'Strongwomen are trying to grow the sport's visibility'

When Viv Taylor's personal trainer encouraged her to start focusing on strength training she worried lifting heavier weights would affect her physique.

As a Crossfit devotee, the now 43-year-old, from York, says she couldn't have imagined her first "thruster" - a squat, push and press exercise with dumbbells - would eventually lead to her setting a new competition record.

"I felt like it was a whole world I had no idea about," Viv explains.

"It just opened up my eyes to another side of fitness."

Around 15 years earlier, and facing redundancy from her office job, Viv qualified as a personal trainer, working at a number of gyms until her daughter was born in 2018.

After returning to her PT job and working with several fitness coaches, one introduced her to the world of strongman training.

Three years, and three world championship appearances later, the sport has "literally become my whole personality", she jokes.

She praised the community for its "wild" support for one another, even on a competitive stage.

"You'll be in the same category as someone and you're just screaming in their face to get the next rep, even though if that rep beats yours.

"It doesn't matter. You just want everyone to do their best."

Viv says she is keen to "grow the visibility" of women in the sport, with the aim of making it "as big as the men's side".

Raising the sport's profile also helps encourage others, including her eight-year-old daughter, to consider their own strength as a positive attribute, according to her.

"At the gym there's so many strong women, and it's really important she sees not only me, but other women as well," Viv says.

"She gets to see strong people doing strong things all the time.

"I don't think she has the notion that she couldn't do things, which is amazing."

As a trainer, her particular passion is on coaching perimenopausal women "to become strong and learn what they can really do," she adds.

However, it is equally as vital her daughter sees her, and others, fail, she continues.

"Otherwise kids just get the idea that if they can't do something the first time, they're never going to be able to do it.

"I think that's a really important lesson as well, that we have to try for the things we want."

In September, Viv won the women's masters 40+/75+ kg category at the WHEA Strongman World Championships in Canada.

The trials of strength included a log lift, lifting a weighted barrel over a bar, raising a monster dumbbell above the head, and completing both a deadlift and a yoke walk.

During the competition, she also set a new WHEA world record in her category for the monster dumbbell, lifting 80 lbs (36 kg) - all while wearing sunglasses indoors.

"Apparently, I have the sassiest monster dumbbell technique in strongman," she laughs.

As well as a nod to her unofficial title, there's a practical reason for wearing her shades, according to Viv.

"If you look down, you're never going to put a thing that heavy over your head," she explains.

"So you've got to look up and mostly you're either outside or you're inside, and there's a floodlight right in your eyes.

"So you need the sunglasses to be able to do it without getting dazzled and dizzy."

Looking ahead to her next competition in November, Viv says she would encourage other curious about the sport to find their local gym and give it a go.

"There is no strongman area in the world where you won't be welcomed in with open arms," she says.

"It's amazing, and you'll find you can do things you never thought was possible."

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