There are numerous misconceptions when the average person thinks of women in powerlifting.
Terms like "bulky" and "overly muscular" might come to mind, but those would never be used to properly describe female lifters. It's more about endurance, form and technique; while there's a level of strength mixed into the equation, most women maintain a slim stature.
In more recent years, women's powerlifting has become increasingly popular. Mike Baker, owner of Fitness Crossing in Beverly, decided to organize a club at his gym where female powerlifters could go to train and get in shape.
Baker, along with fellow Fitness Crossing member Sarah MacBurnie, created the Womens Federation of Strength Sports earlier this fall.
"We started the WFSS in effort to better gain recognition for women in the powerlifting arena, along with other areas of strength sports (such as Olympic lifting)," explained MacBurnie.
"It's all too often that women are overshadowed by their male counterparts in areas of strength sports, particularly at meets. After a cursory search it appears that the WFSS is the first of its kind: specializing in the arena of strength sports for women only."
An interesting way to understand the sport better is to think of it terms of runners training for a marathon. The women train 2-3 times a week for a six-week period in preparation for the big competitions.
Last November the WFSS hosted its inaugural women's only powerlifting meet, in which numerous local women competed in three different events: the squat, dead lift and bench press. The women were given three attempts at each lift (with nine lifts altogether), and the best lift in each category won. The women were divided into specific groups based on age and weight.
"Our next competition is scheduled for early February," said Baker, who also trains the women. "It's basically seasonal preparation; the women have the summer and Christmas season off and train in six-week intervals during the regular season."
The competitors range anywhere from 14 to 67 years old. There's a team element to the sport, but each person has their own regiment and essentially competes against each other come competition time.
Baker does more than just instruct the women on how to lift properly. There's a lot that goes into training for one of these competitions.
"We talk about bone density, proper foods to eat — all the stuff that can help them out in the long run," added Baker. "There are tons of health and psychological benefits that coincide with this sport. These are regular everyday women who train, mothers and grandmothers."
MacBurnie, who recently gave birth to a daughter, said that this type of powerlifting training put her in the best shape of her life prior to pregnancy. Before starting the WFSS, MacBurnie competed in numerous powerlifting events in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, placing under different federations.
