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Great Hera!

Meet Anna Watson, the Georgia Cheerleader Who Can Open That Jelly Jar for You

by Jamie Frevele | 2:01 pm, January 31st

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Anna Watson, a junior at the University of Georgia, found comfort and success in weightlifting following a stressful period in her life and eventually found herself looking at a $75,000 modeling contract after turning her arms into those fear-injecting limbs you see above. And then, she changed her mind. Mostly because it was becoming a frightening regimen of intense workouts, consuming 3,000 calories a day, and (legal) steroids. Watson opted out. Now, in addition to being a cheerleader, she’s an exercise and sports science major who hopes to become a personal trainer and help others find ways to set their own fitness goals.

While Watson was attending Hawaii Pacific University, she found herself becoming obsessed with a counterproductive exercise routine. As a cheerleader, she had to maintain her stamina and strength, but the cardio she was doing was not giving her the results she wanted. Instead of gaining strength, she was losing her body fat and her muscle, and realized it was getting harder to do stunts. That’s when she started weightlifting at the suggestion of her family and friends back in Georgia.

So, she started weightlifting, and the next thing she knew, she was developing what the kids call “serious guns.” The more muscle she put on, the more attractive she looked to modeling agencies who specialized in fitness models and bodybuilders. But their demands made her “obsessive,” and then they got even ickier:

They showed [Watson] a woman who worked out with the aid of Anavar, a legal anabolic steroid. The agent suggested Watson — who had been trying to gain almost 50 pounds in muscle to be signed as a model — do the same. …

She could be like the woman in the photo, who “put on the size she needed… got her job … made her money and … cycled off the steroids and was back to normal.”

After realizing that there was little reward in what she was doing to her body — downing “900-calorie mass gainer shakes,” benching 155 pounds and squatting 255, bicep curls with 35-pound weights, dead lifting 230, all putting her body through a a 55-pound swing in a year. So, she stopped. She gave up the modeling contract, gave up the insane workouts, and went back to being a cheerleader and student.

While Watson suffered an injury that prevents her from cheering (for the moment), she still has no regrets about her decision and remains proud of her athletic figure, which still carries a fierce amount of muscle. She hopes to use what she’s learned to help others find their warriors within.

(Red and Black via Sportsgrid)

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  • Frodo Baggins

    Thank god! I’ve been eating peanut butter sandwiches for the last week. It just ain’t the same!

  • Kate Farley

    I hope nobody reads this and is scared off from (normal) weightlifting, though–as a woman I’ve found it to be incredibly empowering.  And most women I know who lift look very “toned,” but none have the testosterone to grow bulky muscles.  The ones who can deadlift 300+ lbs all look like gymnasts rather than bodybuilders.  Of course, proper nutrition helps.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R7GVNIKWG3S2UTHEQOMSZXT4M4 Anna B

    Oh, look at those guns! And she wields them with such pride. So much awesome.

  • Terence Ng

    I saw this yesterday! Her arms are fierce! WERQ, She-Hulk!

  • anyusername

    My wife and I both compete in natural bodybuilding, so I appreciate the hard work that goes into it, especially for the women.  I applaud this young lady for not going the steroid route.  While the muscles may look fab, it is not worth what the steroids may do to the body.  If you want to compete, there are natural shows to compete in where you can be both fit and healthy for many years. 

  • Anonymous

    Huh. I can bench 150 (not for reps, mind you) and my biceps look nothing near that fierce. I don’t know that I’d call her workouts “insane,” but if she wasn’t happy with them, more power to her for finding what she is happy with.

  • Anonymous

    “and (legal) steroids”
    Sounds like steroids to me. Plenty of pro-hormones out there. Plus, you can always tell when someone is using steroids if they develop large muscles without a lot of strength. 155 Bench? 255 Squat? Even 235 dead-lift? For someone with the musculature she appears to have, those are real low strength numbers.

  • http://twitter.com/JanineDoxsee Janine Doxsee

    AWSOME!!! the integrety and disciplin and dedication this displays is amazing!! I just read the article with my 9 yr old daughter, now she wants me to find a way she can write Anna a letter and get it to her .

