Be Kind, Lift Heavy. Please help me get to Worlds

Hi, I'm Dawn - I need your help to compete at the Full Power World Championship of the World Drug Free Powerlifting Federation in England in November.

I'm the owner of Free Range Yoga and Community Wellness Center in our wonderful little rural town of Macomb, IL. (We are nowhere close to Chicago.)

I’m 52 years old and I have three grandkids. Our two kids, Sam and Whitney are both powerlifters. And my husband, Tim Piper is a powerlifter, weightlifter (think Olympic lifts), and our coach. I’ve been lifting consistently for the past six years – because who doesn’t decide to tackle a new sport when they are 46 years old? ;)

I’m a Yoga Teacher and Yoga Therapist - I help people get stronger and more flexible in their body, mind, and spirit while listening to their bodies with kindness and honesty.

I believe as we get older, we stop challenging ourselves. And that's where our world starts to get smaller. We are too afraid to try things as we don’t want to embarrass ourselves. We don’t want to fail. So we stop doing the hard things.

So, this is the important part right here:

You know those people who LOVE competition? I’m not that person. At all. The fact that I am trying to raise money to go lift at a meet across the world is unbelievable.

For the past six years I've been lifting I've had to confront all kinds of fears: being in front of a crowd in a singlet (think wrestler’s uniform … yes, at 50+ years old!), to literally being judged by three people staring at me, plus a crowd of people watching me, to concerns about not peeing on the platform – again, these are heavy lifts!

Let’s be really honest. I was not athletic in any way growing up. The closest thing to a sport was as a belly dancer in my 30s and 40s and a few 5k runs.

I never competed in anything until powerlifting. And, I’m definitely not built for this sport. I have long arms and long legs and it’s reallllllly far to sit all the way to parallel for Squat and also really far down for bench press.

So, I have to try hard. I have to work consistently. And at the end of the day, I have to be proud of where I am at and how far I’ve come. I’m never going to set World Records and that’s okay.

I’ve learned a lot about myself as the sport of powerlifting has grown on me.

I’ve learned:

- To focus on doing my best and facing my fears

- To listen to my body and take care of it, even as I’m lifting really heavy things

- That I can only lift my bar – not anyone else’s, meaning to pay attention to what I’m doing and not compare myself to anyone else

- Integrity – do what I say I'm going to do

- Perseverance – work hard even when I hate it

- And to trust that my body is strong

This is scary for me. Going by myself to compete with elite-level world lifters. Again. Really?!

But when this opportunity came up, I decided I needed to go for it. When will I have the chance to do something like this again? And if I walk away from this challenge, what does that show my grandkids, my kids, my husband, my teammates at SALT, my friends, my students, and my community? Is that the kind of person I am? No. I don’t want to pass on challenges. I want to stand up to the scary stuff and kick like hell. I want to get stronger in my body, mind, and spirit and remind others they can do the same. Young or old.

At our gym at the Salvation Army in Macomb, we have a motto – it is to “Be Kind, and Lift Heavy.”

I ask you to help me take this motto to England in November. I could use your help to make this dream a reality. Anything you can donate will be so gratefully appreciated.

Here’s a few more details:

I am a master lifter (52 years old) in the American Drug Free Powerlifting Federation. I lift with SALT - The Salvation Army Lifting Team in Macomb, IL. The Salvation Army gym is a free gym. My coach is my husband, Tim Piper who has been a volunteer coach at the Salvation Army for the past 30 years. Our gym was created by Judy and Roger Gedney. Roger is still a part of our gym at 89 years old.

I have qualified to lift in November at the Full Power World Championship in England.

To qualify at my age and in my weight class 63 kilos (138.8 pounds) I had to at least

Squat: 72.5 kilos (160 pounds)

Bench Press: 42.5 kilos (94 pounds)

Deadlift: 90 kilos (198 pounds)

I want everyone to remember how truly strong we each are and with the right support and hard work we can far surpass our expectations.

Thank you so much for helping me! I can’t wait to share with you how it goes.

:) Dawn

P.S. I want to make sure to thank Rich Egger for the main photo on the fundraiser!