Two-time U82KG World’s Strongest Woman (2021-22) Nadia Stowers of Fontana, CA, seeks not only to become champion for a third time but also to break every strongwomen’s record along the way.
To hear more about her big 2024 plans and get a glimpse into her daily training routine, BarBend recently caught up with Stowers and her record-holding coach, strongman Jacob Finerty, at her home gym, B.I.G. Speed and Strength.
BarBend recorded parts of Stower and Finerty’s training session as they prepared to take on the second half of the year. Check out the interview with Stowers below:
Editor’s note: the following interview has been lightly edited for readability.
BarBend: Why competitive strongwoman?
Nadia Stowers: In my first year of lifting, I signed up for a Spartan run with friends from the gym I attended. Once there, I was introduced to more racers who would join us. I met my now-coach, Jacob Finerty, there.
Finerty joked around, asking, ‘What was I strong for?’ That question hit me harder because I didn’t have an answer. I had only started working out to lose weight. I’d never played a sport or lifted weights before, so I didn’t really have a direction or goals I was working on.
I asked Finerty what he did. He invited me to watch him compete in strongman. Seeing its grit, drive, and competitiveness, I knew then that I wanted to compete.
BB: How do you plan out your training?
NS: Coach Finerty runs training. Each session is based on the competition’s events and how my body feels that day.
I prioritize events that are either new to me or that I need to work on. No real need to overwork events that I’m already good at.
BB: What is your daily diet like?
NS: Eating is honestly very hard for me as I don’t really have an appetite. I get in calories anyway that I can for fuel.
If I know it’s a heavy day, I’ll get something high carb, fat, and sugars, like a spaghetti dinner with a dessert, and force down as much as I can to use the next day.
BB: How do you feel the Women’s weight divisions are progressing in the sport?
NS: There are many new opportunities coming up for women’s weight classes. Official Strongman Games, Giants Live, and 2024 will be the first time women are invited to the Rogue Invitational.
I’m honestly afraid of the sport’s progression as we’re seeing fewer female competitors signing up for shows. When these big opportunities are popping up, it’s been the same group of women for too long, with very few athletes coming up behind us.
We can’t do this forever, and I’m hoping that successors start showing soon, or the women’s side of the sport will die out.
BB: What should happen to remedy that issue?
NS: We need much more participation. The main problem that I’ve discovered with that is fear. Most women I’ve spoken to are afraid. They fear the weights and the effort it takes, and they care far too much about what they look like while competing instead of just giving it their all.
They are quite literally afraid of what makes strongman, strongman. It’s gritty, it’s challenging, and we aren’t out there making pretty faces for pictures.
I hope to be the example that none of that matters because your inner satisfaction and confidence mean so much more than the superficial things in life.
On the other hand, the men’s weight classes fill up rosters pretty well, and I feel like they should have more shows open to them. There is great athletic talent, and they are entertaining to watch. They are happy to be there, engage with the crowd, and give their all.
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Featured image courtesy of Austin Heaton
