Discover Holly's training routine ahead of the Ultimates.
Holly discusses the highlights of her prep and her feelings heading into Ultimate Britain’s Strongest Woman on Sunday 27 August.
Preparing for Ultimate Britain’s Strongest Woman
I’ve been prepping over the last seven weeks, my longest prep of the year. It’s involved general strength, conditioning and cardio (which I dread).
Everything I expected to achieve has been smashed. I’ve surpassed my weight, reps and speed goals, driving me to push for more.
At the start of prep, I set mini goals instead of worrying about the bigger picture – which helped me to stay focused and motivated.
My highlights include hitting a personal best of 80kg block, which I couldn’t achieve at the start, consistently deadlifting 190kg and moving quicker than ever!
Raising money for charity and powerlifting
On the weekend of 19 August, my friends and I ran our first community day, bringing people together to train and have fun whilst raising money for charity. Everyone who took part thoroughly enjoyed it.
I’m also planning our first women's league event, which looks fantastic and promises lots of fun.
And finally, with the off-season fast approaching, I’ll be taking a dip into the world of powerlifting and participating in an October event in Manchester.
From the Ultimates to the World's Strongest Natural Woman
With Ultimates taking place very soon and the World's Strongest Natural Woman between the 9th to 10th of September in Finland, my main goal is maintaining my stress levels as we get closer — helping me to keep cool, calm and focused on what I want to achieve.
I’m also autistic, so having a plan and discussing it with my coaching team helps me feel supported and prepares me for competitions and travel outside my normal daily routine.
I’m looking forward to competing in the Ultimates. For the next five days, I’m resting, relaxing and taking a much-needed break before Sunday 27 August. Once it’s over, I’ll have 3 days rest before I complete a quick run-through for the Worlds, which involves me flying overseas to compete. Overall, I’m super excited!