Fighting Gravity: Coach LD

https://admin.headliner.ai/fighting-gravity-final-mp3

Hey, guys. Welcome to another episode of the point of view. I am your host, or Uyi Agbontaen, and, uh, in today's show, I am joined by olympic weightlifting coach and head coach of west London lifters laura Denise ramsay Overall or otherwise known as coach LD, coach Laura represented not only the UK, but Trinidad and to bago. Okay. So, coach Laura, how are you?

Speaker B

I'm fine, thank you.

Speaker A

Most guests I've spoken to, I normally say it's been a weird couple of years, particularly in the industry that you're in because you work in the health and fitness industry.

Speaker B

Yes. It was challenging, and we saw a need, especially for our lifters at the show, must go on. So we did everything outside. If you were carting, like, 100 odd kilos and about ten bars, it's hard work, but it was good. So we solved the need because everybody was, like, stir crazy. Thank goodness the sun was on our side. But no, we did adapt. We had one to one sessions, and then when certain restrictions were lifted, then we had group sessions, so we did manage.

Speaker A

So just for everybody listening, you're an olympic weightlifting coach.

Speaker B

That's correct. Yes, I am. So I've been in the sport now 2021 years. Yeah.

Speaker A

How did you get into the sport?

Speaker B

We lifted well, I always knew about the sport from a kid. There was precious Mackenzie. He was from, I think, south Africa. And I remember seeing him, and I remember Dave prose, aka. Darth vader. So he was a weightlifter. So I remember all this from the started off as bodybuilding, because all my family was in bodybuilding in some shape, form, or fashion. And then I was asked if I wanted to be assistant coach for olympic weightlifting, and I said, well, I'm not sure the ins and outs of it, but I'll gladly come along. And this was for the youth games in crystal palace. Alistair my first coach, and I saw it. I loved it, and that was it. I was just head overhills with the sport.

Speaker A

Yeah. Everyone, I think, knows what weight lifting is, obviously, and people have a rough idea of what olympic weightlifting is. I think there's a difference between weightlifting, bodybuilding training, and olympic weightlifting. So can you explain what olympic weightlifting is for people?

Speaker B

Okay, so the olympic style weightlifting, the two lists snatched clean and jerk. Once upon a time, there was three lifts to clean and press, and that went out in 72. Munich, it's like a standing bench press. It was just phenomenal. So that's olympic style weightlifting. You have three attempts on each discipline. The technical side has changed over the years where the body weight would win eventually if you're head to head with somebody in the same weight class. But now they've taken that out, and it's basically first past the post. It was just so technical before. Everybody was getting confused, and sometimes you could lose out on a medal because you're one kilo lighter or one kilo heavier. It was crazy. So now it's basically make it an even field in your group, because it's all about body weight. So even though there are several groups, like an A group, or B group, or C group, whoever gets that total first pass to post, then the second group will have to match that, or the third group will have to match that, and even, uh, playing field now. Yeah.

Speaker A

I guess people, when they typically figure weightlifting, I think what they're thinking about is strength training, bodybuilding.

Speaker B

I think what they're getting confused is with weight training, as opposed to weight lifting, per se. But even now, when I say weight lifter, they still, oh, you're the power lifter. Okay. Technically, we are power technically, because we're like strength times velocity. Okay. So we are technically power. But putting aside from the official power lifting sport, which is technically a strength sport, so we're more dynamic, where the power lifters are just pure out and out strength. We move heavyweight pretty fast.

Speaker A

Yeah. The power lifters also, they lift differently.

Speaker B

Yes. So there's bench, there's squat, and there's.

Speaker A

Deadlift when I pick up a power lifter, uh, they're just big people.

Speaker B

Yeah. They're just moving heavyweight and straight lines.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker B

It's just up and down. No, um, disrespect. But that's how we differentiate between us as ours, is more dynamic. It's very powerful. It's more technical, because you're picking up something that's maybe twice, two and a half, even three times your own body weight, and you've got to put that above your head in literally seconds. So there's a big difference. Yeah.

Speaker A

Because you actually you're the head coach of West London lifters. So how did you set it up?

Speaker B

Well, uh, coming off the back of being a lifter, the next thing that I thought was a natural progression was to become a coach and give something back. And we have a company, Zodiac Arts. This is one of the many branches that we want to explore. And I said, can we make a club? Because we do so many other things. Let's try and do something a bit more competitive. I like performance. And we did. And the club came about 2010 or so. Yeah, 2010. And we were first based at Mobile Sports Center. When Mobile closed down, we moved to Wilson Sports Center, and we've been there ever since.

