Like so many others, Jen Powers’ experience with CrossFit started with a profound need to get healthy and change her life.
- At her heaviest, she weighed 325 pounds, was in the ICU, and was on countless medications.
Like those who find themselves at a crossroads with their health, Powers was left addressing what had brought her to that point in life.
And, spoiler alert, she’s now helping others through a local fitness-themed TV show (also streaming) called Back on Track with Jenn Powers.
From College Softball to Sedentary Life and the Road Back
Powers was a softball player growing up, but with her on-field days behind her, she started gaining weight.
- “I lost track of myself,” Powers said in an interview with the Morning Chalk Up.
The day finally came when Powers decided to make a change — she wanted to return to the fitness she had loved when she was younger.
She initially lost 75 pounds by making better food choices, but then things got a little more complicated.
- “I suffered from Lupus, and I wanted to get that under control because I was sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Powers said. “Even though I had lost some weight, I just couldn’t beat the fatigue.”
Powers dug deep into how food intake impacted her gut, knowing that it could help her entire well-being if she addressed those issues.
- “I began looking at my life in an inflammatory sense, addressing more of what I was putting into my body and what it was doing to me,” Powers remembered.
She began to feel better and, with the help of her partner, Sharon, embraced a healthy lifestyle.
Physical movement started simply, as it usually does for those on a long weight loss journey. She began with short walks on the treadmill, adding minutes slowly as she gained momentum.
Finding Herself Through Struggle
As her health improved, Powers was thrown for a loop when Sharon received the news no one wants to hear.
- “My partner got diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. She went through two major rounds of chemotherapy, and the doctor gave her a 10% chance to survive six months,” Powers remembered.
It rocked their world, but looking back, Powers said that it taught her to believe in herself.
- “When the doctor told her the odds, Sharon calmly said those were good odds. She was so calm, believing that she would still beat it,” Powers said.
This response pushed Powers to refocus her entire fitness journey, embracing healing her mind to heal her body and spirit.
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As her partner was fighting cancer, Powers was introduced to the thing that impacted her mind the most – weightlifting.
- “There was a CrossFit gym in our small town,” Powers described, “and I walked in and saw everyone with barbells. I was amazed at how strong everyone looked. I loved it.”
Weightlifting completely changed Powers’ body composition and impacted her health. She went from 13 medications to two, all while Sharon was fighting cancer.
But beyond the physical, it helped the mental, and through Sharon’s journey, Powers knew this was the most important thing to address.
- Weightlifting helped Powers process her anxiety: “Listening to the coach explain the breakdown of it…I was in awe. I started light and slowly put the pounds on the bar. For every pound I added, I equated it to, ‘That’s what I had on my body; this is what it felt like to literally carry this weight.’”
Powers had always felt like a lone wolf growing up, but now she knew she had found her pack.
- “I started to believe in myself because I touched that barbell. The irony of touching it is that you have to address more than just the physical part – you have to address your fears. You have to make that leap. It is all represented by that that barbell,” Powers said.
A year ago, Powers underwent knee surgery due to the wear and tear on her joints caused by her extra body weight.
Her surgeon told her she would have to quit lifting entirely, but Powers saw his suggestion as less of a warning and more of a challenge.
- “I am intense, and when I believe in something, I want to prove people wrong. On the six-month anniversary of my new knee, I got the silver medal at the USAW Nationals,” Powers said proudly. “I’ve been given this gift that I need to share with others, those with knee replacements or weight issues, or those who think they can’t.”
- Note: In recent years, Powers has competed in weightlifting between 68 and 71.8 kilograms (around 150 and 158 pounds, respectively.)
A New Opportunity
Hoping to share her love for fitness, Powers wanted to set up an at-home gym space where she could film workouts.
She began calling local communication companies to inquire about production supplies. One call she made was to a TV station in a nearby town in search of some equipment.
They invited her to check out what they had to see if she could make something work, and in a whirlwind that she still can’t fully explain, Powers now has a TV show.
- Powers hosts a local health and wellness show in St. Petersburg, FL, where she brings in fitness collaborators and others who helped her become who she is today.
[Related: Best Weightlifting Belts]
Back on Track with Jenn Powers can be seen on several streaming services.
She has nothing but big dreams, and it all comes back to Sharon, lying in that hospital bed, fighting cancer.
- “When you change your internal energy, you can change the entire world,” Powers said.
More CrossFit Profiles
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- From Weightlifting to Gym Ownership: Meet Two-Time Olympian and CrossFit Affiliate Owner Wes Kitts
Featured image: @jennpowers_wolf / Instagram
