A teen girl who transformed herself into a real-life “Muscle Barbie” has grown into a woman with such impressive biceps that they’ve broken two world records. Julia Vins, who was born in Kazakhstan and raised in Russia, started going to the gym when she was 15 to help improve her mental and physical health. Soon after, she started lifting and these days, she’s a two-time world champion at the World Powerlighting Championship. You go, Julia!
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- She used to be the only girl at the gym. After Julia’s parents divorced when she was 12, she was left feeling directionless and sad. However, when she discovered the gym, a whole new world opened up to her. At the time, she was the only girl there, but that didn’t put her off. In addition to studying for her exams, she spent four to five hours a week training and immediately started seeing a difference.
- She’s small but she’s mighty. Julia weighs only 65kg (143 pounds) but says that she can squat 275kg (606 pounds) – that’s more than 4x her weight! If that’s not impressive enough, she also claims to be able to bench press 175kg (385 pounds) and deadlift 205kg (452 pounds). Sometimes I have trouble getting a gallon of milk out of the fridge, so I’m super jealous.
- It’s not just about the gym – Julia eats well too. To maintain her muscle mass and keep her body as healthy as possible, Julia’s diet consists heavily of eggs, fish, beans, oats, rice, and plenty of vegetables. This not only allows her muscles to repair between sessions and continue to get stronger but keeps her body performing on a daily basis.
- Not everyone approves of her look, but she doesn’t care. While many people think her big muscles are unappealing or say she should be focusing on having kids and getting married, Julia, who’s now 24, isn’t listening to them. In fact, she hopes she can inspire other girls to follow their hearts and do what makes them happy, even if that means getting ripped at the gym. Oh, and being at the gym isn’t keeping her from finding love – she’s been in a relationship for eight years!
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