Local woman a world-record holding powerlifter

DRIGGS — Imagine stepping up to an Olympic bar to lift more weight than you have ever lifted in your life.

Now imagine that you will be lifting more weight than anyone your age and body weight has ever lifted. Ever.

Welcome to the rush of competitive power-lifting, a world Christy James-Moser, who lives in the Teton Valley, has been involved with for two years.

“The first one, your nerves are kicked in, everything is shaking,” explains Christy. “You’ve got to squat down below parallel, which means your hips have got to break the point of your knees. That lift for some reason, you’re down there and just shaking like crazy.”

James-Moser competes in the amateur division of the World Powerlifting Congress, which is drug and performance enhancement free.

“That makes me even more proud, because it’s just me,” she said.

Christy is the world record holder for the deadlift (lifting 363.7 pounds) and for the total weight lifted in the combined deadlift, squat and bench-press (lifting a total of 755 pounds).

Christy, 40, began power-lifting only a few years ago.

“I started out doing crossfit at Targhee Crossfit and I got really into the lifting weights,” she said. “I realized I could lift a lot more than most of the women in the gym.”

Christy only started competing when she decided to attend a powerlifting fundraiser down in Pocatello.

“I came in second place and had a blast, so I just took off from there and started competing,” she said.

Competing seriously requires dedication, and planning.

“Before a competition I go through a strength phase, which is usually about six weeks, working on the core lifts and building up the strength so that hopefully I can progress,” Christy explained. “About four weeks out, I go into a peaking phase which slowly drops the weight down and reps so you’re peaking just before the competition.”

During this phase it is really difficult to not try to break personal records, she said.

“You got to build up slowly,” she said. “I had my plan written out five weeks before the competition so I was mentally prepared.”

Christy said her family is very supportive.

“My kids think it’s amazing,” she laughed. “Their friends all say, don’t mess with their mom. She can lift you and throw you.”

All ages can get involved in the growing sport, which Christy says is both supportive and welcoming to newcomers.

“At one of my competitions in Utah I actually met a lady in her 70s. It was her first competition,” Christy said. “Her reason for getting into it was her sister had osteoporosis and was all hunched over. She said to herself, ‘I’m not going to end up like that,’ and so she started lifting.”

Christy has just changed age brackets.

“I now compete with the older class, which is kind of nice because when I started I was competing with the 21 year olds,” she said. “That was a little crazy. But I was still holding my own with the younger age group.”

As a world record holder, Christy is a bit modest on that point. But she is setting her sights on ever bigger targets.

“I’m trying to qualify for a big meet in Salt Lake, called Fitcon,” she said. “My total has to be 800 lbs between the three lifts. 755 was my last poundage.”

For Christy, records are only made to be broken.

This article was originally published in the Teton Valley News. it is used here with permission.