Brittany Schlater

Brittany Schlater competed four times at Canada Powerlifting Nationals 2026, winning the 84kg+ open division in classic & equipped powerlifting and classic & equipped bench only. She’s competed at a lot of high level competitions over the last few years, and now has her eyes set on the Open Classic World Championship in June, with the goal of earning her fourth World Title.

290kg single. +2.5kg on the world record, 2kg gym PR. I was unsure whether or not I would share this. I walked away from the gym pretty discouraged. I sat with it for a while, and I think it’s important to share. I hold myself to a really high standard of executing lifts both in the gym and on the platform. My coach holds me to an even higher standard. We celebrated the wins from this lift: it moved decently well despite accumulated fatigue, grip held (GRIP HELD 🥲), and we are making big progress on my weakness. I also got the tough message that this lift wasn’t to standard. “But I have to be very picky and am going to hold you to an incredibly high standard because I care about your success.” If your coach isn’t holding you to this standard, invest in one who will. Constructive criticism can be a tough pill to swallow. It’s okay for it to sting. But being coachable means being able to hear it anyways and make the required changes. I have one more heavy pull this block (paused) and I’ll be damn sure to not make the same mistakes. @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

It seems the fear may never go away—but every time I face it, I prove to myself that I can do it, even if I tremble. 305kg. 5kg squat PR. Followed by a 270kg triple. The goal at the beginning of the block was 300+. This was not the block we wanted, but the block we got. I missed over a week of training due to a rib injury. I am incredibly proud of my resilience and ability to turn it around. A few more training days to wrap up the block this week. Seems like the new training protocol might be shaping up nicely eh, @bryce_cbb ? Thankful to my crew for the confidence. I wouldn’t have pushed to this territory without each of you by my side. @luke_homer_ @kam__hughes @keaton.sch @brendan__wood @c_jar15 And the whole @total.s.c crew for cheering me on. Thank you. 6 weeks out! @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

Redemption. 280 slipped on Tuesday. I decided to turn the week around and continue to trust the process. Loaded it again today for a paused deadlift PR match. This time, it was mine. I was scared because I knew I couldn’t mentally afford to have this weight slip again. I did it scared. Confidence, trust, and fear can all coexist. Really happy with this single. One more week to the block. Excited to carry this momentum forward. @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

I will never take for granted a good training day. I will also never take for granted turning a rough start of the week into a really good end of the week. SSB is still incredibly challenging, but I am getting way better and more confident with this lift. I never dreamed of casually taking a 270 single with one spotter. Heck, I don’t even do this on comp squat day! Super proud of how well this moved for being 5kg off my best single. One week left in the block, too! SSB never seems to get the respect it deserves, but I will always be proud of how far I’ve come on these. Bench was boogeying today, too! Super stoked with where I am at this point in the block. 🙂 A little less than 6.5 weeks out and still having fun. We love that. @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

Hello, grip slip, my old friend. Today was a really off day for grip strength. This is the kind of thing that has made me freak out in the past. Those old feelings tried to crop up today, but keeping them at bay is getting a bit easier. 280 at Nationals flew and grip was rock solid. We are doing everything we can to try to push beyond this barrier. Unfortunately, sometimes that means being set back a bit in training and continuing to trust the process. Walking blindly into Worlds when it comes to grip strength is really challenging. Continuing to believe in myself and trust that the work I’m doing will get me where I need to be. It isn’t easy, but I have no other options. Secondly, a small win: not letting a rough start dictate the rest of my lift. I collected a couple of PRs for bench and squat. I continued to push, continued to work. Even when I felt discouraged. Forward is the only way. 7 weeks out. @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

