Gracie Vanasse, Professional powerlifter
Introduction
Powerlifting by definition refers to a competitive sport where contestants perform three lifts in a set series and are judged on strength and technique. Weightlifting in general has been around for as long as anyone can remember. It was predominantly a male pass time activity used to measure and exhibit the men’s strength. For a long time, it has considered a masculine sport and only men were allowed to participate in major games. It wasn’t until the late seventies when women were allowed to participate paving way for many great female power lifters. One of the best female lifters of the past few years is Gracie Vanasse. Who is she?
Background information – Gracie Vanasse
Gracie Vanasse, also known as Gracie V, was born in 1987 as one of a set of identical triplets to Erin Vanasse and her husband Mr. Vanasse. She grew up a happy child surrounded by her loving family.
At the age of twenty two, Gracie Vanasse was having problems feeling comfortable in her own skin. She was so sensitive and self-conscious she could not go to a co-ed gym to work out. As an alternative, she joined an all-female workout group where she would go every day on her lunch break. Gracie Vanasse developed a taste for exercise and fitness and after losing 20 pounds decided to take things up a notch or two by taking up body building and weight lifting.
At first, she was unsure with her decision given the fact that there weren’t many females in the industry. This meant that she had no one to mentor her from the female point of view. In spite of this set back, Gracie Vanasse was determined to pursue success in her new found love of the weightlifting sport.
A while after she took up this new sport, Gracie joint a female powerlifting group and began to seriously train in powerlifting and not weight lifting in general. Since her first match that year, she has taken part in hundreds others with a whole lot more wins than loses. This places her among the best powerlifting females in her generation.
Physical profile
Lift category- Gracie V competes in the Women Lightweight Multi Ply category.
Weight class- 165 pounds
Age- 27
Body Weight- 142 pounds
Height- 5 ft. 8 inches
Division- F- L- MP
Best squat- 468.48
Best bench- 225.97
Best deadlift- 413.36
Gracie Vanasse Power lifting career
So far it has been one heck of a career for Gracie Vanasse. She had her first powerlifting meet in 2009 shortly after she started taking the powerlifting training seriously. On this first encounter, Gracie V did so well that she qualified for provincial level competitions. She would be competing under the Raw 148 pounds category.
In October 2011, Gracie Vanasse suffered an injury that would have potentially stopped her career dead on its tracks. While working on a three hundred pound bench lift, she broke her left arm exactly between her shoulder and elbow joints. Despite having to sit out a lot of meets and training sessions, Gracie Vanasse willed herself back to the sport she loved as soon as she recovered and picked up her training where she had left off. She has, however, admitted that since that ordeal, she is always a little apprehensive when performing the bench lift.
Since her recovery, Gracie Vanasse has taken part in several competitions and friendly meets. She usually competes either in the Light weight multi ply category or the raw lightweight category both under the 165 pounds weight class. Each time she competes, whether friendly or not, Gracie Vanasse reminds people exactly why she is in the list of top female power lifters. This is because of her strength and impeccable technique. She has had more victories in her careers that loses and is living proof of what hard work and determination can help you achieve.
Training career and other business ventures
For a short while after she started powerlifting, Gracie got tangled up in drug addiction. She says that it was exercise and her fitness routing that helped her get clean and that have helped her stay clean. She is therefore determined to spread and share the benefits of exercise, training and keeping fit. For this reason, she works part time as a personal trainer and coach. She usually works with up and coming female power lifters serving not only as a teacher but also as a mentor and role model to many young women who are very interested in the sport. When Gracie V is not busy working on her lifts or training one of her clients, she is busy co-running her fitness center.
With the help of her fiancé AJ, who is a retired weight lifter, Gracie Vanasse opened a health and fitness center in San Diego in the State of California. The center is known as the California Elite Training Center. It is a gym and power lifting training center at the same time. The center is popular among the bodybuilding, power lifting and weightlifting crowds. This is because of the presence of able coaches and appropriate training equipment which makes it the perfect training environment. This is a major achievement on Gracie Vanasse’s part.
Gracie V is no doubt a jack of all trades. Despite being so deeply rooted in a male dominated sport, she manages to keep in touch with her feminine side. She even earns a living from it. This is through her part time job as a makeup artist. Make-up and dolling up is a hobby for this power lifting queen and she is actually quite good at it.
Bottom line
Gracie Vanasse is an inspiration to women and young girls everywhere. Here personal story of hard work and resilience shows just how much diligence and patience pays off in the end. The second thing that is inspirational about her life is her uncanny ability to not only survive but strive in a male dominated field. This shows people that setbacks should never keep you from fiercely chasing your dreams. After all is said and done, there is no denying that despite being so young, Gracie V has achieved a lot and deserves a pat on the back.
Personal Life
Gravie V will officially become Gracie Davis in September of 2016. Congratulations Gracie Davis!
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Gina Bradwell is a bodybuilder, personal trainer, freelance writer, strength coach and author of “Overweight to competitive bodybuilder.” She has written thousands of articles on anabolic chemistry, dieting and health.