OUR WARDROBES ARE 80% GYM GEAR, 20% NORMAL CLOTHES.
Training for Strongwoman competitions will change your body shape like nothing else. Finding a jacket that fits both my lats and my waist is nearly impossible. And don’t even get me started on jeans! If you invite me out for dinner, expect me to be in Lycra…
EVERYDAY TASKS BECOME AN OPPORTUNITY TO FLEX!
People think Strongwoman is just lifting heavy stuff in a gym. But once you start training, it spills into the rest of your life. Suddenly, the weekly shop turns into event prep and you’re mentally weighing random furniture thinking, ‘I could deadlift that!’
FOOD IS LIFE.
We eat as hard as we train. Competing in Strongwoman is physically demanding and we need to eat to fuel it. I eat around 3,200+ calories a day and when people see me tracking my food they say, “You must be so disciplined.” But the fact is I’m just hungry every 90 minutes and completely panic if I’m more than five feet away from a snack.
PEOPLE WILL HAVE NO CLUE WHAT YOU DO.
“Oh, so you’re a bodybuilder?” is a question I’ve had to answer far too many times to count. Trying to explain that I lift cars and carry kegs for fun – not pose on stage in a bikini – really blows people’s minds. When I mention the World’s Strongest Man on TV at Christmas, they seem to understand a little bit better.
THE COMMUNITY MAKES IT.
Strongwoman might look like an individual sport, but it’s anything but. Behind the scenes, the women I train and compete with will scream encouragement while I grind out a lift, then give me a pep talk while I cry in the car park (true story). We swap kit, snacks, bruising tips and life advice. We cheer just as loud for last place as we do for first – because we get it. You won’t find a better hype squad than in Strongwoman.
Sheffield’s Laura Hollywood, founder of Mud and Muscle, won Britain’s Strongest Woman and will represent England at World’s Strongest Woman in Texas this November. Laura is crowdfunding £4,000 to cover travel and kit. Support her journey on Just Giving here.
Businesses interested in sponsorship or product endorsement can get in touch via laura@mudandmuscle.co.uk.
