Legacy

Pamela Bartz was lifting free weights at the REC last year when she was approached by a concerned, middle-aged woman. “You really shouldn’t be lifting those heavy weights,” the woman told her. “You won’t be able to have kids if you continue doing that.” Bartz, shocked and slightly offended, took the comments in stride; as a member of the LSU women’s powerlifting team, she’s used to it. These young women’s ability to perform feats of physical strength and endurance, including squatting over 400 pounds, has led to images of bulging biceps and popping veins. But who are the students behind these stereotypes?

Bartz, one of several national Lady Tigers powerlifting champions, has been passionate about powerlifting since she was first introduced to the sport in high school. Bartz is a lifter in the 148-pound weight class (they range from 97 to 198) and participates in the three powerlifting events: squat, bench press and dead lift (see sidebar), in which her personal bests are 418, 225 and 420, respectively. She competed in the world competition in South Africa in September as one of 10 U.S. representatives — one from each weight class — and placed second. Out of those 10 national champions, three are from LSU.

Bartz, an Ohio native and senior fitness studies major, came to LSU solely for powerlifting. According to her, the sport seems to dominate in the South.

“The South is really competitive,” she said. “Nationals have been between LSU, Louisiana Tech and Nicholls State the past few years and we finally won this year.”

Excelling in a typically male-dominated sport has both perks and drawbacks, according to Bartz. While she enjoys the success of increased physical strength, perseverance and accomplishment, she believes many ascribe to the stereotype that female weightlifters are masculine.

“It’s a myth that girls that powerlift are going to get big,” Bartz said. “That’s the main reason why girls don’t do it. But most of the girls [on the team] wear make-up all the time and you usually can’t even tell they’re powerlifters.” She said the girls on the team love to get dressed up and go out after a hard day of heavy lifting.

Bartz herself appears powerful, with muscular legs and defined arms that could likely overpower most girls and many guys in an arm-wrestling match. Bartz’s physical strength is complemented by her soft-spoken demeanor; her warm eyes and wide, toothy grin belie her competitive nature.

Bartz said interacting with the opposite sex can be interesting. “When it comes to guys, you meet guys who think it’s awesome that you’re a strong girl,” Bartz said. “But then you get the guys who think girls shouldn’t be muscular.”

According to Men’s Health magazine, only about 10 percent of men in their 20s can squat over 250 pounds. Considering some LSU female lifters can top 400, it’s clear why guys might be intimidated. While the average six-foot-tall male can bench press around 125 to 175 pounds according to Men’s Health, Bartz can press over 215. Some guys may see a threat to their masculinity, but Andre Leblanc, a powerlifter for the LSU men’s team, respects female athletes.

“Most guys know how hard it is to squat 400 pounds, so it’s very impressive when a girl who weighs less than 150 does it,” Leblanc said. Regarding the assumption that all female powerlifters are macho, Leblanc said, “I know them personally and I know it isn’t true.”

The lifestyle of a female powerlifter at LSU involves rigorous, year-round training. “We have three meets throughout the year,” Bartz said. “So there’s generally training cycles of three to four months and you lift four times a week.” She said each lifting session can last up to three hours.

Since women’s powerlifting is not yet an NCAA sport, the team has experienced difficulty recruiting more female athletes. “There needs to be more involvement,” Bartz said. “It would be great if we could get the word out.” The next national championship meet will be held at LSU in 2009, and Bartz hopes by that time there will be more support from the University.

Because there are few professional opportunities for women in powerlifting, Bartz has major postgraduate aspirations in another sport: weightlifting. Though seemingly similar sports, weightlifting consists of lifts called the “snatch,” “clean” and “jerk,” all of which call for special training. Unlike powerlifting, weightlifting is an Olympic event.

“It probably takes a good two to three years to change [to a new sport], but I’ve always wanted to go to the Olympics,” Bartz said. “Powerlifting is a love of mine. I wouldn’t be able to live my life without it.”

Coach Jon Magendie, a former All-American lifter at Louisiana Tech, wants to dispel stereotypes regarding female lifters. “Concerning the idea that physical strength isn’t feminine, strength is strength,” Magendie said. “Usually those who discount women like that are either too intimidated by the idea of a strong woman or too lazy to grab a bar themselves.”

Magendie, who works with both men and women lifters at LSU, expects equally high performances from all his athletes, though he said there are slight differences in his training methods. (Women, for example, tend to recover quicker than men.)

As for the idea that women who lift will become overly muscular, Magendie’s experience as a coach proves otherwise. “The misconception comes from seeing some female bodybuilders who have gone too far,” Magendie said. “Training for big muscles is mostly a bodybuilding thing and that’s not what we do in powerlifting. We don’t do nearly enough reps per set to attain that huge, hulking mass that bodybuilders are looking for.”

Magendie’s wife, a powerlifting coach at Lutcher High School, was a national champion and medal-winner at a world competition. However, to Coach Magendie, an athlete’s strength is not determined by how much weight she can lift.

“When [my wife’s] Crohn’s disease was rotting her guts for a year, she still coached her team every day. That’s strength. All of my college lifters are full-time University students, and they all work jobs from 30 to 50 hours a week with not even the slightest possibility of a scholarship. That’s strength.”

Though Bartz has years of experience, Madeline Grant is a relative newcomer to the world of powerlifting. Grant was coerced by Bartz to give the sport a chance despite her apprehension.

“I was concerned with balancing [the training] with studying but then finally thought, ‘What the hell? Let’s do some powerlifting!’” Grant said.

Grant, a kinesiology senior from Maurice, Louisiana, wasn’t concerned with gender stereotypes regarding powerlifting. Her boyfriend at the time had a different point of view.

“He said, ‘You’re going to get big, you’re going to look bad and I don’t want you to do it,’” Grant recalled.

While Grant may be muscular, she is far from big. Her slim frame, pixie-cut black hair and dramatic eye makeup give her more of a rocker look than that of a powerlifter. The only outward indication of her physical strength was her surprisingly tight-gripped handshake.

Another misconception Grant has noticed concerns not only her physique, but her sexual orientation. “I’ve had people ask me, ‘Are you gay?’” Grant said. Her stock response? “No! I have a boyfriend and he’s right over there.” (Not the same boyfriend who didn’t want her to lift; her current boyfriend fully supports her involvement with the sport.)

“It’s weird, though, because I’ve seen guys at the gym and I’m curling as much as they are,” Grant said. “Me and Pam tear it up at the gym!”

Another person who didn’t support Grant’s decision to powerlift was her mom. “My mom told me I was going to look butch and my response was ‘First of all, that’s not going to happen. Second of all, I don’t care.’ Fortunately, she’s warming up to it,” Grant said.

Grant said most guys have the same reaction to her strength. “My guy friends are really supportive, but sometimes they’ll be like, ‘Well, there goes my meaning of being a man,’ when they realize I can lift more than them.”

Despite her limited experience with the sport, Grant hopes to reach the world competition next year. “I want to powerlift until I can’t do it anymore,” Grant said. “And I just don’t care what anyone thinks.”