Kelly Gamache of Precision Powerlifting Systems
Happy Friday, Guys! The last two weeks for me have been a whirlwind of emotions. I’ve had a death in the family plus a few days later PPS took on the 2019 Spring Classic at Charles River Strength and Conditioning this past sunday and I competed in my second USAPL meet. I’ve had a few people contact me for programming (yay!), presented with new opportunities, started my intro to powerlifting group and I’m letting go of a few things that no longer serve me. It’s been a week with ups and downs, to say the least.
With that said, I am very excited for this Precision Powerlifting Systems Spotlight. Kelly Gamache. Kelly was one of my first friends on PPS and when I started working at RX Strength Training in Somerville. Our training times coincided a lot and we became close with our witty senses of humor (as in we think we are funny and Kevin does not).
Kelly doesn’t fuck around in the gym. (Sorry, sometimes I need to swear to make a point and it’s my blog so…). She comes in very consistently, I honestly don’t know her to just miss a session for no reason and she WORKS when she is there. When I first met Kelly she had only been lifting for 5 months and I would have thought by her attitude it had been 5 years (and even more now). She gets it, “it” meaning she is in no rush for a bigger total she knows there are steps to get there and she is working diligently towards that goal. She is immersed in the process and with our world being obsessed with fast results it can be hard to stand your ground the way Kelly does. From last April until now, her transformation has been amazing to witness, we all agree as a PPS family, she is killing it. Kelly can be stoic and serious in the gym when she needs to get shit done but she balances that out with her slight silliness, which is why I admire/adore her.
Her answers are *SO* her, to my questions, I couldn’t ask for a better outcome. She tells it as it is and doesn’t try to make things seem better or worse, if that makes sense.
Here are my questions to Kelly:
Q: What first attracted you to powerlifting?
A: Here’s a long answer. My senior year of college I was very unhappy with my body image. That’s when I discovered Kayla Itsines. I did her Bikini Body Guides (moment of silence for how toxic that name was) for about two years and had an unhealthy obsession with losing weight because it was SO easy. But it wasn’t sustainable and it really wasn’t okay. The workouts were becoming torture and they ran my life. It was a road to nowhere. Seriously if anyone is reading this can relate to what I was going through, trust me that weight loss doesn’t equal happiness. When the number on the scale couldn’t make me happy anymore I decided I wanted to be strong and not small, and it kinda went from there. I quickly realized I didn’t know what the hell I was doing but but I felt powerlifting was something I wanted to work at. I found Kevin and the rest is history.
Q: Explain what it’s like to be a vegan powerlifter and what that means to you?
A: Ideally, it means that my gains do not represent the loss of life or environmental damage. More realistically though, to me veganism itself means trying your best to do the least amount of harm you possibly can to others and to the planet. “My best” is better some days than others, but I’m not going to give up on my morals. I think that mindset is relevant to powerlifting too.
Q: You’ve come along in your lifting since you started over a year ago and even when I first met you, did you have a mindset change or what aided in your newfound success?
A: Kevin has said this before and it’s definitely true, sometimes things just click and I think that’s part of newbie gains. My bench for example. December was the last time I failed a 135 bench press, I think it was for a triple, and this past meet I benched 160. I think I figured out how to bench within the past six months. Strength is definitely a skill, another Kevin-ism. Also, compared to when I first started, I think I work harder in the gym now. I tried hard before, don’t get me wrong, but I think only through experience can you realize what hard work actually means as far as day to day training goes.
Q: Describe the time you fell down with 135 on your back that Kevin always talk about. (Haha)
A: Not this again! Oh geez okay haha. I think I was three weeks into powerlifting and I had to lift on a Sunday. I screwed up my math somehow and 135 ended up on the bar when I think it should have been 125 maybe. I’d like to set the record straight that I didn’t fall! I placed the bar on the safeties and crawled out! The gym was empty and all evidence has been destroyed. Shut up Kevin.
Q: How do you find the motivation to lift 2-3 hours 4x a week?
It makes me happy and competing is so fun. That’s really it honestly. No one should do this if they don’t find happiness in it. I’m not saying every training session is great but I’m in a long term relationship with powerlifting and overall it makes me happy.
Q: You just placed second in your last meet and put up a huge new total 265kgs to 320kgs in a year, what’s next for you?
A: Catch me at regionals! Haha I don’t know, a bigger total!
Q: How do you explain why you love powerlifting to someone who asks why we do these weird things? (Haha)
A: I love wearing a singlet and looking like a tiny superhero. Haha Seriously though, I love powerlifting for so many reasons. Strength feels good, if that makes sense. But I also love PPS and my PPS friends. Not many people our age can say that they get to hang out with some of their best friends for hours multiple times a week, doing something they love and supporting one another. That’s something I don’t take for granted.
God, I love these responses. Sometimes the reason why we lift can be as simple as “Strength feels good”. It totally makes sense and I think a lot of people can agree on that, Kelly.
Next week, I will be posting a meet recap and some things to expect at a powerlifting meet if you are a newbie, you can watch out for that on Monday morning! Also, I have been presented with the idea to start a podcast, thoughts?
Have a great weekend!
xoxo.