Powerlifting granny from Sheffield is two-time world champ - and wants other women to feel just as strong
Rebecca lifts a whopping 345kg at competitions
Becoming a grandmother might not be the usual time to start chasing world titles, but for Sheffield powerlifter Rebecca Tuvey, welcoming her first grandchild has happened alongside competing at the very highest level of her sport.
Rebecca, 44, became a grandmother on August 3 and is a two-time world champion as well as the British champion for the second year running.
She first began competing in powerlifting in 2024, after initially getting involved simply because she had gained some weight and wanted to do something about it.
She had always relied on cardio at the gym because it was the only type of training she really knew, but after starting work with a personal trainer who also did some powerlifting, Rebecca gradually began enjoying strength training.
Eventually, he asked her a simple question: why not try a competition?
Her first competition came in January 2024, although the week leading up to it was hardly ideal.
Rebecca had food poisoning and was unable to train, but she was studying for a BA in Sports and Fitness Coaching at the time and found herself using what she had learned in a sports psychology module.
“I was thinking about the movements and how I was going to do it on the day, even though I couldn’t train,” she said.
“I wonder whether that’s what got me through that first competition.”
From there, things moved quickly.
Rebecca went on to compete at the world championships in Idaho Falls last year and has since become both an ABPU British Champion and an AWPC World Champion.
Powerlifting involves three lifts: the squat, bench press and deadlift. Competitors get three attempts at each, with their heaviest successful lift from each discipline added together to produce their final total.
At this year’s British Championships, Rebecca recorded a combined total of 345kg as she defended her title.
But her journey into strength sport has not been a straightforward one.
In her mid-20s, Rebecca was diagnosed with an overactive thyroid and Graves’ disease.
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She gained a significant amount of weight in a short period of time, going from a size 10 to a size 20.
She remembers waking up one night and finding herself eating in the kitchen, driven by intense hunger.
She eventually underwent radioactive iodine treatment to treat the condition.
Now, her own experiences have helped shape the way she thinks about women’s health, training and the relationship between the two.
Rebecca is currently completing an MSc in Strength and Conditioning, specialising in women’s hormones and how they can affect training, recovery and performance.
She is also navigating perimenopause and PMDD, which she says have brought another change to the way her body responds to training.
“The perimenopause has made my PMDD symptoms worse, especially the fatigue,” she said.
She has found that she sometimes has to change a planned workout, reduce the intensity or accept that completing part of a session is enough.
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Her message to other women is simple: doing something is better than doing nothing.
“You don’t always have to do the full workout you’re planning, sometimes you have to give yourself some grace,” she said.
“Dial it back, listen to your body.”
Rebecca says she is increasingly interested in understanding how women’s hormones can influence training, and applying what she learns both to herself and to the women she works with.
Her own experience of feeling “out of sync” with her body is part of what led her towards that work.
“It’s not about willpower, it’s about working with your body,” she said.
“It is so amazing when your body feels powerful again.”
She trains at Structure Sport and Fitness alongside strongest natural woman, Laura Hollywood, and describes the gym as having a strong sense of community
Rebecca said strength training is incredibly important as women get older, including for maintaining muscle and supporting bone health.
“I see ladies who are 75 still lifting, anyone can do it.”
Her newest venture at Heeley Pool and Gym is a beginners ladies lifting class, which she hopes will make the sport more accessible for women who are new to lifting.
She also offers tailored strength coaching at Foundry Gym Sheffield and Heeley Pool and Gym.