Who is Stefanie Cohen? Complete Profile: Career, Height, Weight, Diet

The debate about who the greatest women’s powerlifter in history revolves around a few women. However, Stefanie Cohen is one name that is often brought up. She has crushed multiple milestones during her career, set over a dozen All-Time World Records, and pushed the limits of what was considered humanly possible. So, in this article, we have covered Stefanie Cohen’s life, career, diet, and more.

Stefanie Cohen Statistics

Stefanie Cohen’s Biography

Early Life

Stefanie Cohen was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where she lived until her mid teen years. During that time, Stefanie played for the National soccer team. However, the opportunities were much better in the USA than in Venezuela, which is why Stefanie decided to move. Luckily, she managed to get a D1 scholarship for the San Diego State University soccer team.

Stefanie Cohen pursued soccer for some time, but decided to give up her dreams in order to claim academic achievements. However, she could not decide what the best class was for her, so she tried out architecture, engineering, marketing, business, nursing, and pre-med, but dropped out of all. Ultimately, she decided to major in Exercise Physiology, since it lined up with her passion for sports.

Stefanie Cohen’s academic journey turned out to be very successful, as she finished her doctorate.

Moreover, since she stopped doing soccer, Stefanie took up running and finished multiple half-marathons. In the meantime, she was also introduced to CrossFit by Noah Ohlsen, who studied at the same university. However, since CrossFit requires skills from multiple sports, Stefanie realized that she needed to take it slow. Firstly, she decided to build her strength and learn the skill of Olympic Weightlifting.

Cohen developed a passion for weightlifting and trained for three years. She also set goals of reaching the Olympics, but could not fulfill it due to a lack of time to train. So, she switched her focus to strength training and hypertrophy. This allowed her to widen her repertoire of exercises, including the three core lifts of powerlifting.

Related: Stefanie Cohen Looks Trim Squatting Huge 462lb At 125lb Bodyweight

Powerlifting Career

Stefanie Cohen’s first powerlifting competition came in 2015, when she took part in the APA Raw Nationals. She opted to compete in the Wraps division of the 56-kilogram weight class, and immediately displayed signs of greatness. In fact, she locked out over 3x her bodyweight on the deadlift, which would later become her most iconic event.

Stefanie Cohen was even more motivated to do powerlifting in 2016 and was, in turn, very active. She took part in four competitions that year and became the APA National Champion. Moreover, she massively improved all of her lifts and added over 150 pounds (68 kilograms) to her Total.

2017 was arguably the greatest year of Stefanie Cohen’s powerlifting career, as she crushed multiple milestones in just a few appearances. Apart from setting multiple All-Time World Records, Stefanie became the first woman to deadlift over 4x her bodyweight in a sanctioned powerlifting competition. She did so at the 2017 SPF Reebok Record Breakers with a pull of 225 kilograms (496 pounds). During the same competition, Stefanie also recorded a Total of +500 kilograms (+1,102.3 pounds) for the first time in her career.

In 2018, Stefanie Cohen managed to exceed the 500-pound (226.8-kilogram) deadlift milestone for the first time at the USPA Kern US Open. Moreover, in 2019, she managed to do the same on the squats at the ProRaw XI.

Unfortunately, Stefanie Cohen also suffered some injuries in 2019, which slowed down her journey. However, she managed to recover by the time of the 2020 WRPF Hybrid Showdown II. It was the lightest that she has ever competed in since she underwent a massive cut. In fact, she lost 4.5 kilograms (10 pounds) the night before the competition and took part in the 52-kilogram weight class. Regardless, Stefanie managed to set three All-Time World Records during that competition.

Powerlifting Statistics

Stefanie Cohen took part in 15 sanctioned competitions over the course of her powerlifting career. She won eight of them, but she really marked her spot in history with humongous lifts. In fact, she set 25 All-Time World Records throughout her career.

Competition PRs

*Stefanie Cohen set all of her competition PRs at the 2019 WRPF Kern US Open.

• Squat (Wraps): 230-kg (507-lb)
• Bench Press (Raw): 110-kg (242.5-lb)
• Deadlift (Raw): 240-kg (529.1-lb)
• Total (Raw W/Wraps): 580-kg (1,278.6-lb)

Related: Watch: Stefi Cohen Does 3-Rep Sets For Back Training W/ IFBB Pro Ben Pakulski

Boxing Career

After wrapping up her powerlifting career in 2020, Stefanie Cohen decided to pursue boxing. Since she needed some time to properly switch over to the sport, she scheduled her first fight for June, 2021. She fought against Haidde Zapa and won with a TKO, marking a spectacular debut.

Stefanie Cohen’s second fight turned out to be a draw, as that was the majority decision from the judges. However, in 2022 she had her third fight, which she won on a unanimous decision.

Unfortunately, Stefanie Cohen suffered her first loss against Devany Cuevas Torres in 2022, but did not let that hold her down. Instead, she had an impeccable year in 2023, winning both of the matches that she took part in. Overall, Stefanie has won four matches, lost one, while another one finished in a draw.

