Elisa Acosta has been lifting weights for most of her life - and she loves it! Running and cardio? Not so much.  

As a child, her father always encouraged her and her siblings to stay fit. 

“My dad did Crossfit, so I knew how to swing a kettlebell and do burpees.”

In high school she threw shot put and discus, and her cross training included lifting. She was also a varsity cheerleader for three years and says that experience led to her true disdain of running and general cardio. 

After a few years of yoga and intramural sports in college, a friend convinced her to join the rowing team.

“She made me promise her that I’d come to all of her rowing events. I got hooked and joined. I loved rowing and ended up being pretty good at it.”

Good enough to make the 3rd All-American Team for all women’s club teams in the U.S. in her 2nd year on the team. 

Her rowing experience also had her doing more lifts: squats, deadlifts and bench press. 

After college, Elisa was armed with a degree in Aerospace Engineering, but wasn’t sure what to do next athletically. She volunteered as a coach and ended up finding a trainer who helped her focus on proper form and technique.

“[My coach] had taken me down to body weight squats to fix my form; it was an incredibly humbling experience.” 

The following year, Elisa entered into her first unofficial/unsanctioned powerlifting meet, Wu Lifts  2017. From there, she was hooked on powerlifting and ready for the Kansas Klassic, an official meet held in McPherson. 

After transferring to a new trainer, Elisa went through a bulking phase and a mentality shift. 

“At first, I exercised to lose weight. I was very obsessed with being ‘small’ and ‘skinny’ instead of ‘strong’ and ‘fit.’ The bulking phase did a lot towards my mentality about my body. I learned to love myself for what I could do and know that I was capable of doing more.”

Most recently, Elisa was awarded Best Female Lifter at the 2019 Kansas Klassic held at Top Crop Barbell. She’s also made the Top 10 Kansas female lifter list for 2019. 

“I’ve been incredibly blessed with my trainers, my team, and my friends and family who have supported me over the last three years in this crazy journey.”

Her next fitness goal is to qualify for USAPL Raw Nationals 2020 and get a total over 900 lbs. 

If she’s not powerlifting, Elisa enjoys sand volleyball, biking and rowing. And, if she’s being honest, she loves playing Pokemon Go. 

“It’s active and fun!”

Another thing Elisa loves is seeing her teammates achieve PRs. 

“I know how hard they have worked. We all have come so far, yet still have so much to achieve together. I know we can do it and that’s why I will continue to exercise for my entire life.”

Elisa is proud of how far she has come and has some advice for others.

“Stop comparing yourselves to people on Instagram, especially high-profile athletes. They are on a different path. Set your own fitness goals based off of yourself; you’ll be a lot farther and be a lot happier in the end. Also, be proud of what your body does for you every day. You never realize what you can’t do until you can’t do it anymore.”