Birdsley qualifies for national strongman competition

Porshia Birdsley recently competed in the Cheyenne Colt Breaker's Strongman competition, which is part of the all-around the world competitive powerlifting.

Birdsley took first place in the women's lightweight category of under 165 pounds of body weight. There were eight other girls in her category. Birdsley explained that every Strongman competition has five events that use different implements and tests of strength. 

Powerlifter and strongman athlete Chad Lowery encouraged Birdsley when he did a class that went over different strongman techniques. Birdsley said, "He thought I would do really well in the women's category. He pulled up some of the records. I decided I would try it and entered into the Cheyenne event."

Birdsley's success allowed her the opportunity to qualify for Nationals in Manchester, New Hampshire on June 25. The Nationals limit to 600 total athletes that are allowed to participate. There were only about 26 spots left. There are 22 girls in her weight category, under 165 pounds. Birdsley is registered to go. 

One dynamic to note is that Birdsley does not use performance-enhancing drugs, although at the Strongman competition she may compete against others that do. Whereas Birdsley explained with powerlifting competitions, there is drug testing. Birdsley expressed that in this case, it's an unfair advantage she will compete against.

Birdsley said, "At first at the beginning of this journey I was hesitant, that I didn't think I would enjoy it very much because I love to work out. I did two half marathons last year, in which one of them I placed seventh out of 168 women in my category. That was a different training mindset for me last year. Running and weight lifting are two different things. I got into powerlifting and I am probably one of the top bench presses for women." Her goal is to set the women's state record for bench press and lift around 214 kilograms. "I'm on a mission to do that." 

Birdsley discussed more about the support she has received and said, "Chad Lowery has helped me along with a strongman coach out of Montana, Ron Wilson. They helped bring down different pieces of equipment from their gym. They're both going to help me with nationals as well." In Montana, Birdsley is going to do a competition on June 11 and hopefully set the state's log record. 

Birdsley added that Lowery's encouragement is valuable because "he also has done really well in strongman competitions. He's older in his category. He's found success in it. He has seen how other women had been competing in it and what other women were capable of. And then he saw my strength and knew that I would be really good at it."  

Birdsley discussed her motivation and said, "I'm really excited because I feel like it's something that I was created to do. It's a purpose. It inspires other people. I think I feed a lot off of other people's encouragement and inspiration. It motivates them. It's not only beneficial to me and my family but also others to get them active, to try things normally they might not have.....like an accomplishment for them that they are able to do more than they think that they can do. That strength is healthy and just not settle for where you are at, you can always improve or challenge yourself."