Anna Turaeva: before and after photos, the story of how the powerlifting champion changed beyond recognition

Hormones and diet affect men and women differently, but women can still find success in developing strength and muscle growth. It never hurts to be a strong woman.

When the conversation turns to training for girls, most people imagine pink dumbbells and aerobics, but not women’s powerlifting, although this particular sport can give the weaker sex much more benefits! Read this article and find out why women need powerlifting!

Initially, let's find out and remember what powerlifting is.

The name comes from the English word “powerlifting” which translates as: power - strength, lifting - lifting. As the name suggests, this sport aims to lift weights, that is, the athlete trains his body to become as strong as possible.

Established myths for women

Many girls, when they come to the gym, make a big mistake, believing that working with heavy weights will turn them into a huge masculine woman. If you are a woman, answer the question: what is included in your training program?

Let's try to imagine a typical workout for girls in the gym. First, you do a light warm-up, and then go on a cardio machine for 20-40 minutes because you ate cake last night and want to burn off all that extra food.

After this, you perform several approaches of some exercises with light weights, and in the final, pump your abs on the mat for 10-20 minutes, trying to lose weight in this area. That's all true, right?

If this is your program, it's time to change it! This training pattern is typical for most women in the gym. They are afraid of becoming big and muscular, so they only do those exercises that, in their opinion, burn the most calories and tone their muscles.

Childhood and youth

Maryana Aleksandrovna Naumova was born on April 22, 1999 in the city of Staraya Russa.

When the future celebrity was 4 years old, her mother took her to sports aerobics. The classes quickly began to bring results, and soon the girl became the winner of competitions that were held in the Moscow region. And then she went to the championship in Austria, where she took 4th place.

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Maryana Naumova as a child with her mother
Naumova came to powerlifting thanks to her father, who does bench press. She accompanied the man to competitions and decided to try to repeat his successes using an empty bar. Just 2 days later, the athlete went to training with her dad.

Due to physical activity, the girl had to miss classes at school, which led to conflicts with teachers. But she was able to pass the Unified State Exam and enter the Russian State Humanitarian University in the department of international relations, where she began to study Russia’s humanitarian mission in the Middle East.

Work with the weight, girls.

In fact, such women achieve insignificant results. They might burn a few hundred calories doing cardio and maybe another hundred doing circuit training, but they won't make a difference in how their body looks.

You cannot radically change your body by holding flowers in your hands instead of iron.

If you want to transform your body for the better, stop and think about your program right now. Try to forget about the myths and look at women's powerlifting with different eyes. This is truly a sport that can transform you!

And you will NOT become masculine for several reasons. Let's talk about them in more detail.

Where to start with powerlifting?

There are several features of effective training that must be taken into account in order to begin to develop and improve results:

1. In one workout you cannot work more than 2-3 muscle groups, and it is inappropriate to use more than three exercises for each of them.
2. Powerlifting involves gradually increasing the maximum load. It is important to perform as many sets as possible so that you can maintain technique, tempo, number of reps and weight.
3. In training, much attention should be paid to the development of auxiliary and stabilizing muscles that take part in triathlon.
4. The rules of powerlifting include minimizing body fat and increasing muscle mass. It is important not to develop it one-sidedly, that is, you need to load all muscle groups at once.

Testosterone levels in the female body

The first reason women's powerlifting won't give you the same thighs and biceps as a man is because your testosterone levels are too low.

The male body contains more of the hormone testosterone, and the female body contains more of the hormone estrogen. If you compare the amount of testosterone in men and women, taking into account their characteristics, the difference will be huge. Why is that? Simply put, women do not have testes, which are largely responsible for producing this hormone.

The hormone testosterone plays an extremely important role in gaining muscle mass. And since the female body has significantly less of this “Hercules hormone”, accordingly, they cannot pump up muscles as easily as men.

In fact, women also produce testosterone in small quantities; the ovaries and adrenal glands are responsible for this. Talk to your doctor and have your testosterone levels checked, especially if you have had your ovaries removed; your body may be producing too little of this important hormone.

Even those women who want to gain more muscle and work hard at it cannot do it as quickly as men. So stop worrying and go ahead – do powerlifting!

