barbells & beauty

An executive committee member of Powerlifting Singapore, FARHANNA FARID can lift eight times her weight and has broken numerous world records-all with grace, humility and a red-hot Tom Ford lippie. Still, with gender stereotypes and societal expectations to battle, it hasn't been the easiest of journeys. The 31-year-old champion shares her story.

- FARHANNA FARID

Honestly, I never imagined myself being a powerlifter, let alone a competitive one. I had always felt like a jack of all trades but master of none-up until I found powerlifting. Prior to this, I dabbled in long-distance running.

I did a lot of it, but I wasn't very good. I kept accumulating injuries, and I stopped getting my period for over a year. On top of that, I had just started dating a gym rat (my husband now) and all of our dates centred around his training schedule. Because I needed to rehabilitate from my running injuries-and expend my restless energy-I had this growing curiosity about this great "iron temple", so I decided to check out the gym. I shadowed him and did every exercise he did.

Then one fine day, the boys decided to have a 'mock meet' where they tested their one-rep maxes-the maximum amount of weight that a person can lift for one repetition-and I got dragged into it.

Up to this point, I wasn't particularly keen on lifting or thought that I was any good at it. However, at the mock meet, I deadlifted well above what was supposedly the national record back then. My partner figured if I could do that without any formal training, I might have the potential to do even better with a proper coach. So, he convinced me to get a powerlifting coach. I signed up for my first meet in 2018, and I haven't looked back since.