BERWICK, Pa. — Inside the Rocky Boxing Club Gym in Berwick, Teresa Troiani is doing some warm-up lifting exercises, something she does four days a week. 

Troiani is a Berwick native; she serves on borough council and works full time as a nurse. When she’s not doing both of those, she’s competing in strongman competitions. Troiani says she began her weightlifting journey right before the COVID-19 pandemic began.



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“My dad got really sick with cancer, and I saw the importance of having muscle mass and longevity. I started a basic lifting program, and through that I found a strongman competition online and it kind of just took off from there,” said Teresa Troiani.

Troiani says a lot goes into preparing for a competition, including lifting weights off the floor, adding that your lower back strength is really important.

“Never in my wildest dreams did I think that I would pull a 15-ton truck for 50 feet, but you don’t know what you can do until you test your body to do these things, so 15-ton truck for 50 feet, I watch the video all the time, and I still can’t believe I did it,” said Troiani. 

Troiani just arrived home last week after competing during the first weekend in August in lifting 733-pound Dinnie stones in Scotland. She has become one of only 22 women in history to ever achieve it.

“Up until two weeks before I went to Scotland, I hadn’t lifted the total Dinnie weight, so I was very nervous. I got to 675, plus the weight of the pins, so I never pulled the actual Dinnie weight before I left, so I was very apprehensive about going into that lift, but I think the adrenaline, the crowd cheering, just really gives you what you need to reach 733,” said Troiani. 

Troiani says she’s not stopping here; she has more competitions coming up. A masters competition in Virginia, an Oktoberfest competition doing Bavarian-style lifting in upstate New York, and then Norway next summer to compete in the World’s Strongest Stone Lifter.

“I think women wildly underestimate their strength. These are the same women that are carrying their groceries plus a baby on their hip, doing all these huge feats, but they don’t think they’re strong enough to do this. I think as a woman,  it’s so important for bone health, for longevity, to stay strong as we age,” said Troiani. 

Troiani says getting older doesn’t mean life ends. This journey just started for her, and she’s excited to see what’s next.