Speaker A

When you became an Olympic weightlifter, you, uh, competed?

Speaker B

Oh, yes, I competed first for England many championships, Commonwealth Championships. Then I competed for Trinidad Tobago.

Speaker A

Why did you decide to change, uh, who you represented?

Speaker B

I had to go back to my roots. It's like, okay, I've done the king and country. Right. I need to go back to my people, because Jonah dad has never had a female weightlifter. I was the first, and I wanted to open doors. I had the means to do it, and I wanted to do it. I wanted to give something back, and I'm all about giving back. Up until today, before Covert came in, we were still delivering courses in Trinidad and Tobago. I want to continue to do that. I want to give back to my country. Yes, I was born in England, but my roots are in Trinidad, over 200 years of it. So, yeah, it's just a natural progression for me.

Speaker A

And how did you feel when you were representing your country?

Speaker B

Very proud. It had more meaning. It had more meaning.

Speaker A

We have the Olympics and everyone knows the athletics site, track and field, people know the boxing.

Speaker B

Yes.

Speaker A

And even though weightlifting is in there and has been in there since 1896.

Speaker B

Absolutely.

Speaker A

But people don't necessarily think about that when they think about the Olympics.

Speaker B

No, it's a weird one. I don't know. Maybe it's something to do with strength and weight. Plus it's not glamorous. We're in the back lifting like workhorses, and then we just go on the stage and we lift the weight. So for some people, it's over in Nanoseconds and it's not the blue ribbon event, but it's one of the bedrocks of the Olympics. But we're getting there. We're evolving. We are evolving. The only thing I'm just a bit worried about is that we don't lose our integrity as one of the classic sports of the Olympics. We are one of the bread and butter sports of the Olympics, and I just want us to remember that before we just lose ourselves to the media and to the hype and showbiz and cheerleaders and all sorts of stuff could be coming in. Yes, exactly. So that's what I'm hoping for. We still retain our integrity as a purist sport.

Speaker A

Looking at the sport, I think the rules sometimes confuse people, especially if you're a novice, right. You don't know what's going on and you're like, well, how come that lift didn't get a green flag? It seems like it was perfect, but they're like, no, you didn't hit all the points. What are the rules to make the lift an actual recognized lift?

Speaker B

Oh, gosh, there's so many. But you have to make sure that it's a clean lift in the sense of there's no elbow touch, there's no oscillation with the bar when you clean it in, make sure that your arms are fully extended, the elbows, they don't lock and relock and unlock and relock and stuff like that. Make sure there's no if you can oscillation on the barber when you're about to jerk it, because some people have the barber on the clavicle. And using physics, if you time it right, you can get that extra drive with the bar, but you have to make sure you're relatively still yourself under barbell before you make an attempt to jerk. If you bend your knees and you don't jerk the bar, that's classified as an attempted jerk. So if the bar hasn't left your shoulders to complete the jerk, then it's like a no lift. But if you bend your knees and you're adjusting the barbell, then it looks like you're adjusting, so you won't get penalized with that. But if you just have the barbell motionless on your clavicle, and you bend your knees and you restrain your knees without jerking the bar, then that's an infringement. You have to make sure that when you come up from the recovery position, you're holding the bar. You have to make sure your feet are in line. You have to make sure that when you put the bar down, it's placed in a controlled manner. Your hands have to be remaining on the barbell. Once it passes the shoulders, then you can let go. You cannot just let go from the bar after you've completed the lift. And you have to wait until the center left or there's a light or, uh, a signal to tell you when to put the bar down. So the center ref has to make sure that it's a legal lift. Make sure everything is as it should be before you're told to put the bar down.

Speaker A

How many referees are actually judges?

Speaker B

Um, well, there's three referees, and depending on what championship it is, it's either three or five judges. So the judges referee the referees.

Speaker A

Can you explain that?

Speaker B

Uh, big championship? Um, sometimes referee may give maybe an involuntary action of pressing the red or the white accidentally, and then the lift will get passed or the lift gets failed. And then if we can see there is a misdemeanor, uh, that's taken place, then we can stop the competition and call the referees over to ask them to explain themselves. Depending on which way it goes, sometimes we leave it, or sometimes we overturn it.

Speaker A

And this all happens in many seconds.

