Billie Asprey

17/11/2024

The Trans Takeover 3.0 — The Reckoning ❤️‍🔥

So sick to get stuck back into this for another year.

Coaching Sammy into any meet is such a beast. Someone asked me yesterday if I was “handling Sam today” to which I just giggled because does anyone really “handle” Sam. Sam and I have worn multiple hats for each other over the seven or so years we’ve been in each other’s lives. I’ve coached him on and off for a good chunk of that time, and coaching him in to the Trans Takeover each year is such a damn highlight. Supporting him + watching on as he pours so much into this event that he’s built from the ground up is such an honour. Life has ben huge for Sam since the last time we went to the platform together, and to watch him put up 2/3 PBs + a 10kg comp PB yesterday almost in response to it all was so damn delightful. Heart of a lion. Constantly in awe of the power of the work you do. Thank you for always trusting me.

I started coaching Jayde a little over four years ago now. She timidly started with me in a one on one capacity, moved in to group training some time after, and has been a member of TSF for well over three years now. This was her fourth competition, and her third Trans Takeover (3/3 bby❤️‍🔥). The last four years have been hugely transformative, and watching her thrive within TSF has been so special. It’s such an honour to do this with you every year. 9/9, PBs across all lifts. Thank you for trusting us 🫶🏼

A huge thank you to and all of the team involved for hosting us yesterday. What an epic day ✨ Your work is so incredible.

Until next year 👀

08/01/2024

The Beginner Barbell Club is back for another year 😁😤

I love strength and powerlifting training. Making it accessible to those who are eager to try something new, improve their strength, build new skills and meet like-minded people is extremely meaningful to me.

I am hugely passionate in particular about removing the barriers that exist for women who want to get involved in gym-based training and strength sports.

If this sounds sounds like something for you, we’re kicking off again on February 5 🦋

You can learn more about the program, ask your questions and book your obligation-free trial via the link in my bio.

We’re ready 😁🪩❤️‍🔥

03/01/2024

TSF Open 2023: a homecoming❤️‍🔥🦋✨

2024 gonna be so sick.

28/12/2023

First day back on the competition floor and I can’t tell you how good this felt. Four lifters, 34/36 good lifts, great day 😁⚡️

Jessie had a pretty rough lead up to competition, with an overuse injury earlier in the year and I’m pretty sure I gave her COVID at my wedding three weeks out. I am so damn proud of her for not once suggesting withdrawing. She kept showing up, strength right down only days out from competition. Yesterday she pulled off an equal PB bench and after pulling sumo twice in her life before yesterday, we figured in the spirit of rolling the dice why not pull sumo? Turns out she’s really good at it. Fun day. I am so proud of her “just have a go/im here for fun attitude”. In just getting in there she’s got more competition experience under her belt, she’s becoming an increasingly grounded lifter, and we’ve set some cool bench marks for the year to come. I can’t wait to blow up her deadlift in 2024 😤

It was Julie-Anne’s first competition and she absolutely smoked it. We’ve done a number of testing days in our time working together and the step to a sanctioned competition was one hugely out of her comfort zone. Huge PB squat, PB deadlift, nine really well executed lifts and I’m just so proud of the way she carried herself. It did not look like her first time out there. Just warming up ✨

This was Jayde’s second competition, her first being the Trans Takeover last year. Jayde has had some pretty extended breaks from lifting this year while living out in regional Aus. Alas she’s continued lifting at whenever she’s in Melbourne and put up a brilliant 9/9 performance and equal PBs across the board with only a few weeks to prep. She’s backing it up with the Trans Takeover again next weekend and I just love how she’s thrown herself in to this sport and community 🫶🏼

Tally has been competing for years, but this was our first competition together as coach and lifter, and her second competition post-partum. 9/9 and PBs across the board ❤️‍🔥 Her 80kg bench was such a damn highlight and a total smoke show. Her training is flying and I am amped for it.

2024 gonna be huge ⚡️ It’s good to be home.

19/05/2023

Oftentimes we have people come in to the gym that have been training for 2-5 years or more. They have gym experience. When it comes time for them to perform fundamental movement patterns though, they really lack confidence in how to execute them, or what loads to use. This is absolutely no shade on them; it’s just a reflection of how services are commonly rendered in the fitness industry.

