Video | Three Hong Kong women weightlifters who aren’t shy about showing their muscles
Powerlifting is growing in popularity among Hong Kong women, who see having a muscular figure as inspiring and feminine and say the sport has boosted their self-confidence
Stephanie Tsui Yan-ting began powerlifting two years ago to find a common interest with her boyfriend, and it has changed her life.
Now she hits the gym five times a week – waking up before dawn and training for two hours before heading to work – and can dead lift 140kg, more than double her weight.
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Tsui, 26, who trains at Fitness First, is among a growing number of women getting into weightlifting and resistance training. Nowhere is the trend more apparent than on social media, which is flooded with images of women in their workout gear flexing their biceps, pumping iron and documenting their transformation. The trending hashtag #girlswholift garners 17.8 million results on Instagram alone.
Bobbie Poulton, who has practised like an Olympic weightlifter for nearly 10 years, believes social media has influenced women’s attitudes towards the sport.
“Women are going to the gym and picking up the barbells. They are not scared walking to the weights area any more, whereas before it was completely off limits. Now it’s cool. You can buy pink dumbbells,” says Poulton, 26, a senior strength and conditioning coach at Pinnacle Performance in Wan Chai, and a CrossFit athlete.
“If you look at the rest of the world, weightlifting has definitely taken off. There are women doing CrossFit, running around with six-packs [well-defined abdominal muscles] … and it’s actually looked upon as an achievement,” Poulton adds.
