Grandma to lift three-times body weight at Vegas comp
DEAD-lifting three times your own body weight may sound like a ridiculous thing for a grandmother to do.
But not for Coralie Weir.
The 50-year-old grandmother of three from Currumbin is off to Las Vegas next month to compete in the world power lifting championships.
She weighs 52kg and can bench press an astonishing 103.5kg.
She's off to the land of desert casinos and she said she could not help but feel a little bit frightened.
"I'm scared," she said.
"But still excited."
Competitors from all over the world will be there to show off their skills, Weir said she heard there would be a lot of 'big mummas' in the competition.
Challenges like these are not all about your strength though, Weir said mental preparation was a big part of the challenge for her.
"It's taken me to places that I don't usually go and it takes me out of my comfort zone," she said.
Throughout the competition she will have to perform a dead-lift, bench press and squats.
Weir actually said she looked forward to coming in to the gym four times a week to do squats.
"You've got to get through the mental barrier," she said.
"And when you have you actually enjoy it."
About seven months of training has gone into preparing for the gruelling completion.
Her coach Frank Manning said he picked Weir originally because of her strength.
"I had noticed she was strong and had potential to be a power lifter," he said.
"I approached her and asked if she would be interested in competing and had a very 'no, not me' reply.
"Some weeks after she approached me to find out more about power lifting so the journey began."
She started that journey in 2007 and is still just as interested in it today as she was five years ago.
Weir has a number of national and state titles under her belt and wen she's not lifting weights you can find her lifting babies at a childcare centre in Elanora.