One of our fundamental values at TSF is cultivating independent lifters. Our service delivery is entirely reflective of this. We coach in such a way that we not only help people get stronger, but also to teach them the skills to be able to resistance train safely and effectively in any gym, without guidance, for as long as they see value in doing so.

In this article I unpack why we think developing autonomy is so important, and how we go about cultivating autonomy as coaches.

Oftentimes we have people come in to the gym that have been training for 2-5 years or more. They have gym experience. When it comes time for them to perform fundamental movement patterns though, they really lack confidence in how to execute them, or what loads to use. This is absolutely no shade on

24/04/2023

I received a message the other day about navigating training and travel — specifically, navigating less predictable training set ups and the psychology around the fear of losing gains. Yes yes, hugely luxe problems. But certainly problems that can plague us when we have passions that are largely at odds.

I love training, I love routine, I love consistency, I love being in control. But I also like everything that opposes that — having no idea what I’m doing tomorrow, what hour I’ll get in tonight (tomorrow morning?), where I’ll sleep tonight. I’m willing to trade off on gains in order to enjoy this side of my personality, but certainly I am constantly engaged with ongoing problem solving to give me the best possible enjoyment of both of my loves.

So I wrote about it obviously 🙃 In this article I talk about both the practical and the emotional aspects of training and long-term travel. I offer personal experience and practical advice on how to best manage training while also like, really letting your hair down 🧝🏼‍♀️💅🏽🫦

I received a message on Instagram the other day about navigating training and travel — specifically, navigating less predictable training set ups and the psychology around the fear of losing gains. Yes yes, hugely luxe problems. But certainly problems that can plague us when we have passions that ...

12/04/2023

I wrote this article four months ago and hugely ironically I have since felt like “who the hell do I think I am to share any of this” and so I am only sharing it now.

2022 marked my 10th year in the fitness industry.

I did my first bout of work experience in a local gym in 2008 and qualified as a personal trainer in 2012. I’ve ran bootcamps, I’ve worked in commercial gyms, I owned and operated a women’s only studio, I’ve worked in local government and I’ve been powerlifting for eight years. COVID forced me to grow my online business in order to keep TSF alive and now I’m in Spain (wtf).

It’s not been a smooth path. I left the industry entirely at one point, at another I was so wrecked with anxiety I was one click away from a career in horticulture. I’ve quit my job without a plan twice; quit another job with a very loose plan once more.

I’ve learned a lot over many career permutations and I love my work now more than ever. I’ve found my place in the industry, I do work that I love doing, I’ve drawn in a team that I love working with, I feel aligned and inspired.

Here’s a couple of lessons I had to learn to wind up here.

I completed my fitness certs in 2012. That’s 10 years ago. I remember back then reading the Fitness First personal trainer bios: “10 years industry experience” and thinking “man this guy is a veteran”. lol. My career has evolved a lot in that time. As I’ve chased curiosities and interest...

14/02/2023

Nerves and anxiety on competition day are entirely normal. Wanting to PB your total on the platform — also entirely normal. While heading in to a competition with big goals and dreams and plenty of nerves to accompany those are almost entirely universal experiences, our ability manage and channel those emotions vary a stack. It can be the difference between a stellar performance and sh****ng the bed.

I talk about competition day psychology with my team a lot. And while each lifter experiences competition day differently and comes to sporting competition with their own lived experiences, many of the challenges they experience are much the same. Many I have lived before too.

We all place pressure on ourselves, and this pressure can be double edged. Pressure makes diamonds. But pressure is also a cornerstone of feelings of failure and defeat, particularly when you have an average day.

Average days happen on average and so as level-headed athletes, we need to be prepared to navigate those.

Nerves and anxiety on competition day are entirely normal. Wanting to PB your total on the platform — also entirely normal. While heading in to a competition with big goals and dreams and plenty of nerves to accompany those are almost entirely universal experiences, our ability manage and channel ...

10/01/2023

When I’ve spoken about trade offs previously, and realistically when anyone in health and fitness talks about trade offs, they do so through the lens of achieving some sort of health/fitness goal. If you want to lose weight, you need to trade off some take out meals. If you want to get stronger, you need to pass on some time with friends to spend more time in the gym, etc etc.

