12-year-old Stephanie Cochran follows father into powerlifting

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, April 5, 2018

CHATSWORTH — Through his teenage years, Travis Cochran of Chatsworth watched his father compete in and win powerlifting events, which made him want to pursue the sport.

Now 31 and still lifting, he watches his 12-year-old daughter Stephanie enjoy the same passion for the sport he grew up with.

“I love watching her,” Travis Cochran said. “She’s watching me like I watched my daddy. She’s super strong for her age.”

The father-daughter duo will compete at the Grit House Classic at the Grit House gym on Saturday in Cleveland, Tenn. The event, put on by the Southern Powerlifting Federation, will be Stephanie’s first and Travis Cochran’s first since injuring his back while working with the family’s logging company.

He’s been out for the past six years following the injury, but with the help of the newly-opened and family-friendly Workout Anytime gym near their house, he was able to get his strength back up and help Stephanie build hers.

“I was out for several years,” Cochran said. “When this 24/7 gym opened, with their help and equipment I was able to get back to where I was at benching over 500 pounds.”

With the help of a protein packed diet and high-weight, low-rep training, Stephanie holds her own with a max bench press of about 195 pounds, Travis Cochran said.

“I can outdo most of the high school boys that come in here,” Stephanie said.

Stephanie, a homeschooled seventh-grader who’s been lifting for nearly a year, isn’t your typical 12-year old girl. She finds herself rather busy during the week.

After school she goes straight to the gym to work out for two to three hours, six days a week with her father, cycling through various lifts. From there she goes to softball practice with the Dalton rec team three days a week.

Despite Saturday being her first time competing, Stephanie isn’t the least bit nervous. Competing in the teen girls division (ages 13-15), she’s excited and feels well prepared to showcase her strength in a sport that runs in the Cochran family genes and has now become something the two of share a passion for.

“I’ve always wanted to do it,” Stephanie said. “I’ve watched my daddy do it. I’ve watched other girls in here and wanted to try it.”

The two will be focusing solely on the bench press portion of the competition with hopes of qualifying for nationals in mid-June.

“I just wanna go up there and do our best,” Cochran said. “Hopefully we place. If we place we qualify for the nationals up in Gatlinburg (Tenn.).”