Imagine, it's meet day. You've just worked extremely hard at the gym training day in and out for at least 4 months straight. So, now what? Now, it's time to execute. At a meet, you need to imagine the same type of atmosphere as a gym times 50. More spectators here to watch you give it your all. More people all trying to get the same squat rack. Essentially, imagine New Year's day at the gym with all the resolutioners there for the first time. At the meet, the key to surviving and thriving, is to prepare. The preparation process can be arduous but if you want a 9 for 9 day (achieving good lifts for each attempts), you need to keep 5 important factors in mind. So you've done it. You have either qualified for or traveled to the meet you are competing in. So, now what? Firstly, powerlifting can be expensive. Therefore, if you have not registered for the meet or federation before, they tend to run between $100-$300. If you are competing in more than one category in a m...
Who am I? Welp, my name is Haley (Sanders) Barbetti. I started working out when I was 17 years old in my parents living room just for fun, but it started my 10 year journey on understanding healthy habits, competing in powerlifting and helping other people on their health and fitness journeys.
I was just like you, someone who tried to eat "right", get fresh air and workout. But, I never went to the gym. As many people often say, I was a little afraid... So instead, my neighbor lent me their DVD (wow I haven't said that word in a while) copy of P90X -- an at-home workout video series. I started with just a yoga mat in my parents living room. It was scary, yet beautiful. Both of my parents worked out. My dad's poison of choice? Doing bicep curls to a poster of Arnold Schwarzenegger. My mom you ask? She was caught doing the 5:45 p.m. Jazzercise class down the street (but man could she move). Since both my parents had their own thing going on, I thought that maybe it was time for me to branch out and learn a thing or two. I worked out with both of them and I didn't hate it, but I thought maybe this P90X thing could be a good start.
I popped in that DVD and man, I went to town. Could you imagine, a person who only knew how to jog or bike ride was now fully doing shoulder presses? Well, that was me. A 17-year-old whose only excitement after school was the golf team and my 5 times a week P90X experience. Let me tell ya man, Tony Horton was the right kind of coach. A little motivational, a little crazy and a whole lot of ripped. I wanted that. And I don't just mean body -- I mean confidence. After only 6 months of P90X, I lost 10 pounds, gained so much confidence and knew how to handle a dumbbell. I finally felt empowered, healthy and proud of my work ethic.
At that time, I started going to the gym with some friends and fell in love. They would push me, teach me new things and showed me how to use a barbell! I never thought I could bench press, but it truly was my favorite. Something about being the only girl in the bench section at the gym, man. It just makes my heart happier than anything. Call it feminism, but I call it freedom and love. I never thought I could ever be so in love with a hobby.
Fast forward 3 years and it's 2018. I was a junior in college at FSU and a classmate was the president of the FSU weightlifting club. She invited me to one of their meetings and I decided to join the club. In this club, I was now a small fish in a gigantic pond. These people were lifting 3 times their body weight! How could I compete with that?? Literally. Well, the main coach, Josh who was also the owner of the FSU Weightlifting gym, Capital City Barbell, took me under his wing and coached me to a T. He helped me develop my bench press and I could finally bench press 135 pounds (this was a life-long goal at the time).
After a year, I decided to compete in my first powerlifting meet ever, and I had a blast! I knew then that powerlifting was going to be my thing. Something about knowing how to move a barbell just inspired me so much. After I graduated, I continued my journey and got my certificate in personal training from the ISSA. From there, I helped people with their fitness and nutrition goals, prioritizing strength training to really help them develop their physiques.
Now, I am starting a powerlifting club at UNF and working toward my Certification in Strength Coaching to develop new systems to prevent injury and cater to newer lifters.
All in all, it all started with a yoga mat, driving my parents crazy before dinner time. Now, they say they were my number one fans (I still say Tony Horton but there's room for debate).
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