Laura Evans, a self-described unsporty child who avoided exercise at all costs, has transformed her relationship with fitness by setting a clear goal: deadlifting 100kg. Inspired by author Fiona Cummins, who tweeted about achieving that milestone, Evans worked with a personal trainer to reach the weight within months, fundamentally changing how she views her body.
From Avoiding Exercise to Embracing Strength
Evans grew up in the 1990s in a family that did not cycle or jog. In PE, she was the child hiding behind bins, pretending to have twisted an ankle. As an adult, she attempted programs like Couch to 5K but often abandoned them, convinced that exercise was not for her. After having two children via C-section, she suffered from back pain and sought help through physiotherapy, osteopathy, and chiropractic treatment. Eventually, a practitioner suggested strength training to strengthen her core.
Desperate for relief and incensed by internalized misogyny about how women should look, Evans decided she wanted to be strong rather than slim. Within weeks of starting strength training, her back pain subsided, and she could lift her children without wincing. For the first time, she understood her body's potential in terms of what it could do, not how it looked.
The Goal: Deadlifting 100kg
Despite initial progress, Evans still struggled with motivation. Then she saw Fiona Cummins's tweet about deadlifting 100kg. The round number appealed to Evans, and she told her personal trainer, 'I want to do that.' They devised a program of deadlifts, squats, and bench presses, supplemented with complementary exercises. With just one hour-long session per week, Evans progressed from 80kg to 85kg to 90kg within months, eventually hitting 100kg.
The measurable progress engaged her competitive side like no other exercise. Hitting 100kg felt like 'being handed a trophy,' but the real rewards came outside the gym: she could swing her toddler over her shoulder, carry heavy IKEA orders, and move furniture without help.
A New Relationship with Fitness
Evans now sees fitness as an end in itself. She enjoys paddleboarding as a second form of exercise and no longer feels like an outsider in sports. 'I’ve gone from feeling like a passenger in my body to feeling in control of it, C-section scars and all,' she says. Her debut novel, Little Wild, is published on 25 June.
