The strongest woman in B.C. says it only takes one small step to make a big change with fitness.
Lataisha Maynard’s storied history through strongman began a number of years ago through a life-changing event. The now 34-year-old’s daughter was born, and a change had to be made for her self-confidence.
“I had my girl in 2014. It was about a year [later] when I had postpartum depression really bad, just laying on the couch. I couldn’t really get up and had no energy,” said Lataisha. “So, I forced myself to get up and go for a walk around the block.
“I kept doing that for about a week until I just got farther and farther and I passed a gym. I looked inside the window and everybody looked like they were having a super great time, so I went in and signed up.”
She said she began to work out, mainly cardio, and eventually took a job at the gym. Lataisha says she enjoyed watching people change through fitness, pushing her to get her personal training certificate.
During this time, she also began to train for strongman and took part in local competitions.
The training and competition led to multiple successful podiums for Lataisha. Over the years, she has added second in B.C. for middleweight provincials and fourth in Canada, and first in B.C. heavyweight and fourth in Canada.
Training for the competitions takes a fair amount of time, effort and energy, she says. Lataisha has had lots of equipment donated to her over the years including tires, kegs and a home-built strongman log.
She says she usually trains three to four times a week, throwing in a couple of cardio days on top. However, being a single mother has proved its challenges along with having other jobs.
“It’s very difficult being a single mom, and I have a couple of other jobs as well so just trying to juggle everything and make fitness a part of my everyday life,” Lataisha said.
“I try to incorporate my kiddo into my training. She’s about 65 pounds, so she’s a great weight for my planks and when we go to the beach sometimes we’ll pick up big rocks and stuff.”
Her strides have led her to go for the national championship this year. She says had she not started working out, she would “likely still be on the couch.”
She encourages others to make changes in their lives.
“It starts with one small step. So, just start with whatever you can do at the time, whatever fitness is available to you,” said Lataisha. “You can incorporate training into any part of your life. There’s nothing like the confidence boost you get from that.”
The national competition will take place in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Fundraising will be set up at Saratoga Speedway with donation boxes at a weekend race on the weekend of Aug. 20 to 21.
More information about Lataisha can be found on her website.
