Weight for it: Kelly Picco powers through vision loss
Burin woman can't see, but she doesn't let that stop her workouts
Kelly Picco is proof that anybody can do anything, with the right amount of determination.
The 25-year-old Burin woman can't see. But she can deadlift 155 pounds and is getting ready for a powerlifting competition.
"It's like I have a natural instinct for weightlifting," said Picco, who has been training for only three months.
When she was seven, Picco was diagnosed with Optic Atrophy — a condition that causes damage to the optic nerve. At the age of 16, this condition took her vision, making her legally blind.
When she moved to St. John's in 2011, Picco realized she wasn't alone.
"I got to meet so many people around the same age with vision loss. I got to interact with them, become friends with them, and you know, take part in more groups that were available for people with vision loss."
In March, Picco decided she would begin training with a personal trainer, and try her hand at powerlifting.
She started with some dumbbell curls and basic exercises and can now deadlift (a standing lift without a bench or other equipment) 155 pounds.
"The first time I ever did a deadlift, it was just ... was just kind of fooling around," she said.
"After that, I just started doing the bench, squat bar, things like that."
Learning through touch
Most powerlifters rely on their vision to perfect their posture and stance, among other things.
Darren Hann, Picco's fitness coach, has been finding ways to explain these concepts to her through touch, rather than visual cues.
Picco has learned to spread her feet a little more than shoulder width apart, and use the grooves in a barbell to determine where her hands should be.
She also uses mats that measure two feet by two feet to get an idea of spacing.
"A lot of times, I just close my eyes and ask how would I explain this to myself," said Hann. "And then I use that for her, and it works great."
On Friday, Picco will be take part in her first powerlifting competition at the Paul Reynolds Centre in St. John's.
She said if someone had told her in March that she would be doing that, "I would probably have laughed in their face ... I definitely wouldn't have dreamed that I would be competing three months down the road."
When she isn't powerlifting, Picco works full time at CNIB Newfoundland and Labrador. She is working hard to start a program for people with vision loss to begin working out with a fitness coach, much like she did.
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