Lesley Mulcahy is preparing for her fourth powerlifting competition this year. The 37-year old started lifting heavy weights four years ago, after growing tired of her gym routine. Now, she’s hooked.

But she’s had to fight some stereotypes along the way.

“I've had a guy say something like ‘oh, you've got man weight on the bar,’” Mulcahy recalled. “In that situation, it was someone who I think was trying to pay me a compliment, and they were actually really well intentioned, but they likened to the fact that it wasn't that I was lifting heavy for me, it was that I had man weight on the bar.”

Mulcahy lifts with a group of women at a gym in Elmsdale, N.S., and says over the years those types of comments have lessened as more and more women embrace the weight room. But more importantly, getting stronger has changed the way Mulcahy sees herself.

“The world gives us this messed up notion about our bodies, and lifting iron changes that,” said Mulcahy. “Lifting isn't pretty. You get double, triple chins when you're lifting, and you make these messed up faces because of the strength that you're exerting on a lift, and that's O.K. We're not doing it to look pretty.”

Fellow powerlifter Nikita Horne agrees.

“Historically women have kind of been told to be less. Eat less, lift little weights, be smaller. And with lifting you're focused on getting bigger and getting stronger.”

In powerlifting, athletes take on the core lifts: the squat, deadlift, and bench press. Though the bar can be loaded with hundreds of pounds, a big component of strength training is mental strength – the athlete telling themselves that they can do this. The nature of the solo competition is what appeals to 21-year-old Olympic lifter Morgan Seaman.

“It doesn't feel like you're trying to be better than anyone. You're just here to better yourself,” Seaman said. “I always want to better myself and I feel like I can do that here, and without fear.”

Seaman began Olympic lifting earlier this year, working to perfect the techniques of classic lifts like the clean and jerk and the snatch. She works out with friends Haley Warnica and Jane Nicholson, who push each other to improve.

“It's so cool to see another female doing something incredible, and you can say ‘I want to do that too,’” said Warnica.

“It definitely is still a male dominated sport, but I definitely think that's changing. Some nights we'll be here training, and I’ll look around and every single platform has a female on it, which is pretty cool,” said Nicholson.

Over time, many of these women noticed changes from lifting heavy weights. Not just physically, but mentally too. Shelly Dean was 48 years old when she first tried powerlifting.

“I looked in the mirror and I cried, and I couldn't believe I was there. And I did it anyway,” Dean recalled. Now with four years and a national record under her belt, Dean isn’t intimidated anymore. “My kids are freaked out over what I do.”

As with many types of exercise, much of the motivation comes from beating your old records and personal bests. Horne knows that feeling well.

“It's always awesome when you get to warm up with your old max.”