'It is hard, but I love doing it'
MUMS are generally a strong breed, having to juggle children and jobs among hundreds of other daily jobs.
But one Llanelli mum has taken strength a step further.
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Lisa James, of Penallt, won the World Powerlifting Championships in her weight category last November and has a host of other accolades under her belt, despite only taking part in the sport for less than a year.
The 28-year-old mum-of-two — who is also Wales's third strongest woman — started powerlifting in December 2011, but within her first year she claimed the Welsh and British records for overall total lifts in bench press, deadlift and squats, in addition to winning the British qualifiers, the Welsh Championships and the Welsh Counties Championships.
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And she's not finished yet.
Lisa fits her demanding training schedule around caring for her young children, a part-time job as an auxiliary nurse in Prince Philip Hospital and studying for a diploma in sport and fitness, which she will finish this year.
But she hasn't always been as fit and strong as she is now.
"As a teenager I started putting a lot of weight on," Lisa said. "At my peak I was about 16 stone.
"I just put on loads of weight eating the wrong foods and going out with my friends. I also put a lot of weight on when I was pregnant.
"Then my little boy was born in June, and in July I started dieting properly and started doing circuits and light weights for about a year.
"But I was getting bored just going to the gym and I wanted something to aim for. So I set myself weightlifting goals and worked towards them."
Lisa, who now weighs around 10 stone, trains around six times a week and schedules her training around her children and her job.
She agreed that powerlifting is generally accepted as a male-dominated sport, but said there is no reason why women cannot enjoy it and succeed like she has.
Lisa said: "There are a few women I have trained in the gym that have shown an interest in powerlifting and I have tried to show them that weights are not just for men.
"It is nice to see more women getting involved now."
Lisa added that she always tries to wear pink in training and when competing to "keep things girly" and has earned the nickname The Power Princess because of it.
With plenty of medals already, the former Bryngwyn School pupil is still hungry for more, with her next competition — the British Championships — coming up in April, before competing in the Wales's Strongest Woman competition two weeks later.
Lisa said: "It's difficult because I have to diet down for the British Championships to fit into my weight category, but because there is no weight categories in Wales's Strongest Woman I'll try to bulk-up again in two weeks to give myself a better chance.
"It's hard, but I love doing it."
And then Lisa is off to Aldershot for the European Championships in July, before taking a trip to Chicago for the World Championships in November.
She added that her children — Kacey, 5 and Jacob, 3 — both enjoy having a strong mum.
"The children just love it," she said. "They will get broomsticks in the house and pretend they are squatting heavy weights, just like their mum."
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