Dupuis finds strength in powerlifting

Chanelle Dupuis has learned to never underestimate the power of a goal.

The 23-year-old powerlifter moved to Brandon three years ago from St-Pierre-Jolys, which is about 42 kilometres straight south of Winnipeg.

She began going to the gym two-and-a-half years ago, and heads to her first provincial powerlifting, bench press and para-powerlifting championships at Winnipeg’s Pembina Curling Club from May 1 to 3.

“It really helps me with my mental health and kind of saved my life, to be honest,” Dupuis said. “I was really into addictions and substance abuse and going to the gym and having something to look forward to every day kind of put me on the right track.”

Dupuis, who works out at Peak Performance, will be joined at provincials by her friends and clubmates Stephen Sulik, Brenda Billings, Dustin Everett and Alex Pokryshenko. She said that community is a big part of the sport’s appeal.

“It’s 80 per cent of it for sure,” Dupuis said. “Having a place where I feel like I belong really means the world.”

It’s also where her pursuit of the sport began.

She was a typical multisport athlete as a youngster, competing in sports such as rugby, soccer, basketball and volleyball, so she had a competitive background. Dupuis originally just did the bench press and another gym member, Trinity Nwaozor, spotted her and suggested Dupuis should try powerlifting.

“I’ve had the thought before but I always thought I wasn’t strong enough so there is no point in trying,” Dupuis said. “Having people encourage me gave me the final nudge I needed to actually try and pursue it. I’m really glad she gave me the nudge.”

In the sport, athletes compete in the squat, bench press and deadlift, in that order, with the goal of posting the highest combined total from their three attempts in each.

She began training in July and saw gains. She said that provided the glue that stuck to her a sport that requires a lot of hard work.

“It’s the competitiveness and always thinking I can do better than last time,” Dupuis said. “I always want to improve and see what I’m physically capable of. That’s what keeps me going.”

Her personal bests are now 235 pounds (106.6 kg) on the squat, 167.5 pounds (76 kg) on the bench and 242.5 pounds (110 kg) on the deadlift.

“She’s pretty brand new into the sport,” her friend Everett said. “She’s super strong and she’s consistent too. She comes all the time and does her best. I think it’s really cool.”

He’s one of the people at the gym who has taken her under his wing and helped show her the ropes. Whenever her friends competed, she watched the meets online and then had plenty to ask the next time she saw them.

“If I ever have questions or I’m curious, because I’m an over-thinker, it’s ‘Oh, what do I for this? How long am I going to be waiting between sets? What am I doing while I’m waiting?’” Dupuis said. “I ask my friends because this community is so helpful. They’ll help you out with anything.”

Like everyone who has a sport as a hobby, life sometimes gets in the way and Dupuis recently encountered that for the first time.

She had to take two weeks off to attend to other priorities in her life, and was concerned about what that would mean when she got pack to Peak Performance. As it turns out, it’s exactly what her body needed.

“I was really worried it was going to affect me, especially this close to provincials,” Dupuis said. “I was like ‘I’m not going to make my totals and things like that,’ but I’m actually giving my muscles the time to expand and the rest that they needed because in the past two-and-a-half years I’ve been lifting, I’ve never taken a week off from the gym.

“I think it was time for my body to have a little recoup time.”

She is hoping one day to attend nationals, and her first provincials could be the next step on that journey. Even with the help she’s received at Peak, her newness to the sport is creating some apprehension.

“There are a lot of nerves and excitement,” Dupuis said. “This is going to be only my second meet. I’ve only been to one and got my qualifying total and said ‘Hey, let’s go all in.’ I’m a little nervous, mainly because of never being in that big of an atmosphere where there are so many lifters.

“The first meet I went to was a lot smaller and there was only one other girl in my weight class. It was just learning what I could do and being comfortable in the environment. Now there’s going to be a lot more of a competitive factor to this one.”

For the record, she did earn the top spot in her first outing.

While that may be a lot tougher to achieve in early May at provincials, she knows her mind has to be right if she’s going to enjoy some success.

“It factors in quite a lot,” Dupuis said. “Not only your mental but your sleep as well, because that goes hand in and if you haven’t slept, you’re not going to be in the right head space.

“If you’re thinking ‘Oh, that’s a big number that I haven’t hit yet,’ you’re going to get some nerves and overthink it but if you think of it as the same weight I just did, I found that type of mentality has helped me gain way more than overthinking it.”

» pbergson@brandonsun.com