Right away, I have to give Snow Charpentier a big thank-you. An old friend and fellow lifter I’ve known for years was supposed to do an interview for me last month, but she was taking forever to get it done (I won’t mention any names, but her initials were Cheryl Haworth J. We were past the deadline for publication of the issue, so I frantically searched for somebody who could step up and do an interview for me within 24 hours. Snow was the one who jumped in and got it done, so my gratitude goes to her (and I was planning to interview her soon anyway).
 
Snow is a Catalyst lifter who’s been working her way up the ranks at the National Championship and American Open over the last few years. I’ve noticed her potential and ability to make a big name for herself in the sport, but I didn’t really know anything about her personally until I read this interview. The interesting thing that stands out to me here is Snow’s desire to be a successful weightlifter while also living a balanced, healthy life. I know it sounds funny to say that, but I’ve been in this sport for decades, and there’s one thing I know for sure…not many people in weightlifting put an overall healthy lifestyle as one of their top priorities. This sport attracts hardcore, borderline-wackadoo personalities (I can say that because I’m one of them) and it’s a little rare to hear from a high-level lifter who strives to live a sensible, balanced life. It’s refreshing. I think I want to be more like Snow Charpentier. We’re proud to give you a look at one of Catalyst Athletics’ rising national competitors.
 
Tell us about your background. Where are you from, where do you currently live, what’s
your occupation (if you work in addition to training), family life, what kind of sports
background do you have outside of lifting, etc.
 
After growing up in Southern Oregon most of my teen years, I traveled across the country, attending Washington University in St. Louis for a degree in Communication Design and Marketing. Afterwards, I made my way to the east coast for several years, obtaining a Master of Arts in Teaching from Rhode Island School of Design on a half-ride scholarship. I became a high school graphic design teacher for four years before returning to Oregon with my husband (who I met at a CrossFit gym in RI), where I currently returned to being a full-time graphic designer— right now designing for Working Against Gravity. I also started my own Etsy shop as an entrepreneur selling weightlifting-themed greeting cards, fitness journals, and other freelance work.
 
Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start? Who have your coaches
been? What championships and international teams do you have on your record? What are
your best lifts?
 
I stumbled into weightlifting through CrossFit—but prior to that, I'm pretty sure I didn't even know what a back squat was! After being a golfer (varsity level in high school) as my “sport,” I decided I really needed to get in real shape after college and drop 20 lbs. Training for a half marathon seemed like the right thing to do at the time, and my love for running stretched into long-distance triathlon training where I eventually completed half-Ironman distance races and even a full Rev3 Triathlon, winning my age category in all races. My triathlon coach introduced me to CrossFit, and I fell in love with barbells so much that I ditched the endurance work and focused on lifting. I always carried a competitive mindset with me in the gym, so I tried to match weights of women who were always bigger than me. One of my CrossFit coaches, Judah Boulet, noticed my talent and encouraged me to try a mock weightlifting meet one day (after I did an obstacle course race the day before). The lifts I made at that meet (55kg snatch & 80kg clean & jerk) would have been regional records for my weight class and would qualify me for the American Open, so I signed up for a real meet, made the totals, and thus started an athletic career in weightlifting with Judah providing my individual programming based on variations of Catalyst templates. Although I became decently good at CrossFit, I knew my small size would be a limiter in making it far as I was shy of making it to Regionals two years in a row, so I focused my efforts on weightlifting full time. 


I'd always been stalking Catalyst's social media in awe of the lifters and articles for years, so when I found out one day that Greg and Aimee had posted a call for lifters to join their team as they were moving up to Oregon, I sent them my credentials thinking it was a long shot. (Why would they ever pick me?) I was surprised when Greg responded back casually within an hour inviting the opportunity, and after a visit to the most amazing weightlifting garage gym in the world and a series of texting lifting videos back and forth, we made it official. 
 
Currently, my best training lifts are 100kg clean & jerk and a 74kg snatch which I hope to make at a competition soon. Lately, I've been attacking a goal of a 140g back squat. 
 
Please give a basic description of your training. Just tell us as much as you can about your program, weekly/yearly planning, etc.
 
My programming is four days/week and typically runs Monday/Wednesday/Thursday/Saturday, with weekdays focusing more on technical components of lifts (i.e., block lifts, high-hang snatches, segment deadlifts, sets of five to 10 squats, jerk complexes and accessory lifts) while Saturdays usually are more intensive (sets of three squats and full lifts). I used to train five days/week but found I recover and perform better with less volume & frequency...and five days was too much to juggle with a full-time design job. I'm all about maximizing performance with minimal workload! 
 
