Bobbi Janzen is a female powerlifter and fitness instructor from Martensville, SK. She is also visually impaired. Along with being an athlete, she is a wife and mother. For more about Bobbi, check out her bio.
Someone told me that a person like me couldn't lift. So my job became: who is a person like me? And why CAN I lift? I like to meet challenges head on. So my journey began. I am in the final phases of prepping for the North American Powerlifting Championships. I have trained, I have devoted time to hot yoga to prepare my mind and I have eaten clean. Am I ready? As ready as I can be. Each competition brings new mental and physical challenges and emotional hurdles. Finding the ways to deal with these is interesting. I think this time around I am better prepared mentally than at Nationals in March. I am three days away from flying out and only now I feel a bit of pre-competition stress. The mental aspect to sport and athletics is huge. It's probably my biggest hurdle, with vision being the second.
Working in a gym was the perfect beginning for me. I trained and competed for my first meet in the summer of 2012. I had no idea what to expect and there were so many different challenges when it came to training and lifting with partial sight. None of these have stopped me. The feeling of picking up a heavy deadlift is thrilling. It had me hooked. And each deadlift still has that feeling.
Training and competing has been an adventure. I have learned so much about myself, and about my support system. Your support comes sometimes from where you least expect it. I am grateful for so much. I've learned that when you think you are done with the day you can dig your heels in just a little more.
My children have even grown throughout the training process. As my light perception changed and I started training at home, my children will bike with me, walk with me, hold boards and the whole family tapes and spots. They truly are amazing.
It's been clean eating, lifting, yoga, tabata, walking, biking and core. Am I ready? I will walk into this the best me I can be. I now know I cannot go a day without avocadoes or coconut oil! Gearing up for some final squats and deadlifts and maybe more yoga. Almost there.
I love to lift. It has become an amazing part of my life, on the good days and the bad. The days my balance waivers and the days I feel strong...this is a piece of who I am and a glimpse into my life. More to come after Orlando! My job for the next few days will be final training sessions, stay moving and a ton of visualizing! If you can see it in your mind....