Gracelynn Doogan | Fill Your Mind with Happiness
What has been the highlight of your wrestling career?
One of the highlights of my wrestling career was winning a match at worlds. I actually ended up crying. I don't think I had ever cried out of happiness. There was a lot that went into it, I had never competed internationally so I didn't know how I'd stack up against all of these girls. I didn't have enough money, and I was fundraising and working just to be able to go. So when I won my first match, I remember getting my hand raised and just began crying. I was so proud of myself, and even though I only came seventh I was so happy. Another was recently, where I came second at the first ever U23 World Championships. Although second is not first, it was incredible. It was my first ever medal internationally. I had the opportunity to face a girl who had beat me previously. I was losing 6-1 and I overcame the deficit to win 9-6 with a pin.
How has wrestling changed your life?
It has changed my life in terms of what I do on a day-to-day basis. I don't party a lot, I don't go out and drink, and it's not because I don't enjoy those things. It's because I value them on a different scale. I value my wrestling success a lot more than other things, including school. I'm a lot more likely to skip studying than to skip practice which is not the best attribute a student can have. I really value physical health, it has changed what I do an what I eat. It has become a lifestyle. I wonder how what I do and what I eat will affect my wrestling and lifting performance.
What is your favorite muscle to workout and why?
My muscle to workout is definitely my legs. I absolutely love squatting, dead lifting, leg extensions and hamstring curls. They are my favorite thing to train. I think it extends back to figure skating. Instead of practicing my routines, I would do power-skating. I would do laps and laps and laps to tire out my legs. I loved the feeling of tiring out my legs and still do to this day. I love leg day so much so that I train legs day after day. You should not continuously train one body part but I absolutely love it. I love seeing myself progress with lifts, and love the whole aspect of leg day. I'd also say that's also my most impressive body part. My quads measure 27 inches which is also the size of my boyfriends waist.
What is the number one philosophy you live by?
The number one philosophy I live by is a more recent philosophy. It is that when you fill your mind up with happiness, it leaves no room for self-doubt. I feel like that I try to make myself angry before a lift or wrestling, but I find I have had better success when I'm not angry. I recently started pushing my happiness into a lot of the things I do, studying, lifting and wrestling.
Who are your favorite wrestlers?
That ones a hard one. I really admire a lot of the girls in my weightclass. I Erica Wiebe in my weightclass and I have Justina Di Stasio in my weightclass. The canadian heavyweights are an incredible example of where Canada is at internationally. There's so many people, and so much talent in my weightclass that it's nice to see. It's not head to head rivalries, but everyone is just so nice. Erica Wiebe asked me to come help her train. I just really appreciate a lot of the girls in my weightclass and what they do. I guess I don't really have a favorite, I just appreciate the people who surround me.
What advice would you give someone who is new to going to the gym?
My advice would be don't be afraid to go to the gym part of the gym. I hear a lot of girls saying that they're afraid to leave the cardio area, or leaving the machine section. It tends to be male dominant in the weight section. Some of the nicest people I know I met in the gym section. They are just impressed to see a girl in there, a lot of people appreciate seeing someone try something new. Don't be afraid to put yourself out there and don't be afraid to ask for help. Look up what you want to do, look up your goals, use google! Look at fitness sites, and be educated. Use the tools at your disposal, and go in the gym and be fearless.
What does your diet consist of?
My diet used to consist of more instant noodles. Sadly I have pushed those out of the diet. Dietitians are supplied to me by Team Canada so my diet has changed so it's more protein heavy. I have had an issue with snacking so I have supplemented that with proteins because it takes longer to digest. It'll keep my fuller longer as I'm trying to lose weight for the weightclass I'm in. It's been a lot of work to get my weight down, and it's great because it's going down without doing anything drastic. It's just been changing my macros, eating at the right times, not over eating and staying away from noodles. For breakfast I will usually eat eggs, and throw in celery, mushrooms, onions and anything I can find. Throughout the day i will have salads, protein bars, berries and bananas. It depends on what I'm doing that day. I always eat protein after lifting, and a carb snack before. I also stay super hydrated.
How has wresting changed your self-esteem?
As a kid growing up I had body image issues. I matured a lot faster than all of the other girls. I was 5'3 and about 130lbs in grade 3. I have also weighed quite a bit more than everyone else even when I was lean. Growing up the number kind of messes with you a little bit. It's hard top know what your number is and compare yourself with everyone else. It's hard being a heavyweight and seeing everyone else. It got to a bad point where I would do crash dieting. there were days where I would go without eating. I was very uneducated and wouldn't go to the gym. Looking back I kind of want to smack my younger self. It really helped me because you're out there in a singlet so you have to accept your body. If you don't like the way you look there's a way to change that in a healthy manner. There are things you can change. You can focus on your body fat percentage or look for more definition rather than a number on the scale. Wrestling has taught me to accept my body. Being physical and making healthy choices has helped me accept my body. Lifting has further pushed that idea. lifting has helped me see changes in body composition. I started getting more muscle, and sculpting my body to how I wanted it to. When I started lifting I saw a shift from seeing a number on the scale, and being defined from that number, to being defined from what I saw in the mirror. I went from 72kgs to 80kgs and being way happier with myself.
What is an obstacle you have had to overcome, and how did you do it?
I have had a few injuries over the last little while. I have torn both of my ACLs, I had a surgery in grade 11. I had an ACL reconstruction surgery for my ACL that I tore in gym class in grade 6. I had to have a hamstring repair in my ACL. I was going to miss a few tournaments as a result of the surgery. I stuck to the recovery, I did all my exercises and stretches. I had goals, and didn't want to be affected by my surgery that was going to prevent me from competing at those tournaments. I was able to work through it, and put into my mind that I'm only going to be injured for a short period of time. I stayed focus on my long-term goal because I get frustrated with my injuries to the point where I want to cry when I get hurt. I want to cry not because of the pain, but because I feel limited to what I can do. You have to know that your body will heal, and it will go away.
What are your best lifts for powerlifting?
I've only competed five times for powerlifting. In competition I've only squatted 345 lbs but in the gym I squatted 365lbs for a double leading up to the World Championships. With bench I did 185lbs for a double in the gym, and only did 176lbs in competition. For deadlift I have hit 435lbs out of competition and in competition I hit 420lbs. I have done relatively well in powerlifting and I want to keep improving. I want to actually hit PRs in competition because it's super frustrating to know that you've done better in the gym. My boyfriend have a competitive relationship. I outdeadlift him by quite a bit but he outsquats me and outbenches me. He competes at 115lbs so I weight quite a bit more than him but it brings the competition that much closer.