TAMMY Wynen is about to hit 50 but the only thing she cares about hitting is a 150-kilogram deadlift.
The 49-year-old mother of two from Glossodia competes as a strong woman, and since starting just under 12 months ago, has loved every second of it.
She goes into so-called Strong Man competitions, test of the raw strength a human body can produce.
Wynen must pull trucks, lift giant stones and carry very heavy yolks, among many other challenges.
In June last year one of the Strong Man competitions was hosted at the Del Rio Resort on the Hawkesbury River.
Wynen said an article about the competition in the Gazette last year peaked her interest.
“I was reading about the competition and my coach always told me I was a strong person and it always stuck with me I suppose,” she said.
“I had been training at a gym and I told my coach I wanted to enter a competition in Wollongong in September.
“Despite my trainer's objections I entered and I ended up winning the competition in my division.”
Wynen said she had not looked back since, and was eager to go as far as her body would take her.
In June, it will take her to the Australasian Championships, where she will compete in a variety of events.
“We do a seated truck pull, there is a press medley, there is a maximum axle deadlift and a triple torment,” she said.
The truck pull speaks for itself. The press medley involves lifting a variety of heavy and cumbersome objects above her head, while the triple torment will test her trapezius muscles to their maximum as she carries things over distances.
Along with being nearly 50, Wynen has also had to contend with a torn meniscus in her knee, which she recently had surgically reparied.
“I am absolutely looking forward to it. The next step is world championships but I am happy to have just got this far,” she said.
“To me I compete because I enjoy it, I would like to go to Worlds but it will be next year.
“I really love it. Even though it is called Strong Man there are quite a few women who do it as well. It is a very even sport. The men are very supportive and encourage you and there is a lot of camaraderie, despite the competition involved.”
Wynen said her son and daughter were what motivated her to push on, where many might decide to quit.
“They come to the gym with me in the afternoon after work and they are awesome and encourage me to keep going,” she said.
“My son will say ‘come on mum you can do it, keep going’.
“They come to some of my events too but sometimes it is hard to prepare yourself to lift an atlas stone when your daughter is telling you she is bored.”
