Harriet Waite was one of thousands of people to scramble to buy gym equipment during lockdown in a bid to fill the days, and soon began lifting weights in her makeshift garage gym.
But while the passion fizzled out for many, Waite continued with her hobby and has just become a British junior champion in a record-breaking competition performance.
“Before lockdown I’d never stepped foot in an actual gym, which is crazy to think now,” the 21-year-old said. “I can’t imagine my life not doing it now.”
Waite, a health worker from Kettering, competed in the British Junior Powerlifting Championships, where she won her category and broke a British record when she squatted 201kg – 0.5kg more than the last record set in 2018.
“I was so over the moon. I’m not a very emotional lifter but it really overcame me, I was just stood there. I just couldn’t believe it,” she said. “Going into it I had quite a lot of self-doubt.”
Waite, who works for Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS foundation trust as a senior support worker helping children in respite care, lived at home with her parents and spent a lot of time on furlough during the pandemic.
She said she enjoyed taking her first steps in the sport in a home environment, rather than a commercial gym, and lifting weights came quite naturally to her once she got stuck into it.
“A lot of people said to me: ‘You shouldn’t be starting on this kind of weight, this is very abnormal for someone who is just a beginner,’” she said. “During lockdown I was counting down the days for the gyms to reopen so I could start training properly.
“As soon as lockdown was over I just went crazy for it.”
In a far cry from her garage gym beginnings, she now has a coach and nutritionist who helps ensure her diet is giving her enough fuel to compete.
She was due to take part in her first competition in May 2021 but had to drop out because she came into contact with someone who had Covid, and eventually competed for the first time in July that year.
Back then competitions were being held “behind closed doors”, meaning none of her family and friends could attend.
“My family have been so supportive, last year they came with me to New Zealand for the Commonwealth Powerlifting Championships. And everything is self-funded, so it’s been quite a challenge,” she said.
Off the back of her competition success, she’s hoping to be selected for the world championships in Romania in August, as well as the European championships in Budapest later in the year.
“I couldn’t imagine my life without the gym now,” she said. “Everyone says: ‘I don’t know how you can go to the gym five to six days a week.’ Some people think it’s a slog to get up to go to the gym, but I’ve never had that.”
• The headline of this article was amended on 14 May 2023 to change the reference from weightlifter to “powerlifter”. It is in the sport of powerlifting that Waite has become British junior champion.
