Wendy Carlisle spots Plymouth sophomore Chelsea Lai on bench at the MHSPLA JV State Meet. March 2, 2024 Picture courtesy of Chelsea Lai

On March 2, 2024, Plymouth sophomore Chelsea Lai got up at 5 a.m. to drive to the JV State Meet sponsored by the Michigan High School Powerlifting Association (MHSPLA). The meet was held at Croswell-Lexington High School, approximately a two-hour drive, and most of the P-CEP Powerlifting team that she trained with could not make the trip to support her. Plymouth IB English teacher and P-CEP Powerlifting coach Wendy Carlisle made the trip. Carlisle supported Lai through the whole meet: helped her warm-up, called her lifts and hyped her up. 

Lai finished 14th in her weight class and set two personal records (PRs) at the state meet. For Lai, Carlisle has been an amazing coach. “I feel very comfortable and safe around her, and I’m really looking forward to getting to work with her more,” Lai said. “She’s put so much emphasis on safety and making sure everyone is safe when they’re working out at the gym. She’s very organized, and she’s a determined person, and I feel like I’ve gotten very close with her.”

The P-CEP Powerlifting Club debuted last year after two rejections. At the helm, Carlisle has spent two years pushing for the club’s creation, as lifting weights has been proven to be beneficial for developing strong bones, preventing injury and improving coordination.  “I wanted kids to have something that they can continue well into their adulthood,” Carlisle said. “And really, on the other side of it, it promotes strength and overall health.” 

In its second year, the P-CEP Powerlifting Club meets three times a week to train squat, bench and deadlift. Boys and girls, any experience level and any weight level can, join the club to learn the fundamentals and have a chance to push themselves and get stronger. 

The athletes have the opportunity to compete at the powerlifting competitions sponsored by MHSPLA. Competitors span from members of established school or club teams to individuals competing alone. 

The lifters compete in their respective weight classes and take three attempts at each discipline; then the weight from each is added up, culminating in an overall individual score. If the lifters placed in the top ten of finishers in their weight class they will score points for the team as a whole. 

Canton senior Madeline Lenk started with the powerlifting club last year with the hope to get stronger. Initially, Lenk was intimidated by the amount of boys at the club. However she quickly learned, “There’s other chicks here,” Lenk said. “It’s a good, supportive girl community, which I love.”

Having a community of girls in the club was important to Carlisle. “There’s so much about body image out there for girls, be skinny, be small, not be seen,” Carlisle said. “Girls are strong and powerful and can do anything that they want to do.”

When it comes to setting a new PR, the whole gym gets behind the lifter. High pitched, screamy, continuous chants of “come on, come on” and thunderous applause fills the gym at both practice and competition. For Carlisle, a dedicated lifter herself with competition experience at national level who knows the consistency and determination it takes to hit a new PR, thinks this is the best part. “I just get so pumped watching kids get PRs.” 

Carlisle got her start in cross training, a high intensity strength and conditioning workout with movements incorporating a variety of exercises, in 2015. She quickly realized she liked the strength side a lot more. In 2019 Carlisle worked up the nerve to compete for the first time. Well, she set a state record for her age and weight pretty quickly. “I was like, Oh, I’m kind of good. Okay, all right, maybe I should take it more seriously.”

Carlisle switched over to strength training full-time in 2021.

May 27, 2022 marked the start of the 2022 USPA Drug Tested National Championships in Atlanta, Georgia. The meet takes place over the course of five days, but each lifter only competes on the day with their intended group for competition based on age spanning from 18-and weight class. Carlisle competed as a first time qualifier for the national competition. Carlisle had family and friends drive out to see her compete. 

“I thought I was so cool.” 

At that event, Carlisle arrived ready. She stepped up to the rack for her first squat. The opening weight was something she could squat in her sleep. Down, up, rack, red light. The lift was unsuccessful. No worries, there’s two more lifts. A second try. Red light. Another attempt. Red light. Carlisle did not achieve the required squatting depth which resulted in a red light, signifying the lift was unsuccessful. Without a successful squat, she was out of the competition. 

“I don’t know why I bombed out, I had to reassess what I was doing and how I was training,” Carlisle said. “A year and a half later, I got a national record [in squat] at 60 pounds heavier than where I bombed out in Atlanta.”

To bomb out and miss all three attempts at a discipline is both a lifter’s greatest nightmare and greatest teacher. Canton senior and 2024 team captain, Jordan Edelman, had the same setback on the bench in a competition last year. Since then, Carlisle has been a great help to Edelman, “to help me get stronger, help me stay motivated, definitely help me stay consistent with my lifts,” Edelman said, “[to] keep [my] butt on the bench.” 

Since the competition, Edelman has grown as a lifter, and this year hopes to reach a 350 bench and make the state competition. 

Carlisle is currently working to get the powerlifting club designated as an official school club sport rather than a student club, which would grant the club greater recognition from the athletic department and better pay for the advisor with the hope to motivate someone else to take up the mantle after Carlisle steps back as the club’s leader. “I just hope there’s someone to carry it on once I retire.”

The powerlifting season kicked off at the start of November. Participants practice three days a week in the Plymouth weightroom. 

Carlisle is excited for what this year’s team will accomplish.  “I do it because I love the sport,” Carlisle said. “I think it’s a cool sport, and I want to see other people fall in love with it.