding *cough*), I decided to start filming their lifts in hopes that they would let me use the video after I talked to them. Turns out, they all liked the idea.

You will notice that they all lift very heavy weights, are NOT big and bulky, and don’t do steady state cardio. They do all the things I recommended in the first post. Don’t worry, no need for you to pat me on the back, I’m doing that myself.

Let’s meet Anna…

She’s 22, weighs 130lb., and has been competing for 2 years. She’s a full-time personal trainer certified through ACE. She has an undergrad degree in Kinesiology (that was hard to type) and has been training clients for two and a half years. Currently she’s deciding if she wants to get into Physical Therapy or teaching Exercise Physiology at the collegiate level. I asked her to give me something embarrassing about herself, and all she could come up with was, “she used to do Olympic Weightlifting but switched to Powerlifting in college.” Great, Anna, I’m glad you provided relevance to the site (and that it proves you’re an even bigger badass), but don’t you realize people come here for comedy? Geesh!

Just kidding. Don’t hurt me, please.

Now, what we all want to know about her is how she trains. She lifts 4 or 5 days/wk (depending on how close it is to a competition) and DOES NOT do ANY steady state cardio. She tells me that Mondays are sprints on the spin bikes (about 30min), Wednesdays are sprints on the treadmill (about 30min), and Fridays are Crossfit (1hr). Can you add that up, folks? That’s only 2 hours ALL WEEK! I know women that do 2 hrs. of cardio PER DAY and never touch a weight.

So, if you’re wondering how she did, she ended up getting 3rd overall in the women’s open raw division. She had a 245lb. squat, 130lb. bench press, and 265lb. deadlift for a total of 640lb.

Next up is Fawn Friday (her name is underlined because I want you to click on it)…

Fawn is 37, weighs 123lb., and has been competing for 2 years. She’s a full-time personal trainer certified through NSCA-CPT. She is also RKC and Z-health “R” and “I” Phase certified. She had been teaching yoga classes for 14 years while she was an executive chef, but decided to make the switch to full-time 4 years ago. She’s an independant trainer out at The Press Gym, and I highly recommend a session or 10 with her if you’re in the area. The thing that she wants all of you to know is that she doesn’t like to compete. What?!?! Like, for realz? Yes, for realz. Maybe that’s not too astonishing to some of you, but wait til you read about her accomplishments…..while competing.

She lifts 4 days/wk and doesn’t do any steady state cardio. Her preferred form of cardio is teaching kettlebell classes 6 days/week. If you’ve never kettlebell’d before, than you obv (obviously) have no room to speak. So, about those accomplishments. Fawn holds the MN state records in both the squat and deadlift. Even more impressive than that, is that she used to hold the National record for squat. Not bad for someone that doesn’t even like to compete.

Fawn ended up getting 2nd overall in the women’s open raw division. She had a 255lb. squat, 115lb. bench press, and 315lb. deadlift for a total of 685lb. Unfortunately, I didn’t get any of her bench press on video, but if you don’t believe me, you can just go online and confirm with the official results.

Last, and most definitely not least, we have the 1st place winner in the women’s open raw division. Everyone, this is Sheri. Say hi to Sheri. (I’ll assume you all said “hi Sherri” in unison right there.) Thank you.

Sheri is 24, weighs 130lb., and has been competing for….wait for it….2 years. (I sense a trending topic.) She is a full-time personal trainer (wait, what did I just say about a trending topic?) and certified through NSCA-CSCS. She works up at Fitness 19 in Coon Rapids, MN. I won’t lie, I was kind of intimidated by her (on a couple of different levels, and the guy she was with; oh hai, Ryan, didn’t see you there) and didn’t get as much information from her as the other two. I did get one just outstanding bit of knowledge from her though. Are you ready for this? Bunnies. She really likes bunnies. I will leave it at that.

Anyways, she lifts 6 days per week, and I’m almost fearful to tell you this next part. Not for my safety but for hers. I mean, I did just tell you where she works. This is bound to piss some of you off. So, here goes….Sheri DOES NOT DO ANY CARDIO. At all. None. And then to rub it in a little more she added, “Hey, I’ve already got a 6-pack, what do I need to do cardio for?” May God be with you, Sheri, and may he protect you from all the crazy dieters and treadmill runners that are headed for Coon Rapids. Maybe your cute bunnies will distract them as you make your escape. (You see what I did there?)

Ok, enough with that, here’s how she finished: 235lb. squat, 170lb. bench, and 325lb. deadlift for a total of 730lb. She missed her 3rd attempt deadlift by a tech fault, but still managed to lockout 345. BA, chic, BA. (BA means “badass”….just so you know). And, like Fawn, I didn’t get her bench on video either. Sorry.

In just a touch of seriousness, I want to congratulate you three again. You look great and you got the numbers to back it up. And for all the ladies out there that STILL aren’t convinced, well, there’s no changing your mind, and you might as well get comfortable with your current shape. You’re gonna be there for awhile.

Don’t worry folks, the 3rd and final post in this series will be up shortly. And by shortly, I mean whenever the hell I feel like writing it. (smiley face)