What a beautiful thing it is to be part of something so much bigger than yourself. I’m exhausted after a few days of helping some of my best friends put on their first meet. It was so well thought through and a gorgeous experience. A lot of really cool full circle moments happened. I got to meet someone I had spoken to online when he first moved to Canada from Dubai. A name I never knew I would get to put a face to. I got to shake the hand of a man I had never met before that has been relentlessly in my corner for no reason. I got to look him in the eyes and thank him for showing up for me constantly, despite having never met. I got to coach two incredible athletes— one being my 14 year old, one being a pal I met as a fanboy a few short years ago. We secured beautiful days and collected some PRs across every lift. I got to watch my little bro finally reach his goal of a 600 pound deadlift. I got to watch pals return to the platform after injuries, pregnancies, hiatuses. I watched them achieve goals, qualifying totals, PRs. I got to watch an entire small-town community come together to put on an incredible event for athletes and spectators alike. I drive 35 minutes one way day after day each week to be a part of this small-town community. They welcomed me with open arms and I will continue to pour into them the way they pour into me. We are better together. We are a team. We are @total.s.c @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of my first powerlifting meet. Here are 10 lessons I’ve learned in the last decade. 1. Failure is inevitable. When pushing yourself and testing your limits, you are bound to fail at some point. This is not the end of the world, even when it feels like it. 2. You will find family through the sport. Never take this for granted. There will also be people you’ve never met who are relentlessly in your corner. Love them too. 3. People can be terrible—both within powerlifting and outside of it. You will need to pick yourself up a million times. You’ll also have to rely on other people to pick you up sometimes. That is okay—you are not a burden. 4. Your strength knows no limits. Being self-limiting is one of the most detrimental things you can do to your progress. Raise the ceiling, achieve your goal, and raise it again. 5. Your mental health drastically impacts your performance. It’s okay to “take powerlifting seriously enough” to talk about it in therapy. In fact, it’s one of the best decisions you can make. 6. You have a voice that people will listen to whether you want it or not. As I grew in the sport, I hated that my voice had influence. I made a conscious decision to use it productively. 7. You will have to make incredibly difficult decisions along the way. Trust your gut. Firing a coach, hiring a coach, switching gyms, pulling out of a meet, taking a step back, etc. You know what is best for you, even when it’s hard. 8. Balance is important, but you will have to make sacrifices. Training, meal prep, recovery, traveling for meets—it’s not convenient. You have to make it work. Missing events, sitting activities out, being away from my family, leaving early. These things aren’t easy, but you find a way when it leads to where you want to be. 9. You will grow into a better person, not just a better athlete. Powerlifting challenges so many aspects of your life and will change you as a person if you let it. Let it. 10. You are more than just an “athlete”. Do not wrap your entire worth in one hat you wear when you have so many. Those who matter will love you regardless of whether or not you continue sport. @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

I always get told that I look so calm and confident when I’m on the platform. The truth is quite the opposite. I am so nervous and anxious—thoughts racing a million miles a minute. Before every squat, I take a moment to talk myself through what to expect. The calm demeanour starts with controlled breathing. By trying to calm my body, I begin to calm my mind some. The mind is a powerful place. It doesn’t matter what weight is on the bar—respect it, treat it with intention, and approach with full belief in yourself. One second of doubt can be the difference between making or missing a lift. My third squat at Nationals wasn’t a PR. But I prepared myself exactly the same way I did when I was squatting a PR. When keeping so many factors the same, your routine begins to feel like a safe place. Everything is familiar. It creates more trust in the body/mind connection. For me, creating a calm facade is absolutely key. Although it’s not what is actually happening, it has become crucial to my squat routine—in both training and on the platforms. (Bonus points for having homies show up to spot your session. Feels a little more like home. 🥰) @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

Excited to push triples this block. Best triple for squat is 265. Best bench triple is 150. Excited to see how much we can add to that squat triple. And if we can equal or chip the bench. Thoughts where we’ll end up? 😈 Training has been feeling goooood in the brain. 9 weeks out! @sbdapparel @sbdcanada

A few weeks ago, I won my 7th Canadian National title. The total I walked away with isn’t representative of my capabilities, but for competing four times in one week and having as much fun as I did, it’s hard to be mad at that. It’s easy to forget how recently breaking the 700kg barrier was a massive goal of mine. Now I’ve done it 9 times. Now I do it on a “bad” day after exhausting myself for a week. Time to go north of here. Ticket to Lithuania is punched. Go time. 9.5 weeks out. @sbdcanada @sbdapparel

How to remove your SBD powerlifting knee sleeves in 2 simple steps: 1. Roll down the top and fold over. 2. Watch video for my secret Enjoy your freedom! (PS: I am so sorry to everyone who has been personally victimized by my knee sleeves…) @sbdcanada @sbdapparel