Ask Becca

Becca will be answering your questions.  Email Becca at becca@beccaswanson.com with your question and your answer will be posted here on the site!

Question from Riki H:

I have lost over 35 lbs already.  My midsection still needs to come down a bit.  I do a 15 min ab video often and I jog.  My diet is low-carlorie; I eat everything in moderation.  What advice can you give me to trim down?

Answer from Becca:

Loosing 35 lbs is a big deal!  Congratulations!

First of all, you can not spot reduce.  Which means, you cant lose fat on your belly by doing extra ab work.  It will definitely build the muscle underneath, so when you peel off the fat you will look ripped!

Keep the jogging in there.  I choose to do mine right after I wake, before I consume any calories.  But, I also believe in eating within the first hour you wake, so do that cardio FIRST thing.  The next best time to jog is after you are done consuming carbohydrates for the day.

The biggest tip I can give you is COUNT YOUR CARBS!  Try to stay under 100 per day.  See where that takes you.  Good luck, Riki!

Anyone can hire me for my services on the Hire Becca page.  I am super enthusiastic about helping you lose weight!

Question from Ben Tatar:

How far is the 2nd strongest woman in the world from your powerlifting total? Very far… Right??… When you think of female powerlifting you think of Becca and nobody else…As with other sports, there are always the OTHER people… LOL!

I hope your record never gets broken so you will have a legacy forever! However, even if your record ever does get broken, you will be known as the first to do it, so you will always have a LEGACY because of that… you know?

Answer from Becca:

Oh, thanks so much Ben!!  You have always been fun to have around the world of powerlifting!

The highest total besides my 2050 lbs belongs to Laura Phelps.  She has totaled 1725 lbs.  An amazing athlete and a good friend.

Question from Jossan Brander in Gävle, Sweden:

Hi Becca!
Hope you are well. Great to follow your new career!I just wanted to ask you about some advices. Though, I guess you get 1000 of questions from people..?
I have planned to compete in deadlift in LV in Nov ( WABDL Worlds). I have taken it qiute easy the past weeks, and trained OLy mostly last year. In 2008 I did 245 kg.Do you have any advice?

Answer from Becca:

Yes, Jossan! I would be happy to give you advice!I trained heavy all the time!! About every 5 or 6 weeks, I was trashed, so I would go light that week.Start your deadlift off by standing on a 20 kg plate, so you are off the ground an extra inch. Then as you get into your heavy weight, remove the plate; stand on the ground.When you are done with your max sets for deadlift, right away do heavy top end rack work. Change the height you start at, always above the knee. You want to really move some weight. Get to the point where it takes a few seconds to get the weight off the rack because it is so heavy. And control the negative.

I really believe in doing Good Mornings for hamstrings. But do those on leg day. I deadlifted on Wed and did squats and good mornings on Sat.

Tell me what your last work out was. All the sets, weight and reps.

YEAH!! Lets do this!!

Question from Janet Carry in Byron, GA:

I am losing weight. Should I weigh every day?

Answer from Becca:

Good for you, losing weight! Personally, I like to weigh almost every day. If you are someone who gets nervous weighing, then just go by the mirror, an article of clothing and how it fits or use a MyoTape. If you like to weigh everyday, weigh in the morning ONLY, after you go potty and before you eat or drink anything. This is your true body weight. Make sure you always use the same scale and don’t worry about what other scales say. Treat yourself to a good Digital Bathroom Scale!

A few things to note. If you had a cheat meal the day before, you will weigh heavier the next day. It will take about 3 days for your body to come back to normal. No big deal, when you eat extra carbs your body holds water and you may feel bloated. Get used to this process. You will feel rewarded when you eat right and see the scale trend go downward.

Question from Clifford Richards in Andover, UK:

…it is a shame that you have retired but it sounds like you have found something of equal interest but i know how hard a choice it must of been as being injured has made me realize that i couldn’t handle losing all my strength and watching others pass me by. My injury was something known as wry neck and was literally from sleeping awkwardly but it has really affected me because it meant i had trapped a nerve in my neck and this has led to me losing the use of my rear delt on my right side, causing a massive instant loss in strength on the bench. the good news is I’m now 75% recovered and every week i am still seeing progression . have you ever had any injuries which affected your lifting and if so how did you treat them?

Answer from Becca:

I tore my biceps on both arms 7 weeks apart from eachother. I took two months off of lifting and didnt return to the heavy weight for about 5 months. That may be a longer than necessary, but I had been lifting for 8 years and welcomed the break.I tore and adductor once, and that presented some inner thigh problems for a little while.The injury that effected me the most was spraining my upper back. At the Arnold Classic on my first squat attempt I picked up the bar and heard some bone crunching noises along my spine in the trap area. I tried to reset the bar, but just like an ankle sprain, I couldn’t put any pressure on it and it swelled up instantly. Since then I have dealt with nerve pain in my shoulders and one elbow.

I feel confident it would help if I had Active Release Technique (ART) on a regular basis. I learned a myofacial release technique that takes me about an hour and a half to do on my whole body, that helps as well.

I am glad your wry neck is improving. Good luck climbing back to your numbers… AND BEYOND!!!

Question from Terry Fitzgerald:

Now that you’re not competing in powerlifting, how has your training adapted to wrestling?
Do you do a split routine? Are you doing much cardio? What about your diet?

Answer from Becca:

Ah you can take the girl out of powerlifting, but you cant take the powerlifting out of the girl! I still train all of my powerlifting movements and assistance work, but lighter and with out gear.

I do the same splits I trained as a powerlifter: Chest/shoulders, Back, Tris/Bis, Quads/Hams.

Training pro-wrestling style involves a lot of cardio. I get my cardio that way and from a good old fashioned stairmaster or a jog outside when it is warm.

I don’t eat nearly as much as I did when I was competing in powerlifting. I diet for a couple weeks at a time, but only when I have an event coming up.

Question from AJ Schroeder:

I tore my bicep deadlifting. In the video you can see it and hear it. My arm is black. However, the bicep isn’t all retracted in my arm. I am getting a MRI Tuesday. Since you have had this before. do you think i will be ready for Kings of bench in April?

Answer from Becca:

Be as crazy as you wish to be!  A tendon should be fully healed in 6 weeks, but I am not sure it is ready for max pressure from lifting.  I gave myself about 5 months to recover.  I was lifting after two months, but not full heavy (for me ;o) ).  I figured I had been lifting for 8 years so the break was welcome.  A lot of big guys do not get their biceps repaired (Garry Frank is one of them I think).  They seem to lift just fine.

If you do get it repaired, know this… I didn’t have full rotation in my wrist afterward.  But, when I started to wear a bench shirt the scar tissue was breaking up.  It was scary to hear the popping, but I was so glad it worked out that way.  See, with your wrist fixed by grabbing the bar, the tourniquet of the arm sleeve just above your elbow and tucking your elbows when you bench… THAT is when the adhesions were broken.