Trained by the Strongest Man

as told by Julia,

Growing up in Hong Kong, I helped my mother take her goods to the market to sell. I was only a tiny little girl, but we pushed and pulled heavy boxes using a long rope. During droughts, I had to fetch water from the public well, carrying two full buckets balanced on a bamboo pole across my shoulders. Maybe that’s how I became so strong.

As an adult, I never exercised. Then, in 2002, I landed a fabulous job with Emirates Airline in Perth, Australia. The frequent travel to Melbourne and Dubai was extremely stressful. I wasn’t eating properly, and before long I had gained about 33 pounds.

One day I looked at myself and thought, Oh my God, what is happening? My GP told me, “You’re pre-diabetic. You need to lose weight.” So what did I do? I went on a cruise and came home even heavier! Then came Christmas, followed by Chinese New Year. I travelled back to Hong Kong, where, as everyone knows, you do nothing but eat. When I returned home and looked in the mirror again, I thought, This is ridiculous.

Around that time, a new gym held an Open Day. I signed up, and at the age of 52 I started exercising for the very first time. Within a year and a half, I had lost those 33 pounds. Then my personal trainer left to go to university.

My new trainer was the strongest man in Australia and New Zealand

After watching me train, he said, “You’re really strong. You should try powerlifting.”

I laughed, “No way! I’m not strong at all.”

A few months later, he brought it up again. “I’m serious. I’ll train you for free.”

Of course, I still paid him—just not very much! He entered me in powerlifting competitions “just to test the waters.” To my surprise, I absolutely loved it. We trained together for about 10 years before he left when he got married and started a family.

Since then, I’ve been training with a strength coach from New Zealand. He’s excellent. He knows exactly how much weight I should be lifting so I can continue to get stronger without injuring myself as I get older.

I’m 72 now

I do other forms of exercise, too, but powerlifting is my passion. It consists of three lifts: the squat, the deadlift, and the bench press. In the squat, you rest a loaded barbell across your shoulders, squat down, and stand back up. My personal best is 209 pounds—about one and a half times my body weight. That is considered an elite lift. My favorite event is the deadlift where you lift a loaded barbell from the floor. My personal best is 232 pounds. The bench press is not my favorite, but I’ve still managed a personal best of 101 pounds.

Two years ago, I achieved what is officially recognized as a world record

World record within my age and weight class across Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania. The local newspaper was so impressed that they published a story about me. I plan to keep powerlifting for the rest of my life. Strength training helps maintain bone density as we age, and that’s one of the reasons I want to keep doing it.

I’m not going to stop. I love it too much.