Season 2; Inspirational Interview #1: Powerlifting Through Pain | Stephanie Tracy’s Journey to the Pan American Bench Press Championships

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Inspirational Interview #1: Powerlifting Through Pain | Stephanie Tracy’s Journey to the Pan American Bench Press Championships

In this episode of Progressive Rehab & Strength Podcast, we sit down with PRS client and competitive powerlifter, Stephanie Tracy. We dive into her incredible journey from competing at Powerlifting America’s Bench Press National Championships to representing the USA at the Pan American Championships. Along the way, we discuss the mental and physical challenges that come with injuries, how Steph found the strength to push through, and what it takes to keep competing at the highest level, even when your body may be working against you.

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Stephanie opens up about her history in competitive powerlifting, the setbacks she’s faced due to injury, and the mindset that keeps her in the game. She shares the story of her shoulder injury, how it affected her training and mentality, and the decision-making process that led her to compete at the Pan American Championships despite not being at 100%. We also discuss how strategy helped her succeed in this international competition, even though she didn’t hit a PR or go 3/3, and what kept her smiling after a tough performance.

Steph Tracy highlights many of the elements we discussed in our Powerlifting Competition Series on the Podcast and we’re excited for her to share her story with you. In this candid conversation, Stephanie gives valuable advice for anyone dealing with an injury while preparing for a competition and how to determine when to push through and when to take a step back.

What You’ll Learn in This Episode:

  • The ups and downs of Stephanie’s competitive powerlifting journey, including her experience with injuries and how they’ve shaped her approach to the sport.

  • Why powerlifting is a great sport for people of all backgrounds and abilities.

  • How to stay mentally focused during competition, even when dealing with setbacks.

  • The real reason Steph accepted the invitation to the Pan American Championships, despite being injured.

  • The importance of strategy in overcoming physical limitations and how it contributed to her performance.

  • How to evaluate whether you should push through an injury or take time off from competing.

  • Why injuries don’t necessarily have to end your competition season.

  • The role of imaging in understanding the extent of an injury and its impact on performance.

Episode Highlights:

  • Injuries and Resilience — Stephanie talks about the challenges injuries have presented throughout her powerlifting career and how they’ve affected both her training and mindset.

  • Pushing Through the Pain — A deep dive into the mental toughness required to compete at a high level when injured, and how strategic thinking allowed Stephanie to succeed even when she wasn’t at full strength.

  • Facing the Decision — Stephanie’s advice for anyone dealing with an injury and whether to continue pushing toward a competition or take time off to heal.

  • Why It’s Not Always About PRs — Despite not hitting a PR at the Pan American Championships, Stephanie explains why she felt proud of her performance and how the experience shaped her approach to future competitions.

Tune in for an inspiring conversation about perseverance, strategy, and the power of mindset in competitive powerlifting, even in the face of injury.

Resources & Links:

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This guide covers federation rules, packing the perfect meet bag, and navigating weigh-ins, equipment checks, and the warm-up area. 

Detailed tips on timing warm-ups, managing flights and lifting order, and commands will ensure you are prepared for every phase of the competition. Additional insights include nutrition timing, strategies for staying focused, and how handlers can best support you if you’re using one. 

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GET IN TOUCH WITH THE SHOW!

[00:00:00] Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC: Alright guys, welcome back to the Progressive Rehab & Strength podcast. I'm your host, Dr. Rori Alter, head clinical coach here at Progressive Rehab & Strength with my co-host for this series, which has been the competition powerlifting competition series in Season two of the podcast, Dr. Alyssa Haveson, also a clinical coach here at Progressive Rehab & Strength. And today, to kind of finalize or sum up this series, we're interviewing one of the PRS clients who has been with us for a very long time, came to us because of an injury, stuck with us because she loves us. Steph Tracy, you have been here at Progressive Rehab & Strength with me since like 2015 or 2016, I think, right?


[00:00:44] Stephanie Tracy: Something like that. Yeah, something like that.


[00:00:46] Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC: And you have done it all here at PRS. You've done our courses, you've done general barbell training with us, you've done in-person rehab, in-person training, you've done online coaching. And you also have, I guess like once a year, except for kind during the mid-year series you didn't do a competition, but you do a competition or two every year, and it's kind of always been like recreation, fun type competition, just to kind of have something to work towards. And then as of last year, you went to Bench Press Nationals. And then, my brain, you know, had baby and a mom who doesn't sleep, so I can't remember, you got second or third at Bench Press Nationals.


[00:01:39] Stephanie Tracy: I got actually, I think I got fourth or fifth. I don't remember. There were actually a lot of people in my age and weight class for Bench Press Nationals last year, but I did well enough to be a possible alternate for Bench Worlds. And then I did get an invitation for Pan American Bench Press Championship in Costa Rica based on the performance at Bench Press Nationals.


[00:02:12] Dr. Rori Alter, PT, PRSCC: Right. And so, first of all, congratulations, because that is something so awesome placing. I mean, it seems like it was a pretty competitive weight class and age category because you're a masters lifter and so it's not just the open category that you're in, but you came in fourth or fifth in the masters and still qualified or were called for a national or international competition. So you were called for our national team. So the cool thing, I mean, it's never cool to be injured, but the cool thing is, is that throughout this all, you were dealing with a shoulder injury and you performed well at nationals. We trained through an injury, managing it and all this stuff, and then you went to the Pan American Championship and you won. It wasn't your best day, it wasn't a PR, you didn't even go three for three, but you were injured, but you won. So what we're going to do in this podcast and why why we want to have you here today is to talk about injuries and the pursuit of powerlifting competitions in the face of injuries, when to push, when to pull back, the mindset that we need to have, and, you know, Alyssa and I talk about weighing the risk versus the reward in terms of are we going to get more injured if we push through with something or is it worth it? So with that said, you did spring something exciting on me, but we'll get to that. I just want you to kind of introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your competitive history and your injury history. We'll keep it brief. We don't need all the details going back to 2015 or 2012, you know, I think 2012 was when you started lifting. We don't have to go all the way back there, but why don't you just give us a little bit of history on who you are, what weight class, what age category, what you've been doing the past ten years in terms of powerlifting, and how we ended up at the Pan Am with an excellent.


[00:04:29] Stephanie Tracy: Yes, yes. I'm Stephanie Tracy and I have been competing for over ten years now because I did last fall, last winter, I realized it was the 10th anniversary of my first competition, which was the USAPL American Open, which was in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. So it was actually a really great meet to have as your first first meet in a way, because it was raw and equipped. It was three platforms, but at this, even though it was big in that regard, I mean, I didn't know any better because it was my first competition, but it was so warm and welcoming. People who you did not know were cheering you on. And when I was done, I knew that that was something I wanted to keep experiencing and that in a way, I also thought this is something everyone should be able to experience because it's just a reflection of the work you put in and people appreciating it, not knowing who you are. You're not competing against other people unless it is, you know, certain high level competitions. But for the most part, you're really just competing against the expectations you placed on yourself. And that's what I've always kind of used as my mindset going into competitions, because chasing after other people, it doesn't get you very far. It just distracts you from what you need to need to do for yourself and in order to stay in the game and keep lifting for fun and personal enjoyment. I really believe that you need that kind of mindset in order to ten, twelve years later, because I was lifting for a couple of years before I first competed, and I see a lot of young people get really excited and they just focus a little more on glory than good technique and good programming that will sustain them and keep them healthy.