Speaker B

Yeah. Keen eye. Just a very keen eye attuned to what is going on. And coming from a lifting background, hopefully, I have a very good idea of what's legal and what's not legal, and just keep up to date with the rules and regulations of the Federation.

Speaker A

So explain the physics side of it, because I think a lot of people don't appreciate what actually moving heavy weight involved.

Speaker B

Oh, gosh. The physics side. Well, you have to overcome, number one, gravity. That's where you have to come. And the inertia, uh, of the bars, basically, the bars resistance to be lifted. So it's all about applying force into the floor. So action, you're applying force. Downward reaction is the force coming upwards. It's all about leverage the forces and obviously having bravery, courage, because, remember, technically, you're getting under an object that can do you some serious harm. It can do you some serious harm if you mess up. So courage, definitely. But this is the reason why you have to learn the correct technique from the get go, from absolutely, from the get go. And it's very important that you have a very competent and a very experienced coach. If you don't get the right coaching, you can end up harnessing, um, bad technique. And then what happens is, later on down the line, you may go to another coach, and that kind of gets ironed out. But when you're in a competition, and the, uh, competition is a stressful scenario, the body will revert back to what it knows, whether it's good, bad or indifferent. It's just a natural thing. Your body is used to that. It will revert back to that. And obviously, it could be very detrimental to your health and to the winning a medal or so. It's very important that you learn a textbook. And that's why we take the lifters. A lot comes from gymnastics because they.

Speaker A

Have all the gymnastics.

Speaker B

Oh, yes. They have all the qualities there. They have the speeds, they have the flexibility, they have the power. So when they hang up their leotard, like grand old age of 16, then they come over to weightlifting. But in other countries, the age limit is a lot lower. When I say age limit, I mean they could be starting from about six.

Speaker A

Or seven eastern Europe and China.

Speaker B

Yeah. And saying that it's not just weightlifting, it's other sports, because you have to monitor the child's growth, and you have to manage the growing plates of the end of the bones, the epiphytes. So you don't want the bones to start fusing before the allotted time of when puberty has to kick in and nature takes its course. And even sports, because I remember Tom Daley, he was a diver, and even his training had to be monitored because of the growth spurts. You have to make sure that everything plays out accordingly, as nature intended, without prematurely locking off the growth plates of the bones, of the long bones, anyway.

Speaker A

So that's a good point, because I don't know if it's a misconception, but there's this view of weightlifting being bad.

Speaker B

That's what it goes back to. Primeval.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker B

It's weights, it's heavy, it's neanderthal, and it's nothing like that. It has to be monitored, it has to be regulated. That's why you need a competent coach. Gives the child the right amount of stimulus for their mental age, for their physical age, for everything. It's the whole package. And that's how you can guide them to become world champion. It takes about at least ten years. For a champion in the making, it takes ten years. Whether it's a junior champion, whether it's senior, it takes ten years. So it's a lot of work, a lot of volume, a lot of tonnage, a lot of repetition. But you have to know how to plan it. You have to know that route. It's a science because you're dealing with people's anatomy, hormone levels, the growth levels. So you have to know exactly what you're doing. You can't just whack on the weight. And there's a lot of mental psychologically as well. And when you're young, you don't know fear you don't know fear to a certain extent that is good for certain sports but as you get older you get wiser so you have to know how to negotiate around an older lifter as opposed to a younger lifter but.

Speaker A

There'S many variables that you don't know fear do you mean that sometimes young people can push themselves too far too soon?

Speaker B

Absolutely you're young, you're not naive but you're not worldly you haven't realized certain things six senses haven't kicked in yet survival mode hasn't kicked in yet you don't know the dangers you're recognizing so it's a learning curve what do you.

Speaker A

Think, in your opinion, is a good age to start lifting?

Speaker B

In the west? I would say around about 1011 why.

Speaker A

Did you say in the west?

Speaker B

Because other places they will start younger and I don't think because of laws and legislations you really can't be doing.

Speaker A

That so you think that's a bad thing then?

Speaker B

No, I don't think no, if it's done correctly, no, it's not a bad thing but when children are growing up, I'm guilty of it as well sprinter when I hit 1516, that was it I was gone I saw there was a life out there yes, your whole.

Speaker A

Mind kick in and you're like I've got other interests for real?

Speaker B

Yeah, that's the thing when you're turning eleven things haven't kicked in yet and they're all excited but when they become teenagers and at 14 and 15, that's it, we've gone and then they probably might see the light and then come back at 1718 I was watching this.

