Mum and daughter have the power

Heavy metal music blares from a rundown industrial building, frosted windows conceal what’s going on inside.

Barbells clink and pound, reverberating across the floor.

Sixty-two-year-old Linda Reid has lost count of the set of dead-lifts she has just done.

It does not matter because she has a bleeding finger to contend with but that will not stop her from ploughing on with her two-hour powerlifting session at Southern Powerlifting Club in Invercargill.

She took up the sport two years ago after several surgeries left her needing rehabilitation.

"I had an accident, got into physio and three lots of surgeries later that was my turning point," she said.

Her goal is to qualify for the Southern Provincial Championships in Dunedin in April with the hope of securing her spot for the New Zealand Powerlifiting 3 Lift National Championship in September.

"I compete in the masters 3, which is for 60-70-year-olds, and I’m in the under 52kg class," Linda said

Joining the club after encouragement from her daughter Jessica has taken her from the fear of becoming "old and decrepit" to becoming the little club’s mini powerhouse.

Jessica champions her mum as an example to get people interested in the sport.

"I tell them that if my little 62-year-old mother can do powerlifting then so can you," she said.

Jessica fell into the sport while she was on an unrelenting weight loss journey.

She met a personal trainer at the gym who persuaded her to stop striving for weight loss and to give a few of his free training sessions a go.

Seven years later, she has changed her mindset, bulked up and has qualified to compete in national competitions.

"Nationals is my favourite time of the year.

"It’s a week long and you are in this powerlifting bubble.

"This sport brings you closer to so many different people and what’s really special is when people say to you that they can’t wait to share the platform with you — you might be competing against them for that 60 seconds but they still want you to achieve your best."

Charlotte Worley , 22, is getting used to podium finishes.

She won a silver medal at the Junior World Championships in Romania last year after being a novice in the sport.

This year she’s powering towards nabbing the gold medal at the Junior Worlds Powerlifting competition in Malta.

"It’s my final year as a junior so it’s my final hit-out," she said.

Worley competes in the 84-plus kilogram category and squats, bench presses and dead-lifts her way to not just achieving personal bests but bringing back home silverware.

She claimed the gold medal at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in Auckland last year.

Worley started training at the club only five weeks ago but the camaraderie and support from the tiny but mighty team had made the transition worthwhile.

 - By Nina Tapu