You won't turn into the Hulk... unless of course you get gamma radiation from a radioactive explosion.

Plastic

Turaeva Anna shows before and after photos (in her youth she had a frail physique) to her fans, and it is clear from them that she has achieved almost complete resemblance to a man thanks to intensive training and taking steroids, which completely changed her figure. Also in 2018, the athlete decided to have a local mastectomy, as a result of which she removed both of her mammary glands.

Photos of Anna before and after changing her appearance.

Anna openly spoke about the operation she underwent in a short video published on her microblog, noting that the question of her mammary glands was constantly worrying both journalists and fans.

Since 2007, having met her “true love” - the barbell, Turaeva began bandaging her chest, which got in the way during training. A similar procedure was carried out on an ongoing basis, and in 2015, as a result of a routine medical examination, the athlete was found to have enlarged lymph nodes with small compactions in the armpit, reaching 2.4 mm in diameter.

Anna underwent a full examination, which revealed the development of a benign tumor in her left breast due to constant compression of the milk ducts.

Experts came to the conclusion that the athlete should undergo a mastectomy of her left breast to prevent the transformation of a benign tumor into a malignant one.

A year later, Turaeva began to suffer from severe pain, and she decided to have surgery. Along with the left mammary gland, the athlete also obtained permission to amputate the right one, rightly deciding that since she still looks like a man, leaving one mammary gland was simply inappropriate.

In addition, there was a high probability that a tumor would appear in the preserved mammary gland, so Anna decided to be proactive and save herself from the risk of cancer.

The athlete’s strong body easily endured the operation, and 2 months after the procedure, Anna returned to normal training. Turaeva decided to cover up her mastectomy scars with tattoos, so beloved by her idol Dwayne Johnson.

Women's Powerlifting and Eating Habits

The second reason you can safely lift heavy weights is that most women do not consume enough calories to build muscle. Remember the last time you deliberately overeated to gain weight? New Year's holidays do not count.

The fact is that a large number of calories is important not for pleasure, but for gaining muscle mass. When was the last time you ate an extra serving of protein for lunch because it's important for muscle growth? Most likely never.

Women have an innate desire to eat less because they always want to be thinner. With this diet, women can safely engage in powerlifting - you definitely won’t be in danger of excess muscle mass.

To get huge, you'll have to eat a ton of calories every day, take supplements, and regularly train with heavy weights. Chances are, most women barely meet their daily calorie needs, and becoming muscular is no easy feat.

This will not happen to you even if you learn how to do a successful bench press. So take a breath and stop being afraid of heavy weights.

“He should carry the packages”: stories of 5 female bodybuilders

Olga Shcherbatykh

Olya VKontakte

It all started in 2010. As happened with many women, I looked at myself in the mirror and realized that I needed to do something with myself. Before that, I didn’t play sports. At school, where I graduated with a gold medal, I was a nerd and didn’t like physical education. And so I went to the gym, lost weight, got involved, went to a competition as a spectator and realized that I also wanted to go on stage.

I started preparing for competitions, and then I started teaching people, because girls ran up to me and asked for advice. Now bodybuilding for me is both a hobby and a job.

The hardest thing in this sport is discipline. You have to eat, train, and perform at certain times. Training is always a pleasure for me. It can be difficult to stick to a strict diet during competition, but you get used to it.

It’s sad that the category of bodybuilding is not well understood even by athletes. It bothers me a little when junior boys and bikini girls are inundated with awards, and female bodybuilders are told: “There are not many of you, why should you pay attention.” About three years ago, they even tried to photograph girls with massive figures less at competitions, because it was supposedly unwatchable. But now women’s bodybuilding is being treated better, and more beautiful girls have appeared in this category. It’s no longer possible that we won’t be photographed at competitions.

I encountered public criticism already at the first competitions, when they told me: “Ugh, you look like a man! Why do you need that?" What hurt the most was the lack of understanding on the part of close people and relatives who mean a lot to me. At first they were hostile to my hobby. But when they realized that I was serious, they began to support me. And I gradually began to treat the opinions of strangers much more simply, now it doesn’t bother me. If a person on the street tells me that I am over-pumped, then it will be parallel to me. To each his own.