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Ryan-Quavey-Havers/1593505278 Ryan ‘Quavey’ Havers

    Cool as a cucumber, as they say. :D

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/NEQADSCNCTWJ2R5YAR7UBWICBA Tyler

    I think she’s amazing and would love to date a woman like that. She is also smart and talented. I wish more women lifted and had muscle tone! It is attractive on the ladies!

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/54WOQUU2VFEPBMUUDRXLETJ354 Garrett Fish

    @Tyler… how do you find that attractive on ladies?? muscle tone is attractive yes but a woman that looks like a teen football player not at all…

    @Lex_y… 150 is nothing for a max and has nothing to do with your arms, benching is all in the chest.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_R7GVNIKWG3S2UTHEQOMSZXT4M4 Anna B

    I can’t believe you’re criticizing Tyler’s preference for muscular women. He likes what he likes and you like what you like.

  • Anonymous

    I was just thinking that.

  • anyusername

    Bodybuilding is not about strength as much as it is about building and shaping muscles through fatiguing them.  You can very well develop good muscle size and definition by not necessarily lifting super heavy, but by going slow through your reps, squeezing fully, and doing other things to fatigue your muscles like drop sets, changing up routines, etc.  Now powerlifting and weightlifting are strictly about strength.  Unless I hear her talk and check closely for other side effects, I believe her.

  • Life Lessons

    AWESOME!

  • Carmen Sandiego

    What’s wrong with bulky muscles?

  • http://openid.aol.com/onzaqueen OnzaQueen

    I hope Anna can be a role model for other women to stop being afraid of lifting weights.  Strength is beauty!!!

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/B7TK5LVQNXEUHBULIZNAADH6AA David

    it seems to me that there are a lot of jealous and envious people, some are just plain sick. This young lady is not only beautiful on the outside but also inside. She has worked hard to get where she is. By the way she also carries a 4.0

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_72SYCHGBI3MKOTJXN3KDU5CTGY FuxorY

    Oxandrolone is Schedule III. You can’t just swing by the health food store and buy it.

  • http://pulse.yahoo.com/_72SYCHGBI3MKOTJXN3KDU5CTGY FuxorY

    No, actually, what Thecritic89 said is right on. If you actually do compete in the US, you might ask around. The article says she got her size from Oxandrolone, which is Schedule III in the US and for which you must have a doctor’s prescription (it has orphan drug status here). Using Oxandrolone would indeed create some bulk but not much strength behind it. Side effects are actually minimal if we’re talking about virilizing side effects.

    If you actually did move in lifting competition circles, though, I imagine you’d know this. But you don’t, really, do you… It just sounded cool to say, didn’t it?

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/OBHUPRNYLDAG6SC464G4PUCAEY JRoc

    As a few others have noted, Anavar (Oxandrolone), is not a legal steroid, it is classified as a schedule III drug.  This means that it is banned by the NCAA, NFL, MLB, WADA, USADA and the IOC.

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/TXCAKWWYBVS6BURJ5RDAOUIM6E Giles

    My clâssmâtê’s êx-wifê mâkês $33 êvêry hôûr ôn thê cômpûtêr. Shê hâs bêên lâid ôff fôr 7 mônths bût lâst mônth hêr chêck wâs $1925 jûst wôrking ôn thê cômpûtêr fôr â fêw hôûrs. Rêâd môrê hêrê…. LazyCash10.c&#173om

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100003037095323 Jerilyn Nighy

    Having muscles is akin to owning a truck.  All your friends will constantly bug you to help them move their stuff.

  • Anonymous

    Well, it’s mostly in the chest, you’re right. And mine is pretty awesome, if I do say so myself. :D

  • http://profile.yahoo.com/KSPE5MWLZCBYILTIJQFSG3NQBI kyle

    I’ve heard weightlifting girls talk about lifting before. She means she’s benching 155, squatting 255, and dead lifting 235 all three sets of ten. That’s strong. She was 175 lbs and had 15.5 inch arms.

  • Anonymous

    Her arms are incredible. Like, comic book level perfect. Glad she’s still doing it for herself and not a contract.