You may not know it to look at me, but this frumpy-dumpy middle-aged woman has a background in powerlifting. I started working out in the football team’s weight room during study hall my senior year of high school. This alone is laughable, considering I wasn’t in athletics, and truthfully didn’t even get the “easy A” in gym class. Five years later, I joined the Y and had a professional bodybuilder as my trainer. The goal was never to pose, but to see how strong I could become. I have good genetics and tend to build muscle easily. I love lifting heavy weights! One thing I learned was a technique called, “lifting to failure.” Rather than doing more repetitions at an easy weight, you pick a heavier weight and do full range of motion reps until your muscle quivers and fails to do the lift. Then you know you have maxed out your muscle’s potential for the day. Obviously, this is best done with a spotter, or at least not overhead!