I want to talk about trade offs through an alternate lens, as this is where I’m at in my life right now.

In order to pursue more leisure, more travel, more adventure, more experience — I need to be willing to trade off on some investment in to my other goals — my performance goals, career goals, financial goals.

I’m allowed to do this. I’m not lazy. I haven’t got my priorities out of whack. And neither are you when you prioritise experiences / family / fun over your training goals.

Trade offs need to be discussed more, particularly so at this time of year when we’re evaluating our lives, setting goals, making changes for the year ahead. Your time and energy is finite. In order to do more of something, you have to do less of something else. When I’ve spoken about trade offs...

13/11/2022

Trans People in Sport ❤️‍🔥

Today was one of the best days of my entire career. Allow me to share some context.

This guy in the first snap is Sam. He’s one of my best friends. I also have the privilege of coaching him. At the time that I met him he was my boss. I had no idea he was q***r nor trans. It wasn’t something he shared in his professional life.

In the years that have passed since then he’s become such a fierce leader in the q***r + gender diverse communities. I’ve watched on in awe as he has pushed his fears aside to step in to that role.

He has had and continues to have some pretty lofty dreams. Running a non-gendered powerlifting competition was one of them. Trans policies in our sport fu***ng suck. They are wildly exclusive. He saw a need and took that responsibility on himself.

I had one opportunity today to stand back and just watch. I cried immediately. This community is so strong and fierce and supportive and loud and fu***ng damn it makes you feel something to be part of that. I’m so proud of my small contribution in making this happen. I am in total awe of Sam for his vision, passion and tireless work ethic creating the whole damn thing.

Today was total fu***ng magic. I am so proud of Sam. He’s an elite human. I’m honoured to work with him. I’m in awe of him. And I love him to the end of the earth.

I also had the honour of coaching three incredible humans today. Three 9/9 performances, many PBs, many moving moments, big emotions. One of them said to me “this is the first sporting event I’ve ever been a part of”. Goddamn 🤝🏽

What a fu***ng day. 💫

I love powerlifting. And I love the passion and ferocity of this community 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️❤️‍🔥

17/10/2022

At our most recent TSF comp five of our six female lifters weighed in right in the middle of two weight classes; not overly close to either. It was a huge point of pride to me.

Talk to someone about the idea of competing in powerlifting and one of their very first questions is almost always along the lines of “in which weight class?” And that’s assuming they haven’t already quietly researched the weight classes, decided themselves, and have begun preparations to make it in to that class whenever the time may come.

In so many ways we can do ourselves a huge disservice marrying ourselves to a weight class, particularly early in our lifting careers. Of most interest to me though + the point I want to make is this:

So often we as women, take this epic athletic pursuit, this expression of our hard work, our strength, our athleticism, our identity, our femininity and once again, we make it about our bodyweight.

We are given, or we take this epic opportunity to express ourselves; the parts of us that we are so proud of, and we minimise ourselves back in to the box of what we weigh.

So if you’re thinking about powerlifting, if you want to do your first competition, let me tell you this:

When you get on the powerlifting platform, so few people will pay any attention to your body weight on the day.

What they will notice though is your strength, your sportsmanship and how much fun you have.

Having a team of women get on to the powerlifting competition platform with no fu***ng regard for their weight class. That was a career highlight. Immortalising it here.

05/10/2022

It’s no secret that I’ve felt extremely unenthused about my training for most of this year. It’s not the first time. It will almost certainly pass.

Assuming that it will, I don’t want to kill all momentum by stopping training altogether.

And motivation aside, I still derive a heap of benefit from showing up a few days a week.

Of course lacklustre training and periods of low motivation are far from uncommon. My team are often confronted with low motivation and have to drag their ass for a bit to keep going.

I’ve learned a couple of things about persevering when I don’t really want to. Shared them here.

I’ll be the first person to tell you that my love for lifting has been tested at times; that showing up has gotten hard, many times over. But even so, I have consistently resistance trained for over ten years now. A few breaks for travel, but otherwise 3-4 days per week for the last ten years. I.....