GALE FORCE

As any good Certified Public Accountant knows, the bottom line is the most important thing.  So Gale Williams, a CPA by trade, didn’t waist much time getting down to business at the USA Powerlifting Women’s Open held in Atlanta, Ga in May.

On each of her first attempts, Williams, a 70-year-old who lives in Putnam County, shattered the Georgia state records for 60-year-old in both the deadlift and squat.

“We did that intentionally,” said fitness guru Bobby Lewis, a personal trainer who serves as Williams’ coach, “so we could go ahead and get it out of the way.

Williams, who only recently began lifting weights competitively, already owned the bench press record of 110 pounds for 60-year-olds.
At this competition, her deadlift of 205 pounds obliterated the old record of 165 pounds.  Also, her squat of 140 pounds put the old record for 60-year-olds of 66 pounds so far in the rearview mirror it would need an electron telescope to ever be seen again.

For her record-setting efforts in the squat and deadlift, Williams was awarded a first place metal for full power by USA Powerlifting.

“I really only began seriously lifting weights last January, so we exceeded our goals pretty fast,” said Williams.

Williams works out five days a week, including twice a week on Tuesday and Thursday at Bodyplex Fitness, Lake Oconee under Lewis’ watchful eye and the other three days under his tutelage.

Since the dynamic duo has experienced such dramatic success, they set their sights on the next levels.

“We’re going to be looking for a sponsorship”, said Lewis. “Think about all the protein supplements and vitamins on the market out there.  We could tap into a group of consumers nobody has really tapped into before.”

Though she deserves the time to bask in the adulation of setting the three Georgia records for women a decade younger, Williams said they will also be going after some national- perhaps even international- records in the future.

“We haven’t been working together for long, but we’re excited about our success,” said Williams.  “We’re going to keep going and see what happens.  I came to the dance with him and we’re going to leave together.  We’ve got this far together, so we plan on going to the next level together.”