Speaker A

Documentary I watched part of it actually my partner was watching most of it about this athletic program for black kids in America run by these women and these girls come from like a very inner city area and I think it was La lots of stuff going on around them troubled homes but there was a program for them to become track and field potentially athletes but definitely to get them into college right but some people have talent and the coach would talk to them because they would get into that age where they're going to hit puberty and they're like, listen, things will happen when you hit puberty you will feel different men will look at you differently there will be different distractions you need to be aware of these things and prepare so it's interesting they're preparing them for it while they're still doing their training program to potentially get their scholarships to go to college or even become a full time athlete so what you said just now resonators like oh yeah, you're right there are other things that creep in for boys and figures when they hit that puberty stage.

Speaker B

That'S another thing you have to give the right stimulus don't go full force on them just give them enough so it keeps them wanting more just adapt the training so it keeps them hungry and they can still have a life outside of the gym.

Speaker A

You get sometimes you get parents who are passionate, more passionate than a child. The pushy parent.

Speaker B

Yes.

Speaker A

That can obviously be detrimental.

Speaker B

Yes, it was. And I say that it was because I was one of those parents for my daughter track and field, um, sprinting. So I enthusiastically encouraged her. And that backfired immensely. That really backfired. She, uh, just wasn't having any of it. And then when I was in my weightlifting phase, I didn't say anything to her, didn't mention anything. Uh, if you want to come along to join, I would say to all the competition, good if you come along, as long as you come along and support me and the rest of the family. And then over time, she was sort of looking up, what's wrong doing over there? She's lifting. And that's how she came into weightlifting, because I learnt my lesson the first time I said, I'm not going to push her, I'm not going to do anything, because it just backfired. And she didn't want to know anything about track and field.

Speaker A

So, in hindsight, looking back and reflecting on it, was that because you saw her potential and her talent, or was that because you were passionate about sport?

Speaker B

I was passionate about sport. She had a gift of speed. She had a gift of speed. So I think you're like, well, let's not waste this, let's try and capitalize on this. But talent is good. Talent is good, but you also have the right aptitude. That's so important, because there's been many great people that could have become superstars because they had the talent, but they just never had the mental ability to see that through. I mean, there was one guy, I think it was back in the 80s, my, uh, memory serves me, I can't remember his name, but I know he was faster than Linford, but he didn't have the right mental aptitude to take it to the next level.

Speaker A

You know, they have that phrase that hard work beats talent. When talent doesn't work hard, if you want to get the results, when you see the best in the world, the top five people in any sport in the world, how much of it is they have a talent and good genetics.

Speaker B

Yes.

Speaker A

Uh, plus they've worked very hard.

Speaker B

And they have a whole team as well.

Speaker A

Obviously, they have a team behind them.

Speaker B

The talent. Yeah. That's one massive step on the ladder. But to make it sustainable and to see it through, to get to the apex, there's so much more. There's a whole team behind you. You have to have the mental capacity, you have to have the physio, the food and nutrition. It's the whole thing. The talent is absolutely there. So you've got that. So let's capitalize on that. But you have to have the right team and you have to have the right mindset. You've got to want it. You've really got to want this. This is not going to come easy. And that's another thing with the lifting. There's the color of the discs. That's also a very psychological thing. When you put the reds on, you dancing with the big boys. Now. This is 25 kilos. This is a big deal, a 15 and a ten or a 20 and a five kilo. But once you put the reds on, people look at you in a different light. Then you have to overcome that.

Speaker A

Okay, go through the colors of the disc.

Speaker B

That okay. So the 20 fives are the reds, the blues are the 20, the yellows are the 15, the greens are the tens. And then you may have either metal or white for fives. And then we start breaking it down. So from five there's 2.5, which is like 25, so that will be red too, which is like 20. So that will be blue. And then you have 1.5, which is yellow, like the 15, the one kilo, which will be green, and then you have the zero five, which is the white. Yeah, it's all color coded. Training is a science. It's best to have the route to get past a particular weight rather than coming into the gym and thinking like, oh yeah, I'm going to smash it. There's only so much of not looking at the bar that will help you to lift the bar. You have to be sensible. You have to have a goal. You have to have it mapped out. So you have to have the roots for weight lifting. You have to do the tonnage, you have to do the volume. And that volume will carry you through to your target goal. So it's not just going to the gym and thinking, I'm going to try and hit my PB today. No, you got to prepare for that. And it will happen. And it does happen. It does happen. The bodies are an amazing thing. Competition is a different breed of animal completely. You're on that stage or platform by yourself, all eyes on you, and then all these doubts, oh my God, what am I doing here? Can I lift this weight? God, I'm so scared. What's going on? And, uh, it's awful. It's a different form of training. You can go in the gym, you can do PBS till it's coming out your ears. But once you're on that stage, it's the nerves, it's the anticipation. Everybody's trying to psych everybody out. And you've got to be in your own mind. You got to play your own game. Focus on you. It's hard. It's easier said than done. But I've been there. Everybody's sort, um, of posturing in the back and throwing down the weights. It can be very intimidating. Absolutely.

