Franciscan Health Advanced Practice Nurse Motivates Patients With Powerlifting In Indianapolis

INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana - Robin Eads is a firm believer in "practicing what you preach."

Eads, who has worked at Franciscan for 32 years, 16 of those as an Advanced Practice Nurse, encourages her patients at the Franciscan Healthy Living Center to adopt practices that lead to improvements in their health. 

In her own life, Eads was looking to build muscle, decrease fat, and improve her overall health. The sport of powerlifting just happened to check all the boxes to accomplish these goals and she now has a new hobby and passion.

Eads, 52 of Indianapolis, recently competed in the Circle City Open, a powerlifting event sanctioned by Powerlifting United and finished first in her age and weight class. She also set state records in her age and weight class for three lifts - squat, bench press, and deadlift. 

"The night before I weighed in, my daughter asked me if I was excited," said Eads. "I told her yes, but I was scared to fail. Then, I thought to myself, even if I missed all of my lifts, I would still have achieved something I had never done before."

At the Circle City Open, Eads successfully lifted a combined total of 771 lbs. She registered her first DOTS score that day as well, which is a scoring method used to compare lifters across weight classes and genders in relation to body weight and total weight lifted. Eads' DOTS score qualified her to compete at the national level in July in New Jersey.

In preparation for the Circle City Open, Eads worked out four to five days a week, beginning last December. She made sure to eat plenty of protein, get good sleep - seven to eight hours a night - and stay well hydrated. 

"Powerlifting is about goal setting then achieving those goals," said Eads. "It is nice to be able to increase the weight on the bar. Each day that I go to the gym, I know I get to accomplish something and it improves my mood. I have never heard anyone say, 'I wish I didn’t workout.'"

Eads, who has a doctoral degree in nursing, primarily works with patients who are cancer survivors and/or with chronic disease to reduce their risk of cancer recurrence and/or symptoms of disease. She firmly believes that aspects from her profession directly apply to being successful in powerlifting and vice versa.

"At Franciscan, we work a lot with process improvement to provide the best care to our patients," said Eads. "That is what I do with how I implement my practices with powerlifting. I have to focus on multiple things such as my diet, training, and recovery to improve. I have a training program that I follow. I am constantly evaluating, adjusting and improving. I try to keep it simple and work hard."

Eads is a big proponent of being transparent with her patients, many of whom now know of her new powerlifting hobby. One patient even attended the Circle City Open to cheer her on.

"I hope to inspire or influence others to make positive changes to their health," said Eads. "Powerlifting in just one way to do it. I truly believe we must lead by example. With that said, none of us are perfect. Therefore, we wake up each day thankful for what we have then try to do our best with it."

The Franciscan Healthy Living Center is located at 8111 South Emerson Ave., Suite 150 in Indianapolis.