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Published: Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009 / Updated: Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2009 04:36 PM

Fort Mill lifter keeps raising the bar in competition

WORTH THE WEIGHT: Clary setting records

For Maureen Clary, it all started with a trip to the local grocery store.

The bag boys would look at her and ask in amazement how much she could bench press. The truth is, she did not know and had never tried it herself, but she was curious enough to find out and that's how her training began.

The results she got on her first attempt were good enough that her husband Bill encouraged her to enter a bench press competition in Charlotte a few days later. She doesn't recall exactly how much she benched that first time, but now she can lift in excess of 230 pounds - nearly 100 pounds more than her body weight.

"I have always been passionate about working out," Clary, 52, said. "I like being healthy and fit. Working out has positive connotations to me. I like having control over how my body looks and I like associating with people who work out."

Clary, who has fond memories of working out with her mom as a child, was drawn to the GNC Body for Life Challenge and entered an event in 2005. She ended up winning the competition on her first try and won the grand prize - a trip to Hawaii. Bill and Maureen spent that summer on the beaches of Honolulu and she became hooked on her workout regimen.

She enjoys the competitive aspect of working out and keeping herself in top physical shape. Meeting people who share the same goals only fuels her fire to continue training.

Clary has been winning challenges and setting records along the way. In fact, just last year, she set three open records and two masters records sanctioned by four different weight lifting and bodybuilding organizations. Clary competes in bodybuilding and bikini-figure competitions with the help of her husband and Zeke Samples, her trainer and owner of Surreal Body Solutions in Fort Mill.

"Her physical and mental drive is what separates her from her competitors," Samples said. "She also is dedicated to nutrition, and we have been working on that."

Clary holds records in competitions held by United States of America Power Lifting, Iron Body Power Lifting, The American Power Lifting Federation and The National Physique Committee.

For the USAPL, Clary won the 165-pound division for her age group with a bench press of 165 pounds on March 15, 2008, and on Aug. 30, she won the 148-pound division with a lift of 170.8 pounds. Also, she is the third alternate for the 2009 International Power Lifting Federation open team. The IPF is the pro division of the USAPF.

In the IBP, Clary won the 148-pound division open and masters titles with a lift of 170 pounds in May. In October, she won the open and masters divisions with a bench press of 215 pounds. Clary, who keeps getting stronger, is the top-ranked masters woman champion in the 148-pound division.

Clary also competes in the APF and the NPC, and has had great success in those leagues as well. One of her goals this year is to bench press over 300 pounds, although she has not yet set her schedule for which events she will enter.

"I am inspired to push myself today because I want to improve my personal best at each competition I do. Then in turn inspire others," Clary said.

Samples also competed nationally in the NPC, winning a national championship along the way, and helps guide her career. The two train twice a week and work on two or three body parts in each session.

"I was lucky enough to find Zeke Samples, whom I have been training with for over a year now," Clary said.

Samples feels the same way about her.

"Her passion for a healthy lifestyle drives her," Samples said.

Maureen also credits Bill, a former powerlifter and college and semipro baseball player, for helping her find success. Bill Clary led the Charlotte Kings, a semipro baseball team, to three Roy Hobbs World Series state titles as a player/coach. Bill is now a full-time manager for Maureen.

"I could not have done this without him; I am very fortunate," Clary said about her husband.

Celia Thompson, a Fort Mill native who is now a Checkmate - the nickname for the Charlotte Checkers cheerleaders - helped push Clary into the bikini competitions. Now Clarey competes with women half her age in most of those, but has done well enough that she plans to enter more.

She also plans to continue bodybuilding. She is proud of what she has accomplished so far, but is not satisfied.

"I love learning and experiencing new challenges, but as important as any one thing it means for me, it sets a good example for my children," Clary said.