We were lucky to catch up with Rhonda Freeman recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, so we’re so thrilled to have Rhonda with us today – welcome and maybe we can jump right into it with a question about one of your qualities that we most admire. How did you develop your work ethic? Where do you think you get it from?
Work ethic is something was instilled in me from birth. I am an only child. I am the daughter of a single mother who did not receive child support. Seeing life through this dynamic taught me that you must work in order to get what you want. My mother worked long hours in order to make sure our needs were met, which often resulted in me governing my own day to day life.
I was a teenage mother, twice, being pregnant with my second child before graduating high school. So many people told me how difficult life would be as a result of my choices (and they were not wrong) that it became a driving force to prove them wrong. I graduated on time with the rest of my class.
Shortly after graduation I was married. I was divorced roughly 18 months later and found myself in the role of being the single mother and sole provider for my two children. I worked part time, attended college part time and hustled where ever I could in order to make ends meet and provide a quality life fore myself and my children.
This foundation was instilled in my early in life and I would have never have guessed how much it would impact my life as an adult athlete.
I entered the powerlifting world approximately five (5) years ago with very little fitness background (a year or so of crossfit) at the age of 36. I learned quickly how work ethic plays a huge role in being a powerlifting athlete. Time, consistency and good form are what will take you places in this sport. You have to have a solid work ethic to do the workouts, over a long period of time, in order to grow the strength you need to compete in the sport.
You can fake a lot of things in life. Work ethic is not one. There are few things more important than work ethic in terms of goals, but that is just the thing; you have to know what you are working towards. Being able to distinguish the difference between smart work and busy work will help you get to where to want to be without wasting time on things that will not make a difference. Anything you can dream you can achieve with the right work ethic, plan of action and by surrounding yourself with like minded people. To me a good work ethic takes dedication, flexibility, productivity, teamwork, integrity, responsibility and focus.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I am a competitive powerlifter and coach. I am currently in preparation for USPA Nationals in New York this June. In addition to my training and coaching, I have started a 501(c) non-profit to benefit athletes that are new to the sport.
The United Powerlifting Foundation was designed to help strength athletes bridge the gap between dreaming and competing by providing resources and financial support for competing. Our vision is to help aspiring athletes compete while spreading education on how strength training can have a positive impact by working with the community in a collective goal of paying it forward and clearing a path for other to foster success. We want to help individuals to gain access to the equipment and information they need to begin a strength training sport, such as powerlifting. We encourage beginning athletes to compete in local meets before moving on to some of the big federation meets. This gives the lifter a chance to experience competing on a smaller scale before moving on to larger goals.
Strength training is a sport everyone can participate in and requires a good work ethic. Our foundation provides a variety of education resources that help our recipients learn more about powerlifting training, competing and recovery. Through these resources recipients will be encouraged to build strength and provide an avenue to competing and building confidence in the sport.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Having a good work ethic, responsibility and focus were the most impactful in my journey. The best advice I have for someone who is early in their journey is to believe whatever they want to accomplish is possible, create a plan, review it often, keep a good work ethic, be responsible for your own actions and focus on what you can control.
What was the most impactful thing your parents did for you?
The most impactful thing my mother did for me was let me figure it out myself, for better or worse. Life is the best lesson book.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.unitedpowerliftingfoundation.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/reddphoenixx
Image Credits
Shuttersport Productions -Jeff Frank
