Get to know powerlifter, Valparaiso area resident Stephani Pullins

VALPARAISO, Ind. — This athlete spotlight focuses on 29-year-old Stephani Pullins, a stay-at-home mom with a POWERful hobby. Stephani started powerlifting six years ago and, before the birth of her two-year-old son, Parker, competed in Chicago through the American Powerlifting Federation (APF) and USPA Powerlifting Foundation.

Powerlifting is a strength sport where lifters compete in the squat, bench press, and deadlift. Stephani loves how lifting brings out an aggressive side of yourself that you may not have known was in you and allows you to see what you are truly capable of.  She also loves how inclusive and supportive it is. Everyone is welcome to join. All you have to do to join a meet is be able to lift the 20kg barbell and everyone wants you to succeed, competitor or not. She recalls how everyone screams for you in the audience and that there’s nothing like the feeling of being seen and cheered for as they do in lifting meets. Thirdly, she loves that lifting can be as personal as you want it to be. You can compete against the other lifters in your class or you can just focus on yourself and how much stronger you are getting from meet to meet.

Stephani stopped lifting competitively after having her son, but her current goal is to get back to competing and hit new personal records. She shares her challenges and experiences related to balancing the dual demands of training and parenting.

What is your biggest current challenge and how do you manage it?

Stephani Pullins: I lifted consistently until Parker was 10 months old, but then I had to take a break because I was so tired of using most of his naps for nothing but lifting. I only started lifting consistently again a couple months ago. During that hiatus, it was weird to me that I had gone that long without lifting. I had never stopped lifting since I started in 2016 and it was hard to get going again. The training sessions are long. I used to train 2-3 hours, 4-6 days a week. That’s very tough to keep up with while caring for a toddler.

Parker doesn’t take naps anymore and he does not like letting me lift so my only chance to do it is early in the morning. I battle an “all-or-nothing” mindset; sometimes if I know I don’t have the amount of time I’d like to train, I won’t train. However, I am learning through motherhood that something is always better than nothing. I am not pushing myself like crazy because I’m just trying to enjoy it, stay healthy, and take my time building back up. It would be difficult to be the mom I want to be and also train like I used to. It may be quite a few years before I compete again, but I’m sure it will happen.

Any thoughts related to powerlifting and pregnancy?

Pullins: Each individual is different, and this is not medical advice, but from my experience I learned that if you have been lifting weights consistently for at least a few months or so, you can continue to do it during pregnancy. I stopped the very intense program I was on after finding out I was pregnant but built back up at my own pace. I squatted 200lbs at 36 weeks pregnant and I’ll always be so proud of that! That was only 40lbs from my best squat to date.

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