Powerlifter Kristy Hawkins in Two-Piece Workout Gear Feels "Jacked"

Kristy Hawkins is feeling “jacked” – in her workout gear. In a new social media post the powerlifting shows off her award-winning body in a two-piece exercise set during a lifting session at the gym. “Some lifts this past week that made me feel jacked—seated dumbbell press @ 90lb x11, hammer strength rows @ 4 and 1/4 plates x8, and incline dumbbell press @ 110lb x5ish. #pugsandpowerlifting,” she captioned the Instagram post. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here is everything you need to know about her lifestyle habits.

1. From Cardio and Dance to Bodybuilding

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Kristy, a PhD, explained to Muscle & Fitness that she was overweight as a teen. She tried to use extreme dieting to lose weight, and developed an eating disorder. She also tried to “work off” the excess weight with cardio and dance.

2. Exercise and Training Helped Healed Her

“In the same way my brain seemed natural to respond to learning about science and math,” she explains to Muscle & Fitness, “my body responded to exercise and training. I found that developing these two aspects of my life – mind, and body – created a balance that I found extremely rewarding.”

3. Walking Her Dog

Kristy is rarely found without her dog, He-Man the Pug, who accompanies her to the gym. She also takes him on lots of walks. Going for a daily walk can be a game changer in terms of exercise, especially at a brisk speed. One study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found that walking at a brisk pace for about 30 minutes a day led to a reduced risk of heart disease, cancer, dementia and death, compared with walking a similar number of steps but at a slower pace.

4. Swimming

Kristy also swims with He-Man. “Had to repost from @he_man_the_pug because I love him so much and am slightly sorry I traumatized him. But I loved how he kept trying to climb on top of my shoulders,” she joked in a caption about one of their swimming sessions. Swimming is a good way to get regular aerobic physical activity, according to the CDC. Just two and a half hours per week of aerobic physical activity, such as swimming, bicycling, or running, can decrease the risk of chronic illnesses. In addition to the many physical benefits, there are multiple studies supporting the mental health benefits of swimming as well.

5. She Works in Biology

Aside from being one of the best female powerlifters of all time, Kristy has a career. “Not powerlifting-related but this is how @he_man_the_pug and I spend our days. I’m proud to be a co-founder and CSO of Antheia using synthetic biology to revolutionize the way plant-inspired medicines are manufactured. #dogsofantheia #science,” she captioned a post.

Kristin Dunsmore is a powerhouse in the weightlifting world, known for her impressive strength and dedication. She regularly shares her workout tips with her Instagram followers. In September, she posted a video of herself lifting a barbell, captioning it, “I’m confident this off-season will set me up for an even stronger return.” Whether she’s discussing her structured routines, goal-setting, or the importance of form, Dunsmore’s insights inspire fellow athletes to push their limits. Here’s a look at her approach to fitness, which combines focused training with long-term goal setting to build strength both mentally and physically.

1. She Lifts Weights

Naturally, weightlifting is the main way Dunsmore stays in shape. ACE Fitness states that this has a lot of health benefits. “Lifting heavy weights increases production of the hormone IGF-1. This hormone is related to the production of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), which is a neurotransmitter responsible for stimulating the growth of new neural pathways in the brain along with enhancing communication between existing pathways. In short, lifting heavy could make you smarter by enhancing cognitive function.”

2. She Has A Routine

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Dunsmore shared her tips for training in the off-season in her post’s caption. One thing she does is plan out her workouts. “Having a structured routine and keeping track of progress has been influential in regaining that drive. Today’s deadlift session was a testament to that, with a solid top single at 200kg (441 lbs). The weight was slow off the ground, but it moved well, and I feel my technique is steadily improving.”

3. She Sets Goals

Dunsmore likes to set goals to help herself stay in shape. She talked about this in her post’s caption. “Transitioning into the off-season has cone with expected challenges. This phase can often feel directionless without the urgency of competition, but I’m refocused by setting specific goals for myself unrelated to powerlifting.”

