At 15, Powerlifter Bronwyn Taylor completed a 125kg Raw Deadlift.
At 16, she placed 6th in Britain’s Strongest Woman.
What will she achieve at 17, 18 and 19 and beyond….?
Phil Burgess: You are 16 years old and still at school, what do your classmates think of you doing Powerlifting?
Bronwyn Taylor: Most of my friends don’t understand it – the boys, being boys, always insist they are much stronger. The girls are scared to lift weight as they think they will turn into the Incredible Hulk.
Phil Burgess: How did you get involved in Powerlifting and how long have you been competing?
Bronwyn Taylor: I started going along to the gym in Dec 2010 with my dad, Andrew, with the intention of getting stronger for other sports.
I concentrated on the 3 main lifts (deadlift; bench & squat) knowing they work the most muscle groups. I found I had a natural ability for those 3 lifts.
When I was 15 (and weighing 66kg), I deadlifted 125kg raw (2 x bodyweight), for a national newspaper.
Phil Burgess: Whereabouts are you from?
Bronwyn Taylor: I live in Inverness, which is in the North of Scotland. It is a beautiful part of the world – clean, spacious and, as everyone knows – home of the Loch Ness Monster!
Phil Burgess: What are your best lifts to date?
Bronwyn Taylor: I am still 16 years old and weigh 70kg.
My Squat is 100kg; Deadlift 145kg and Bench 65kg – all RAW. (Equipped Bench is 82.5kg)
Phil Burgess: What results make you proudest?
Bronwyn Taylor: In December last year, I competed in the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in Bournemouth (my 2nd competition).
I won 4 gold medals and broke 3 British Records (bench; deadlift and total weight lifted – raw).
In February this year, I competed in the British Bench Press Championships in Northampton.
I won both a gold and a silver medal (I’m now “titled” Sub-junior British Bench Press Champion).
Phil Burgess: How would you make Powerlifting more entertaining to watch?
Bronwyn Taylor: Everyone has different interests – many people call football exciting!
Some Federations allow lifters to have their own music playing through the PA system while they are on the platform – before and during their lifts.
I find this always helps me and adds to the atmosphere.
Phil Burgess: What are your Powerlifting goals and outside of the sport?
Bronwyn Taylor: I am still very young – at the moment I am concentrating on lifting heavier.
I would like to do coaching as a career, along with fitness modelling.
Phil Burgess: Do you think there are more younger people coming into the sport?
Bronwyn Taylor: There are definitely not enough girls my age in the sport.
I am hoping that the message is getting across that girls can lift heavy weights and still look feminine.
I try to encourage them with help and advice both in the gym and also online.
I have many young folk on my fan page and they often ask me a lot of questions.
Phil Burgess: You competed in 2012 Britain’s Strongest Woman, where you came 6th, can you tell us more about this?
Bronwyn Taylor: Yes – I competed in my first Strongwoman event in September (this year) at Britain’s Strongest Women.
I found out about it a week beforehand when I saw it on my Facebook page. I entered and decided to go for it, even though I only managed 2 s/w training sessions that week. I
was placed 6th out of 9 in the U75kg category. I love competing in both Powerlifting and Strong Woman. Ultimately – I love all strength sports!
Phil Burgess: What makes you angry and what makes you happy?
Bronwyn Taylor: I become angry with myself when I go to the gym to do a specific lift / weight and it doesn’t happen.
I love “treat night” (once a week) when I can eats lots of food that I normally wouldn’t touch (ice cream; Nutella; chocolate cake; nachos loaded with cheese etc)
Phil Burgess: Have you had an injuries to date?
Bronwyn Taylor: I’ve been lucky not to have had any serious injuries. I get the occasional aches and pains but my Dad is very careful in that respect.
Phil Burgess: Finally, what Strength Athlete do you respect the most and why?
Bronwyn Taylor: Andy Bolton is my hero! He is an inspiration and a great guy!
