Interview with Powerlifter
Joyce Del Carmen
By Eddie Cervantes, Muscle-4Life-Nutrition.com
Editor's Note: Special thanks to Joyce for taking the time to
speak with Muscle-4Life-Nutrition.com. All photos courtesy of Joyce Del Carmen
Hey Guys! I really wanted to get this talented athlete on Muscle4Life.com to share her story with all of our readers. When I first got a chance to see Joyce at 5’2” 115 pounds deadlifting 315 pounds I was beyond impressed. She is a BEAST! Joyce Del Carmen is an up and coming powerlifter who will be a force to be reckoned with and is from my home town Las Vegas NV.
Eddie: Hello Joyce, It is great to have you on Muscle4Life.com Tell us all about yourself? How and when did you get involved in powerlifting and fitness?
Joyce: Hey Eddie! Thank you for this opportunity. I use to be borderline obese. I was 5’2” weighing at 165 lbs. I wasn't happy and I felt so uncomfortable in my skin. I didn't really want to go out much. I was lazy and I knew that my life needed a change.
I changed my diet and eating habits and I slowly started to lose weight. Then I started running and lost even more weight. I liked challenging myself by seeing how many miles I could run and how fast I could go. When I completed Tough Mudder, which was a huge goal for me at the time, I dropped down to 98 lbs and was the smallest I ever weighed.
However, I felt too small; I had no muscles, and no curves. I started to research on how to weight train, watched a lot of Youtube videos, got inspiration from Instagram, and my significant other at the time helped me get started. At one point I thought about doing bikini but I loved lifting heavy so much. I fell in love with powerlifting when I first pulled one plate. I love that the hard work and effort you put in will show. That amazing feeling and adrenaline when you surprise yourself and realize that you are stronger than you think you are, felt great.
I took it more serious when I was going through some personal life issues and I only ran no more than two miles a day. No matter how exhausted I was from work, school, meal prepping, and going out. Once I walk in the gym I still make the time and effort to push myself to be stronger. I never felt so driven to chase a personal record and still continue to stack on more weights. It helped me spiritually, physically, emotionally, and mentally. It also helped me keep the weight off and stay consistent.
Eddie: That is very inspirational and hands down you have the heart of a powerlifter. Where are you originally from?
Joyce: I was born in Guam. I moved to Las Vegas, NV in 2003 when I was 12 years old.
Eddie: Where do you currently train at?
Joyce: I train at LVAC, Iron House, and Tap UR fitness. I will drive anywhere and train anywhere as long as I have a great workout.
Eddie: Oh Hell Yeah Joyce! The 3 D's Dedication, Determination, and Discipline. LVAC, Iron House and Tap UR Fitness are all great gyms! Does being a powerlifter always get positive feedback from other women or do you also receive negative feedback, if so how do you handle it or respond?
Joyce: It is a different world from body building, marathon running, and other training. Some people don’t understand that our rest takes a little longer so at some gyms I would get rushed or even kicked out. When I walk in the gym all in pink with my huge pink belt, I would get those looks like I don’t belong here. In the beginning, I was very shy and trained away from everyone in the corner and now I feed off of it and it feels good. It gives me more fuel to prove them wrong. Sometimes I would have people come up to me and tell me they see the hard work I put in which motivates me to keep going. I get asked advice from a lot of women and I like helping them out, getting them started, and showing them the ropes because I know what it was like to get started and walk in the gym like it’s the first day of school and not knowing anyone.
Eddie: Not only are you a focused athlete but you also take the time to motivate others. That is Awesome! What are your big plans for the future, any upcoming competitions?
Joyce: Since I have been consistently doing squats, bench, and deadlifts for a year now I decided to start training for my first powerlifting meet which is for the USAPL federation 123 division March 28, 2015. I want to do it for fun but hopefully get the state record for one of my lifts. I also want to one day step on stage for figure but that would be a long time from now.
Eddie: We will be following your journey. Basing it on the lifts I have seen you do, I know you will be successful with all your goals and figure will just be a shift in your training and diet and you will tear that up too!! Joyce, I want to thank you for taking the time out of your busy schedule to hang out with me. I know all of our readers will learn a lot from this interview. As a fellow powerlifter I am very impressed with you and know you will motivate other people into going after their fitness goals! I wish you the best in all your competitions and any projects you have in the works.
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