| Name |
| Diane Nelson |
| Age |
| 52 |
| Weight Class |
| 87+ |
| Where do you live? |
| Adrian, MI |
| Squat PR: |
| 240 lbs |
| Bench PR: |
| 150 lbs |
| Deadlift PR: |
| 325 lbs |
| Clean & Jerk PR: |
| 145 lbs |
| Snatch PR: |
| 105 (Power) lbs |
| Years lifting? |
| 2.5 |
| How did you come to powerlifting or Olympic lifting? |
| I did a 6 week challenge at BlackHorse Crossfit. It wasn’t long into the training that I knew lifting was my thing 🙂 |
| Do you have any previous athletic or lifting experience? |
| I was a gymnast in youth, fairly serious. |
| Do you compete? Why or why not? If you compete, what do you like most about the competitions? |
| I love to compete! The energy is amazing at competitions! |
| Equipped or Raw? |
| Wrapped |
| Do you have a coach or trainer? In person or online? How did you find your trainer/program? Do you have any advice for women looking for a trainer? |
| LOL – I have several coaches and mentors. Jim Ragan is my home coach, and I am training at Lily Weightlifting five days a week. I found Lily through Jim. Advice? Still so new myself, but everyone teaches a bit differently. Getting into a club that has a weightlifting team helps to make me more aware of the competitions and where I stand. Look for a club that has success with their team? |
| Where do you train? Gym, garage? |
| Home gym is amazing – thanks, hubby (Eric), and I train there almost nightly. Lily Weightlifting starts my day in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I play at BlackHorse Crossfit sometimes with my friends. |
| What is the hardest part about beginning lifting as an older woman? |
| Feeling stupid. Asking stupid questions. Calculating in metric (OMG). Falling on a lift, LOL. Helping your family to know you aren’t crazy? |
| How has lifting affected your health? |
| I have lost 50 pounds, have a body that despite the extra weight, would not want to trade (much). I feel healthy and happier. |
| What would you tell women just beginning this journey? |
| No lie, it hurts in the beginning, if you haven’t exercised much before. Work through it, and keep going. Oh, and just keep adding on the weight 🙂 It will start to get lots more fun! Listen to coaches so that you reduce the chance of getting injured. Try to eat healthy and limit drinking alcohol. Be patient and take pictures of yourself so that you have something crazy to look back on in the future. |
