I skipped PE at school and only started lifting as a new mum, but now I'm at the Official Strongman Games
A Lancashire mum is swapping the school run for Atlas stones as she seeks to secure the title of world’s strongest woman.
Andrea Seed, who works in Lancashire County Council's Adult Social Care Team, is currently preparing to fly out to America to compete in the Official Strongman Games, which will see hundreds of muscle-bound competitors from more than 35 countries face off in various feats of power.
"I'm 41 and mum to a 5-year-old,” said Andrea, who previously won Britain’s Strongest Natural Woman in 2021. “I want to be able to inspire people of all ages, backgrounds, and circumstances [and show] that you can be whatever you want to be. I've no background in sports, and I always skipped PE at school, but now I'm ready to compete with the best in the world."
Having first started weightlifting after struggling with post-natal depression following the birth of her son, Andrea added: "I felt like I just didn’t really know myself, I'd lost myself a little bit. Then someone I know told me about a strong man gym in Preston. They said just go down there and have a chat because there might be something different that you can do.
"They sort of took me in and it took a long time for me to come out of the shadows, but I felt that by having something for me that wasn’t about being a mum, it was just about me tapping into my own resilience that was already there,” she said. “[Something] that I didn’t realise was there.
"I started lifting weights and I was ok at it, which is not something I've ever really experienced before. I wasn’t feeling too great mentally, but I found that by succeeding in something and making my body strong and going somewhere and doing something just for me, I started to find a bit more of a purpose and find myself back a bit.
"For me it was about finding my potential and believing in myself a little bit."
Having finished fourth at Europe's Strongest Woman earlier this year, Andrea will be competing in the over-40s Masters category in America and will have to get through four gruelling events to be one of the final 10 competitors.
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On the first day, she will compete in the monster log challenge, where she will have to lift a metal log weighing 86 kilograms overhead, and the Jocko fuel car walk, in which she will have to carry the frame of a 280kg car on her back along a 15 metre course as fast as possible.
The next day’s events include an axle deadlift and sandbag medley, which involves running along a 15.25 metre course while holding two sandbags before loading them both onto a sledge and then pushing the sledge back.
Cllr Graham Gooch, cabinet member for adult social care, said: "We all wish Andrea the best of luck in her competition. It's great to see her using a strength-based approach both inside and outside of work. Andrea has supported social workers to bring in a new way of working at the county council through Living Better Lives in Lancashire.
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"Through this, we encourage people to make use of what's strong in their community, such as support from friends, family and local organisations to stay well, achieve what they want and to live independently for longer."