On Saturday 13th October, I competed in my 6th consecutive Australian Powerlifting Championships. In the lead up to this competition, I had to reset my expectations on what I could achieve. I have ongoing hip problems which have contributed to my squat and deadlift taking quite a few backward steps. So my goals were refocused to try and secure a silver medal and to get a bench PB on the day. Both of which I achieved. I have now finally, after a long bench PB drought, cracked a 70kg lift!

I've been a personal trainer for over 10 years and a competitive powerlifter for 8 of those years. In all that time, what has inspired me the most, is seeing people pursue things they once thought was never possible, or was even on their radar! The people that inspire the most, are not World Record holders (but they do inspire me!) but they are the people that break down stereotypes and show the world, and themselves, what is possible.

I spent most of 2017 with upper back pain, around my right scapula. I spent countless hours (and money) at the osteo and physio, to relieve the problem, only for it to raise it's ugly head not too long after. I tried a number of upper back strengthening exercises, none of which seemed to alleviate the problem.

In October I competed in my 5th consecutive Australian Powerlifting Championships, as a 52kg lifter. I finished the day going 7/9 with a 125kg squat, 65kg bench and a PB deadlift of 150kg. Both my squats and bench were down from my best, but it was great to walk away with a 150kg deadlift. If you had asked me 5 years ago, whether I thought I could ever deadlift 150kg, I would have yelled 'HELL NO!', but now I can.

It's been just over a month since I competed at the IPF World Powerlifting Championships. A month already!!! It will definitely go down as one of the best experiences and trips of my life.

I was invited to compete at the annual Matti Tikka competition, held earlier this month. This was my first competition of 2017.

Being a powerlifter, I do a lot of bench pressing. I lift heavy four times a week, and most weeks that includes benching six times. One of the most popular exercises in the gym (especially for men) is the bench press, but you see far less people working on their opposing back muscles. Building a strong back is essential to gaining and maintaining good posture, and if you're someone like me, who is interested in building a bigger bench, it's also essential for bench gains!

This post is a little late, but I thought I would still share the videos of my final comp of 2015. It was a local level competition in Sydney, run by John Tran at City Strength. It was a well run competition where I was able to lift alongside my good friend Liz Craven and be coached on the day by a great platform coach, and another friend, John Paul (JP) Cauchi as well as have my parents in the crowd.

Tomorrow will mark three weeks since I competed at the Classic Powerlifting World Championships in Salo, Finland. Wow. How time really does fly! Competing on the World stage been a dream of mine since taking up the sport and it is an experience I will cherish forever. Meeting, lifting beside, and watching the world's best lifters has now sparked a stronger desire in me to become a better lifter. I love this sport, and watching and talking to other lifters has given me greater motivation to be the best possible lifter I can be.

Three weeks ago I had the privilege once again to compete at the Australian Powerlifting Championships. The last few years I have really enjoyed competing at this competition as it is a great event to catch-up with all of my powerlifting friends from across Australia.