Jennifer Evans knows all about heavy lifting.

A respected author, scholar, Carleton University history professor, graduate adviser—she’s all that.

But in early March, just before the coronavirus pandemic hit Canada and shut everything down, Evans also nabbed masters class gold and bronze medals at Winnipeg’s National Powerlifting Championships, earning her a spot on Canada’s powerlifting team for the world championships.

The May 2020 Worlds in the Czech Republic got postponed, of course, and an upcoming North American championship in October, in Puerto Rico, is also up in the air. So like thousands of athletes around the world, Evans is at home, trying to stay in competition shape with no competition in sight.

“A lot of the smaller gyms like mine rented out equipment to their members, so I actually have a squat rack and I built a weightlifting platform in my basement,” she said.

“With powerlifting, it’s not about machines. It’s back-to basics barbells and weights, so I just train at home.”