At the USPA’s Western Warrior Powerlifting Challenge in Glendale, Arizona this weekend, Suzanne Davis made history as the first woman to deadlift 486.1 pounds (220.5kg) in the 132 pound classic raw weight class — that’s almost 3.7 times her bodyweight.
A lot of lifters try very hard to make it look like breaking records is just another day in the gym, but the 45-year-old gave a refreshingly human performance: she was nervous.
This was a USPA National Record and an IPF Raw Classic World Record, beating out Susan Salazar’s previous record of a 485-pound deadlift, though Salazar made her lift weighing 124 pounds, just missing out on the 123.5-pound weight class. Davis’s “1,062-pound-ish” total ranked her number two of all time in her weight class. She brought home the Best Lifter award for the Open class and first place in the Open and Master’s classes.
She told Muscle & Fitness that resistance band deadlifts formed an essential component of breaking through strength plateaus and taking home the record.
Davis is no stranger to pushing the boundaries of po1werlifting; a year ago, she set a world record by pulling 460.6 pounds (208.9kg) in the 123-pound class.
She’s also a competitive bodybuilder, having earned her IFBB pro card and won the NPC Team Universe Women’s Physique in 2015. She hopes to take home her first IFBB physique victory at June 10’s Omaha Pro.
Just four years ago, Davis had never lifted weights at all and was overweight, with 44 percent body fat. She cut to 36 percent by exclusively running, but when she hit a wall in her fat loss, she decided to throw herself into powerlifting.
She’s hoping for a chance to compete at the invite-only US Open Invitational powerlifting competition in San Diego on April 16th. According to her coach Tim Sparkes of Die Hard Gym and Fitness in Peoria, Arizona, her next big powerlifting milestone she hopes to hit is a 500-pound deadlift. We think she’s got it in her.
Featured image via Suzanne Davis on Facebook.
