You might think powerlifting is a young person’s game. But at the Reston YMCA, age is nothing but a number.
At 75, Becky Lane is a grandmother and is rather modest about how she fared in this year’s U.S. Powerlifting Association National Championship.
“It was a good meet for me,” she said. “I got two world records.”
Her lifting partner, Alison Combes, is a gymnast turned powerlifter turned coach.
“I’m focused on making sure her technique is good and that she’s consistent,” Combes said.
That said… “She’s a pain in the butt,” Combes said with a laugh. “She is so darn competitive!”
Lane is new to the game but already leaving a lasting impact on the sport.
The competitions are sorted by age and weight, and Lane was the first ever in her age category, but that didn’t automatically give her a record. The competition uses a formula to set a baseline — and she crushed them.
“Now you see why she’s a pain in the butt,” Combes said.
Before taking up powerlifting, Lane was a runner for years … until life threw her a curveball.
“I had no idea this was going on in my body, other than my feet were starting to tingle a little bit when I was running,” she said.
Lane was diagnosed with a degenerative spinal condition called OPLL.
“Total shock, but you can’t just let that control your life. If you do, then you’re just gonna be — the condition will take over,” she said. “You have to be in control of fighting it.”
“If I hadn’t started doing the strength training and I hadn’t had the surgery, I would be in a wheelchair today,” Lane said.
She says her bone density has increased 12%.
Chasing her around the gym is enough to wear anyone out.
“What I keep trying to tell her is, ‘You’re the first. You’re a trailblazer. You’re showing other women that you can do this’,” Combes said.
Other women have noticed.
“It’s inspiring,” said Emelie Parker, who works out at the Reston YMCA. “It makes me wanna keep doing it, and as they get stronger and stronger and they challenge themselves to do harder and harder, it makes me want to go faster, pick up heavier weights, work out harder.”
Lane is currently training for her next powerlifting competition, the U.S. Powerlifting Association World Championships. It will be held in Las Vegas this November.
“I’ve always been a curious person and I am always curious to see how you can get to that next level,” Lane said.
