Liz Craven
"I think it is a very natural thing to want to get stronger. Just on a very basic, animal level. The strongest will survive."
Elizabeth Craven has been training and competing as a powerlifter for almost 3 years. Her last competition was Matta Tikka at the Sydney Fitness Expo in November. She squatted 133kg, benched 77.5kg and deadlifted 150.5kg for a total 361kg (Wilks score of 455.11) , at a tiny
51.25kg!!! These lifts were all national records.
Liz has represented Australia at 5 different international comps in the last 2 years and made the team for 2 World Championships.
She won the Commonwealth and Oceania championships in Auckland last year within her weight class and as overall best lifter.
She won nationals this year as well. Weight class and overall best lifter.
She runs Build Fitness out of her garage in Kambah, ACT, making her living as a personal trainer and powerlifting coach. She's coincidently almost exactly the same age as me, a mum AND she listens to Slayer which means, pretty much, we're going to be best friends one day.
She's sponsored by Elite Physique and Elite Supps and trains there as well as her own gym Build Fitness.
Thankyou for talking with The Barbelle Club Liz.
Can you tell us a little bit about competition? I can honestly say the competitions I have done have been some of the best days of my life!! I freaking love it.......once that first squat is successful. I hate waiting to lift and have to try to distract myself so no doubt can creep in. Otherwise sometimes I question whether I can lift weights I do for fours in the gym!! After the first squat is finished (for all my doubts I have never missed my opener) I know I'm in the game and I'm loving life. An important thing I have learnt is not to focus on the end result, focus on what I am doing instead. So don't focus on the total I need to get, this just makes me anxious. Focus on the squat I am doing, make it perfect and I will have much more chance of getting that total.
I love all the girls, we go through a lot together and have become good friends. A lot of us have travelled together on the Australian Team too which is freaking awesome! Competing in Russia was what cemented my love for lifting. Every comp is like a get together and we have been known to enjoy a post comp wine or two ;)
I have been lucky with lifting, when I went to Worlds in Russia it just opened up my eyes to what could be achieved. I felt like a roller coaster as it slots into the track and starts its inevitable upward pull. I no longer had a choice, I knew what I wanted to do, I just had to keep working.
Give me an example of what is great about competition and another about what is more challenging: I love that it forces me to be brave, even though I feel afraid of failing the lift, I get out there and give it a crack. Also I have learnt that if I do fail, it's not the end of the world. In fact it makes me work harder.
Another great thing is the friendships I have made, the warmup room definitely bring people together.
The part of competition that I find most challenging is being in the middle of 2 weight classes naturally. I sit at 54.5/55kg so either need to cut to 52kg or be a lightweight in the 57kgs. I tend to cut for most competition and I HATE it. I love food!
Another thing I find hard is making sure I still have energy for deadlifts! I have tried everything, ammonia, music, food. I think the best way is having a gradual weight cut.
Do you find it challenging to juggle a child and competition day? I am very lucky and have a great support network. My mum or parents in law help with Abi. My husband Leon is usually my comp coach. Most of my comps now are international ones so a lot of planning goes into it. When I am there I can't think about being a mother, wife or coach. I focus on being a lifter and try to do my job. Lift some freaking heavy weights. My family always watch me on the live feed and Abigail yells at me to llliiiiffffttt!!!!
Do you have any problems with post comp adrenal blues or issues returning to normal eating? Yes, I definitely feel the post comp blues the next week but I just drown them out with heavy weights, delicious wine and food. I am trying to get a hold of the post comp binge where you put 5kg on in a week (seriously!) I doesn't help anyone! I'm usually back at training within 2 days of the comp. I find I have already lost condition from the deload and after the comp I have new goals and want to get back into it straight away. It takes me a couple weeks to get the momentum going again:)
It’s important to me to spend time completely away from lifting and work so I don't get burnt out. I play with Abigail, hang with Leon, put my phone in my room and get offline sometimes
Another great thing is the friendships I have made, the warmup room definitely bring people together.
The part of competition that I find most challenging is being in the middle of 2 weight classes naturally. I sit at 54.5/55kg so either need to cut to 52kg or be a lightweight in the 57kgs. I tend to cut for most competition and I HATE it. I love food!
Another thing I find hard is making sure I still have energy for deadlifts! I have tried everything, ammonia, music, food. I think the best way is having a gradual weight cut.
