Beyond Strength: Powerlifting with a Purpose w/ Tamara Walcott

I want you to imagine a heavy deadlift. How challenging it is, the focus needed, to tune everything else out and give it your best. Now, imagine that the barbell weighs over 650 pounds. That is the reality for Tamara Walcott, a world record holder in powerlifting. But Tamara didn't always have this confidence. Having to overcome obesity and single mom guilt made Tamara the inspiring and powerful woman that she is today. Key Takeaways If You Want to Get Stronger, You Should: Work with people who support your goals and lift you up in times of hardship Accept that failure and obstacles are going to be part of the process and that you can overcome them anyway Fuel properly and often in order to support both your body and your mind Overcoming Setbacks with Tamara Walcott Tamara Walcott, the Plus Size Fitness Queen, is a record-breaking athlete, a resilient mompreneur, and a motivation to all. Her journey, marked by her triumph over food addiction and obesity, inspires others to embrace mental resilience and celebrate every victory. In this episode, we explore Tamara's world-record-setting story and join her on a transformative journey. Stay Dedicated To Your Destination, Even If You Can't See It After stumbling into a powerlifting gym in 2017, Tamara realized that she would have to change from the inside out to achieve her goals. By 2018, she was coming in first place in her first competitions and realized that to take care of others around her, she had to take care of herself first. Her mindset, mission, and ability to navigate setbacks helped her break an all-time world record while training just three days per week. These traits, combined with her dedication and ability to accept failure as part of the process, have gotten her to where she is today. Your Strength Is Your Sexy Proving to yourself that you can do something you couldn't do before is one of Tamara's favorite parts of powerlifting. Her mission is to bring more women into the sport and eventually get the deserved recognition from associations such as ESPN and the Olympics.  She works to encourage women to stop letting comparison steal their joy and instead compete against themselves while ensuring they are fueling enough. If you believe in your ability to keep going despite the obstacles in the way, anything is possible. Are you feeling called to lift something heavy? Share how you are getting involved in the community with me in the comments on the episode page. In This Episode How Tamara got bit by the powerlifting bug (6:28) Surprising things about powerlifting as a sport and lessons learned (13:34) Discover the environment and energy of a powerlifting meet (16:46) Inner dialogue tips and the importance of pushing past your own limiting beliefs (26:40) Looking at the training schedule of a recording-breaking single power mom powerlifter (32:51) Understanding 'My Strength is My Sexy', 'Women in Powerlifting', and more (45:52) Quotes "I think that is the exciting thing about it, is that anyone can be a part of this sport, and not a lot of people know about it yet. Which is why I want to keep talking about it." (5:36) "You get one minute to do your movement. But that one minute feels like 10 seconds. But it's the best 10 seconds of your life." (17:24) "Powerlifting literally saved my life." (19:40) "I think the most common misconception, even when I was heavier, was that I had to eat less in order to lose weight. I had to eat less to be at the body aesthetic that I wanted to be. It's not that you have to eat less, you just have to eat the right things and fuel your body right for whatever your performance is or what your program is." (35:39) "Failure is a part of the process. It doesn't mean to quit and give up, it means to learn what you can learn and press on." (41:27) Featured on the Show Apply for Strength Nutrition Unlocked Here Tamara Walcott Website My Strength Is My Sexy Gym Tour Tickets Tamara Walcott 641LB Womens Elephant Bar Deadlift Record Video Follow Tamara on Instagram Full show notes Follow Steph on Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube | Pinterest I'd really love it if you would take 1 min and leave us a rating and review on iTunes! Podcast production & marketing support by the team at Counterweight Creative Rate and review on Apple Podcasts Related Episodes FYS 378: Powerlifting and Recovery Tips for the 40+ Athlete with Laura Phelps FYS 344: Body Acceptance & Powerlifting with Christina Malone