Speaker A

There are many sports out there. Olympic weightlifting, like gymnastics, because when product gymnastics, it's lonely. It is lonely because other sports, you've either got the person that you're competing against with you, boxing or track. So you can see them. You're running together. I got to beat that person, right? When you do a limp weightlift and no gymnastics, you have to go out there on your own. You might have seen the person before you. It might be someone after you, but you're on your own.

Speaker B

Oh, yeah. As an athlete, you just need to focus on overcoming that bar. You need to overcome that bar. As for a coach, when my athletes are on the platform, it's very mentally exhausting because when they live, I live because I feel for them. I know what they're going through. I know their doubts. So I try to make my voice the loudest voice and the last voice that they hear. So it will help them during the lift. They know I'm with them. And that does help. My coach used to do the same thing as well.

Speaker A

How do you deal with the different types of personality?

Speaker B

Everybody's more or less the same. They want the encouragement. They need the encouragement. They need to know that you're there with them. Give them all the coaching points. Because that's what I'm about. I don't just say, Oh, just believe in yourself. Yes. Okay, believe in yourself. But tell me what I need to do. Do I need to drive hard? Do I need to pull faster? Do I need to stay over the bar? Give me something tangible so I can work with and when I give them.

Speaker A

That feedback, it resonates for someone who has no idea. What's that? What's that? Can you explain in a way that a lay person, a normal person could understand? Because it's not like going to the gym and I'm going to do like a squat.

Speaker B

Yeah. Okay. So the snatch, that's the fastest movement in the Olympic Games. So with the barbell is in front of you, arms are fully extended either side, and in one move, you're meant to get that bar from the floor in an overhead position. That's it. You can either be in a squat position or some people catch it in a power position. But technically it's to get the bar from the floor into an overhead position with the arms fully extended. And then the cleaning jerk is to get the barbell from the floor onto your shoulders. Then you stand up to recover with the bar. And then from that position, you do a fast jerk, which is effectively like a, uh, fast press. And to get the bar overhead with the arms fully extended, you need to.

Speaker A

Do this in the most efficient way possible.

Speaker B

Yes.

Speaker A

It's not like you're literally muscle in the bar.

Speaker B

No, not at all. You have to know to apply the right force in the right phases so the body can literally go around the barbell because the barbell effectively goes in more or less a semi straight line. It's just we can taught ourselves to go around the barbell.

Speaker A

To accommodate that move, you must see some people lifting weight and be like, that's not good technique.

Speaker B

Yeah, it's ego. It's a lot of ego. They're not really focusing about technique, they're just focusing on getting the barbell off the floor. It doesn't really matter what fashion. And some people just can't be told anyway. He hates a person being self taught.

Speaker A

What do you mean self taught?

Speaker B

They've gone on YouTube, they've seen Hook Grip. You can't self taught. It's too complicated. Is that trying to self teach? You jujitsu?

Speaker A

There are a few people out there, but you're right, it's very different because there's lots of videos and books. Yes, I know what I'm doing. And you're like, no, you're trying to run before you can walk.

Speaker B

Right. So there you go. Exactly. It's all about learning the movement pattern. And if it's not done in the correct manner, it's one hot mess. Because now the coach has to go back to the beginning. And as I said to you before, you could just instill that bad technique. And no matter how much a coach tries to undo what you learnt previously, sometimes it's nearly impossible and it will just resurrect itself come competition time.

Speaker A

Old habits die hard.

Speaker B

Absolutely.

Speaker A

So when there's a competition, because everything's happening so quickly, so there must be controversy. Right. You said it's like, you've got to have a good eye.

Speaker B

Yeah. When your name is called, you literally have 60 seconds to get onto the platform to lift the barbell. If you missed the lift and you have to go again, so you're technically following yourself, so to speak, then you have two minutes to pick the barbell off the floor.

Speaker A

Right.

