A McDonald’s worker has been crowned one of Britain’s strongest women after bulking up on burgers and McFlurrys.
Mum-of-three Maria Krzensinska, 40, flips patties at work and in her spare time lifts cars and pulls lorries.
She has become a celebrity at her branch and says the McDonald’s menu has formed an important part of her protein-rich diet.
Maria said: “I don’t have to keep to a strict diet which is handy because I absolutely love cake and ice-cream.
“I eat as much protein as I can.
“At work there’s obviously plenty of food, so I often have a Big Tasty with bacon, chicken breast strips, a McFlurry and a milk shake.
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“It even helps at work when unloading deliveries, some men sit back and let me do the hard work.”
Maria is aiming to compete in the World’s Strongest Woman event in the US and trains four days a week for between one and three hours.
The heaviest item she has lifted was a 1.3 ton Renault Clio, clinching her another title, and has also pulled a nine-ton lorry and a Land Rover.
During competitions, the 5ft 8in mum will tip over huge hay bales, lift 45kg logs and 130kg weights.
Maria, who works in Kidderminster, Worcs, only started training in 2018 but was taking part in
contests by the following year.
She is Britain’s and England’s strongest woman in the 40 and over category.
Maria, from Dudley, West Mids, said: “I started boxing but injured my knee and doctors said I needed to rebuild the muscle which got me into power-lifting.
“I found it a bit rigid and repetitive so I went to a strong man event and had a go tipping over hay bales.
“People were amazed when I managed to tip a couple over and urged me to take it up properly.
“I train in my garden and the gym. It takes a lot of hard work but I enjoy it so much, there’s no end of things to lift and carry.
“At home if something heavy needs lifting such as the washing machine to fix it, I can quite easily lift it out and plumb it back in.
“I’ll be competing in the World’s Strongest Woman in November but I need a bit of help to get there.
“Although my hard work, blood, sweat and tears has earned me a place, it is a self-funded sport and I have no sponsorship.”
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