{"id":37528,"date":"2025-02-23T20:59:10","date_gmt":"2025-02-23T18:59:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/?p=37528"},"modified":"2025-02-23T20:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-23T18:59:10","slug":"the-next-chapter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/getitmagazine.co.za\/ballito-umhlanga\/blog\/2025\/02\/23\/the-next-chapter\/","title":{"rendered":"The next chapter"},"content":{"rendered":"

Champion powerlifter, strength and performance coach\u2026 and mom-to-be \u2013 Lil Bianchi is excited to be stepping into a new season.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When we arrived at Lil\u2019s beautiful Umhlanga home, we expected to meet a powerhouse. What we didn\u2019t expect was to leave feeling like we\u2019d caught up with an old friend. Warm, down-to-earth, and refreshingly candid, Lil is proof that strength is about so much more than lifting heavy weights. It’s about cultivating mental resilience, embracing challenges and pushing through the limits we set for ourselves.
\nBorn in Rustenburg, Lil spent time in Hilton and Cape Town before settling in Umhlanga in 2009. “I don’t think I can live anywhere else in the world. I love that we’re in a small town in a big city,” she says.
\nLil discovered powerlifting by accident. She started her career in hospitality, following in her parents\u2019 footsteps, but the demanding industry led her down a path of unhealthy habits. “I came from a lot of bad decisions and bad habits, and I knew that I needed to turn my life around. I was active and involved in sports when I was at school. I played hockey and athletics provincially, and I knew I needed to turn my life around through sport.”
\nAt the gym, she found herself drawn to strength training. “I became so obsessive over human performance and what the body was able to do.” One day, a man watching her train encouraged her to enter a powerlifting competition. “I had no idea what I was doing, but I thought, why not?” That moment changed everything.<\/p>\n