Meet the university lecturer and powerlifter who represents Team GB

From a young age powerlifter Bobbie Butters has always set the bar high and never missed a leg day.

- by Laura Collins

As a toddler the Team GB powerlifter and UCLan lecturer could often be spotted squatting a backpack full of stones.

The 30-year-old strength and conditioning coach, who lives near Hambleton, Over Wyre, always had fitness in her sights and dreamed of becoming a personal trainer.

From buying her first set of weights as a child to writing personalised plans for her family she always knew her path would involve heavy lifting.

Now she's got her sights set on the World Powerlifting Championships in Germany in June followed by the World Games in China in August.

Powerlifting is made up of three specific lifts: squat, bench and deadlift.

And on the platform lifters have three attempts at each lift to create a final total.

And weighing in at under 57kg Bobbie certainly proves she's repping for female lifters with a squat of 188.5kg, bench of 113kg and an impressive deadlift at 195kg.

"The actual love of powerlifting came when I was 17 learning to be a personal trainer," she said.

"I had never really lifted before and was in a class going through deadlifts. I weighed 50kg at the time and deadlifted 100kg.

"I was in a competition three months later and just fell in love with it straight away."