Lim Lean Ee hinges at the knees, grips the barbell and braces herself as she performs a sumo deadlift.
Driving through her mid-foot, she grimaces as she lifts the 70kg weight off the ground until she is upright.
“Down,” says her personal trainer Daphne Loo, using a powerlifting command. Lim lowers the barbell to the ground with control.
It is her new personal best in deadlifting — about 110% of her 63kg weight on a 1.57m frame. What makes the achievement even more impressive is that she is 71 years old.
Lim quips in Mandarin: “It’s heavier today because of the photo shoot.”
She may joke in the gym, but she was serious about preparing for her first powerlifting competition on Oct 17.
The grandmother of four signed up for a women-only event called Lift Like A Girl, organised by the non-profit organisation Powerlifting SG and women-only fitness studio Activ.Co.
Lim is the only competitor in her age and weight group, says Loo. Lim’s 45-year-old daughter, who works in the tech industry, will also be competing in the event.
Powerlifting comprises three compulsory lifts: the barbell squat, bench press and deadlift. It is technically demanding and competitors have to follow strict rules and commands.
Joining a competition, though, was the last thing on Lim’s mind when she started strength training in 2019.
Back then, her daughter suggested that Lim and her husband, a retired paint industry executive in his late 70s, take advantage of free personal training sessions at her gym.
Throughout her life, the homemaker, who completed secondary school and quit further studies to work and support her family, has always been active. Despite kneecap pain in her late 50s, she signed up for group exercise classes.
But her first strength-training sessions got off to a rocky start.
