The Bohemian BarBelle Powerlifting Journey

Powerlifting has always been a sport close to my heart from the moment I first stepped onto the platform. It is a very physically, emotionally and mentally demanding sport. As a primarily female-based gym, the age-old concern that lifting heavy can lead to a bulky physique meant that many of my clients were hesitant to try it out. However as the years have passed and they have watched
and seen my progress, as a small woman who has only progressively become stronger and leaner without adding on a bulky
physique, the interest began to grow.

After hosting two small in-house powerlifting-style competitions at the gym where we tested maximum lifts in a familiar environment with familiar faces, I managed to convince a few clients to train for and compete in their first official powerlifting competition. So in July 2022, I took my first team of 8 people to the Rhino Powerlifting Club qualifying competition. It was a huge success and we walked away with 6 first place category wins and 8 very big smiles. In August 2022 I took my first client with me to the World Powerlifting Congress Nationals in Richards Bay where she placed second in her category.

In November 2022 we entered a second powerlifting local competition and again dominated the platform with 9 out of the 20 lifters competing on the day. In March 2023 I took part in my first competition WITH my clients at the World Powerlifting Congress (WPC) the national qualifying event, after which 3 of my clients qualified and then competed at the WPC Nationals at the Arnolds in Johannesburg. This event proved to be a resounding success as all 4 of us qualified to compete at WPC Worlds in Manchester in November 2023. We also claimed as a team 12 national records, and 3 world records, and placed first in each of our categories.

As a result four of us also qualified to compete at the World Powerlifting Congress World Championships being held in Manchester UK in November 2023. This was an opportunity not to be missed so preparations began to not only physically prepare to step onto the world platform to represent their country, but also to fundraise in order to attend this event overseas as it was all at our own expense.

We organised many fundraising events from food fairs and online raffles to boudoir photoshoots and fun runs and after months of hard work, we managed to raise enough funds to send all 4 Bohemians to Worlds. With only R10 000 sponsored by the City of Cape Town, we raised a whopping R80 000 to cover only some of the costs associated with the trip – and it was worth every penny.

We came home with 3 World Championship titles, which is a phenomenal success for a small garage gym in the suburbs of Cape Town.
Back home we inspired many with our achievements and in April 2024 I led a massive team of 16 lifters to take part in their first competition of the year in April -each with their eye on qualifying to compete at WPC Nationals in August 2024.

We set a total of 45 national records in the AWPC at this competition and now 7 of these athletes are preparing to take to the platform at AWPC Nationals 2024 in Durban in August. The Bohemian Battalion is indeed an army which is taking the powerlifting community in South Africa by storm. Watch this space as we continue to dominate.

Join the Bohemian BarBelle Club Powerlifting team from anywhere in the world and have access to an individual training programme and coaching with the team’s unwavering support and encouragement in training and on meet day