Three Generations of Female Powerlifters – The Crawford Women

Marie Laurence, Beverly Crawford, & Tina (Laurence) Crawford

 

Marie Laurence

       Weight Class: 123

       Age Division: M4

       Squat: 100

       Bench: 88

       Deadlift: 200

       Total: 385

       Years Competing: 2

 

 

Tina Crawford

       Weight Class: 138

       Age Division: M1

       Squat: 303

       Bench: 154

       Deadlift: 347

       Total: 788

       Years Competing: 5

 

 

Beverly Crawford

       Weight Class: 148 (New IPF weight class: TBA)

       Age Division: Jr/Collegiate

       Squat: 407

       Bench: 187

       Deadlift: 402

       Total: 992

       Years Competing: 7

 

 

Who was the first of the Laurence women to Powerlift, and how did you influence the rest of the women in your family to compete?

Bev began lifting as a freshman in high school after going to pick her brother up from football and entering the weight room she realized it was her environment in there. Tina was the team mom and got interested in trying it out after spending time around it. Marie had suffered a brain tumor and is deaf in one ear and wanted something to help her recuperate and feel better, so she started working out and grew to love the lifting.

 

Do you all train together?

We used to, but Bev moved down to Alabama for school and so she trains at Auburn during the week and at Quest Gym during the weekends. Tina and Marie lift together at their home gym and at Club EZ Fit during the week. It’s nice when we can all get together over holidays to train together. But we send videos to each other to keep up with each others progress and critique each other all the time.

 

Do you have any other women in your family (ie. sisters or aunts) interested in powerlifting?

No, but there is a lot of family support from traveling to meets, watching live streams, dealing with us in our grumpy weight cutting moods, and celebrating any pr’s or just a good meet.

 

What is your favorite thing about being three generations of powerlifters?

We get to travel together and spend a lot of time together because we all have the same interest, and we get to support each other. It really is nice to see eachother work toward goals and then finally accomplish them. And if one of us is not lifting at a meet we are still there to encourage and help the others back stage.

 

Who is/are your coach/es?

Bev trains with her boyfriend, Brooks Conway. He is extremely supportive and even though he is my boyfriend, he pushes me to be the best I can be, even if I get grumpy about it sometimes. J Tina trains with Ken Gack from Washington State after meeting in Canada at master worlds, she did not have a coach at the time and he offered to help her. He sends her programs weekly and through videos and texts they work together. Marie is coached by Bev and Tina, mostly Tina, since Bev is away at school. She travels up from Philly once or twice a week and they train together.

 

Have all three of you always been geared powerlifters?

Yes, we compete single ply. However, we had done a few raw meets for the ADAU organization a few years back run by Al Seigel. The gear is awesome though and for some reason the pain of it really gets you pumped at a meet! Even with the resurgence of the raw meets right now, you still have to have the strength training, technique and skill that raw lifters do, and it takes a lot of work that pays off at the meet because the equipment does not give you magical numbers like many think, you still have to work!

 

How often do you train with/without gear throughout the year?

We all do raw cycles of training to build strength, muscle, and some endurance. We then do training cycles in the gear in order to prep for heavier weights at a meet and get used to it.

 

What athletic background did the three of you have before lifting?

Bev used to run track, play basketball, and did some serious horse showing for many years. Tina was a cardio junkie, and finally got into the lifting, and Marie took up space…haha just kidding. But, she did not do any sports or athletic activities before this, she just started to embrace the healthier lifestyle. After master worlds in 2011, she had some medical issues and had to stop for a while, but she realized the benefits of lifting outweighed the troubles she was going through and got back into it.

 

Do you have family dinners that turn into full on powerlifting conversations/rants/arguments with each other or non-powerlifting family members?

A better question would be “when are we not conversing about powerlifting?” haha. Be it diet, nutrition, what weights we want to hit, how good or bad our workout was, how much our coaches are driving us crazy (just kidding), how much we would like to be able to sit down or wash our hair without soreness… There is ALWAYS lifting talk. It really is a lifestyle you adopt and it becomes part of who you are.

 

How would you advise other lifters to get their mothers & daughters into competitive powerlifting?

I would say, bring them to a meet…have them see the environment and the support you get not only from your own team mates, but from your competitors and other lifters all wanting to see everyone get huge numbers and do their best. It is a huge family. We have had the opportunity to meet people from all countries and the experiences we’ve had are tremendous. I think just getting out there and experiencing that alone will make them consider it! Plus, once they pick up a weight once, they won’t be able to stop, nothing to be afraid of, we all started with just the bar, and now even Marie, at 70 years old, can say she has been to a world competition and deadlifts over 200 lbs.

 

What are your greatest powerlifting achievements?

All three of us have competed at the world level. Bev, in 2010, as a subjunior took silver overall as well as in squat and bench and gold in the deadlift. Competed in North Americans and took silver in 2012, and twice at the Arnold Classic. She’s won 4 national titles and holds many state and American records. Tina competed in the master worlds in 2010/2011 and took a bronze in bench. She also competed in the North Americans and took silver in 2011 and bronze in 2012. She won three nationals, and holds state records. Marie competed at worlds in 2011 as well. She won two national titles.

We all really love lifting together. Even though at times we clash and get annoyed with each other, we always let it go as soon as we get into the gym. There we work together and push each other to be the best we can be, doing what we all love to do.