A Williams Lake powerlifter was in fine form last month at a World Association of Benchers and Deadlifters (WABDL) event in Portland, OR.
Shalynn McCauley set a national WABDL powerlifting record at the March 10 meet.
McCauley, who is originally from Quesnel but now lives in Williams Lake, set a junior raw (no compression gear or lifting aids) Canadian bench press record by pushing up 156.4 pounds and a junior raw Canadian deadlift award by lifting 336 pounds. When added together, she also set a push/pull record for her class (Junior 220 pounds) of 492.4 pounds.
These incredible results are made even more impressive upon hearing that McCauley achieved them with less than a year of training.
“I started going to the gym last September for weight loss,” McCauley says.
“I hired a personal trainer because I knew nothing about the gym and through training with him I discovered I had certain strength talents. So we started gearing my training towards more strength-based movements.”
It wasn’t long before she made contact with Blair Fisher, a local powerlifting coach, and started training on a regular basis.
McCauley said she has to watch her diet closely to ensure she is well-fueled for training days.
McCauley tries to stick to a raw, whole foods diet where she avoids all processed food. When gearing up for a competition she uses a high carb, moderate fat, moderate protein diet but in the off season, she cuts down on the carbs a bit. Throughout, she counts macros to stay on track but, in order to stay sane, will treat herself with a cheat meal from time to time.
Although there are a few powerlifting events coming up in the next few months that she plans on competing in, McCauley has her sights set on the WABDL world championships being held in Las Vegas this November.