Not all who wander are lost and, for Annie Nelson, powerlifting led her back to herself.
The 27-year-old, based in Edinburgh, admits that she has struggled with depression and anxiety in the past and if she hadn’t discovered powerlifting, she would not be the woman she is today.
Nelson has only been lifting competitively for around six years but is already recognised as one of the best in the world.
She has represented Great Britain on a number of occasions and came third in her weight division at last year’s European Open Classic Powerlifting Championships in Estonia before finishing fifth at the IPF World Classic Powerlifting Championships in Lithuania in June.
Having started in athletics, Nelson reveals she fell out of love with the sport after five years of training between the ages of 16 and 21. However, the struggles started before she stepped away from track and field.
‘I was actually struggling with depression and anxiety to the point where my training wasn’t making me feel better when I was 19 or 20,’ she says. ‘That made me look at things and think it wasn’t for me, that there might be something else I would enjoy more. So I made the decision to step away from athletics.
Nelson gets ready to lift at the IPF World Championship in Druskinikai, Lithuania
A support team watches carefully as Nelson prepares for another massive lift
Nelson reflects on the scale of her achievement after pushing herself to her limit in Lithuania
‘I always loved the odd strength and conditioning session we did for that so I thought: “Why don’t I do that all the time?” Just lift weights all the time and just do that. I love feeling strong, so I found a coach, went from there and I’ve never looked back.
‘In terms of lifting, it has been great for my mental health. Powerlifting has taught me that I’m strong mentally as well. Obviously it teaches you how to be strong physically, but it also teaches you a lot of resilience, and a lot of my team-mates would agree with that.
‘It teaches you how to come back from things and that really gave me a focus, especially because I enjoyed it so much and never treated it just as a hobby. I knew I wanted to compete straight away and went head first into it all.
‘So that pushed me to keep going, pour all of my energy into it and training was my escape.
‘I always think that failing something gives you another opportunity to come back, to go and prove to yourself that you’re stronger than you were before.
‘It may sound cheesy but it relates so closely to your personal life as well. So it’s like: “If I can come back and be stronger, keep working away on myself, I don’t know where I can go”. I always transfer that over to regular life as well in that I can always come back from hard things and I’ll come back better.’
A contemplative Nelson takes a time out before preparing for her next challenge
Though Nelson has only been powerlifting for six years, already she has received a number of messages from young women thanking her for inspiring them and teaching them that it is OK for girls to lift weights.
Whilst she never set out with the intention to be a light for those to follow, Nelson has not shone away from the opportunity to encourage more women to eat the foods they want to and lift weights.
‘It’s hard for me to wrap my head around that I’ve inspired some girls to get into powerlifting,’ she admits. ‘When I read stuff like that, I get a lump in my throat, especially when it’s a younger female because I know that I could have done with an older female strength athlete, role model, to look at. I was just living in my own little bubble.
‘To think that there are young girls out there that look at me, decide to get into powerlifting and get themselves really strong in what you’d call a male-dominated sport is incredible and I’m really touched that people feel like that.
‘The lifting community is still growing, especially on the female side of things, which is absolutely amazing. There are more and more girls getting involved and I’m the biggest advocate for that.
‘In Scottish powerlifting, the ratio between men and women in the sport is slowly evening out. It’s so important that young girls have the confidence to go and lift weights. I’m 27 now and when I was younger, I was growing up in the size-zero culture.
Nelson and a friend find cause for celebrations in between the rigours of events
‘I remember a quote that was something like: “nothing tastes as good as how being skinny feels” and all these things stick with you.
‘Doing something like this teaches you to eat to actually fuel your body and it’s healthy to put on a bit of weight at times and go to the gym and make yourself really strong. You don’t have to be skinny and not eat — you can fuel yourself, go to the gym and be strong just like the men do.’
Being part of the community and lifting alongside men is another reason why Nelson continues to partake in her sport.
Earlier this year, she deadlifted over three times her bodyweight in front of none other than the World’s Strongest Man, Tom Stoltman.
Having initially struggled with the national limelight, once Nelson took time to process the shock and reflect on what she had achieved, things became normal.
Nelson admits she’s bowled over to be considered an icon for many young people in the sport
‘Lifting in front of Tom Stoltman was amazing,’ she admits. ‘I got invited to the Arnold Sports Festival. He was on the stand with me and it was amazing to deadlift next to him with him cheering me on. I didn’t even plan to go that heavy, we just did it on the day and it was incredible.
‘I had no idea I’d get to the level I’m at. When I got my first call-up for GB, I had a lot of imposter syndrome and that it was maybe a fluke that I’d got there, that I’d done well at selections competition because other people maybe didn’t show up how I thought they would. It took me a while to realise that but the truth was that I deserved to be there and I earned my spot.
‘I’ve had quite a few GB showings now and I’ve appreciated and loved every single one.’