What hurt the most was the lack of understanding on the part of close people and relatives. This means a lot to me. At first they were hostile to my hobby, but when they realized that I was serious, they began to support me.

I think that femininity does not depend on the amount of muscle mass. I know athletes who look quite stern and impressive, but who are distinguished by extraordinary grace and behave femininely.

Femininity is a natural trait and at the same time a certain internal state.

But I noticed that our sport is changing its character, bringing it closer to what is considered masculine. Bodybuilding removes female airiness, tears and snot. The character becomes tougher, more purposeful, and overall emotionality decreases. When preparing for competitions, you generally become some kind of biorobot: you begin to treat everything more coldly, you have no time for romantic impulses.

It happens that young people who are just starting to play sports feel awkward next to a pumped-up woman. Does the girl push harder than you? How so?! This is considered a blow to the male psyche. But, in my opinion, these are just cockroaches in the heads of men.

As I said, muscles do not affect femininity. But it’s important to find a person next to whom you will flourish. Any woman wants to be weak next to a strong man.

We can be pumped up, lift enormous weights and solve everyday problems on our own, but we always want a strong man nearby who will hug you and say: “Everything is fine, my bunny.” Moreover, I’m talking not so much about a physically strong person, but about a psychologically strong person.

My man is stronger than me, so I don’t need to show my physical strength in everyday life. We met him in the hall. He saw me when I was still in unsportsmanlike shape and always supported me.

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Now I am resting and almost not training, because we are planning to have a child. I don’t think that after pregnancy my psyche will change so much that I won’t want to do bodybuilding. If I have money and time, I can quickly get back into sports shape. I am sure that I will return to the sport hungry for victories and I will want to prove to myself that I can win.

Valentina Mikheeva

Valentina VKontakte

I joined the gym in 2013, I was 36 years old. What brought me there was dissatisfaction with my figure and a tribute to fashion. Before that, I had never played sports, at most - physical education lessons at school. After some time, I began to understand that I liked the gym: I liked doing the same exercises, increasing the load each time. Watch my body change. Soon people began to notice my figure.

People came up to me and asked if I was going to compete. Then I trained just for myself. Over time, I found myself a mentor who helped me improve my form. Since 2022, I started competing in the body fitness category and at the same time studied to become a trainer. 2022 brought me three “golds”: I became the champion of the Central Federal District, the champion of the Belgorod region and the champion of the Chernozem Region Open Cup. In my experience, it's never too late to start doing what you love.

“Face your fears” is a call to action I often see on the Internet. So I went towards my fears. I was ashamed to go on stage in a swimsuit, I was tense and did not smile. My friends and colleagues shouted to me from the audience: “Valya, smile!” I had to pull myself together and tell myself before going on stage: “If you build your body, you should show it.” Viewers come to see a show of beautiful bodies, and we must not only simply show the result of our work, but also in some way make the viewer fall in love with us. Therefore, on stage you need to try to convey to the maximum all the beauty of this sport. To be honest, I still haven’t completely gotten rid of stage fright. Many of my friends still joke about this topic and use the hashtag “Valya, smile.” But the emotions that you experience behind the scenes and on stage are amazing.

“Face your fears” is a call to action I often see on the Internet. So I went towards my fears. I was ashamed to go on stage in a swimsuit, I was tense and did not smile. I had to pull myself together and tell myself before going on stage: “If you are building your body, you must show it.”

Another problem of mine is that I have a sweet tooth, I can’t live without sweets. However, I know one recipe that makes many people laugh, but it saves me. When I dry off before a competition, I put a bar of chocolate or a piece of cookie in my mouth. I'll hold it in my mouth and then spit it out. I feel better.

At first, when I was just gaining muscle mass, I seemed huge and experienced slight discomfort. But it quickly passed, and now I like it when people on the street turn to look at me.

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In the summer I try to wear clothes that highlight the advantages of my figure, otherwise why am I building such a body. In Belgorod at the moment I am the only representative of body fitness. The future competition season in my city may bring a new leader in this category. There should be competition, that's right. She pushes me to improve my form and be better.

