It started as a fitness routine for Osage’s Kate Lenz but somewhere along the way her competitive fire turned it into a little more.
Lenz recently competed in the NASA (Natural Athlete Strength Association) Championships in Winterset and came away with a first-place finish in the squat in the Masters Division and set two personal records along the way. Her winning squat of 303 pounds was a personal record was her deadlift of 375 pounds.
“I’ve always been an athlete,” said Lenz. “I played three sports in high school (softball, basketball and track) so I wasn’t unfamiliar with lifting, but I didn’t start lifting heavy until about three years ago.”
At the urging of one of her workout partners, she entered the Iowa Games a few years ago. It was an eye-opening experience but began to fuel the fire to not just workout but to compete.
“That first competition was a learning process,” Lenz said. “I didn't do as well as I wanted to, but I was hooked. I have a very supportive group from the Cedar River Complex, and it is just a great support system. I came back and decided to see how high I can go and how far can I push myself.”
Lenz has pushed herself to several PR’s and fueled her desire to get back into the gym after one competition ends to prepare for the next.
“When you come back from a competition and your kind of flying on that high, I'm ready to get after it again,” she said. “I feel like my competitors are not going in the gym right away and I think they're taking a couple of days off. So, if I can get 1% better by getting right back at it, I'm in there.”
Lenz is in the gym five to six times a week. It’s become her routine and while she loves to win, it’s more about her personal goal and success is not always measured in terms of wins in a competition.
“We have a set schedule, and I stick to it and don’t really take any time off because I want to win,” Lenz said. “But I go to competitions with the mentality if somebody lifts more than me that was an awesome lift, kudos to them for putting in the work to lift that weight.”
So even after her outstanding performance in the NASA Championships, Lenz went right back to work.
“I look at my videos and see what I was happy with and just keep building. I had an injury prior to the competition and it’s time to build back up and get stronger. Like we say, ‘throw a little sand in the foundation.’”