Thirteen-year-old twins Bella and Emma Schreiber are not shy about saying they are often stronger than ‘the boys.’ They’re referring to their involvement with the Kirkwood Weightlifting Club, which they joined at Nipher Middle School at the beginning of the school year. Athletic from a young age, the two have always enjoyed working out. When they heard about some of their friends lifting weights after school, they decided to try it and have gone to every practice since. Unlike the handful of other girls who showed up to a few practices, Bella and Emma say they don’t “just giggle and laugh,” but take it very seriously. “Emma and I are the only girls who go to every practice,” Bella notes.
Training at school with the weightlifting club prepares them for meets where they compete against students their own age. “We have three chances to lift our best, and at each lifting station, judges make sure we do the lift properly and succeed at our weight,” Emma explains. They hope to start attending more competitions outside of what is offered through the school.
Even as seventh-graders, the girls know what they want and have set ambitious goals for the future. “We want to be professional athletes,” says Bella. “Everything we’re doing now is helping us become quicker, faster, stronger and more powerful. We have a great support system at BARx and at school, which builds up our confidence.” Perhaps the greatest support, however, is what the two give each other. “We do everything together,” Bella says. “We’re very competitive with each other, but that just motivates us to be better.” Emma says because of her sister’s motivation and confidence in her, she was able to increase her weight for the clean and jerk by 10 pounds. “I was always at 70 pounds, but Bella pushed me to be stronger, so I beat my goal and got to 80,” she says.
Bella also achieved a personal goal of 90 pounds for her clean and jerk in her first season. “Our coach always reminds us, though, that it’s not about how much you lift but how well you do it,” she says. They both view lifting as something that will help them achieve what they hope to accomplish down the road. “I want to be a professional basketball player, and I’m stronger than a lot of other people because of lifting,” Bella says. Not surprising, Emma hopes for the same. “I’d love to play in the WNBA, and I want to keep doing CrossFit and lifting. I think the CrossFit competitions are so interesting to watch,” she says. And, they point out, if nothing else, lifting comes in handy anytime something heavy needs to be moved. Bella says, “We know how to do it without hurting ourselves!”
the routine
We started doing CrossFit varsity classes at BARx CrossFit in Kirkwood last year, and now we go four times a week. As members of the Kirkwood Weightlifting Club, we lift with our coaches at school three to four times a week. We’ve both played basketball since we were little and currently play year-round for the Lady Eagles, a select AAU team. That involves practices two times a week, one to three games a weekend, and extra skill training with a trainer twice a week.
Pictured: Emma and Bella Schreiber
Photo: Bill Barrett