Wayne State University School of Medicine student and nationally-ranked weightlifter Beki Schultz must manage her time between hitting the mat and hitting the books. And she wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Schultz, a member of the Warrior M.D. Class of 2024, started weightlifting competitively only two years ago. She quickly rose through the ranks in her age and weight category, placing fourth overall at the USA Weightlifting National Under 25 competition June 30 at TCF Center in Detroit.

Weightlifting consists of two events – the Snatch, and the Clean and Jerk. In competition, each athlete is permitted three attempts in each lift. The highest weights successfully lifted by each athlete in each event comprise the athlete’s total. The athlete with the highest total is the overall winner of the competition. Schultz lifted 72 kilograms in the Snatch, placing fifth the event, and 93 kilograms in the Clean and Jerk, placing third. She competed against more than 30 other women in her category.

Schultz trains seven days week, including two to three hours of lifting five days a week, plus stretching and recovery every day.

“It keeps me sane,” she laughed. “What I like about it is I have a routine that definitely offers me a break and helps me with time management.”

Schultz grew up in Marine City, Mich., where she was a competitive club volleyball player throughout her teen years. She joined a gym specialized in CrossFit-style training while pursuing her bachelor’s degree in Nutrition and Food Science from Wayne State. A coach there encouraged her to join the weightlifting competition circuit. She competed for the first time in 2019, during her last year as an undergrad.

“I loved it, and I’ve been doing it ever since,” she said.

She has also competed at the state championships in Port Huron. Coming up, she is registered to compete at a statewide meet the first week of October, and at the 2022  American Open at The Arnold in Columbus, Ohio.

“The beauty of the sport is you can compete with yourself,” she said. “I’ll continue until it’s not fun anymore.”