Add Category
Updated
Lydia Hantke knows what it means to push her body to the limit and then keep going.
But she also knows what it feels like to come undone.
The Tasmanian changed her life forever (for the first time) in 2012 when she competed in the reality TV program The Biggest Loser.
"I discovered that I was really good at something and I discovered that I really enjoyed training," she told Helen Shield on ABC Radio.
"And that training for me was something I was going to need to do for the rest of my life, as much psychologically as physically."
When Ms Hantke returned to regular life after the television show she started working as a personal trainer.
It is a job she still loves.
"I've been a personal trainer since 2012 ... I have never ever struggled to have work," she said.
Then, a decision to have a baby two years ago changed Ms Hantke's life once again.
She kept training and working hard while pregnant; she even competed in strongman competitions.
"When I was 17 weeks pregnant I took part in my first strongman competition.
"The second one that I won I was maybe 32 weeks pregnant. I had to get a medical clearance to compete."
But despite her desire to keep active and strong pre and post baby, the reality of having a tiny human enter her world hit Ms Hantke harder than she expected.
"I wasn't prepared for the loss of independence.
"I wasn't prepared for how much my life changed for having a child and that's where the wheels fell off a bit.
"I became very housebound, I didn't want to leave the house.
"I was so self-conscious of the fact that as time went on I wasn't losing the [baby] weight. I felt like a failure."
Ms Hantke said she experienced feelings of anxiety and depression
"It's very easy to find excuses, it's very hard to keep going."
Needing something to aim for, Ms Hantke began training again in the hope of one day competing in weightlifting.
"I wanted to be a really strong and a really fit individual.
"I like being really strong. I'm really addicted to it.
"The biggest bit of advice I can give to people is when you train, whether it's for physical or psychological reasons or both, you've got to have goals."
Lifting for competition involves three key moves — squats, bench press and deadlift.
Ms Hantke said at the beginning it was very hard.
"There were days I just wanted to cry.
"I've got severe osteoarthritis in my knees. We really pushed my knees."
Then last month she entered the powerlifting competition at the Festival of Strength, and she surprised herself by winning her first deadlift competition.
"I hadn't really thought about winning ... I just wanted to lift all the heavy things."
Ms Hantke pulled a whopping 170 kilograms in her third lift to take out the competition.
She said her fitness, both physically and mentally, was now firmly back on track.
"I felt like the strongest person in the room.
"I wasn't, but I felt like it."
Topics: exercise-and-fitness, mental-health, human-interest, person, television, people, hobart-7000
First posted