4. She Widens Her Grip

Dunsmore shares a lot of her tips for improving weight lifting on Instagram. In this post, she revealed that having a wide grip is important. “I've made some adjustments to my bench form that I hope will help with my technique overall. The most significant change is widening my grip, which I expect to be beneficial for obvious reasons. I’ve also brought my feet slightly more forward in front of me, although I did clip the rack on the last rep. Fortunately, that's an easy enough fix.”

5. She Does Squats

Dunsmore likes to do squats to keep herself in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself doing them with a barbell. Dunsmore captioned the post, “Paused High Bar Squats are fun 🙃☠️On the plus side, I think I’m learning how to use my quads for once in the squat. New kicks from @avancusofficial 👟”

Jessica Buettner is a very successful powerlifter. She is known for winning the IPF World Championships twice. Buettner is recovering from a back injury, and is sharing her recovery process on Instagram. In a video, she is seen doing some weightlifting exercises. Buettner captioned the post, “Training recap 🤡😂 tweaked my back about 3 weeks ago, nothing serious but I’m annoyed at myself for doing it nonetheless because once it seizes up I work long hours standing and it is hard to get back to normal. An ongoing problem for me a couple times a year for the past several years. Anyways, @miketuchscherer has put less specific movements in my program to help me recover and also in the last couple weeks reintroduced squats and deadlifts using the @reactivetrainingsystems framework for doing that and so far it’s been working very well. I also got some advice and adjusted how I stand at work and it’s helping too.”

1. She Lifts Weights

Buettner lifts weights to keep herself in shape. ACE Fitness states that weightlifting has a lot of benefits. “Using heavy weights increases intramuscular coordination, the number of type II motor units and the amount of muscle fibers engaged within a specific muscle. Have you ever felt your muscles shaking while lifting heavy weights? This is because you are recruiting and activating the larger type II muscle fibers, which are only stimulated to work when a muscle is challenged with heavy resistance or working to fatigue.”

2. She Deadlifts

Buettner likes to do deadlifts to keep herself in shape. She is seen doing them in this training video on her Instagram. ACE Fitness states that deadlifts have a lot of benefits. “When done correctly, the RDL is an effective exercise that helps strengthen both the core and the lower body with one move. Unlike the traditional barbell deadlift and other quad-dominant exercises such as leg presses, which place significant loads on the anterior portion of the knees, the RDL focuses most of the physical work on the muscles responsible for extending the hip and the knee from the posterior.”

3. She Does Squats

Buettner also likes to do squats to stay in shape. She shared this video on Instagram of herself doing them. Buettner captioned the post, “I think this is a rep PR on squats but I’m not sure - either way I’m super happy with the way it moved! Queues I still focus on almost every time I squat: -keeping even foot pressure - keeping the bar secure on my upper back. Bracing comes pretty naturally as I warm up, and I do think about things like improving the speed of my descent, and depth. Anyways, happy lifting everyone!”

4. She Hikes

Buettner doesn’t just workout in the gym. She also likes to spend time outside. One thing she likes to do is to go for hikes. Buettner shared this set of photos on Instagram of herself hiking in Malta. She captioned the post, “An amazing day in Malta 📍trained, saw some ancient ruins, a cathedral and some amazing sights. They introduced a one day break in the competition schedule at IPF worlds this year and I’m a big fan.”

5. She Doesn’t Focus On Being Perfect

Buettner doesn’t focus on being perfect, especially on social media. She talked about this in the caption of this Instagram post. “A quick tip to make you feel better if you’re filming yourself in a brightly lit gym. Most people probably know this trick for giving your videos dark Batman vibes, but at any rate remember social media is mostly an illusion and even people like me who don’t edit/photoshop photos still do things like this. Little things that really overemphasize a physique. Anyways have a good day everyone 💪”