If I show up at a party, people come up and say that they saw me, they know me. It is very nice. One day I left the solarium and walked down the street. It was Airborne Forces Day. I was wearing leggings and a T-shirt that exposed my rather large upper body. A crowd of cheerful men from the ranks of the Airborne Forces was walking towards me. Of course, I tensed up when I had to walk through this crowd. And they stopped and said: “My God, how beautiful you are! Respect, sister! Not a single man has ever said to me: “How terrible you are!” Many men compliment my back, calves, or shoulders—the things that make me different from other women.

In this regard, men are more tactful than women. Sometimes women came up to me and said: “Why does a woman need such a top?!” I’m not offended by such behavior, I laugh it off: “To make the rocker more comfortable to wear.”

I like any strong emotions, and negative statements energize me even more than positive ones. I remember one day I went on stage, happy with my form. I started my speech and heard phrases like “Don’t f*** yourself” from the audience. It was a flurry of profanity expressing delight, and for me it was the best compliment at that time.

It was Airborne Forces Day. I was wearing leggings and a T-shirt that exposed my rather large upper body. A crowd of cheerful men from the ranks of the Airborne Forces was walking towards me. Of course, I tensed up when I had to walk through this crowd. And they stopped and said: “My God, how beautiful you are! Respect, sister!

Despite my muscles and slightly rough voice, I am feminine. Recently, one colleague said to me: “You are still such a girly girl.” You can build a beautiful muscular body and still remain feminine. I am a woman, albeit a strong one. I always give men the opportunity to show their strength. The powers that be should not be deprived of their status.

However, I do not believe that there is a stronger and weaker sex. There is a strong and a weak person. I mean inner strength. There is no gender in this issue. I am pleased to be with a man who has an inner core. The size of his biceps and his passion for sports don’t matter to me.

Many people strive to ensure that they and their partner have the same interests, so that they go to the gym together, or fish, or fly paragliding. It seems to me that people may have different interests, but the most important thing is mutual understanding and mutual support.

Natalya Batova

Natalia VKontakte

In 1988, when I was 12 years old, I saw a report on TV from an international bodybuilding championship. I saw musclemen on stage, smeared with brown paint. These happy, smiling people had incredible bodies. I was shocked by what I saw, because there was nothing like that in the Soviet Union at that time. I didn’t yet know whether I liked it or not, but it sunk into my soul.

Nine years later, I again saw a bodybuilding competition on TV, but with the participation of Krasnoyarsk bodybuilders. I jumped off the couch, ran to the mirror and tried to do a double biceps. I realized that if there are jocks in Krasnoyarsk, then I can become one of them. The next day I took my bag and went to the gym.

I became a fan of bodybuilding. I wanted to compete and win. I didn’t think then whether I would look like a man, or an alien, or someone else. I wanted to succeed. And for the sake of success, a female bodybuilder sacrifices her feminine principle: your waist disappears and your chest disappears, and you admire your sculpted muscles in the mirror and evaluate yourself as an athlete. As an athlete you look cool, but as a woman you look lame. But I realized that this is my path.

To succeed in sports, you need to sacrifice your personal life. I was often given examples of other athletes who have children and husbands. But it always turned out that these girls could not win even the smallest championships. And the reaper, and the reader, and the player on the pipe - it doesn’t happen! If you want to achieve everything in one area, then in another you will most likely achieve nothing.

But the people who come to the gym develop character. But 60% of bodybuilders end up in the gym due to lack of self-confidence. I came to the hall as a deeply complex person. Now I have no complexes, and my character has become tough. This happened due to the fact that I went through my entire sports journey alone. I became irreconcilable with my enemies, but at the same time I learned to value human relationships.

60% of bodybuilders end up in the gym due to lack of self-confidence. I came to the hall as a deeply complex person. Now I have no complexes, and my character has become tough. I became irreconcilable with my enemies, but at the same time I learned to value human relationships.

I believe that our destinies are sealed. At the age of 38, I achieved a wonderful figure and won international recognition. I remember in 2014 in America everyone was simply stunned by my form. It seemed to me then that my journey in bodybuilding had just begun, but in fact I was destined to leave it. But in 2015, I met a person who made me quit sports. When this man left my life, almost destroying it, I was faced with a difficult choice; usually in such a situation, people either become drunk and go down, or rise up and achieve success in another area. I didn’t see any point in returning to sports. I decided that I should become a mother. Now I am raising my daughter and starting to develop my own business.