Do you find it challenging to juggle a child and competition day? I am very lucky and have a great support network. My mum or parents in law help with Abi. My husband Leon is usually my comp coach. Most of my comps now are international ones so a lot of planning goes into it. When I am there I can't think about being a mother, wife or coach. I focus on being a lifter and try to do my job. Lift some freaking heavy weights. My family always watch me on the live feed and Abigail yells at me to llliiiiffffttt!!!!
Do you have any problems with post comp adrenal blues or issues returning to normal eating? Yes, I definitely feel the post comp blues the next week but I just drown them out with heavy weights, delicious wine and food. I am trying to get a hold of the post comp binge where you put 5kg on in a week (seriously!) I doesn't help anyone! I'm usually back at training within 2 days of the comp. I find I have already lost condition from the deload and after the comp I have new goals and want to get back into it straight away. It takes me a couple weeks to get the momentum going again:)
It’s important to me to spend time completely away from lifting and work so I don't get burnt out. I play with Abigail, hang with Leon, put my phone in my room and get offline sometimes
What are your best physical and mental assets? My biggest asset physically would be my genetics, short levers. I put on muscle very easily and am naturally strong. I come from a long line of strong women, my mum is 79 and picked up a barbell for the first time recently and pulled 70kg without even trying. Mentally, I am teeth clenchingly stubborn, once I make a decision I do not rest until I have achieved it. My mum calls it 'driven' but I don't think she means it in a good way. I am also very competitive and this keeps pushing me to be better. I really like winning hahaha.
What are you worst physical and mental weaknesses? My biggest weakness mentally would be because I am so competitive I put too much pressure on myself at comp and it can make me not perform well. Physically, my weakness would be how much I hate cutting weight.
What are you worst physical and mental weaknesses? My biggest weakness mentally would be because I am so competitive I put too much pressure on myself at comp and it can make me not perform well. Physically, my weakness would be how much I hate cutting weight.
Has the way you eat evolved since you began lifting? I definitely eat a lot more protein. I have it with every meal. I also use protein powder and take BCAAs now which I never did before. I drink a lot less ;)
I have a fairly good idea of what I should be eating. I do like to get eating plans though as if I have something set out in front of me I don't cheat. I do like to watch my macros just because I love that sort of thing. I have a pretty healthy relationship with food, I just eat too much. I enjoy healthy food but I unfortunately also love chocolate, cheese, crackers etc etc I have to get them out of my house when I cut. I eat fairly "clean". Lots of meat and vegetables. I just have less carbs when I'm cutting. By the week leading up to weigh in, I have cut all sugar and salt and I’m drinking about 5 litres of water a day to get rid of excess fluid. A typical day looks like this… Breakfast lean protein 150g prob beef, kale mushrooms and 2 eggs Meal 2 fish 150g mixed Vegies and 80g rice Meal 3,chicken breast 120g, salad Meal 4 lean meat 120g and greens Casein protein before bed, BCAAs during the day and whey protein in the morning |
Can we talk about what you do and the aesthetic results? I came to terms with the fact I was never going to be a willowy long limbed type a long time ago. Now I'm grateful for it, I'm proud it. My body looks best with muscle and all this lifting definitely helps with that. I often have people comment that I look fit or strong.
I've had people tell me that I looked too muscular. When I first heard this I was incredulous!?? How could someone be too muscular? I wasn't a hardcore bodybuilder, I didn't look like a man, I just looked strong. Now I just find it funny. It's strange how people have this desperate need to voice their opinion, about others and how they look. Now that social media has given everyone a platform they feel it is their god given right to tell you what they think about everything you do. Sometimes this is nice, other times not so much.
Lifting has made me feel proud of my body. It is something I have worked hard on. I have made it extremely useful and I love having muscles that do something. These days when I look in the mirror instead if seeing everything that's wrong with me, I mostly like what I see.
I find people are often very surprised I'm a powerlifter. They think I look fit but they're not sure why. This is great for lifting as I'm so tired of the myth that you're going to get big if you lift. My clients are definitely more inclined to try lifting when they see me and Megan.
