For most people, going to the gym is just another way to keep their bodies healthy.

But for local weightlifter Katy Rose, it's a challenge with a lifelong goal - competing in the Arnold Schwarzenegger Sports Festival.

"I learned the Olympic weightlifting movements when I was about 10 or 11," said Rose. "Got into competitive CrossFit my first two years of college, and then my junior year kind of made the switch to Olympic weightlifting. I am a weightlifter by night and teacher today."

The now 22-year-old has been weight training for years. In two weeks, she'll be heading to Columbus, Ohio, where she'll be one of 1,300 athletes participating in the Arnold Sports Festival

"So there's two movements that we compete in, there's the snatch and then there's the clean and jerk," explained Rose.

"The snatch has a wide grip and it moves from the floor to overhead, and then the clean and jerk will move from the floor to the shoulders, and the shoulders to overhead. The snatch right now, my best in competition is about 50 kilos, or about 150 lbs. And then [for] clean and jerk, my best in competition is 91 kilos, which is 200 lbs. Which is really cool considering I'm a 59 kilo athlete, so when I weigh in in the mornings I'm usually anywhere from 127 to 129 lbs."

So what is Rose looking forward to most with this competition?

" I'm excited to hit some big goals that we have," added Rose.

"So one of the things that we are hoping to do at this meet is qualify for senior nationals, which would put me in a top percentage nationally in my weight class. So [I've] set some pretty big goals for [myself] in terms of qualifying for that. And I'm excited to kind of push my body and see what it can do as far as picking up some heavy stuff."

The Arnold Sports Festival will take place in Columbus, Ohio from February 29th to March 3rd.