The Anti-Diet Dietitian
Powerlifting with
Cristina Guerra
How did you get involved in powerlifting?
For me to answer this question, I think I need to first talk about how I got involved in CrossFit, which is ultimately what led me to powerlifting. In high school, I played 3 sports but when I went away to college, the sports ended. I had intended on trying out for club softball- 3 years in a row, but somehow I always got sucked into the fun of returning back to school for the fall, which made it clear to me that playing softball was not a priority. Instead, I partied like many college students do, ate pizza at 2 am, and slept all day to recover. I became unhappy with my body and quickly resorted to an unhealthy pattern of eating and over exercising.
For three years, my exercise consisted of cardio (mostly running, and the occasional elliptical). My last year, I was introduced to a weight lifting class that was choreographed to music; it’s called Body Pump by Les Mills. It’s still around and it’s an amazing one hour workout that blends cardio and weightlifting together and boy does it burn! I started seeing changes in my body and decided that I needed to eat healthier than I was, which also resulted in more changes. I took this class at my college gym 2-3 times per week for full year before graduating and falling back into my old ways. But if I saw so many great changes in my body and had so much fun lifting weights with, then why did I stop after college? Because I had no idea what I was doing in the gym without an instructor, but I sure knew how to run.
So I trained for a half marathon for 4 months. Getting up early before work, or running several miles after work without skipping a day takes discipline, discipline that I didn’t know that I had. It made me stronger mentally, made me feel like I could do anything I wanted. I wasn’t always a runner, but I turned myself into one so that I could survive 13.1 miles. During that training, I decided I wanted to get back into weight lifting for several personal reasons, but I had no idea where to start and I felt uncomfortable in the gym, alone, with the guys. I was then introduced to CrossFit, which became my outlet. I grew to love the sport because I loved the idea of lifting heavy, and I still got a lot of conditioning in, but after a year of learning and progressing, I realized I wanted to be competitive and I wasn’t quite sure if CrossFit was the right venue for that.
During my time crossfitting, I met a guy who trained for powerlifting competitions. He asked me to join him for a workout but I was very hesitant as CrossFit and powerlifting are two very different sports. I honestly stigmatized any female who powerlifted as “manly”, which is totally ironic considering where I am today. But, I was open-minded and gave it a shot. I was awful and weak, but that is what made me keep showing up to train with him. I did CrossFit in the morning and then trained the big 3 (squat, bench, deadlift) with him in the evening. I grew a hunger to lift heavier and heavier, and the physical changes I was seeing in myself from both sports was like nothing I had ever experienced in all my years of spending time running or on the elliptical. Then, he asked me to compete with him in a powerlifting meet to put forth all of my hard work and see what type of numbers I could hit. With that, it meant my training had to be dedicated to powerlifting solely, and within 5 months of having started on that journey, I left my CrossFit gym to pursue powerlifting “full time”. That was over one year ago.
In your opinion, what is the best part of powerlifting?
There are so many amazing parts of powerlifting, but I’ll share two.
The first is the sense of achievement you feel when you hit a PR (personal record). I spend a lot of time in the gym because this is my hobby, my passion, and when I go into a meet and lift numbers that I never have, that right there is an amazing feeling to know that all my hard work has paid off.
The other piece, which I think is the most important, is the complete confidence that you build from participating in the sport. The lessons learned through training translate to so many other aspects of life. This is certainly true for other sports as well, but my training has taught me so much about myself. It has taught me about hard work and never quitting even when I want to. It positively changed me mentally and it changed me physically. It changed my relationship with my friends, my parents, food, and exercise, but most importantly with myself. I now live in a body that I am proud of and love.
What does your typical week look like in terms of your fitness training?
I train 5 days per week for strictly powerlifting. There are several ways to train and it depends on what type of training program you are following. Some programs train as little as 3 days per week. On the other 2 days of the week, I usually take at least one complete rest day and then one cardio/ stretch day because recovery is very important in powerlifting, just as in any sport. Typically, I dedicate one day to heavy, low volume upper body/ bench, lower body/ squats and lower body/deadlifts and then a 4th day where I combine all 3 at a lighter weight but higher volume. (Volume refers to the number of sets and reps). I also do a lot of conditioning to keep my endurance up.
Are you involved in competitions?
Yes, I have competed in two powerlifting meets and I have my third meet coming up this October. My first meet I participated in was in December 2015 when I had only been training for powerlifting for four months. I competed, met amazing athletes who inspired me to keep working hard in the gym and 4 months later competed again in April 2016.
If a woman is afraid to enter the world of powerlifting, what would you say to her?
