Women fitness enthusiasts take to powerlifting

“One of the biggest gamechangers is that there are more people trained to teach these techniques. A lot of trainers used to push cardio, but now that more coaches know the current techniques, more women are taking it up,” said Prashanthi Ganesh, coach and co-founder of Strength Systems.

Eight months ago, Lavanya Nambiar began incorporating powerlifting exercises into her training upon the recommendation of her coach. As a junior oar woman, she said that she had always been interested in the technique. “I felt stronger in my rowing and helped me a lot. It is a good mix, and it gives me better stability,” she said.

According to Siddharth Sunil, these techniques are popular due to their holistic value. “The trend towards being fit is shifting from just looking good to being functional for the general populace. Powerlifting helps people feel stronger, move better, and accomplish day-to-day tasks easier. The caveat to these exercises is that there is a risk of injury,” he said.

However, there is always a danger of injury. Two and a half weeks ago, fitness enthusiast Tina Lulla sprained her back after deadlifting 50 kgs as part of her daily training regimen. “You need to be more aware of your body if you use powerlifting techniques. Injury occurs when you ego lift – when you don’t listen to your body and hurt yourself. I did ego lift that day, because I thought I would be able to do the lift as I had done it earlier. I didn’t realise that I was tired and not ready to do it,” she said.

There is a mental and emotional benefit to these techniques, according to Ganesh. “The feeling of autonomy in their body is a feeling that women go without all through their lives. These techniques have a direct impact on that. You feel more confident about carrying groceries, about moving your furniture. You don’t depend on others, and culturally, women are positioned as the weaker sex. It gives us the confidence to be independent,” she said.

According to Sunil, there also exists another reason. “The reason why many go for it is because of the ‘wow’ factor. They think, ‘I can back lift 60 kgs, let me put it on Instagram and show everyone’,” said Sunil.