Do you even lift? April Purvis definitely does

April Purvis, junior, is a powerlifter studying economics. She is not a large person — she stands 5-foot-1 — but she does lift large weights.

April is not what people typically imagine when thinking of a powerlifter, but then again, she’s not an average powerlifter. She’s only been lifting seriously since last summer, but she’s already enjoyed success at powerlifting competitions, making huge strides in her training.

April has competed in two competitions since last summer. In November, her first competition, she placed first in her age group and second in her weight-class. In January, she placed first in her categories and had a squat press that made her 22nd in the country for her weight-class.

Since then, April has been training for USA Powerlifting Raw Nationals, a major weightlifting competition in November. April said her training has changed a lot in preparation for the competition. She now “programs” her workouts, which means that she lifts a percentage of the maximum weight she can lift to avoid burning her body out before competition.

In the kitchen, like the weight room, she has some structure but allows herself to stay loose. She said she consumes around 200 to 280 grams of carbohydrates a day depending on her workout, along with 140 grams of protein and 50 to 54 grams of fat.

April says the key is protein pancakes and peanut butter.

Initially, April said her parents were a little worried about her since she was spending so much time at the gym, but they were more understanding after seeing her in competition.

April said she knows she is like every Instagram fitness girl when she says that fitness has changed her life, but she still believes it has changed her for the better — and she owns it.

“I think that my freshman year— and I think that all freshmen experience this— it was like how much attention can I get? And that’s really unhealthy and I know that,” she said. “And then I started lifting and I got attention for that, but slowly it started becoming about doing it for myself — I no longer needed the attention because I had the internal confidence and I loved that and I thrived off of it.”

She said she is more confident now, and believes that lifting has made her a healthier person, both physically and mentally.

It’s not just April who has noticed.

Dean Purvis, April’s dad, said he is not surprised April started lifting since she has always been a highly motivated person and involved in fitness.

April’s friend Elizabeth Whelan, senior, said that since April started lifting, she has become more assertive and believes in her own abilities.

That’s something that Jonah Howell, a friend who shares a love of lifting and poetry with April, has seen. He said he understands how lifting has become personal for her, and that one of the reasons their relationship has developed so much is because they have similar approaches to both poetry and lifting.

“It’s a big culture,” Howell said. “We have instincts, let’s use them, do what your body feels — and it’s more of a thing to do for fun or kind of meditative and personally beneficial than a thing to be incredibly strict about, almost more like a task.”

And the people have been welcoming, too, April said. She said the weightlifting community at UNC is close — once other lifters at the Student Recreation Center noticed she was serious about lifting, they reached out to her. She has noticed a trend of friendliness in powerlifting, and believes it has something to do with the nature of the sport.

“Even though it’s competitive, it’s very personal,” she said. “People are actually rooting for you to do well, and it’s more about competing against your own personal records.”

She hopes to keep that trend going as vice president of the Carolina Barbell, a club for those who want to get into lifting, powerlifting or strongman.

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