Closer to a competition, Greg usually programs more heavy singles for me to tie all the technical pieces together in preparation for hitting those single lifts on the platform. Annually, I usually lift at two national meets (Nationals & American Opens) while fitting in two or three local or regional meets as tune-ups in between. 
 
Describe some of the obstacles you face, or maybe some things that frustrate you in your
weightlifting life. What kinds of changes would you like to see, either personally or with
the sport in general?
 
As I approach the 30-year-old mark this year as a married woman, a huge question I face is where I stand on the spectrum of the competitive side of weightlifting and the recreational side of the sport. I've made several female-health compromises in pursuit of being a competitive athlete the past few years—intensive training, constant nutrition obsession, weight management combined with the stresses of career and life can make women weightlifters temporarily infertile, or at least put them in a position of hormonal imbalance which I faced the last couple years. I saw huge plateaus in my strength as I tried to figure myself out while seeing it harder and harder each year to stay down as a 53kg weightlifter when it used to be so much easier in the past. 
 
Was I more concerned about being a great enough athlete to make it to the podium at a national event, or concerned about how my current training was affecting my long-term goals of eventual motherhood? I'm gonna get personal here and mention I went for a few years without having a period which freaked me out, so this past year I temporarily gained some weight and lifted up a weight class to get it back. I successfully did, and now that I know my body isn't broken, I'm being a lot smarter about how I manage my weight to keep my hormones in check while making a cut back to 53 for (hopefully) the last time. Finally working with a nutrition coach on team WAG has been a tremendous help in the process as it's tough to keep accountability on nutrition for myself as I found (despite how much I knew about nutrition)!
 
I'm very excited to hear that the weight classes will be shifting as I hope that the women’s classes will actually be heavier than they are now. To be honest, I feel weight cutting for women, especially at the lower classes, is starting to get a bit detrimental for healthy mindsets, especially as we're seeing women embracing bodies with more muscle than ever before. It's a challenge having your identity tied to a number as a competitive weightlifter amongst an evolving paradigm shift in society of "throw away the scale, beauty at every size!" so I'm hoping different classes can spark more discussion about minimizing health compromises to compete.
 
What are your plans and goals for your weightlifting career? How do you see your future in the sport? Do you plan to stay involved in weightlifting after your top competitive years are over?
 
I always tell myself about one to two months before every national meet that "this will be the last one and I'm gonna take a hiatus until I can come back as a Masters athlete.” But every National meet is so motivating and inspiring with the energy of all the lifters and supporters around me—so regardless of my performance, I feel like I want to get right back in the gym immediately with eyes set on the next meet. I keep fearing once I decide to settle and have a kid that things will never be the same, so I try to take advantage of my pre-mother years as much as I can right now! With new weight classes, I'm hoping that the categories will shift in my favor so I can continue to lift a little longer with fewer worries about managing my weight.
 
I currently coach CrossFit and weightlifting (as well as my husband), so I know a barbell will always be part of my life. When I decide to finally have a kid, prepare to see me back in a few years killing it in the Masters category!
 
Who are some of your major influences, people you look up to, etc.? Who are the people you want to thank for your success?
 
My husband has been the hugest supporter of me from the start, and I don't think I would have ever pursued weightlifting to the degree I have now if it weren't for both of us pushing each other to be better each day (back when we first started dating). Two of my former coaches—Dave Lussier from North Shore Weightlifting helped see potential in me to lift at the national level and adopted me into his team while Judah Boulet provided me with a great program to fit my needs. I'm also so grateful for the time Greg takes (and all his phone space) to keep an eye on my lifts and program for me right now, and even though we're remotely working 99 percent of the time, when we're finally in person for training or for a meet, he's there 110 percent. 
 
Surprisingly, the people I look most to for inspiration aren't lifters or even high-achieving athletes, but rather just some casual friends and acquaintances who seem to live carefree and in the present, have vibrant and bustling personalities and who don't give a care at what the world thinks of them. They are the rebels of the world; they just live happily and let their happiness spread around them. I'm still trying to figure out how to be one of these people. 
 
It sounds to me like you’ve already got a lot of things figured out, Snow. Best of luck with all the great things you’re going to do in the future!