Polsinelli Associate Ashley Gleckler qualified for the United States Powerlifting Association’s (USPA) National competition and the International Powerlifting League’s World’s competition at the recent USPA Imperial Valley Open in California. The 5’5” Gleckler successfully squatted 319.7 pounds (1.96 times bodyweight) and deadlifted 380.1 pounds (2.33 times bodyweight), for a total of 832.2 pounds, including her bench press.
“It means a lot to me to represent Arizona and raise visibility for females in powerlifting,” Ashley Gleckler said. “I hope that I can show other females that extreme strength sports like this are empowering and stress relieving, and not just for men. The strength from this sport goes beyond the sport itself – it makes a person feel stronger both physically and mentally in so many other aspects of life.”
A corporate and transaction attorney by day at Polsinelli, Gleckler works with clients guiding them through all phases of the business cycle and provides ongoing advice and counsel on day-to-day operational, business and legal issues. She prides herself in finding solutions to business challenges in ways that require out-of-the-box thinking and innovation. “I enjoy practicing business law because it requires looking at opportunities and problems in new ways,” said Gleckler.
When asked how she came to combine the practice of law with powerlifting, Gleckler said she was attracted to the sport in law school after attending a Powerlifting Club meeting at the University of Iowa. Gleckler says that powerlifting is a physically exerting sport that provides a great way to decompress after a day of researching, drafting, reading contracts and negotiating.
Gleckler utilizes her powerlifting to help raise money for charitable causes. She competed this past November at the Relentless Detroit Powerlifting competition in Michigan, a meet which raised $141,000 for families of children with life threatening illnesses.
Within the span of only two and a half short years, Gleckler is already on her way toward an elite-level powerlifting total. “I find the human body, and what it can do, to be amazing. Whether someone is an Olympic lifter, a strongman competitor, a triathlete, or something else, watching what a body can achieve is incredible.”
