Ryan and Rhaea Stinn are Moose Jaw born and raised powerlifters who travel internationally to compete in their sport. Their online store, Inner Strength Products, has a reputation for being one of the best in Canada for strength equipment.

With brands like Inzer, SBD, Sabo Shoes, and Slingshot, all equipment needs can be met at innerstrengthproducts.ca.

In the field of strength sports, powerlifting is generally seen as a classic option. It has three lifts: the squat, bench press, and deadlift.

The atmosphere of a powerlifting gym or competitive meeting can be intense. The smell of lime dust, sweat, neoprene, and the pungent, pungent smell of ammonia capsules filled the air. The music is usually some kind of heavy metal, and there are plenty of burly men and women warming up, shouting encouragement at the top of their lungs, or waiting nervously for their turn to find out how much they weigh. they can move that day.

However, powerlifting is also approachable and relatively easy to learn. Olympic weightlifting requires years of engineering work, while strong men and strong women require sheer size. In powerlifting, beginners are welcome, the health benefits are lifelong, and while competing is fun, it’s certainly not necessary.

“There are a few different ways to look at it. There’s an age category, and there’s a weight category,” says Ryan Stinn, “It’s very accessible to a lot of people.”

The age categories in competitive powerlifting are inclusive, from eight years old to whenever you stop lifting — some people win gold in every encounter because only those over 80 are competing.

Then there is the weight category.

“I competed in the super-heavyweight, which weighed over 120 kilograms,” Ryan said. “Rhaea competes in the 84-kilo class… and then there’s the weightlifting category for young athletes. I think they start at 30 pounds. For open lifters, I think they start at 59 kilograms for men, and 47 kilograms for women. So there are weight categories that cover every spectrum of people. And beyond that, there are several different types of rapture.”

The multitude of age and weight categories means that powerlifters are aware that comparisons must be fair and relative, leading to a caring gym atmosphere that allows people to progress at their own pace.

The two different types of lifting are complete and classic.

“I kind of compare classic lift and lift equipped with the high jump vs pole vault,” explains Ryan. “Jump high, you jump as high as you can. In pole vault, you use equipment to jump higher than you can experience. ”

Stinns’ shop started because Rhaea wanted to wear a Canadian Powerlifting Union (CPU) outfit to the International Powerlifting Federation—she’s a world record holder. Since then they have branched out into all kinds of personal utensils, though they don’t carry plates, bars, or racks.

The pair are hoping to return to competition. Ryan recently entered the Master 1 category, which will allow him to start claiming CPU records in the category — he holds the national record in the open 120-kilo+ category.

“In a typical year, we would travel to citizens in the spring,” Ryan said. “Then the world in the fall.”

Part of their deliberations is where they want to go as tourists. Rhaea competed in the bench world in Japan in 2019, which they both enjoyed. This year, Ryan will compete in the Classical & Equipped World Powerlifting Masters Championship in St. Johns, Newfoundland. A month later, Rhaea will be at the Equipped World Open Powerlifting Championship in Denmark.

Ryan says that 18 years in the sport has been a big part of his life and powerlifting builds confidence and self-esteem.

“It’s a great sport, and very accessible,” he added. “Of course, if people are interested, they can contact me on Facebook, and I can chat with them.”