Its earlier than I planned however I have entered my first British Weightlifting competition. It is in Birmingham in the last weekend of October. I know I won’t win as I will be going to against people who have competed for years and that is fine with me. It is not about winning or where I place. For me this competition is about the experience of competing. When I weighed myself on Monday, I was eighty-six kilograms. To have a realistic chance of placing high I would need to be competing in the below eighty-one-kilogram category. I have decided to compete in the below eighty-nine-kilogram class as I feel that to try and drop six kilograms in eight weeks would be too much of a strain on my body and could possibly make me weaker. If I enjoy the experience, I will compete again next year and give myself plenty of time to make weight for the event.
What does this mean for my training moving forward? No more slacking in the gym, consistent workouts, consistent nutrition and no alcohol till I have competed. It also means being around more experienced lifters leading up to the event for advice and keeping in contact with my coach for constructive feedback on my progress. Finally, it means perfecting my technique as I want all my three attempts in both the Snatch as well as the Clean and Jerk to count as good lifts. If it means lowering the amount of weight I lift so be it.
