Fitness profile: Ani Matt

Ani's first powerlifting meet

What image does the word “powerlifter” bring to mind? Huge men moving literally a ton of weight? Maybe steroid-laden bodybuilders (a completely different competition - check that out here) in swimsuits and fake tans flexing their muscles on a stage under hot lights?

What if I told you that some of the most enthusiastic entrants in powerlifting and weightlifting are teachers, software developers, and firefighters with families and a life outside the gym? That the women look like women, and the men actually look like human beings?

At the NASA (Natural Athlete’s Strength Association) Colorado State Championships this month, I had the pleasure of meeting Ani Matt of Greeley, CO, a beginning “Power Sports” lifter in this drug-tested organization.

JS: Ani, I wanted to do this interview because I think it will be great motivation for people who might not consider powerlifting. One of my big goals in life is to get people to consider doing more functional exercise and get away from the little pink dumbbells, and the idea of “toning”.

Let’s get a little background information on you. How old are you?

AM: 28

JS: And what do you do for a living?

AM: I’m an intensive care nurse

JS: So, you have to be strong for your job, physically moving patients around.

AM: Yeah, and a lot of our ICU patients are pretty big people

JS: When did you start powerlifting, or lifting specifically for strength?

AM: When I was at UNC working on my bachelors, I played on the women’s rugby team. I started working out with a trainer, working on strength, but not specifically for powerlifting or competition.

JS: ...Overall strength and conditioning...

AM: Mm hmm. I actually started training for powerlifting in January of this year.

JS: What other athletic activities have you pursued in your life?

AM: I really didn’t start getting athletic at all until I started playing rugby, and that was really what got me into it. I always thought I was too big to play sports – I couldn’t jump very high, all that kind of stuff, and then rugby was when I realized “Hey, I can be a big girl and be really good! That works out great!” I definitely have a passion for that sport.

JS: So how did you go from strength and conditioning training for rugby to powerlifting?

AM: I worked out with a guy named Eric who did bodybuilding, but trying to get down to ten percent bodyfat had never really appealed to me. When we were working out, I’d make the most improvement when we would do low reps with heavy weight.

I started talking to a woman who teaches kickboxing, and she encouraged me to think about trying powerlifting. I thought, you know, that’s a good idea...I think I could do that. She got me set up with Tom [Forsyth, at The Conditioning Spa in Greeley, CO].

JS: So, you enjoy moving heavy stuff – it suits your temperament and abilities. What about powerlifting specifically? What motivates you to get in the gym and train?

AM: You know, I trained going into [the powerlifting meet], but I wasn’t really motivated until I actually went to the meet, and I was like “wow, I could have done so much more – I can do so much better!” I’ve always liked the idea of being a big, strong girl. It’s always appealed to me. I never pretended to be a small girl, I’ve never wanted to be. What I like most about it, what motivates me, is that it’s ok, there’s not that sort of cultural, put-you-down sort of “you have to be in the kitchen...” It’s ok for me to do that. What motivates me mostly is that I can lift as much as most guys. There’s something really cool about me being able to lift all that weight.

JS: So, let’s say you have someone whose trainer is saying “hey, you should try powerlifting!” and their immediate response is “Powerlifting? I can’t do powerlifting!” What would be some advice you’d give to get them to consider it?

AM: Well, I think that when most people think about powerlifting, they think about the “World’s Strongest Man” competition, and it’s not like that – it’s about bettering yourself. So, maybe you can only bench 100 lbs. That’s ok, bench 100. And you keep working on it. I really think it’s more of a personal thing as opposed to winning titles. I would tell them to give it a shot. I think that once you go to a meet and realize what the atmosphere is like, that you don’t get booed, that people who don’t even know you cheer for you, you know, that’s awesome. You don’t get any better than that. That’s one of the things I like most about it.

I think a trainer may be one of the most important things. It’s one thing to do it by yourself, to work on it by yourself, but it’s another to have somebody telling you “do one more rep, try five more pounds”. That extra motivation makes a whole lot of difference.

JS: I completely agree. That’s one of the reasons I go to see Jim [McDermott] for powerlifting coaching.
Now, the meet on Saturday, that was the first one you’ve ever done. Had you ever watched one before?

AM: No.

JS: Do you think it would have made a difference, as far as how you would have trained, or how you would have felt going into it?

AM: I think if I had seen it before, I wouldn’t have been as nervous. I would have known the routine. I think I would have trained harder going into it. It was kind of shocking to me to see women like Krysti and Heena [each a multiple world-record holder in NASA, competing in the 124 lb and 132 lb weight classes respectively], to see women who weigh less than me, lifting more than twice my bodyweight. Had I seen that, I think I would have had more drive...

JS: Set your sights a little bit higher...

AM: Yeah. That’s one thing I realized after going was “I could have done way more than I did”. You know, you do get pumped up when you’re there. I never would have imagined I could have deadlifted what I did [275 lbs], because I’ve never done that in the gym.

I’m gonna beat Heena and Krysti [laughing]. I will!

JS: I love the blending of the cooperative and competitive aspects of powerlifting. You’re cheering each other on, but at the same time, you want to do better than the other person.

AM: I think that for especially the people that wouldn’t think they could do [a powerlifting meet], being in an atmosphere like NASA and going to one of those meets would change anybody’s mind, just because of the kind of people that are there, and the idea behind it, that this is all-natural, and you do what you can. And that whole crowd, the only reason they know your name is because it got announced, and they are all cheering for you. Everybody is.

I went up for my first attempt at the curl, and I kind of got psyched out. Afterwards, the ref came up to me and said, you know, you could have done that. You just need to stay focused. A couple of other people came up and told me that I was really underestimating how much I could do. I think the powerlifting atmosphere is one that anybody, a novice or whatever, can feel comfortable in.

JS: Anything else you’d like to tell people?

AM: I think women especially are afraid to become bulky, like big, masculine looking women. I don’t consider myself masculine looking, but I think there’s some kind of mental thing where you think “powerlifting”, and you think “oh, well you probably have the cut jawline, and legs as big as somebody else’s body”. I think a lot of women are afraid they’re going to beef up. When you see that with women, it’s from steroids...That’s just how it is.

JS: There was a woman at my last gym who was a professional bodybuilder and was very obviously on steroids. I can have admiration for anyone who is that focused on a goal to do whatever it takes to reach it. I just wish she would wear a sign saying “Don’t worry – this can’t happen to you” – you won’t get this way just from doing heavy squats! And looking around NASA, you don’t see the freakishly large women, because it is drug tested.

Anything else you’d like to say? I know we joked around about the singlet.

AM: Yeah, the singlet wasn’t really that bad. It was mostly just the thought of the singlet, like you’re going to look like cottage cheese wrapped in cellophane [laughing]. Once you get over that though, I didn’t have any problem walking around in it. You look at everyone else, and think “nice singlet”. It’s not a big deal at all.

JS: Alright, well thank you very much! It’s been great talking to you, and I’ll see you at the next meet!

AM: See you in November!