“Lily Young, a 20-year-old junior business management major, represented Coastal Carolina University at the IPL Powerlifting North American Championships in Niagara Falls, New York, on Oct. 26. She was one of 300 competitors, split into four separate days. 

Young came out with a new bench press state record and two gold first place medals, one for winning her age group, 20-23 years old, and one for winning her weight class at 132 pounds. Her best attempts for her three lifts are as follows: Squat 283 pounds, bench press 204 pounds and deadlift 325 pounds. 

Young also came in fourth place overall in the entire meet. She has only been powerlifting for two years and currently has 17 state records and one world record. She and two friends have started the CCU Powerlifting Club this year as well. Lily has very big plans for her powerlifting career and has plans to go to the World Championships next year. 

Keep up with her progress by following her on Instagram @lily2_fit. 

I had prepared for this specific competition for a whole year. I work out five days a week, constantly getting stronger to be on that competitive level for the North American Championships. 

Four months before the meet, I started dieting. I was on a very low fat and sugar diet, eating my bodyweight in protein. I ate the same three meals every single day and did cardio twice a day for those entire four months. 

I cut down to 18% body fat, which is the most I have ever cut, and lost a total of 17 pounds. This is the most disciplined I have ever been in my entire life, and probably the most challenging thing I’ve ever done. While I was losing weight, I was still constantly getting stronger and hitting personal records (PRs) in my training. 

Finally, my hard work had paid off and I weighed in at 131 pounds. I finally got to eat the meals I had been dreaming of and carb up for the next day, competition day. 

My experience on competition day was like no other. The Catholic Chants group at CCU set up a watch party, and I had my entire family and friends watching the live stream as well. I had so much support and I am so thankful for them when I was feeling pressured to succeed. 

I learned very quickly that there were the hardest and most strict judges I have ever encountered at a meet. I had to gauge all of my lifts very carefully to get the numbers I needed. By the end of the day, I ended up with a 68-pound total PR from my last competition. 

I also earned two gold medals for getting first place in my age group and weight class. I am so proud of my progress and would not have been able to do it without my mom, Lisa Young, and grandma, Linda Mckim, who went up with me and kept my mind at ease, and my coach Vincent Mangione who made me the strong lifter that I am. 

I put my absolute all into this competition, and although it did not go perfectly as planned, I still came out on top. I have very big plans for the future and do not intend on stopping the grind anytime soon.