Ladies of Strength: The best secret society you’ll ever join

Posted on 30 April, 2024

At the start of 2023, my understanding of Strongman started and ended with images of cartoon circus men with moustaches.

By May 2023, I was pulling a truck across a parking lot. Thanks to Ladies of Strength, I had become a strongman, and it was nothing like I imagined.

My name is Megan. I’m 30 years old. I’m a Human Resources advisor. I like walking my dog, baking, playing bass and every Friday night and Sunday afternoon I lift a log over my head. Or I pick up massive stones. Or I flip tires. Or I drag my friends on a sled.

I’m what is known as a Strongman (or a Strongwoman if you prefer). Strongman is a lot of things. It’s a disciplined, strength-based sport, but it’s nothing like lifting a barbell at the gym. It challenges your strength in several technically challenging and spectacular ways.

That’s where the showmanship comes in. Strongman is as much about marvellous feats of strength as it is about entertainment. It draws a crowd, and it fascinates friends, family, and co-workers as you explain the nonsense you got up to on the weekend.

Strongman is an individual sport; it pushes you to challenge yourself. It also pushes your perception of yourself. It’s not uncommon for someone to see an event and think “I could never do that” only to realise they absolutely can (and they love it). This is where Strongman becomes a team sport. Everything you do in a competition is up to you, but you’ll never do it alone.

That was my experience at Ladies of Strength in 2023. It was my first Strongman competition. Before then, I had a very flimsy understanding of the sport, but I knew it looked cool. And I knew I wanted to feel cool. And I wanted to tell all my friends I could pull a truck. I was enticed by the videos I saw on Instagram and the cool prizes on offer.

I went to exactly two free training sessions at local Strongman gyms leading up to the big day. When I went, I was surprised at how generous everyone was with their time, how patient they were with my fumbling and how loud they cheered when I figured something out. It lit a fire in my little heart, and that fire grew when competition day rolled around.

I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous leading up to my arrival. When I got there, I quickly realised I had stumbled into some sort of hidden community. It was like a Secret Society of Strong Ladies. Where was Canberra hiding them all? Where has this been all my life? I immediately felt overwhelmed with nerves, but I’d never felt more supported.

The first event of the day was a log press. The only event I hadn’t practiced before rocking up to attempt my maximum effort. It was at some point between warming up and raising the log over my head that I realised that I hadn’t just discovered a Secret Society of Strong Ladies, I had joined them.

The tremendous effort of signing up for something you’ve never done before had paid the Strong Lady entry fee. There was no competition because we were all on the same team. Everyone wanted everyone else to do well, win and stick around for another competition.

When I pressed a 50kg log over my head, I was completely thrown aback by the volume of cheers from people who had just met me that day. I also went on to do a huge deadlift, pull a truck and lift a stone to my shoulder.

I left with the Best and Fairest award, all sorts of amazing goodies to fuel my new addiction and a desperate need to enter another competition to have another day like that.

I’ve done nearly six competitions since Ladies of Strength in 2023.

I signed up for weekly classes. My Instagram feed is full of Strongman. I joined the local strongman committee. My body is infinitely stronger, my confidence in my capability has increased and my life has been enriched by the people I’ve met.

All because I signed up for that one competition. It’s safe to say I have been officially initiated into the Not-So-Secret Strong Lady Society and now I am excited to welcome more into our ranks.