Denicia Toney
I love when people take the plunge into the GGC at anything but the optimum time. Why? Because life rarely hands you a perfect 6 month window where you have nothing going on so you can focus on your lifting. Instead we juggle work, family, illness, and more, while chasing down our PRs. Today we talk to Denicia Toney who took her first plunge into the GGC while pregnant!
Tell Us A Little About Yourself
My name is Denicia Toney. I was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas. I now live in Euless, Texas with my husband, 1 year old daughter, and two dogs. I’m a home health nurse and work part time for the Dallas Mavericks. Outside of lifting, I enjoy traveling, especially for powerlifting competitions. I’ve always been pretty active. I played basketball, volleyball, ran track and cross country in high school. I played flag football for a season and ended up tearing my ACL and had to cut that season short.
How Did You Begin Lifting?
I started lifting about 6 years ago. My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time got me in to it. I went to one of his powerlifting meets and was hooked! I told him I wanted to compete. My first powerlifting meet was in March 2017. I competed in 5 more meets before finishing my last one in October of 2019. I had plans to compete in 2 more meets in 2020 but COVID hit. During that year I got into a slump. It was a rough year. I lost a lot of motivation. My husband and I did our best to stay in some sort of shape. At that time our little “home” gym consisted of bands and dumbbells, so we did our best. It helped to have pages like Massenomics and the Garage Gym Competition to keep us motivated during that time.
What About the Garage Gym Competition?
2020 was the first year I had heard about the garage gym competition. I didn’t compete that year but my husband did and won a treadmill. So I told myself that I would compete the next year. Leading up to 2021 I had planned on competing in other meets but late 2020 I found out I was pregnant. I didn’t think I would ever compete again.
May 2021 the garage gym competition comes back around. I was thinking I wouldn’t be able to do it. My husband showed me a lady who was competing and pregnant. That motivated me and I entered into my first Garage Gym Competition. Although I had to modify a few things and couldn’t go all out, I was happy to compete in something again. I didn’t win anything that year but my husband won a Fringe Sport gift card. We added a squat rack to our little gym with that gift card. We started off with bands and dumbbells to now having bands, dumbbells, a treadmill, squat rack, kettlebells, sandbags, and medicine balls. All being squeezed into our 714 Sq. Ft. Apartment. We are starting to run out space. Once we get a house our garage gym will be epic.
For the Fall 2022 Garage Gym Competition I didn’t get the numbers I wanted but I still gave a good effort. I won a flag from Garage-Gyms. It’ll be a perfect addition to our gym. I can’t wait to see how I will progress to the next GGC.
I’ve been training to compete in a USPL meet in. I’m hoping to put up big numbers. My goal is to get back to where I was in 2019 before COVID rudely interrupted my progress.
Any Last Words?
My best lifts to date are:
- Squat – 252lbs
- Bench – 121lbs
- Deadlift – 314lbs
I’ll be happy to be back there. That’s one of the things I love about powerlifting, competing against yourself. At the end of the day our biggest competition is against ourselves.
Thanks Denicia Toney!
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