Bodybuilding was not widespread either in the USSR or in Russia. Doing bodybuilding in Russia is like skiing in Africa. This sport receives more negative assessments than positive ones; I would call it a rogue sport. The fact is that for a long time, the ideal of female beauty has been considered a busty, busty woman with rosy cheeks. More than 60% of Russian men prefer women in body.

When a person sees muscles on a woman (and muscles are considered a property of men), the woman instantly receives a mental kick or slap in the face. In our society, seven out of ten people will say that a muscular girl is ugly. One in ten would call it cool. Another will say that he doesn’t like it, but he respects the athlete for her work. The third person will not be able to say whether he likes it or not.

In our country there is a very strong division between men and women. It is in Europe that a singer can go on stage in a dress and with a beard; they mixed the masculine and the feminine. But in our country, it seems to me, there will never be equality. Maybe it's for the best.

Women's bodybuilding has always been persecuted. It was believed that male bodybuilding was good and female bodybuilding was bad. Women have always been accused of gaining more muscle mass, and women who were too massive were at one time not even allowed to compete.

Female bodybuilding is still rarely encouraged, but massive athletes are starting to take the stage again. It's impossible to contain the excitement! If a woman starts to swing, then she wants to achieve greater and greater results. This is fine.

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We all strive for better. I am against judging women for being too heavy - leave them alone! Let's evaluate them not as women, but as athletes. If a woman was able to do this, then her body was capable of it. If a girl wants to build huge muscles, let her build them. Although now I don't like it anymore.

Female bodybuilding is still rarely encouraged, but massive athletes are starting to take the stage again. It's impossible to contain the excitement! If a woman starts to swing, then she wants to achieve greater and greater results.

But I remember myself at 20 years old. I trained with men, braided my hair and wore jock-style clothes. I was doing what I loved, and I didn’t give a damn whether anyone liked me or not. Over time, I realized that I no longer wanted to kill the woman in myself, and then I put on a dress and returned to the female image. But I did it for myself. A person achieves true freedom when he does not care about the opinions of others. If I comply with the law and moral and ethical standards, then that’s it - get away from me. I live as I want!

Nadezhda Petrova

Nadezhda VKontakte

In 2014, I realized that I needed to somehow take a break from my work, and the gym became such a place of rest for me. At first I trained for fun, without a specific goal, and then I got a coach who motivated me to go on stage. Everything worked out naturally and quite successfully. Before that, I didn’t do any sports at all: I happily ate my butt while sitting at the computer at my job.

I remember I was very afraid to go on stage, and I had to fight this fear. Six months before the performance, I put on a swimsuit and went to the gym to pose. And before going on stage every time I told myself: “You only have two minutes to show everything that you did in the hall. If you fail now, then all your work will be in vain.” I tried not to show my fear and prepared myself to be a champion. And I must say, it worked out great for me.

My category is body fitness, where muscles play an important role. I tried to gain as much weight as possible. During the day I didn’t always get the calories I needed, but in the evening I happily ate a huge amount of food. I felt bad from this, food was difficult to digest, but in three months I was able to gain 13 kilograms. My bottom is naturally wider than my top, so fighting genetics has turned into hellish work for me. I had to expand my back and shoulders, and dry my legs and buttocks.

To perform, I had to sacrifice absolutely everything. If you don’t sacrifice something, it will inevitably result in a joint during preparation. I changed my usual routine: I stopped communicating with friends and skipped holidays. It took all my time to prepare.

I also had to sacrifice my appearance: in this sport you have to have a certain shape, and it’s not entirely feminine.

I understood this perfectly and agreed to it. By the way, now I plan to lose weight while maintaining muscle mass. Over time, the muscles grow, and I don’t want to be a huge aunt. Large mass does not solve anything; the body must be proportional and aesthetically beautiful.

To perform, I had to sacrifice absolutely everything. If you don’t sacrifice something, it will inevitably result in a joint during preparation.

