Mothers find power to put more zest into life
A HARSH STATEMENT FROM HER SON SPARKED A BIG AND HEALTHIER CHANGE IN LIFESTYLE FOR DARLENE WILLIAMS, WRITES LAUREN PRATT
DARLENE Williams, 42, has a host of before and after photos of people who train at The Box.
She points out one woman – a little pocket rocket – training on the other side of the room of the Kangaroos Leagues Club gym and then scrolls down on her phone to an almost unrecognisable person.
Mass kilos are being shed at the gym. Mums are drawn to it for its family focus where bubs can play and kids as young as eight can start training.
Darlene is the inspiration for mums shedding the kilos through powerlifting – building the ability to lift gobsmacking weights, creating more energy to keep up with their kids and self confidence.
Darlene understands what it feels like to be “too big to go to a gym”.
The mother of Colt, 11, and Jhett, 16, was 75kg heavier than she is now.
The point of change came when her son confronted her.
“He told me ‘all you do is sit on the couch all day and eat food’,” she says.
“It was a habit. You get into bad habits but we’ve got to change the bad with the good.”
Her weightloss journey started at home with walks and workout DVDs as she was “too embarrassed to go to a gym”.
Darlene eventually entered a gym, shedding even more of her frame, which led to her involvement with the Kangaroos Leagues Club.
“I started training (the junior) football team here at Kangaroos and the president was saying they needed a gym,” Darlene says.
“That’s what we wanted to do – work with the kids and the mums and people like me, so hence the reason it’s here.”
The Box was born a yearand-a-half ago and has grown into The Box family.
“It’s a family and we always call it The Box family,” she says. “We have about 50 members. It’s small but I want to keep it that way.
“We wanted to create something where people wouldn’t feel self-conscious coming in. Being bigger you don’t have a lot of confidence at all.”
Darlene reached her personal weight-loss goal in August, having stripped off 75kg.
“It has taken about two years to really take the last of it off,” she says. “It was hard work and I only reached my goal weight in August.”
Darlene says she loves being part of a movement where women are growing strong and confident by smashing stereotypes. Powerlifting was a maledominated sport but the sisters are starting to see the benefits of being strong.
“The benefits are numerous,” Darelene says. “From living longer to having a lot more energy ... as we get older, lifting weights increases bone density. All the movements here are designed to have you functioning better in your everyday lives. We use our body to move the weight. We don’t have machines that move it for us.
“It’s hard being a mum and trying to do all this stuff.
“We are all mums, we all work but we get lost in being a mum and being a wife. What have we got for us?
“After having a kid some mums lose self confidence but this is about getting your confidence back.”
Darlene says she loves watching children encourage their mums to lift heavier weights and she has seen bonds grow stronger between parent and child. “Kids love it,” she says. “We work on opening up the shoulders for kids who are looking at devices. It is a healthy and safe environment where mums are reaching their goals,” she says.
“Everyone helps each other out to do it. We work together.
“In here we leave all our sh-- outside and we do what we do. But if someone is having a bad day we get behind them.”
As for Darlene’s journey, she says it was never about looking good.
“It was about getting healthier and living a longer life for my kids,” she says.
“From how I was then to how I am now, I just do more with my children. I’m happier.
“Being in here I get to help everyone else achieve their goals. I get more enjoyment from that. That is the big achievement.”
She says the formula for a healthier, happier life is simple.
“We all know what to eat. We all know what’s best for us. Eat in moderation and just exercise, find something you enjoy.”