Related: Stefi Cohen Squats Earth-Shattering 495lbs At 123 lbs Bodyweight

Training

Being a Doctor of Exercise Physiology, Stefanie Cohen has always had a very planned out approach to training. That being said, she did not sway away from hard work, but instead just used her knowledge to optimize the sessions. Stefanie believes that, in order to gain strength, a person needs to push themselves to the limit but not overwork themselves to the point that they can’t recover properly.

Consistency and Frequency

Moreover, in order to build muscle and get stronger, Stefanie Cohen made sure to focus on consistency and frequency. So, she made sure to hit every muscle group at least twice per week and to perform 10-15 working sets.

However, Stefanie also points out that the rep range should not be the main focus. Instead, the goal is to reach or come close to true failure.

Repertoire of Exercises

Stefanie Cohen has also shared tips on Instagram for anyone wanting to better themselves. So, her advice is to keep 15-20 exercises in rotation, as opposed to frequently introducing new ones.

Moreover, for those who have reached a plateau, Stefanie recommends switching the order of the exercises, perhaps even doing some accessories before the compound lifts. Stefanie calls this type of work “pre-exhausting sets”.

Rest Period

While Stefanie Cohen does believe that there is a time and place for short-rest periods in workouts, she also recommends the opposite. The principle behind her thought process is that longer rest periods allow for more effort to be exerted during the next set, which should result in a better strength gain.

Check out Stefanie Cohen’s Full-Body workout here:

Belt Squat

• 3 sets x 15 reps

Walking Lunges

• 3 sets x 15 reps (Per Leg)

Bulgarian Split Squat (Explosive Jump / No Weight)

• 4 sets x 5-6 reps (Per Leg)

Overhead Tricep Extensions

• 3 sets x 15 reps

Cable Curl

• 3 sets x 15 reps

Rear Delt Cable Pull

• 3 sets x 15 reps

Front Delt Cable Raise

• 3 sets x 15 reps

Related: Stefi Cohen on Growing Weaker Body Parts: “9/10 Times You’re Not Performing the Exercise Correctly”

Diet

Stefanie Cohen had to eat a lot of food in order to gain muscle and strength needed for powerlifting. However, she still ate clean and carried around a very shredded physique. Since it is hard to track macros properly, Stefanie developed some ground rules for her daily diet. Those were:

• Including a serving of lean protein with every meal
• 1-2 servings of vegetables with every meal
• Avoid snacking; focus on complete meals
• Eat wholesome, minimally processed foods
• Intake carbohydrates around workout time
• Eat 3-6 meals per day
• Minimize eating out (restaurants, fast foods, etc.)

However, Stefanie Cohen does have a system for tracking macronutrients as well. Once the optimal daily calorie intake is decided, she states that 40% of those calories should come from carbs, 30% from protein, and 30% from fats.

Full Day of Eating for Powerlifting

Meal One

• 2 Eggs
• Deli Turkey Breast (Thin-Sliced)
• Raw Cherry Tomatoes
• Kimchi
• Orange Juice (1 Cup)

Meal Two

• Ground Beef
• Kale
• Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Meal Three

• Kefir (1 Cup)
• Granola (1/4 Cup)
• Black Berries
• Chia Seeds Topping

Meal Four

• Beef or Chicken (200g)
• Rice (1 Cup)
• Roasted Brussel Sprouts With Carrots
• Guacamole

Meal Five (Snack)

• Protein Shake (1 Cup)
• Greens Powder (1 Cup)
• Frozen Berries (1 Cup)
• Almond Butter or Peanut Butter (1 tbsp)

Desserts (optional)

• Oreos and Milk
• Organic Popcorn
• Cereal

Full Day of Eating for Leaning Out (Bodybuilding Diet)

Meal One

• Eggs with Deli Meat
• Tomatoes & Strawberries
• Glass of Athletic Greens

Meal Two & Three

Note: Stefanie Cohen ate the same meal for both lunch and dinner.

• Beef, Rice, & Egg
• Spinach & Carrots
• Bone Broth

Snack One

• Greek Yogurt with Cereal
• Peanut Butter or Nutella

Snack Two

• Parmesan Popcorn

Related: Powerlifter Turned Boxer Stefi Cohen Sets The Record Straight On “Clean Foods”

Current Life

Stefanie Cohen has always had dreams of being an entrepreneur, but the opportunities in Exercise Physiology are not that frequent. However, that did not stop her, as she founded and co-owned the Hybrid Performance Method, a platform for training programs. Moreover, Stefanie has hinted at some potential future business adventures on Instagram.

As far as sports go, Stefanie Cohen often shares footage of her training sessions on social media. So, it looks like she is planning to continue boxing for the foreseeable future. However, it would also not be a surprise if she decided to chase a new challenge.

Related: VIDEO: Powerlifter Stefanie Cohen Looks Jacked Hitting A 407lb Squat Triple

Labeled by many, including Larry Wheels, as the greatest female powerlifter in the world, Stefanie Cohen will forever hold a special place in the sport’s history. She is a one of a kind athlete, as proven by her countless achievements in the sport. Moreover, her success in boxing and life outside of sport are a testament to her dedication and intellect as well.

Featured Images via @steficohen on Instagram.

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