Amanda Lawrence, a powerhouse in the powerlifting world, keeps her followers motivated with intense training updates on Instagram. Recently, she posted videos of herself bench pressing and deadlifting, captioned, “Happy Saturday! We still out here training hard 💪🏼 12 weeks until @sbdsheffield đź‘€.” With her unwavering commitment, Lawrence demonstrates the grit and preparation required for competitive lifting.
Weightlifting is the main way Lawrence stays in shape. ACE Fitness states that lifting weights has a lot of benefits. “Lifting heavy weights elevates levels of anabolic hormones—specifically testosterone, growth hormone and insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1)—which are used to repair muscle fibers damaged during exercise. This helps the muscle fibers to become thicker and capable of generating higher levels of force.”
Lawrence is seen doing squats in this Instagram video. Squats are a great exercise to do. Allina Health reports, “The squat is one of the all-around best exercises to do for your lower body. It strengthens and tones muscles in your thighs, butt and calves and improves posture, balance, flexibility and inner core strength. Squatting also improves bone mineral density to keep your bones strong.”
Lawrence shared her training secrets with Muscle & Fitness. She says that she works with a coach to help her train correctly. “I was training with straps all the time and with non-calibrated plates, on incorrect bench heights. It made things hard when you actually had to train on standard equipment on game day. I had a lot of changes I wanted to make from the Grand Prix in March of this year to Worlds. I hired a new coach, Joey Flexx, and he changed everything for me. I purchased calibrated plates, got a rack and everything, and started training on the correct equipment. Now, I have a different perspective on what I can improve upon.”
Lawrence shared her typical diet with Muscle & Fitness. She says that she eats a lot of protein. “I eat the same things a lot, over and over. That’s just what works for me. I like a high protein diet—at least one gram per pound of body weight—because you need that just to perform and fuel. I go a little bit lower carbs, but make sure I get enough to fuel my performance. I follow a Renaissance Periodization diet, and they have an app you can use to track macronutrients in a plan that’s customized to your goals. It has set food choices that you can pick from. For example, if you need to get 30 grams of protein in and you want to eat specific foods, the app will tell you exactly how much to eat of specific foods to hit the nutritional value of 30 grams, or whatever fits your needs.”
Lawrence makes sure to protect her muscles from injury. She shared how she does so with Muscle & Fitness. “I know my body’s limits, and I’ll purposefully not go through with a rep if something feels funny. Of course, I always have spotters, but knowing my limits has allowed me to continually push weight faster than others without getting injured. Before a lift, I’ll stretch a lot, use rollers, and do hip circles to loosen up my hips for both squats and deadlifts. I don’t do a ton of post-lift stretching, but I use recovery creams and make sure to eat a healthy diet. When it comes down to it, if you’re going to get injured, you’re going to get injured. There’s no way to prevent it, but just don’t be stupid and know when to stop.”