Some considered Varya Akulova the strongest girl in the world when she wowed the world with her superhuman strength as a child. She's now 25 years old and has gotten out of professional weight lifting. You should hear her story!
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Everyone recognizes "Little Hercules," the young boy who did bodybuilding when he was very young. But have you heard of Varya Akulova, "Girl Hercules"?
Chances are, she was way stronger than he was.
Here's a photo of Varya Akulova with her family when she was a child.
The family, from Krivoy Rog, Ukraine, had no idea they had the world's strongest woman on their hands. She would start lifting weights by the age of four.
Her parents recognized her superhuman talents quickly – and by the age of seven, Varya had already been entered into powerlifting competitions.
At the age of eight, she set her first Guinness World Record by lifting 220 pounds when she weighed a mere 88 pounds.
Incredible, right?
But it gets crazier...
At this point, she was able to easily lift her father on her shoulders.
Interestingly, her father Uri was a circus strongman. The genes in this family run strong.
Here are the two getting into that circus spirit together.
How cool would it be to lift dumbbells with your daughter, right?
They took part in several competitions together and even appeared on television talent shows over the years.
Here is a shot of Varya lifting some friends at school.
She wasn't only incredibly strong, but also incredibly flexible...
Varya also became quite proficient in acrobatics, as you can see from this photo taken from her Facebook page.
During this entire time period, she entered and dominated weightlifting competitions.
Here's a shot of her holding some of these titles.
The awards just kept coming in, too.
There was no denying that she had honed her natural strength into something that couldn't be matched.
Varya spent much of her childhood hanging out with the big guys, and you can tell from this picture that she was quite comfortable with it.
She continued making appearances in shows with her father for years...
Her confidence was striking and can be seen clearly in this photo with her father.
At just 12 years old, Varya could lift over 600 pounds, roughly four grown men at once. Here she is lifting her mother and father.
I'm starting to get the feeling that her father Uri just wanted a free ride...
This clip out of a newspaper shows Varya and her father at another show as she started to get into her teens.
Through the years, Varya stuck with body building and strength training.
You have to see what she looks like now!
Here she is now!
As you can see, she is definitely still working out, but has left the world of professional weight lifting and works as a physical trainer.
She definitely still lifts. It's in her blood!
As a child, some were concerned that maybe lifting wasn't good for her health, but there have been no apparent health issues so far.
It's great to see that she has transitioned well from her life as an entertainer into adulthood. What an inspiring individual!
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