A 9-year-old deadlifting 180 pounds will get people talking. For Lucy Milgrim, it also brought millions of views.
The New York girl has gone viral after an Instagram video showed her lifting 180 pounds at the Arnold Sports Festival in Columbus, Ohio. In the clip, Milgrim wears bright pink and blue shoes and a custom powerlifting belt as she deadlifts the weight with AC/DC’s “Thunderstruck” playing in the background.
After lifting the bar to her waist, she drops it, smiles at the crowd, flexes her muscles and gives her father and coach, Brett Milgrim, a high-five.
Brett Milgrim said the lift was impressive, but not something she will try to top again soon.
“It was a cool thing to do, but in terms of when she’s going to attempt a big number like that again, not for a long time,” he said.
The video has more than 3 million views on Instagram.
In many ways, Milgrim’s life looks like that of other 9-year-old girls. She likes spending time with friends, making arts and crafts and studying math at school. She also competes in wrestling, powerlifting, boxing and jiu-jitsu.
Milgrim told USA TODAY that she has squatted 150 pounds and bench pressed 85 pounds. Her mother, Michelle Milgrim, told USA TODAY that during her first year of powerlifting, Lucy set three American Records through USA Powerlifting.
Brett Milgrim told USA TODAY his daughter has always been unusually strong.
“People see these numbers, and they say, ‘Wow, she must be training really hard to get that number.’ The truth is, she just has a different baseline than most kids,” Brett told USA TODAY. “Lucy’s always been this really naturally strong kid.”
Milgrim said she has wrestled competitively for three years. She said she became interested after watching her parents work out and after going with her father and brother to wrestling practices.
“My mom and dad; they were working out in the gym, and I saw them doing all this cool stuff, and I wanted to try it too,” Milgrim said. “I got interested in wrestling because my dad (is) a wrestling coach and he used to bring me and my brother to wrestling practices.”
She said she goes to wrestling practice four or five days a week and trains in the family’s home gym once a week, usually on Sundays. One of her wrestling coaches is Vougar Oroudjov, who won the bronze medal for light-flyweight wrestling at the 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.
Milgrim said her favorite part of wrestling is being with friends and winning.
“My favorite part of wrestling is when you get to hang out with all your friends, and when you win the match, you get your hand raised,” Milgrim said.
When it comes to powerlifting, she said her favorite part is hitting a “really big weight.”
At home, Brett Milgrim said he focuses on teaching skill rather than testing how much weight his daughter can move.
“We don’t really chase numbers,” Brett said. “What I’m really looking for when I’m having Lucy … workout with is … for (her) to maintain postural control throughout a movement that can be repeated, so not something that can be done once for an impressive number.”
He said only about one-third of her training includes lifting weights. Most of it is calisthenics, including hang cleans, box jumps, one-legged jumps, push-ups and sit-ups.
“When she did the 180 (-pound deadlift), there’s obvious amount of strain to perform the lift, but what I was most impressed about was that she maintained postural control and technique throughout the movement,” Brett said.
Questions about youth strength training often follow videos like Milgrim’s. According to an American Academy of Pediatrics report published in 2020 and reaffirmed in 2024, children who take part in resistance training are likely to see improvements in health, fitness, rehabilitation of injuries, injury reduction and physical literacy. The report says injury rates are low when proper technique is well supervised.
The report also says overtraining, including prolonged heavy loads or too little recovery time between sessions, has been tied to increased injuries and illness in children. The AAP recommends one to two days of rest per week from training. It also says adequate caloric and fluid intake is important for a healthy body and mind.
The Mayo Clinic says non-weighted strength training can be part of a children’s fitness plan from age 7 or 8. Organizations including the AAP and Mayo Clinic recommend medical consultation before a child begins resistance training.
Michelle Milgrim told USA TODAY her daughter sees a pediatrician every year and works regularly with a physical therapist.
Lucy Milgrim’s Instagram account, managed by her mother, had 174,000 followers as of March 19. Brett Milgrim said Lucy does not track that side of it.
“She doesn’t look at comments. She doesn’t know amounts of followers or views or any of that. She’s a 9-year-old girl. She does 9-year-old girl things,” Brett added. “She’ll go to wrestling practices, and she’ll come home and put on a dress and … play with her little sister.”
