# Want to see one of the strongest 135 lb women in the world? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 30, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751 "2006-09-30T17:12:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![astro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/9dc877/32.png) [@astro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/astro)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/1 "2006-09-30T17:12:08Z")
[Story here](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901654.html) [VIdeo here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq014ztTBbk) [Pic here](http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2006/09/29/PH2006092901866.jpg) > [@](#): > > Success hooked her. Woolfolk lifted weights easily the first time she went to the gym with her father, Kirk, in 1998. Gymnastics had given her great balance, flexibility and body awareness, and Woolfolk handled the weightlifting bar naturally. She compensated for unimposing muscles with flawless technique, and she rarely missed a workout. Woolfolk lifted with her father and his college athletes at the Naval Academy for two years. Then, when the Academy curtailed civilian access after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Woolfolk transitioned to her garage. > > Woolfolk’s one hang-up about weightlifting – “that she would get really hulky and look like a football player,” said her mother, Amy Frank – dissipated quickly. Even now, Woolfolk’s 5-foot, 4-inch figure remains counterintuitive. When she wears jeans that cover her massive quadriceps, she looks practically petite. Athletes at the Naval Academy joke that Kirk is the only Division I strength coach who wilts in weightlifting competitions against his skinny, 135-pound daughter. > > “She might not look muscle-bound, but it’s deceptive,” Kirk said. “She has amazing leg strength, and she has almost perfect technique. I won’t lift against her anymore, because it’s a little embarrassing. She makes it look easy.” ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/2 "2006-09-30T20:57:04Z")
[QUOTE=astro] [Story here](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901654.html) [VIdeo here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq014ztTBbk) [Pic here](http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2006/09/29/PH2006092901866.jpg) [/QUOTE] I read that this morning while I got my oil changed. She does not look at all like a weight lifter except for those legs. Technically I believe she is the strongest 135 in the U.S., and that ain’t bad. You go, girl! ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/3 "2006-09-30T22:37:38Z")
[QUOTE=brownie55] Technically I believe she is the strongest 135 in the U.S. [/QUOTE] Stronger than any 135-lb male? That would certainly be impressive. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/4 "2006-09-30T22:44:55Z")
[QUOTE=Xema] Stronger than any 135-lb male? That would certainly be impressive. [/QUOTE] It’s not hard to believe. Because men are so much more capable of putting on muscle than women, almost any man who ends up at 135 lbs. with developed strength would have had to have started weighing a bit less, and that’s unlikely. ---
**Author:** ![Contrapuntal](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e274bd/32.png) [@Contrapuntal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Contrapuntal)\ **Post date:** [September 30, 2006, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/5 "2006-09-30T23:22:27Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] It’s not hard to believe. Because men are so much more capable of putting on muscle than women, almost any man who ends up at 135 lbs. with developed strength would have had to have started weighing a bit less, and that’s unlikely. [/QUOTE] The world record for the clean and jerk in the 56 kg weight class is 168 kilos. In the 62 kg weight class it’s 182 kilos. She would most likely compete in the latter class. Her best is 120 kilos. ---
**Author:** ![Xema](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/9de053/32.png) [@Xema](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Xema)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 12:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/6 "2006-10-01T00:54:03Z")
[QUOTE=ultrafilter] almost any man who ends up at 135 lbs. with developed strength would have had to have started weighing a bit less, and that’s unlikely. [/QUOTE] Unlikely, but scarcely impossible. I’ve known more than a few small and very strong guys (I was a wrestler in high school). ---
**Author:** ![Unregistered\_Bull](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3da27b/32.png) [@Unregistered\_Bull](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unregistered_Bull)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/7 "2006-10-01T13:53:23Z")
[QUOTE=astro] [Story here](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/29/AR2006092901654.html) [VIdeo here](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sq014ztTBbk) [Pic here](http://media3.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2006/09/29/PH2006092901866.jpg) [/QUOTE] Cool! Female Olympic lifting is my favourite Olympic sport to watch followed by men’s. It’s impressive watching them lift heavy weights overhead. I wish that it was more popular sport overall. Besides the occassional deadlifter, powerlifting with it’s rediculous squat suits and bench shirts just doesn’t do much for me. ---
**Author:** ![brownie55](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f14d63/32.png) [@brownie55](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brownie55)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/8 "2006-10-01T15:31:31Z")
[QUOTE=brownie55] I read that this morning while I got my oil changed. She does not look at all like a weight lifter except for those legs. Technically I believe she is the strongest 135 in the U.S., and that ain’t bad. You go, girl! [/QUOTE] That should have said “strongest 135 \*\*lb. woman \*\* in the U.S.” That will teach me to post sober. ---
**Author:** ![E-Sabbath](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e19adc/32.png) [@E-Sabbath](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-Sabbath)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2006, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-to-see-one-of-the-strongest-135-lb-women-in-the-world/374751/9 "2006-10-01T16:39:56Z")
Hm. Man, what amazing use of physics and leverage. She’s not using arm strength at all.