Hello! I’m Courtney – the owner of BarbellsandBeakers.com. As part of my New Years Resolution I decided to spend more time blogging about my experiences as a 3rd year veterinary student, figure competitor and powerlifter. It’s not very often we get to peek deep into the minds of people with a ton on their plate because, well, they’re busy. I’ve found that blogging is a way for me to communicate my thoughts and reach others in similar situations.
So, a little about me. I’m 25 years old and current attend veterinary school in the South. I spent much of my life struggling with my weight and, both out of boredom and drive, started to go to the gym 2 hours a day my freshman year of undergrad. This spiraled into a fractured relationship with food and health that took many, many years to repair.
I graduated undergrad with a B.S. in Veterinary Science in 2010 and spent that summer obsessively counting, fasting, cleansing, etc. April of 2011 I got accepted into veterinary school (my lifelong dream!) and decided enough was enough. In December of 2011 I picked up my first serious weight program (The Muffintop-less Challenge, funny enough) and started to love weights. In April of 2012 I began 5×5 to learn about powerlifting and competed in my first powerlifting meet in November of 2012. My first sanctioned powerlifting meet was February of 2013, where I set 4 state records in my weight class. I set 4 more in April of the same year.
My life was changing drastically and with that I shed some negativity in my life. Along with the death of a classmate in April I realized that life was short and you should go out and get what you wanted. What I always wanted to try was figure. I waffled with the idea, especially since my fractured past with food and dieting was well behind me now. I sucked it up an entered my first competition in August of 2013, then my second in October of 2013.
2014 has already started out a year of great promise. My senior year of veterinary school is almost fully planned, I have both powerlifting and figure meets lined up, and I’ve learned how to balance school, competing and still have fun with my friends.
This blog was created to show all sides of my life as a “competitive athlete” and, hopefully, help others looking to go down this same road.