Powerlifter Kristy Hawkins in Two-Piece Workout Gear Shares "Squat Workout"

Kristy Hawkins is getting a workout in and explaining why she opted out of Queen of the Platform. In a new social media post the powerlifter shows off her strength and impressive physique in a two-piece exercise set during a workout. "So this was my last squat workout before flying out to Florida to compete at Queen of the Platform, and I felt some tearing in my right outer quad halfway up. The swelling was not that bad so I thought there was about a 50/50 chance I could still compete. I flew out here, weighed in, and warmed up to about 200kg before making the difficult decision to pull out of the meet. It's a pretty minor injury but I still felt a sharp pain that let me know it was not going to be a good day. I just need a little more time to heal," she captioned the Instagram video. How does she approach diet, fitness, and self-care? Here are all of her top diet and fitness tips.

Kristy, a PhD, was overweight as a teen. She told Muscle & Fitness that she struggled and used extreme dieting to lose weight, and developed an eating disorder. She also devoted a lot of time to "work off" the excess weight with cardio and dance.

Kristy understands the importance of getting her steps in. Luckily her dog, He-Man the Pug, who accompanies her to the gym, motivates her to walk. 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.

Kristy also enjoys swimming — and so does 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.

Aside from being one of the best female powerlifters of all time, Kristy is always training her mind. She is actually a biologist! "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.

However, it wasn't until she started strength training that she was able to heal. "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."