Teenagers can scare even their uncles. Take Melissa, my six-foot, 14-year-old niece who recently announced to the family that she wanted to try power-lifting. I had visions of her forearms being bigger than my legs, veins popping out of a puffed up head, steam blowing out her ears.
Fear not the unknown. Once I really found out what Melissa wanted to do and who inspired her, I immediately understood Melissa’s good judgment.
Her power-lifting hero is Jacqueline Sandhu, a 43-year-old woman who balances six national records and 16 provincial records with five children, including two teenagers. Sandhu is probably one of the coolest moms a teenager could have. She’s heavily involved with her kids’ activities, many of them sports-related, and she loves to hear about their lives.
But Sandhu has her own special life (another lesson for us all): a desire to constantly challenge her body and her mind. And contrary to common thought, power-lifting competition is very personal. Jacqueline Sandhu says the sport’s biggest challenge is felt at the most personal level: “I always strive to do better at my next meet. I don’t have a competitor’s name in mind if I’m going after a record because I’m competing against myself.”
Power-lifting challenges a person to combine force with velocity to lift heavier weights for fewer reps. But many people confuse power-lifting events with Olympic lifting. So in power-lifting what does my niece propose to do with her weights?
- Squat: The lifter squats with the bar across her shoulders, and straightens up.
- Bench Press: The lifter lies on a bench, lowers the weight to her chest, holds the bar motionless, and raises it.
- Dead Lift: The lifter raises the weight off the floor to a standing position (bar just above the knees), and lowers it to the floor again.
- Scoring: Each lifter makes three attempts in the Squat, Bench Press, and Dead Lift. The greatest weight successfully lifted in each event counts toward an overall score.
- Weight Classes: The greater the lifter’s body weight and bulk, the greater her potential lift. Therefore, a fair competition requires that all lifters of relatively equal weight compete against each other.
When a person truly takes responsibility for her work, she can experience true joy in success. And in power-lifting, success could be lifting more than you ever have (setting a personal record), rather than winning the contest.
Sandhu recently inspired onlookers at the Canadian National Power-lifting Championships by smashing her own records and setting some new ones. This event was held under the rules of the International Power-lifting Federation (IPF), which is power-lifting’s version of the International Olympic Committee. Sandhu startled spectators as she reached a magical peak for power-lifters: weighing just under 105 pounds, she pulled 309 pounds up to her knees in a successful Canadian national record attempt. She lifted almost three times her body weight. No woman in Canadian power-lifting history has ever pulled that much weight off the floor since drug testing was incorporated in 1986.
Sandhu must pass drug tests in order for the record to stand. She has never failed one because she simply rejects steroid use. She says drugs ruin the whole point of exercise and sports because they damage the body.
That’s somebody to look up to.
In addition to working out, food is also critical to the success of athletes, Jacqueline Sandhu included. What does she eat? “Not a lot of fats. Not a lot of fast foods, sugars, starches. Just very clean, non-processed foods. Salads, fresh veggies, fruit, lean protein. I eat chicken breasts, tuna: a good, clean diet. Apart from the pizzas,” Sandhu laughs.
So my niece wants to be a power-lifter because she thinks Jacqueline Sandhu is pretty, strong, and intelligent. Melissa may yet discover her own strength, beauty, and intelligence from the inspiration of her parents. But the road less traveled is still an adventure to be treasured if it leads to the same happy end. One day, maybe my niece will bench-press me; that would likely be a world record!