Pro female athlete Hannah Johnson talks diet and nutrition

Vitargo athlete Hannah Johnson is an aircraft rescue firefighter and a pro level powerlifter. She started competing in powerlifting in 2006, with best lifts of a 450lb squat, 325lb bench press and 480lb deadlift. Her 1200lb total at 146lb bodyweight put her on the Top 20 All-Time Best 148lb powerlifting women in the world.

She has also competed in the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge, as seen on ESPN, which pits firefighters from around the world against each other in a series of physically challenging firefighting tasks, including climbing, hoisting and rescuing, while in full gear.  Hannah reached a high ranking of 3rd in the World in Female Individual and 2nd in the World with her Female Tandem partner.

Add in her passion for cooking and writing recipes, and Hannah is a great resource for diet and training insights. In addition to these, Insider talked to Hannah about the state of female sports nutrition as well as considerations for female athletes wanting to use social media for attention and connections.

INSIDER: Do you wish more sports nutrition products were designed specifically for female athletes/active consumers?

Johnson: I don't think the problem is necessarily that products aren't specifically designed towards women; the problem is the way they're marketed towards women. Just look at the "pink epidemic." You can put the same product that a man uses in pink packaging, use attractive words that appeal to a woman's femininity and sexuality, and then charge twice as much for it. I have a huge problem with that. As a society, we still have more steps to take in celebrating women's bodies and all that they can do. Women's body goals shouldn't be to become "beautiful", "perfect" or "sexy". We need to change that narrative.

For the entire interview, check out the digital magazine, "Female Strong: Women’s mark on sports nutrition.”