Local 'She-Hulk' is among world's strongest women

Lifting Spirits: Westerville's own Brooke Sousa competes in some of the country's most elite strongwoman competitions, including the Arnold

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Six years ago, Westerville resident Brooke Sousa lived an entirely different lifestyle.

Sousa was a stay-at-home mother with her two daughters, Zoe and Sophia, now ages 12 and 7. She had an unhealthy diet and very little interest in exercise. But when she looked at baby Sophia, she took a moment to reflect: It was time to start taking care of herself.

In 2012, Sousa began working out. Since then, she has lost 115 pounds.

She hit one major milestone when she ran a marathon, then changed directions and started lifting weights. Today, according to the Strongman Corporation, she is the third-strongest woman in the U.S. and the fifth-strongest woman in the world.

Despite the success she has enjoyed, Sousa’s goals are not yet complete.

“I was like, ‘No more excuses; it’s time to start taking care of myself,’” Sousa says. “I want people to realize just because you get married or have kids doesn’t mean you have to lose yourself. You can have goals and still do it all. It’s just (a question of) how bad you want it.”

Sousa works as a certified personal trainer at Next Level Fitness and Fitness 19, both in Westerville, as well as with Ludus Magnus, a weightlifting gym in Columbus where she also trains for upcoming heavyweight championships.

Her passion for heavy lifting began in 2014, after realizing her dislike for running and finding herself unable to find an enjoyable cardio routine. A co-worker signed her up for a local strongwoman charitable event, and Sousa only had three weeks to train.

“I didn’t even know what strongwoman was,” she says. “It was like a 70-pound dumbbell press (competition), and the most I had ever lifted was a 15-pound dumbbell.”

Even with so little time to train, Sousa pushed herself and came out on top, taking home first place for her first-ever strongwoman competition. She fell in love with the competitions, and can now deadlift more than 500 pounds.

I want people to realize just because you get married or have kids doesn’t mean you have to lose yourself. You can have goals and still do it all. It’s just (a question of) how bad you want it.

In 2016, Sousa competed in her first Arnold Sports Festival strongwoman competition as an amateur. After a rude awakening to the strength and years of experience of the other competitors, Sousa hit the gym, participated in dozens of competitions throughout 2016, obtained her professional lifting card and qualified for the first Arnold Pro Strongwoman Contest in 2017.

“(The Arnold) always gives me a goal to stick with and work harder,” Sousa says. “What I do outside the gym really affects what I do in the gym, so it keeps me committed even more.”

Sousa won’t know if she qualified for Arnold Pro Strongwoman 2018 until mid-January. In the meantime, her four-day-a-week training continues, along with eating a balanced diet – mostly of meat, rice and protein shakes – all to help her become stronger. And since her daughters see Sousa lifting and eating well, her positive lifestyle is now inspiring her children.

In October 2016, Sousa allowed her girls to compete in the StrongKids Halloween 2 event in West Virginia. About 55 kids, split into several age groups, came together to lift lightweight medicine balls, do overhead presses with PVC pipes and pull toy boats.

“People think kids lifting is a bad thing, but it’s all in the fine motor skills we’re trying to teach kids,” Sousa says. “It was good for them to see kids that were stronger than them and kids that were not. … It just taught them good sportsmanship.”

Zoe and Sophia were ecstatic to be part of the event, and began training 12 weeks prior with their mother. The girls happily walked away with third- and second-place finishes in their age categories. Sousa says it was fun for them to live out a strongwoman competition. They even wore their “deadlift hair,” Sousa’s name for a funky ponytail on top of the head that, she says, helps release her inner She-Hulk.

“(When lifting) I feel non-human,” Sousa laughs. “In my head, I just feel like if I say that I’m She-Hulk, there is no way I can get injured and there is nothing that is impossible.”

Sousa describes lifting hundreds of pounds as an out-of-body experience, but still memorizes the sensation of having that weight on her body so she can continuously recreate the strength.

Sousa’s coach, Matt Wenning, a world recordholder in heavy weights, inspires her to work harder.

“A lot of the time, he’ll be like, ‘Well, you just did my warm-up,’” Sousa laughs. “But one day, I will be stronger, and it just drives me to want more.”

Using her training beyond the gym, Sousa has helped a woman who fell on ice by carrying her to her car and then driving the injured woman to the hospital. She also encouraged her family to pull over off the highway and, together, they helped a man push his car out of a ditch.

Sousa says her family is the biggest support. Her sister watches Zoe and Sophia when the gym awaits, her mom helps prepare meals during a competition and, when it’s time for Sousa to impress the judges, her family and friends are her cheerleaders.

“That’s what I love about going to the Arnold. You’ll just see everybody in my She-Hulk green color,” she says. “It’s really fun getting everybody involved because this isn’t something everybody can do. I like that I can live out a journey that others can only think about, but they’re a part of.”

With 10 more years of heavy lifting events, she hopes, Sousa is always striving to lift more weight and one day be the strongest woman in the country.

“Me being the strongest woman in the world or America, it’s not that time yet,” she says. “It will happen, but right now, I just have to get stronger.” 

Lydia Freudenberg is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.

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