I had to work because I needed huge amounts of money to feed myself, train and transport myself to competitions. But I don’t regret it at all. Because then I was taking care of myself, and when you take care of yourself and give 150%, then everything works out for you. If you are distracted by your family, children and borscht on the stove, then you cannot fully prepare for the competition.

I tried not to notice misunderstandings, angry looks and dissatisfied statements addressed to me. I have a purpose for which I live. I don't care what others think. I don't pay attention to other people's words and actions.

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What I say and do is what really matters. I never adapt to others, I never ask anyone for advice. Trials and errors, achievements and results - everything depends only on me. My only advisor and guru is my coach.

I have a purpose for which I live. I don't care what others think. I don't pay attention to other people's words and actions. What I say and do is what really matters.

People don't like the bodybuilder lifestyle or the athletic bodies that hurt the eyes - bodybuilding makes our people angry. This is not accepted here. In Russia, people are lazy in this regard; it is better for them to sit at the computer and chew sausage sandwiches. In addition, the Russian people do not like to praise and do not like to be happy for others. When I come to other countries, the locals react differently to my appearance: they come up, take an interest, take pictures and treat me with great respect. A beautiful, athletic body is valued there.

Men want to see a woman weak. When a woman with biceps is next to him, and even - God forbid! - with bigger biceps than him, he subconsciously perceives this as a challenge. A man must dominate in everything: appearance and gender differences - this is inherent in nature. Female bodybuilders do not fit into the usual framework, and few people think about the spiritual qualities of such women. Maybe she wears pink blouses, plants flowers, and besides, she is the most gentle, affectionate and loving mother in the world. Everyone sees her as just a jock.

I do not share the gender stereotypes that exist in our society, but at the same time I do not want to impose my idea of ​​right and wrong on anyone. Outside the gym, I don’t consider it necessary to demonstrate my strength. And if I go to the store with a man, then he should carry the bags.

Maria Zorina

Maria VKontakte

I had many health problems: back, kidneys, bronchial asthma... I was very weak, and the doctors recommended that I go in for sports. I chose bodybuilding because I liked it physically. At the age of 27, I took up sports full-time, became a coach and began competing in competitions. On the advice of doctors, I turned sports into a way of life.

My first competitions were unsuccessful, although I was in excellent shape. My coach was shocked by the judges' decision. But a year later I already became a champion in my body fitness category. By that time, I had worked out my body, learned to be more confident on stage and successfully chose my image, because the judges evaluate not only the body, but also the hairstyle, makeup, and swimsuit.

I don't like to show myself on stage. You have to smile, but your teeth are shaking. At first I was nervous backstage, in such cases I sat down and reminded myself that twirling my butt on stage is part of my job. Go out, work, and then be shy.

The first year I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to stick to the diet. But already in the second year, proper nutrition became habitual: the addiction to sweets disappeared and I no longer wanted to overeat. I just convinced myself that I had to live like this all my life. If you want to be a professional, you need to do everything right.

The first year I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to stick to the diet. But already in the second year, proper nutrition became habitual: the addiction to sweets disappeared and I no longer wanted to overeat. If you want to be a professional, you need to do everything right.

What is the most unpleasant thing in our sport? It’s not pleasant to give your all in training, only to lose water before a competition and lose the muscle you’ve built up over the course of a year or two. After the competition, you stand in front of the mirror so dead and realize that everything has to start all over again. You need to survive this moment in order to get back on track and gain what you lost. Self-discipline is very important in bodybuilding.

Fortunately, I have never disappointed my coach yet. It is important to me that he is proud of me. I used to think that I could study on my own, but now I understand how little I can do without him. It is important for me that an authoritative person is nearby and guides me. For me he is probably like a father.

I have never encountered rudeness or disrespect from strangers. On the contrary, people admire me, praise me, ask me to take a photo, and ask questions. I only have problems with colleagues who, it seems to me, were unable to realize themselves in their profession. This applies mainly to men. The older a man is, the more bitterly he teases you and shows his displeasure. They try to do it in a friendly manner, but in reality they mean it.

