Serena Abweh is a 21-year-old social media fitness sensation who made waves for her inspirational story of battling anorexia to become a powerlifter.
At first glance, Abweh comes across as a pretty young lady, who looks jacked for her stature. After making a successful first-place debut in the sport in May 2018, Abweh progressed quickly in her journey to win the Raw Nationals in Oct. 2019. Serena recently managed to record a new double PR, as she deadlifted 335 pounds (152 kilograms) for two repetitions.
She uploaded a clip of the lift, which she did raw by powerlifting standards using only a lifting belt to perform it. Considering she only weighs 106 pounds (48 kilograms), the lift becomes even more impressive as she lifted more than 3x her body weight.
In her younger years, Serena struggled with body image issues, which caused her to develop an eating disorder. Eventually, this turned into anorexia, resulting in Abweh appearing malnourished. In spite of the fact that she never shied away from sharing her story, the transformation pictures she has taken have garnered a lot of attention and are sure to amaze anyone who sees them.
Serena Abweh Shares Inspirational Transformation after Battling Anorexia
In a post uploaded to her Instagram, Serena shared a photo of her looking emaciated next to her after overcoming anorexia. She juxtaposed the two snaps together to bring out the contrast in where she was and how far she had come in her personal fitness journey.
She accompanied the post with a motivational caption for her followers:
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“-2 pancakes to a 2 stack pancake?
The healing process and journey doesn’t just end once you’ve gained the weight back, battling with an eating disorder can be a life long endeavor.
Once you start working on the root of the reason why you got sick in the first place is when the healing process actually begins.And for me, i feel like my journey is just starting in some ways. I’m working my butt off (or on, HA funny) everyday to fix the relationship I have with myself and all of my past struggles, I’m not gonna sugar coat it because this shit is rough, but I find my strength and reasons to keep going when I can help people.
Nothing makes me happier than that. It makes me reflect back on my progress and be proud of myself for how far I’ve came. And also be aware of how much more steps I have to take in order to work on loving myself.
I believe that one day I will no longer be my worst enemy and be my biggest cheerleader 🎉, I’ll no longer feel any less deserving than anyone else, and learn to love the reflection I see in the mirror.
AND I HOPE THAT YOU DO TOO.Nothing is more powerful than knowing your own worth and finding your strength.”
Serena Abweh has already built an impressive resume for her age, having competed in seven tournaments so far and coming out on top of five of those. A few months back, she had claimed a 350-pound raw deadlift PR in training. If her recent developments are any indication of what’s to come, it looks like she will blow her competition out of the water when she competes next.
Serena Abweh Powerlifting Career
Personal Bests
| Equip | Squat | Bench | Deadlift | Total | Dots |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Raw | 226 | 159.8 | 226 | 727.5 | 443.82 |
Competition Results
| Place | Fed | Date | Competition | Division | Total | Dots | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | USAPL | 2022-12-18 | Santa Fe Show of Strength | FR-Jr | 727.5 | 443.82 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | USPA | 2021-10-17 | New Mexico State Championships | Juniors 20-23 | 683.4 | 406.27 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | USAPL | 2020-12-12 | Collegiate Cup and Texas Open | FR-C | 666.9 | 401.73 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | USAPL | 2019-10-16 | Raw Nationals | FR-T3 | 639.3 | 383.4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 5 | IPF | 2019-06-04 | World Classic Powerlifting Championships | Juniors | 622.8 | 375.9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | USAPL | 2018-10-11 | Raw Nationals | FR-T2 | 574.3 | 346.34 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | USAPL | 2018-08-11 | Southwest Regional Championships | FR-T2 | 545.6 | 329.6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | USPA | 2018-05-26 | APEMAN Classic Powerlifting Championship | Juniors 16-17 | 518.1 | 324.81 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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