Spotlight: New EFS Log Addition – Q&A Interview with Strongwoman Amy Wattles

Q: Tell the readers a little about yourself?

A: I’m a strongwoman, highland games and North American highlander athlete. I’ve been competing in strongman since 2004 and highland games for the last two years. I’m a mother of two children  Magnus, 11, and Mojo, 7 years old. My husband Matt has a Master’s Degree in Exercise Science and a background in strength training. Matt writes all of my lifting and nutritional programs and coaches me. By day I’m a special education teacher for students with emotional disturbance. I’ve been doing this for the past 12 years. I have an Education Specialist (Ed.S) degree in Educational Leadership and a Master’s of Arts in Special Education.

Q: What’s it like being a woman in Strongman?

A: For the longest time I never mentioned it to anyone. It wasn’t out of embarrassment or trying to hide something, it just always seemed like too much energy to explain strongman to people who didn’t already know and then explain how as a female I was competing.  “Yes, yes. Just like the guys,” has always been my typical response. I’m very fortunate that I have a spouse who supports me and is willing to do whatever is necessary to encourage my growth as an athlete and understand the balancing act of trying to fill so many roles in my life.

I have excellent male and female training partners who treat me just like one of the guys and encourage me to push to the next level. I expect to be treated like one of the guys while I am training and appreciate those days when I’m able to do heavier events than some of the men. I do believe the women are still the big unknown element, even within the sport. There are so many strong female strongman athletes out there, yet their true performances and capabilities often go unnoticed. While each strongman competition is about being the strongest, competing as a strongwoman comes with responsibility. So few women compete as it is. I see it as all of the female athlete’s responsibility to build the other female athletes up, not tear them down.

There’s a major disconnect between the male and female spectrums within the sport. The male side of strongman is making big strides in major opportunities and competitions available to the athletes. As a female, those opportunities are just not there. Not having the next pinnacles and competitions to strive for can make staying motivated to continually achieve higher numbers difficult.

Months before my first competition the women’s pro card was eliminated. I was devastated. I was training hard with the goal of earning a pro card and suddenly that possibility was gone. Since that time, there has been very little growth and focus on the female end of the sport. I rarely train specifically for local competitions because of the disparity between my abilities and a female just starting out.

Q: What’s your biggest accomplishment?

A: Out of all of the competitions and experiences I’ve had over the past six years, truly my biggest athletic accomplishment was competing in my first competition, Strongest in the West in 2004. I began training for that competition three months after my daughter Mojo was born. I was able to find a way to balance some hard core training, a four year old son, an infant, and a body fresh out of pregnancy. By the time the competition came around, Mojo was eight months old. I remember pushing myself so hard, I wasn’t able to lift or carry her for almost a week.

I was so proud of myself for having the courage to compete, and to train hardcore pretty quickly after her birth. I quickly learned so much about who I was and what I was capable of.  I was and continue to be proud that I’m a well-rounded athlete. I successfully balance being a mom, having a career and being a successful competitive athlete. When I received my award that day, both of my children were in my arms. It was important for me to have them there with me and celebrating all of our sacrifices and hard work. That day set the tone for how ingrained competition and athletics would become to all of us within the family.

Q: How did you first find out about EFS?

A: Really and truly I cannot even remember how I first found out about EFS. EFS has laid the ground work for our athletic life and training. In our house we’ve been following Dave since his days at Westside. Matt was competing in powerlifting at the time and was engrossed in reading everything he could about lifting. I think Matt has a secret man crush on Dave. I think we all do.

Q: Who’s your favorite on EFS?

A: Choosing one favorite is a difficult task. Of course Dave is the best. I enjoy reading business information, solid training talk and the challenges of how he balances the demands of life besides just lifting. Life truly is a balancing act and Dave embodies that concept.

Matt Rhodes log is always entertaining, especially his talk about strongman. There are so many egos and niches within the sport it’s entertaining and refreshing to read his outsider perspective. Shelby and Justin’s old logs continue to influence my training programs on a regular basis, especially since nutrition is one area I could improve that has such a dramatic carry over on event training. And Wendler, wow. There are no favorites. Each one brings their own style and poise to the table to keep me motivated and interested as I follow that continual path of self improvement.

Q: What’s your personal life like? Kids, job, etc…

A: My personal life is consumed with my kids’ athletics and all of our training. My son Magnus is a living testament of what I embody as an athlete. He’s the ultimate male ideal of what a son should be. When I’m training, he is there pushing and supporting me. Magnus is on his own training program and will continue the strength pursuit within our family. The male strongmen know who Magnus is and he has carved his own little niche in the world already. In another year we will begin the process of getting him out there to compete in powerlifting. He has his eyes set on some powerlifting world records and I am dying to start that process with him.