I never demonstrate my strength advantages. Sometimes men feel shy when they are around me. But I agree to consider men the stronger sex, because they realize themselves in this. Why would I break nature and show that I am stronger than a man? If a weak man feels my strength, he will begin to develop complexes within himself. And I don't want to contribute to this.

My husband has been involved in sports for about 20 years. He will always help me, support me, advise me. Once a week we definitely work out together. I constantly gain experience from him. I can tell him: “I need a new exercise,” and he immediately selects an exercise, helps me complete it and change my training plan. I don’t feel sorry for myself during training, so my husband usually makes up my program so that I don’t get tired.

My sports career is the coolest time for me. Every day I rejoice that I came to bodybuilding. I have never regretted it. And I like to attract people to fitness, training and coaching has become the meaning of my life. For me this is not a hobby and even more than a job. This is something akin to service: being a coach and achieving results.

The interview was published on February 22, 2022. From the Time Out archive

Women's powerlifting and strength development

And finally, you won't become huge and muscular because you won't be able to develop the same strength as men. Of course, there are such strong women, but for this they have to work to the maximum. But for the most part, men find it easier to step outside their comfort zone (again, see the difference in testosterone levels).

Growing significant muscle mass requires constantly stepping outside of your comfort zone.

• Can you continue to squat near maximal weight knowing that your muscle fibers are being torn?
• Can you push yourself and lift even more weight?

Many men can, and sometimes it gets to the point of injury. The strength factor keeps most women from building large volumes, even if they do powerlifting.

The benefits and harms of exercise

Powerlifting is a sport that carries a high risk of serious injury. The most important condition for a long life in powerlifting is excellent physical preparation of the bodybuilder. If an athlete has unprepared joints and ligaments and tired muscles, there is a danger of ending up in the hospital for a long time. A healthy diet and proper training will prolong the life of an athlete in this dangerous sport. The benefits of powerlifting are as follows:

• Sleep, appetite and immunity are normalized.
• Increases endurance and improves blood circulation.
• An athlete's muscles accumulate great strength.

Important!

Positive health results in powerlifting are achieved exclusively under the strict supervision of coaches and doctors, who diligently ensure that the ward follows a sleep, eating and training schedule. In this matter, every parameter is important, be it weight, gender, age or general condition.

Improper execution of exercises will cause great harm . Athletes' spinal discs often become dislodged and herniated. Some athletes begin to suffer from pathologies of the heart, muscles, tendons and joints, abusing powerlifting training. There is no opportunity for children and adolescents to engage in this traumatic discipline, since excessive loads on the growing skeleton provoke irreversible curvature of the spine.

Benefits of Powerlifting for Women

Now that we understand that you won't suddenly gain 10 kg of extra muscle mass and run across town at a frantic speed from someone who asks you to pick up a barbell, we'll look at the benefits of women's powerlifting.

Higher metabolic rate

Women's powerlifting will “define” your muscles. Heavier weight speeds up your metabolism. Working with the high resistance created by the weights creates tiny micro tears in the muscles.

To restore and “repair” these tears, you need more calories after exercise, thereby increasing your daily calorie intake. This is ideal for women, because most of them want to get a slim body without excess fat. Metabolism is what will help you achieve your goal.

Another advantage of powerlifting for women is that you can see your muscles. When you lift light weights, as most people do (for example, lifting 2-pound dumbbells for biceps), the muscles hardly work. Why should they adapt and grow if they cope with the exercises so easily?

Push yourself, take heavier dumbbells and move to the next level - then you will see your muscles and can improve your body shape. Heavy weights combined with proper fat-burning nutrition will help you significantly change your body.

Development of functional strength

And another huge benefit of powerlifting, as well as CrossFit for women, is that you can improve your functional strength. Of course, a woman’s strength lies in her femininity and weakness in front of a man, but household chores sometimes require physical strength from a woman.

Lifting heavier weights in the gym will make everyday tasks easier over time. In addition, strong muscles almost eliminate the possibility of injury when playing sports or other activities.

We hope that now you will stop avoiding heavy weights. What you should be afraid of is becoming old and weak, and also afraid of following the wrong program, which will not give results.

Appearance

Anna Turaeva, the absolute European champion in powerlifting, looks completely atypical for a woman, and with her low weight of 80 kg, she easily lifts a 150-kg barbell.

