She came back to take a win in her home nation.
All powerlifters face obstacles such as injuries, training interruptions, and progress plateaus, but Katya Gorbacheva faced a challenge unlike most competitors — returning to elite competition just eight months after giving birth.
Gorbacheva competed at the Moscow Night Lights, one of Russia’s largest powerlifting meets.
Competing at 72.5 kg bodyweight, she totalled an impressive 476 kg. The performance set a new Moscow Night Lights competition record and earned her the Best Overall Lifter award.
Katya completed all 9 of her good lifts successfully, including a 176 kg squat, 105 kg bench press, and 195 kg deadlift. She also added 10 kg to her bench press personal best and 5 kg to her deadlift.
It was also her first competition in 18 months and her best competition total.
“When you were weak and get stronger – it feels awesome”, she says. “When you WERE strong, but got a C-section, coming back to the gym feels like a losing game.”
As well as birth, pregnancy was a big disruptor. Wearing a lifting belt is impossible, so squat and deadlift were on ice.
“The fact that I benched heavy during pregnancy allowed me to add 10kg to my Bench press at a 5kg lower bodyweight compared to best comp bench.”
Now living in the United States, the Plantbuilt team member is clearly thrilled to be back.
“The female body is amazing! We can create life only to come back stronger.”
