Zoe is Bristol’s strongest Woman. A patient of Bristol Chiropractic Sports and Family Clinic, a fan of basketball and an excellent competitor! She has agreed to write a guest blog for us about her recent Europe Strongest Woman competition.
So first of all from everyone at the clinic, we would like to congratulate you on your Top 10 finish at Europe’s strong woman competition last month. A great finish for your first international competition!
1.How did you get into this type of sport?
I went to an open day for women at Trojans gym in Ashton, they said they were looking for women to compete in their first competition for women in November 2015, I signed up and it all went from there!
2. What expectations did you have going into the competition? Especially as it was your first international event!
I haven’t really had any expectations in any of the competitions. Strongman is the type of competition where training can go really well but there are a lot of variables on the day that all have to come together if you are going to do well. You also have to be consistent across all events to place because of the way the scoring works.
3. How long did it take you to get to where you are now and what do you want to achieve in the sport?
It snowballed rapidly. Just slightly over 12 months from my first comp to Europe’s. Every competition qualified me to the next level and mentally and physically it was a lot to work through. This year I have more of an idea what will happen, a little more experience and hopefully this will work to my benefit.
4.How different is the training you do now compared to the days when you had a personal trainer?
I trained with Apex Fitness Systems for 3 years, with a one2one PT session each week looking at conventional strength training and group challenges that looked at conditioning and strength through a variety of events from mixed martial arts to zombie fighting! The rest of the time I trained to plan.
Now I train with Bristol Strongest Gym 3 nights a week and 1 events session on weekends. I am the only female in the team but I can safely say I don’t get treated any differently to the others. The team all train together and attend and support each other at Strongman and Powerlifting competitions.
5.How often do you train to get ready for competitions?
I train all year round working on building my strength. Last year I was training from comp to comp. This year I can plan ahead a little more!
6.How do you deal with injuries?
I don’t want to jinx this... I have regular sports massages with Team Flook and check in with Dele at Bristol Chiropactic sports and Family Clinic! Prevention is better than a grumpy Zoe who cannot train!
7.Do you need a particular type of gym? If so where can you find them in Bristol?
Strongman events can be on very specific equipment but it is growing in popularity. There are a couple of gyms in Bristol now that have equipment and they have open days for women so you can have a play!
8.Food bills increased?
If they have it is probably more to do with my son! I have been trying to gain some muscle and you have to eat well to ensure you are fuelled for the gym. My weight category is U82kg and I am a fair bit under so I can afford to gain however I also cant afford a new wardrobe so I need to be gaining muscle and stay relatively lean.
9.Staying with food, what type of foods do you eat and are you careful about what you eat?
I have Ulcerative Colitis so this dictates the content of my diet rather than training. I eat pretty well and tend to eat the same foods as it is easier. Lots of Protein and lots of Carbs.
10.I recently saw Britain’s strongest man Eddie Hall deadlift a new WR of 500Kg. Can we see you bring the female deadlift WR to our shores as well in the future?
It wont be me but I think Britain’s own Donna Moore who is currently the Worlds Strongest Woman will break the record of 250kg before long. She is incredible and very supportive to new women in the sport.
Thank you Zoe for being kind enough to answer the questions. We wish you the best in your future competitions and our support is here when you need it.
To keep up with Zoe's exploits, you can find her on http://www.facebook.com/ZoeThompsonUKU82Strongwoman/