Jacqueline Higgins Interview

November 2011 - Jacqueline Higgins

1. Please introduce yourself. Who are you? How old are you? Where are you from? What are your hobbies (other than powerlifting)? Please give the readers an idea of what it’s like to be you.

   1. Wow, I can’t believe this day has come…I finally made it to the Spotlight! Well, I’m Jacqueline Higgins, sometimes Jacqueline Borstock. I’m 20 from Gainesville, GA and am a member of the University of Georgia Powerlifting Club team. When I’m not powerlifting I enjoy finding other obscure sports to compete in, hanging out with friends, and doing anything that’ll make myself and others laugh.

2. Where are you located in Georgia and where do you train at?

   1. I’m currently in Athens and train at Ramsey, the University of Georgia gym.

3. What is your occupation?

   1. Student

4. Do you find that your occupation interferes with competing or visa versa?

   1. My class schedule can interfere with training because Duluth is about an hour away from Athens, so the travel is time consuming and I drive a gas guzzler.

5. How many years have you been competing?

   1. My first meet was the GA State Meet in November 2010, so 1 year

6. How did you get into powerlifting?

   1. I was working out with my former trainer, Robert Autry from Quest Gym, to prepare for the USA Bobsled combine and was approached about competing in the GA State Meet. Since it wouldn’t detract from my bobsled workouts I decided to give it a try.

7. What are your biggest squat, bench press, deadlift and total numbers?

   1. In competition I think my biggest squat was 265, bench was 148, and deadlift was 363.

8. What titles, records and achievements did you accumulate in your powerlifting career?

   1. I have all the GA state records for my weight class (181s), held a raw Junior American deadlift record, Best Raw Heavyweight Lifter at the 2010 GA State Championships, and Best Female Lifter in the 2011 Florida Collegiate Championships

9. Can you describe your training philosophy and/or a typical training session?

   1. When it’s up to me, I’ll try to PR at everything, every workout. But if Mark Freeman is doing my programming, he’ll use a more structured approach. When I go to Quest I hit the 3 big lifts: squat, bench, and deadlift. I only deadlift once a week, but squat every workout and bench 2-3 times per week. I also do Olympic lifts and love the Glute Ham Raise machine. I do sprint workouts and sled tows at the track.

10. Do you compete equipped (squat suit, bench press shirt & deadlift suit) or unequipped (no suits) or both?

    1. Raw dawg. Unequipped.

11. What weight class(s) and divisions(s) do you compete in?

    1. Women’s 181s. Junior and Collegiate.

12. What is your favorite lift, squat or bench press or deadlift or all three?

    1. My favorite is the deadlift because I think it the easiest. Squats take the most mental psych up for me so it’s fun to have those butterflies before I step up to the platform.

13. Who is the most impressive lifter you have competed against?

    1. I’ve never “competed against” her because she’s in the 114 weight class, but Winter Mendelson is a powerhouse.

14. Who do you think is the greatest lifter of all time?

    1. All the guys at Quest are pretty amazing lifters; they make it look so easy.

15. When was your last competition & how did it go?

    1. Florida Collegiate Championships was my last meet and it was October 15, 2011. It was a lot of fun competing as a team against other colleges. I did well and won Best Female Lifter.

16. Do you have any upcoming competitions? If so, when and where?

    1. I haven’t decided when my next competition will be.

17. How do you prepare for an upcoming competition?

    1. When I decide to compete in a meet I’ll start deadlifting again. But other than that, nothing really changes.

18. Describe your nutritional intake for an upcoming competition?

    1. I’ll usually talk about cutting weight to compete in the 165s and that never happens, so I just eat clean and drink more water.

19. Is there anything you will do differently to prepare for your next competition that is different from your last one?

    1. Be more serious about training for the bench press. It’s always my weakest lift so I should give it more attention during training.

20. How many meets do you compete in each year?

    1. Well this past year I did 3, so I guess 3.

21. Who is your greatest competitor/rival?

    1. I would say myself. How other people are performing doesn’t affect how well or poorly I can lift during the meet. I just give it everything I have that day and want to leave knowing I didn’t have any kilos left in the tank.

22. What advice & tips would you give to a powerlifter that is just beginning? If you are just beginning, what advice have you received from other lifters or coaches?

    1. It’s you against the weight, not other people, so don’t worry so much about the other lifters at the meet; just do the best you can on that day.

23. How has powerlifting changed your life?

    1. It started as a good stepping stone to prepare me for the strength portion of the bobsled

    2. combine and grew into a fun hobby. It also gives me good short term goals to work towards and is another way to hold myself accountable in training.

24. Do you stay in touch with lifters you compete against?

    1. Yes, I stay in touch with them via facebook.

25. Why did you decide to compete?

    1. Josh Rohr asked if I’d be interested in competing in the GA State Meet and I figured that it wouldn’t hurt, so I tried it out. Glad I did; thanks Josh.

26. What is your #1 or most prestigious meet you ever competed at in your career?

    1. The Florida Collegiate Champs was competitive for me because it turned into a race between me and another one of the female lifters. We were only a few kilos apart going into the deadlift.

27. Do you compete in any other strength sports such as Olympic lifting, strongman, highland games, etc?

    1. I do Olympic lifts for bobsled, but don’t compete in Oly competitions.

28. What is your favorite memory from any powerlifting competition or event?

    1. Winning Best Heavy Weight at the GA State Champs was cool because I had no idea how scoring worked so I was surprised when I won.

29. Anyone you would like thank for helping you along the way in your Powerlifting career?

    1. Everyone at Quest, the UGA Powerlifting Team, and Competitive Edge Sports. Special thanks to Mark Freeman for being instrumental in my training helping me out big time at meets.

30. Anything else you would like to add?

    1. Without the loving support and guidance of my mom, Evelyn Higgins, I wouldn’t be anywhere in life, let alone powerlifting; so, THANK YOU.

Thank you for your time and best of luck in your upcoming powerlifting endeavors!

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