Mojo is our superstar soccer player. She is taking the year off from soccer trying to get in touch with her feminine side. My jaw dropped when she announced she wanted to do cheerleading this fall. My girl is not the cheerleading type, but I figured she should figure it out on her own. She has now decided that for the spring she wants to do flag football and I breathed a side of relief. She is more excited about tackle football, but she’s still off a few years from that. I guess Mojo missed the memo that I expect big things out of her as far as lifting is concerned. She is still young, so I’m not too concerned yet. My heart skipped a beat yesterday when she asked me if she could go out and try to pull my car. Now THAT’S my girl!

There is little time in the day for anything else. When I finally lay down at night, I enjoy my “trash” time to remind me how great my life is. I am a closet Snooki fan and love watching Hoarders or any other ridiculously stupid reality TV show.

Q: Where do you train?

A: I train at home in our garage gym, Stoners Gym. We have all the free weights and training implements I could need and more. We are continually adding bits and pieces of equipment or changing something around. When I need assistance tweaking my form or perfecting an event, I train with Jay Hagadorn at Genesis Fitness in Nampa, ID. Jay’s gym is the only commercial gym I’ve set foot in, in over 15 years! Jay welcomes all strength athletes with open arms, a kind heart, much experience and a genuine desire to help.

Q: How do you train?

A: My main training is following a 5-3-1 program for my compound lifts. I use the 5-3-1 concept and modify it to incorporate different strongman events into the program depending on what I am training for. Event training is generally related to a competition and I train 3-5 events on that day. I typically use the winter months to back off of event training and switch gears towards improvement of my compounds. My favorite event training is just getting out there and messing around, trying to push the boundaries with whatever event I choose to do that day. It seems like those unstructured days have become few and far between the past two years.

When I’m training highland games, I divide my Saturday into morning and afternoon sessions. The morning sessions are out training with the local SAAA (Scottish American Athletic Association) Idaho group. The afternoon session is strongman event training. Professional Highland Games athlete Craig Smith has been an integral part of my throwing training. Craig has graciously taken time out of his own busy life to work with me via e-mail and video on my throwing technique. Until two years ago, I had no experience as a thrower so working with me has not been an easy task for him. My training schedule can be difficult and demanding, especially when trying to balance all aspects of my life. Strongman is not only about strength, it is also about mental toughness. I use that concept in my daily life to help me gut out all of the responsibilities, challenges and never having enough time in the day to accomplish everything I hope to.

Q: What can the readers expect from your log?

A: I fully expect and hope that my log is highly interactive. I love being a source of support, encouragement and information for other female athletes. There are very few female strongman training logs out there and I make sure I stay connected following those athletes’ progress.

Women aside, many logs I’ve read are ego-driven, inflated and not very educational. I want my log to be a source of information and value to the readers. Humor is a critical part of my life and I try to find humor in almost anything I do. I expect that my log will be entertaining and I am looking forward to bringing my perspective on lifting, women in athletics, and general jackass-ery.

Q: How do you stay motivated?

A: Motivation isn’t the major issue, finding the time to train and squeeze life into 24 hours is the challenge. Aside from Matt, Magnus and Mojo making sure I am on track doing what I need to, I turn towards other strongwoman competitors for support. Lacy Okey is my long distance training partner. We competed in our first competition together, at World Strongwoman Championship and many local competitions along the way. Lacy and I have a loving rivalry and are constantly battling it out at competitions. Lacy is not only “Krazy” strong (so crazy it starts with a K), she is a genuine, loyal and supportive force in my strongman life. If Lacy tells me she did something in training, I make sure to do it three times. Besides regular communication, Lacy has come down to the Boise area to train and we both learn so much from one another. If women do not have a local training partner, I advocate reaching out to other athletes and establishing a long distance training relationship.

Q: What are your accomplishments in the sport?

A: Every competition I do is an accomplishment. I learn something new about myself, the events and how I can train smarter. I work hard at avoiding injury and performing at a higher level every time I get out there to compete. In 2010 I became the first North American Highlander Assoc. (NAHA) Women’s National Champ. I competed in the 2008 World Strongwoman Championship in Poland, and in 2009 I won the Idaho State Highland Games Championship and have competed and performed well in many local level competitions.

I have been competing in the Idaho Strongman Championship Series which is a series of competitions drawing in many excellent athletes from the region. This series culminates with the championship invitational in February 2011. So far in this series I took first in all three competitions, won 12 individual events, tied for first in two events and took second in one event which happened to be the yoke. The yoke is my demon at nearly every competition.

Q: What kind of numbers do you put up?

A: Log and Axle

• 180 pounds

Deadlift

• 410 pounds

Farmer’s walk

• 265 pounds per hand, 160 per hand x 230 feet

Atlas Stone

• 280 pounds

18” DL

• 550 without straps. The lift is fairly decent, however I am more excited about doing it without straps. I do not use straps and pride myself on having solid grip strength.

My raw lifts are an area of need. I hardly ever train bench and admittedly bench like a girl. Strongman requires continual shifting and variation in training, I often do not have the luxury of focusing too long on one lift. My strength in strongman comes from having overall freaky strength and an ability to move quick with objects.

Raw Bench

• 200 pounds

Raw Squat

• 350 pounds

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