I would tell her that I have been there before, too. I have feared heavy weights because of the myth that lifting heavy makes females look like men (this is highly dependent on your diet, your training and the use of steroids). I have doubted my ability to commit to training with so much of life getting in the way, and I have questioned whether the lifestyle was for me and if I should just go back to eating salads and running. But, I also say that powerlifting is not for the faint of heart. It’s hard work. It’s blood, sweat, and calluses. It’s not always beautiful, but the journey is. Women are strong creatures and we deserve to know what kind of strength our bodies are capable of! Not to mention, it’s cool to keep up with the boys, and even cooler to be stronger than them! It earns you some serious respect in the gym too. And lastly, this is something that I have discovered for myself that I think will resonate with others: Powerlifting is a strength sport. Lifting weights builds muscle. Muscle burns fat. If your goal is to burn fat and get fit, rather than focusing on being skinny, participate in an activity where the goal isn’t necessarily to lose weight, but the goal is to be as strong as you can be. This will take a lot of stress off of you, and make weight loss less of a chore. As long as you are fueling your body with the appropriate foods, you will see progress. I compare this to the old saying “a watched pot never boils”.
Do you ever have days where you would much rather sit on the couch than hit the gym? What do you tell yourself to get motivated?
Absolutely! There are days when I’m so tired from being at work all day, or sore from training during the week that I would love to go home and fall asleep on the couch or just veg out. There have been plenty of times where I have fought myself in my head about making the “right” choice. That is why I bring gym clothes to work with me every single day because I don’t have to stop home to grab them and fall into the trap of laying on the couch. I think we all give ourselves too many outs and allow ourselves to make excuses. I could easily have thoughts such as “I had a long day and I deserve to relax and watch TV.” Instead, I think of exercise as more of a stress reliever and “happy hour,” so I change my thoughts to, “I had a long day and I deserve to reward my body with feel good endorphins”. I love being active and I love powerlifting so it’s never a chore for me to get to the gym. I have never once regretted going to the gym to work out/ train, but I have regretted just going home to sit on the couch and stare at my phone for hours.
So I’m interested in powerlifting, where do I start?
Other than training with the guy who introduced me to powerlifting, who ultimately became my coach, I was doing my own research and trying to learn as much about the sport as I could. I’m big into social media, so I followed a lot of female powerlifters who inspired me on Instagram. From Leanna Carr who balances being a college student with being an elite lifter, to Marisa Inda who balances motherhood and being an elite lifter, I was in awe by how super strong and beautiful these women truly are. I watched YouTube vlogs to learn the proper technique of squatting, benching and deadlifting and then executed them in the gym. I googled different powerlifting organizations to compete in and learned the rules associated with each and what kind of equipment I needed for training. A coach isn’t always viable for people, but the Internet is free, so take advantage of it and just read! Once you’re ready to give it a try, find a friend who also likes to lift weights and see if they want to try something new. If they don’t that’s okay too. There are so many web-based powerlifting teams to be a part of where you can share your successes and ask questions. I recommend checking out Leana Carr’s “Iron Woman” powerlifting program (https://www.ironwomanstrength.com/) to help get you started and on the path to strength.
And just as a side note: my favorite community of female powerlifters is “Girls Who Powerlift”. This is an IG run by an amazing woman named Ivy whose original intention was to inspire herself when she first started powerlifting, and it basically turned into a movement. If you search #girlswhopowerlift on IG, you’ll find a team of women from all over the world who have come together and share their passion of powerlifting and strength. You can check out the IG or read their many blogs which I definitely recommend doing to learn more about powerlifting and how other women have embraced their strength. (https://www.girlswhopowerlift.com/blogs/blog)
More specifically, this series of blogs is geared towards those who are just getting started on their powerlifting journey and includes information about picking a program and planning a meet. (https://www.girlswhopowerlift.com/blogs/blog/tagged/beginners).
What’s your number one piece of advice when it comes to lifting?
There will be good days and there will be bad days of training. Some days you might get lost and wonder why you put in so much effort, but stay the course and trust yourself. Quitting is easy, you need to give yourself the opportunity to see what happens if you don’t.
Why is exercise a priority in your life?
Life gets crazy and can result in several stressors on the body and mind. Exercise to me is something in my life that I can control and it brings me so much happiness. It is my outlet and it is my safe haven when I am happy, sad, mad or lost. On days when I feel like giving up completely, training is my purpose to keep going. I spend my entire work day helping others and supporting them, this is the one thing that I do for myself. Aside from that, I know the health benefits of exercising and I often think to the future that I will be a healthy adult into my later years if I continue to take care of myself.
​
​
Be open-minded and try something new. You might just come to find yourself in love with the sport, and even if powerlifting is not for you, find an activity that you’re passionate about. We all deserve something in life that sets our souls on fire.
