By Ethan Benedicto
The art of lifting weights and its popularity has greatly broadened in recent years, however, competition standards are a new level altogether, and is something that 15-year-old Lara Jones knows well.
As her bags are packed, Lara has since steeled herself – literally and figuratively – for her trip to the north-eastern United States in Massachusetts.
There, Lara’s mettle will be tested at the Student and University World Championships, a renowned powerlifting competition and an experience that she is more than prepared and excited about.
“I’m so excited, like, 10 out of 10 excited, and it’s going to be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.
“The nerves are definitely there, but the excitement outweighs it; I was told (that she qualified) around October 2024, and I got the email, and originally I wasn’t going to go.
“It’s a long way to get over there, but then my dad turned around and said, no, we’re going, so we booked it in December and I’ve been training since February.”
So far, Lara has been training for 12 weeks leading towards the comp, with a consistency of five times a week, all before school.
The competition, which is set to take place on Saturday, 10 May, has the standard core lifts, which are the squat, deadlift and bench press.
Likewise, Lara’s training regimen focuses on these compound movements, with whole days dedicated to the specific movement.
“Each day I have a different lift, one day I’ll squat, another day I’ll lift, and then I’ll do what we call accessory lifts that help build those (compound) movements,” she said.
“These accessory lifts are what I’m going to need to build the strength to be able to get stronger on those lifts, and I’ll do all those an hour before school, five times a week.”
As it stands, Lara’s personal bests – or PBs for short – are 145 kg on deadlift, 105 kg on squat, and 75 kg on bench press.
These records were performed out of competition, and as Lara recalled that she never performed all three PBs in one day, she aims to do so in the upcoming event.
While that in itself is a challenge, she also aims to bring it down to where it all began, and that is the sheer amount of joy the experience of lifting gives her.
“I initially started training it, and I just loved the way it made my body feel,” she said.
“I loved being able to lift heavy weights, but it wasn’t until one of my coaches at the gym turned around and said that I’ve ‘got something good here’ and about doing it competitively.
“She signed me up for my first comp, and then as soon as I hit the platform, I was like, yup, this is it, I love this.”
Lara started her first competition in November of 2023, with regular training beginning in February of that year, and competition-level regimens from August forward.
Being her first comp, she was happy to have placed second, trailing just behind her older sister.
The most recent event, which took place in September 2024, Lara placed first, but she took the mantle in a way that she wasn’t necessarily proud of.
“Right now I really just want to get in the zone, because the last comp I did, I didn’t really have that much fun,” she said.
“I put too much pressure on myself to go out there and win, and instead of really enjoying the experience, I ended up having probably one of the worst comps I’ve had.
”I was full of nerves, and when I didn’t lift what I wanted, it was like everything broke loose.”
It all comes down to the love for the sport, and in the previous comp, there was almost a loss of direction, where too much focus from Lara ended up on the factor of winning, and not the same kind of joy that led her to where she is now.
For the upcoming bout, Lara will have three chances for each three lifts, with each lift repetition moving up in weight.
“For example, in squat, I’ll do three reps, one which we call the opener, which is a weight I’ve done before, then the second rep, which is the same, but could also be your PB,” she said.
“Then the third one, which is going to be the one that you really push, and then becomes the new PB for you.”
With 39 competitors in her flight (bracket) and each following the same pattern per lift, it gives Lara ample time to rest, recover and prepare for the next lift.
While physically prepared and geared to go, Lara is laying down the groundwork for a stronger mental fortitude, with the goal of hitting all her personal records in one day, all the while enjoying the moment and raking in her love for the sport.
“So I’ve never done them all in the same day, so (this time) we’re hoping to stay at these numbers,” she said.
“After last year, I just felt like I pushed myself too much, and I didn’t end up receiving the weights I wanted.
“So being able to get those numbers at comp, and if I end up pulling a 145 kg deadlift, it’ll be a 22 and a half kilo more from last year’s.”
Pushing forward is something that she is well accustomed to, with her recalling that she couldn’t remember a time when powerlifting was something she didn’t want to do anymore.
Acknowledging that there are times of physical fatigue, she just said that “when you’re this close, you just have to say that you’re almost there”.
“I’ve put in all the effort, why would I stop now and throw it all away? There’s never been a time when I’ve been like, I don’t want to do this.
”I’ve been going nonstop for so long, but that spot is so close, and my mind’s saying, it’s right there, just push that little bit further.”
Lara, while still young, knows that powerlifting is something that she wants to keep doing in the future, looking at career paths in coaching, refereeing, or just taking part in more high-level competitions.
Entertaining the thought with laughter, but most of all, determination, Lara said that “I would love to do this in the near future, and, hopefully, beat all the records”.