Turaeva Anna posts before and after photos (in her youth she looked completely different, preferring long hair, flowy dresses and heels) on the Internet, and from them it is clear that as soon as a gentle and fragile girl faced unrequited love, she dramatically changed her image .

In order to cope with disappointment, Turaeva plunged headlong into weightlifting, and at the same time changed her image, choosing a short haircut and sportswear.

Over time, first bodybuilding, and then powerlifting, which is considered a traditionally male sport, as well as taking steroids, turned the feminine Anna into a real, strongly built man with voluminous shoulders, pumped up biceps, strong legs and a thin waist.

The image is completed by the athlete’s ultra-short, almost bald skull and an abundance of tattoos that make her look like the famous Dwayne Johnson.

In her interviews, Anna notes that when people meet her, they are initially lost, but after talking, they begin to see in front of them a real woman, which Turaeva feels like. Anna notes that she is not going to prove anything to anyone, and her style and image are how she is most comfortable and comfortable, despite the fact that inside she is not a man at all, but a real woman.

High intensity

Quick squats with a barbell

• 4 sets of 6 reps (60 seconds rest)
• Body part: Quadriceps Equipment: Barbell

Dumbbell bench press

• 4 sets of 6 reps (60 seconds rest)
• Body part: Chest Equipment: Dumbbells

Bent-over dumbbell row

• 4 sets of 6 reps (60 seconds rest)
• Body part: Middle back Equipment: Dumbbells

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For a low-intensity workout, use the following pattern.

Achievements

• 2010 – 4th International Tournament “Black Sea Cup”. 1st place – Absolute category.

• 2011 – Open championship of Ukraine in powerlifting and bench press of the WPA-Ukraine federation. 2nd place in the Absolute Championship (OPEN)
• 2011 – European Championships in powerlifting and bench press of the IPA federation. 1st place overall among women
• 2012 – Open championship of the Moscow region in powerlifting and bench press federation IPA-Russia. Absolute champion among women.
• 2012 – World Championships in powerlifting and bench press without equipment, WPA federation. 2nd place in the Absolute Championship among adults (OPEN)
• 2013 – Professional tournament Arnold Bench Bash. Absolute world record among teenage girls
• 2013 – World Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships WPC Federation. 3rd place among women in the adult category (without equipment)
• 2013 – WPC World Powerlifting and Bench Press Championships. 2nd place among women in the adult category (with equipment)
• 2013 – All-Russian bench press marathon (in honor of National Unity Day). New absolute world record among teenage girls in equipment, result 140 kg
• 2018 – Svrljig Open – Belmužijada. 1st place in the adult competition (OPEN)
• 2018 – Moscow Championship in powerlifting (press and classic bench press) according to the Federation of the Russian Federation (IPF). 1st place in the age category “Juniors under 23 years old”.
• 2018 – Russian Championship in bench press (classical bench press) according to the Federation of Russian Federation (IPF). 3rd place in the OPEN category
• 2019 – Moscow Cup in powerlifting (press and classic bench press) Federation of the Russian Federation (IPF). 1st place (OPEN) weight category up to 84 kg, 1st place in the Absolute standings (OPEN) among women

Low intensity

Quick squats with a barbell

• 3 sets of 12 reps (75 seconds rest)
• Body part: Quadriceps Equipment: Barbell

Push ups

• 3 sets of 12 reps (75 seconds rest)
• Body Part: Chest Equipment: No

Reverse Grip Lat Pulldown

• 3 sets of 12 reps (75 seconds rest)
• Body part: Lat Equipment: Block

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Sports supplements for girls

For successful strength training, the following are recommended:

Transformation: before and after sports

From the age of sixteen, Anna Turaeva was fond of heavy strength training and changed her image, preferring sports and versatile clothes and shoes.

Hard work in the gym and the use of steroids began to visually transform a female powerlifter into a man: a strong torso looks massive and courageous, secondary sexual characteristics have completely disappeared. Anna began to shave her head bald. The photos of her transformation are impressive.

“I consider myself a woman,” Anya shared in an interview for a women’s magazine.