Watch the “unlikely athlete” who can deadlift 170kg
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Video Credit: Rumble
A 28-year-old woman, from Tetbury, Gloucestershire, has become a powerlifting world champion just one year after taking up the sport.
Lucinda Perrett, who was always picked last for the games in her school, can now deadlift 170kg – nearly twice her body weight.
After she started going to the gym, the self-confessed “unlikely athlete” started loving working out and entered a local lifting competition.
She ended up with four gold medals at the world championships. She also won the British and European titles and then headed to Florida, the USA for the amateur event.
She now trains five times a week at her local gym and can deadlift 170kg. She says she was never sporty and calls herself an ‘unlikely athlete’.
She said: “I went to the gym anyway but had some strong friends there – one just said that if I wanted to be better at working out I should be doing squats and bench presses.”
“It’s good for bone density so I was going to do it for health benefits anyway. But it turned out I was quite good at it. It didn’t take much work to get me lifting heavier weights.”
Powerlifting has made Lucinda more body confident. She feels strong and amazing.
She said: “I’m not dedicated to the gym – I’m dedicated to bettering myself.”
Lucinda hopes to inspire other girls who don’t feel comfortable in their own skin. She said: “If there are girls thinking ‘I’m rubbish at netball, or running’ – they should know there’s a place for everyone.”
“There has been some girls in the gym who have asked me to show them how to deadlift or bench press. When I competed at the world championships, to know that other woman did this [powerlifting] was really good – I only train with men.”
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