Kelly Clarke hated exercise and describes herself as the typical person who “goes to the gym in January, pays for a year’s membership up front, and ends up wasting her money.”
“I hated exercise and disliked the gym in general, and I got bored with things like the treadmill,” she says. “After school, I actually stopped all physical activity and did not play sports anymore.
“I didn’t gain a lot of weight all at once, it happens gradually over time. But when I was forty, I started getting taller. By age 49, I was a size 48, and I began to have pain and it became more difficult for me to go up and down stairs.
(Photo: included)
Kelly, who is married to Andy and lives in Rotherham, tells I the pain began to affect her mobility. It was even difficult for her to close the suitcase with her right hand because of the pain in her right shoulder.
When she began to have pains in her right thigh that prevented her from sleeping at night, she went to the doctor.
“I was diagnosed with osteoarthritis and put on arthritis medication. I think that’s why I had to change my life,” Kelly recalls. “The doctor said something like, ‘After you’ve been on this medication for about a year, you’ll probably need other pills because it could potentially cause stomach upset.’
“I saw myself on a drug cocktail for the rest of my life and I didn’t want it. I just felt old and sick and tired and wanted that feeling to go away.
Doctors did not advise Kelly to lose weight, but they told her that mobility would improve arthritis symptoms and that weight loss would relieve stress on her joints.
“When they said this, I was determined to find something I could do to relieve the pressure on my joints. I changed jobs so I was more at home so I knew it was time to find a form of exercise that I really wanted to do and enjoy.
Kelly, who says she weighed over 200 pounds at her heaviest, knew there was no point in going to the gym, so she explored alternative forms of exercise.
She discovered a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) class with kettlebells, dumbbells, and circuits—and found she loved it. “My mobility immediately improved just because I was moving,” she recalls. “The problem was that it was a high impact and I did things like squats and landings on my feet, after which I felt pain for two or three days, and this limited my ability to do so many sessions.”
When Kelly’s gym owner suggested she start lifting heavy weights and barbells shortly before her 50th birthday, she admitted she was hesitant at first. “I thought I was going to gain weight, but he said that I was not gaining weight at all and that it would help my arthritis because building muscle would support the joints and help the ligaments and cartilage. So I tried it and was amazed.
Kelly explains that one of the things she loves most about powerlifting is how it focuses on proper technique and inspires the desire to beat your personal best. “When I first started powerlifting, I lifted 30kg. Now I weigh over 100 kg.”
Within 14 months, Kelly went from size 18 to 8 and lost 14 inches in her abs alone. “At some point, I even thought I was a little thin, which I never dreamed of, but it was part of a natural process, because exercise removes fat and then builds muscle.”
Powerlifting did wonders for Kelly’s arthritis. After only four months of training, she stopped taking her arthritis medication and hasn’t taken any since. “As my mobility increased, the pain decreased and the terrible creaking sounds my knees used to make stopped.
“I’ve taken over-the-counter anti-inflammatory drugs for arthritis about twice in the last eight years – but that’s it,” Kelly says. “The arthritis is still there because it won’t go away and I still have occasional bouts of pain and throbbing in my hip or somewhere. But it doesn’t interfere with my life like it used to.”
After volunteering for the 2017 Special Olympics in Sheffield, Kelly was persuaded to compete by British powerlifting judges. Initially believing she was too old at 53, they eventually managed to convince Kelly and she entered her first competition in March 2018, leading to her qualification for the UK Championship at age 54.
In January 2019, Kelly achieved a podium finish at the British Championships, meaning she was selected for the British team to compete at the World Championships in South Africa in October 2019.
“I came into the world from nothing in such a short time. It was very unrealistic. I still can’t believe it. If someone had told me 10 years ago that I would be so mobile, let alone compete internationally, I would never have believed them.”
Selected to compete in the 2019 World Powerlifting Championships for the UK team, Kelly finished fourth and won bronze and silver medals with the UK team in the 2021 World Bench Press Championships.
She also won the 2020 Equipment Bench Press UK title and the 2022 Equipment Bench Press English title.
This exceptional qualification led Kelly to represent England at the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships in New Zealand – just eight years after she began powerlifting.
Kelly is supported and sponsored by her Doncaster-based employer, Keepmoat, a construction company in the UK, where she works full-time as a development and HR manager.
She says: “I just love powerlifting and it has completely changed my life. I recently walked my dog 21 miles and jumped out of a plane during a charity tandem skydive. Before powerlifting, I would never have been able to do this because I was over the weight limit. The difference in my mobility is amazing.
“I never started powerlifting with the intention of competing, I just wanted to improve my health and fitness.
“But it has brought me so much happiness and I have met so many wonderful people who are so supportive. My husband and friends are also very supportive because they see how powerlifting has changed my life and how much I love it.”
The Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships will run until December 4th in New Zealand, with Kelly performing on Tuesday, November 29th.
Source: I News
I’m Raymond Molina, a professional writer and journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. I currently work for 24 News Reporters, where I write for the health section of their news website. In my role, I am responsible for researching and writing stories on current health trends and issues. My articles are often seen as thought-provoking pieces that provide valuable insight into the state of society’s wellbeing.