I do find it funny that girls don't want muscles. Why would you want to keep your body weak and not performing the way it should? I was brought up to try and better myself, physically and mentally. I just don't get why looking weak and skinny is something to strive for? Give me a triple bodyweight squat any day and nice big quads and glutes to show for it!
I think that having my clients see me work hard and become stronger is a good thing. A lot of them have been with me since before I ever lifted and have been along for the ride. My clients get to know me very well, they see me juggling all my different roles, mother, coach, lifter and if I can do it, so can they. I am proud of all the people I have trained up to competition level, they inspire me every day.
Most of them like that I lift but I don't think they care that much about it hahaha. They are just used to it now. My lifting group are a bit more impressed but mostly they keep me grounded and tease the crap out of me! I’ve got great client retention. A lot have been with me since the very beginning (8years ago). I’ve built a community where we all hang out, train, eat. We have fun. People are more likely to train if they’re having fun. I love seeing other women lift! It makes me so excited to see how this sport is growing. I pretty much force all of clients to do it. I have lifters that range from early twenties to sixties and the ones in their sixties are giving my younger peeps a run for their money. I think it is a very natural thing to want to get stronger. Just on a very basic, animal level, the strongest will survive. The weak skinny ones go first, the strong survive. I want to survive! Actually I don't just want to survive, I want to live long and hard :) Training your body is an amazing gift anyone can give themselves. You also learn a lot about yourself during those hard training sessions. The physical gift lifting has given me is my buttlift lol. Seriously squats are awesome. The mental gift is that I've learnt focus. I've learnt it's ok to not win sometimes. I've learnt you can't coast if you really want something, you just can not make any excuses. |
Do you even not lift?
Favourite non training hobby:
Before Abigail it was music, listening and playing it. I play the piano and mediocre guitar. It was also going out, freaking loved it. Bands, music festivals etc... Now my hobby is watching and reading fairy tales with Abi, taking her to the park and trying to enjoy this awesome time. Reading in hammocks, eating great food, still music. Just with less going out ;) As a family we love going camping down at Depot Beach or near about. What I would tell my 20year old self: hmmmmm my 20year old self listened to no one. Maybe to start becoming all those ideas in my head, all I had to do was start. Simple as that. Also not to drink so much and save some money. Oh well at least I had fun ;) Favourite cheat meal: calamari for starters, ribs and potato for main. Cookies and cream ice cream. With beer. Favourite physical feature: I like my strong legs :) The most horrible physical activities I ever undertook was one of those dancing aerobic classes. I have never been more uncomfortable in my life. Also once my trainer made me do row sprints till I spewed. Who inspires you: my father: He never let himself have any boundaries as to what he could or could not do. He decided to do something, so he did it. He ended up with 5 degrees and a PhD. He hitch hiked all over the world. He was an opera singer, a baptist minister, a university lecturer and also one of those crazy Iceberg guys that swam in the ocean all year round. |
Never let anyone's opinions about things you do as a lifter, wife, mother, coach, how you look bother you. Worry about your own opinions of yourself.
If you want something enough it will probably mean you have to make sacrifices and work hard but it is so worth it. I am genuinely curious to see what my body will be able to do if I just keep training. It keeps me going that curiosity, it keeps me driven.
I love lifting, it has taught me many things about myself. Mostly good things :) and it's badass. I'm proud that I started this journey and that I didn't give up when I was told I would probably never lift heavy after having my daughterAbigail (I had a diastisis so big you could see my intestines moving).
Liz will next compete on the 8th at the Oceania and Asia Championships in Melbourne. It's the biggest powerlifting comp ever held in Australia with about 600 lifters scheduled to compete.
If you want something enough it will probably mean you have to make sacrifices and work hard but it is so worth it. I am genuinely curious to see what my body will be able to do if I just keep training. It keeps me going that curiosity, it keeps me driven.
I love lifting, it has taught me many things about myself. Mostly good things :) and it's badass. I'm proud that I started this journey and that I didn't give up when I was told I would probably never lift heavy after having my daughterAbigail (I had a diastisis so big you could see my intestines moving).
Liz will next compete on the 8th at the Oceania and Asia Championships in Melbourne. It's the biggest powerlifting comp ever held in Australia with about 600 lifters scheduled to compete.
Post by Liz Craven.
Check out this video of Liz from last year. The thing I like most about this her comment next to it...5 x double bodyweight one day...in.her.sleep.