She’s got the power.
Emma Taylor has set her sights on competing in the Commonwealth Games after powerful powerlifting performance.
The 41-year-old Newsome mum won the masters class for the over-40s at the All England Championships in Northampton – setting a string of records in the process.
And if she repeats her title-winning ways at the All England contest next year she will qualify to compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Emma, a personal trainer and sports massage therapist at Urban Fitness in Lockwood, only began power lifting last year after competing successfully in Strongwoman challenges. But she has already made an impact on the sport.
At Northampton, she broke the English deadlift record three times with lifts of 162.5 kg, 170 kg and 184 kg – the last equating to three times her own body weight. She took the squat lift record at 135 kg – twice her own body weight. Combined with her 70-kg bench lift, she secured the “total” record having lifted more than 385 kg in all.
Emma trains every day lifting weights and doing exercises to strengthen her hamstrings and upper body.
“Building strength is all about consistency,” she said. “I eat a lot of calories because I am always under weight for my category. I eat a balanced diet but the week before the competition I like to carb-load with things like bananas, rice and avocados.”
While Huddersfield professional powerlifter Daniel Bedford helps Emma with technical issues, her strength and conditioning coach works with her long distance – from Durban, South Africa. Shilo Ramdin, a former professional cricketer and powerlifting champion puts Emma’s programme together. “He found me online and sent me an email asking if I would be interested in him coaching me,” she said.
Emma’s next competition will be the Four Nations to be held this summer in Scotland followed by the British Masters in October in Belfast, where she hopes to get some British titles to add to her English ones.
She’s also a champion in the eyes of seven-year-old son Beau. “He thinks his mum is the strongest mum in the world,” said Emma. “He likes to say he’s strong – just like his mum.”
