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Power lifting sensation out of Killarney, Carmen Heaphy, has been working hard for years, and all that hard work as given her a chance to compete at the Western Canadian Power Lifting Championships in Nanaimo, British Columbia later this year, but she still has bigger goals.
Getting her start in the sport a little bit later in her life hasn't slowed Heaphy down one bit, as she's excelled right away. "I guess it starts back in high school," the now 23-year-old explains. "As I was getting closer to graduating, and I knew I wouldn't be playing the sports that I grew up with, I got more and more involved in individual fitness and gym going. Over the years, I developed a passion for the big three, squat, bench, and dead lift. I eventually met my coach, and he's the one that inspired me to get into this, and really pushed me to step out of my comfort zone, and go to my first meet."
Over her career, Heaphy says she's focused not just on physical strength, but understanding the importance of technique. "Technique is something that I believe only develops with time," she says with a grin. "You can have the most valuable coaches and mentors teaching you all the tricks, but it really takes you being in the gym yourself, putting the hours in, making mistakes, and learning from those mistakes, getting to know how really each movement feels and should feel when you finally hit good lifts, mastering your technique."
A real point of pride for Heaphy is not just being physically tough, but also mentally tough, something she says she's worked on over her years in athletics. "I would say that it's a skill that I've developed more as I started competing. It was very nerve racking to go to my first meet, and each lift, putting myself into that mindset where understanding you're doing the same thing you do each day, but this time in front of a bunch of people watching. Being able to put yourself, force yourself into a headspace where it's just like any other day, and I think it's one of the best things power lifting offers me. It's shown me I can do hard things every day, and I think that's special."
Heaphy has qualified for the Western Canadian Power Lifting Championships, which will be held in BC later this year, and she says it's not about training now, but how it's been years of building to this. "The truth is, I only have a few months between now and when I go, so there's not much I can do in the next few months that will make up for anything that I would have missed along the way. It's years of chipping away at a big goal like this. The four and five years behind me are really what set my foundation and base for a competition like this. The next four months are spent doing what I always do."
Power lifting is not just about winning the overall competition, it's about hitting personal goals, and Heaphy has some big goals for herself. "For this competition, I am actually hoping to cut down into the next weight category below me. So, I actually have a different goal whether I make that cut or not. I'm really hoping to hit the national qualifying total, in order to compete in St. John's, Newfoundland. That's my big goal, to qualify for that. Regardless, I just want to see myself hit bigger number than I have before."
As athletes, Heaphy has loved that while it's an individual sport, the group competing always seem to be the loudest supporters, something she appreciates, and loves being a part of. "I've never been a part of such a group of people that go out of their way to congratulate each other, and cheer people on," she says with a smile. "That I think is one of the most special things about this community. Sometimes at local meets, you might not have have anyone you're competing against at all, just yourself, and people make you still feel special in those moments. They just want to see you succeed."
The community of Killarney will be cheering on Carmen Heaphy as she continues on her power lifting journey.