DO you even lift? Well, you don’t have to ask Stacey Swetnam that question twice. The former Narooma resident has taken on the male dominated sport of powerlifting with huge success having just competed in the GPC (Global Powerlifting Committee) National Powerlifting Championships in Queensland where she finished with a bronze medal.
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So how much can she lift? In total: 365kg. To put that weight into perspective that is about the weight of a mid-sized horse or a grand piano.
Stacey entered into the sport of powerlifting after having a bad fall from a horse while competing at a showjumping championships event last December.
The 25-year-old, who was training at the time at a Crossfit facility, was unable to do any movements that required much movement of her shoulder.
Her coach Adam Gawley put together a strength style training system that focused on two of the three powerlifting movements – squat and deadlift.
With such a competitive instinct Stacey was training six days per week on average three hours each day in hope of being able to compete at the National titles. After months of intensive rehabilitation on her shoulder Stacey began incorporating the third movement of powerlifting into her training – the bench press.
Three weeks later she competed in her first powerlifting competition which she won and was immediately qualified for the National titles after squatting 120kg, deadlifting 160kg and benching 55kg.
Last weekend she improved on all three of these numbers. At the biggest powerlifting event ever held in Australia Stacey performed a 135kg squat, 170kg deadlift and 60kg bench press.
Stacey has since been selected to compete in the Pro-Raw-Six Powerlifting Competition which brings together the top 10 male and female lifters in Australia to compete together against each other in the ultimate showdown with thousands of dollars in prizes. She said she was excited for what is ahead for the rest of the season.
“I’m really looking forward to competing in the Pro-raw competition and improving on all my numbers.
“I am aiming for a 185kg deadlift, 145kg squat and 75kg bench press. It will be fantastic to compete against world record holders on such a big platform.”
Stacey also has her sights set on using her strength to her advantage and has begun incorporating Crossfit fitness regime style workouts back into her training.
“Before my injury I was looking toward qualifying for Regionals (the national championships for Crossfit in Australia and New Zealand) but most of the movements were off limits with my shoulder.
“I’m now working really hard building my fitness back up and working on my weaknesses so I will be ready for next years’ qualifiers.
“It’s a lot of hours spent training but I don’t like doing thing by halves,” Stacey said.