Speaker B

So as long as the barbell is picked up within the two minutes, if you're following yourself, or, uh, the 60 seconds if you're going after another competitor. Once the barbell is off the ground, we stop the clock. So you make your lift, but you don't want to stress yourself out. Get on the board. Get on the board. Get, uh, the lift on the board. So once you get your lift on the board, it's like, Wow, okay, good. So at least I'm not going to bomb. Bombing is not making a total on either lift or even, uh, in one lift. Not making a total at all. So get a lift in your snatch and then you can try a PB for the second one. And who knows? Try and break a record on the third one. If things are going according to plan, don't just go out there and try and break a record on the first list. There's nowhere else to go but down.

Speaker A

So you start off with something achievable.

Speaker B

Yes.

Speaker A

So there's a strategy to it.

Speaker B

Yeah. It builds up the confidence. Then you can go for it in the second and the third one. I mean, I remember when I was working at Xcel 2012, the Men's 85, they were just dropping like flies. Everybody was bombing because it was due or die. It was crazy.

Speaker A

Why was it like that? Because of just the standard.

Speaker B

Everybody was going for gold.

Speaker A

They were going for it.

Speaker B

Yeah. Double or quits, that was it. This is what you trained for. I can't come all this way to play safe. This could be my one last shot. If I'm going to go down, I'm going to go down fighting.

Speaker A

So when people are doing the lifts, right, a strenuous lift, they can pass out.

Speaker B

That was usually in the clean when the bar is resting on the clavicle and it's very close to the windpipe. And sometimes the other scenario is that if you've gotten up so fast, then the blood pools, so the blood just shoots right down to the feet, and then the brain has been starved of blood. Listen, it is what it is. It's timing as well, because some people, if they don't clean it correctly, then it's a race between them and the bar to the floor. And the bar could sometimes bury you. All right? And then it's a heave to get, uh, up from that position. So you're struggling to get up from the squat position, but then you just wasted your legs, right? You just literally wasted your legs. So now, uh, you've got a jerky. There's nothing left in the tank.

Speaker A

So you're putting too much effort now into recovering that's right inertia that's right.

Speaker B

You've just got to get that timing right. Doable but you just know how to hit that bar at the right phase.

Speaker A

What I noticed when I went to your gym is there's a lot of female athletes. Now, not to say that there's not that many female Olympic weightlifters. Obviously, it's a complete category in the Olympics, and more and more women are lifting weights. But I was surprised. I was like, Oh, your gym has a lot of female athletes.

Speaker B

Yeah, this is what the ladies resonate. Because it's a female coach. There's the familiarity. It's like, well, she understands where I'm coming from, any sort of female issues. She knows what I'm talking about. Because we are made differently and our brains are wired differently for scientific fact. The girls love it. Seeing a female, it's empowerment. They feel a lot confident. Rather than when they go to the gym, guys will come up to them, or the male coach is maybe a bit gruff, and they don't understand. And that's what they want. They want to be understood. They want somebody that can empathize with them and know exactly where they're coming from.

Speaker A

I thought it was amazing. I was like, Oh, wow. Right? This is a gym that has a lot of female athletes in it. It's mainly a male dominated sport. One thing, when I was learning martial arts, one of my old coaches said, and not introduced in a different sport, he said he prefers to have a female coach because he said they have, uh, details that the male coaches miss.

Speaker B

Yeah. I'm all about attention to detail. The foot positioning, the focus, obviously, the grip of the bar. But it's just the posture, degrees of whether hip is in relation to the shoulders when you're in the squat position, the whole package. So just being thorough. Just being thorough as a coach and the lifters do appreciate that we're not just a number. We have different leverages, different needs, different abilities. And if we could accommodate that. And it's all about differentiation of how you coach people and how you talk to people.

Speaker A

Is there, like, a British style of Olympic weight training? When I think about the big countries that successfully china, Eastern Europe, is the approach or the philosophy? Uh, or the style different?

Speaker B

There's a system. And all the Eastern European countries and Russia, and there was a system. The west, we're not really about systems. No. It's every man doing his, um, own thing. We did have a system in the early days, like Al Murray, one of the first British whitelifting coaches from back in the day. And it worked. But as things have progressed, the west has a very, uh, different mindset. We don't want for anything. You got kids with iPads in other countries take a whole six months wages to get an iPad or something like that. So we don't want it's a different mindset. Whereas in certain countries, it's a means to an end. And when you do get the gold, you are a national hero. What's funny now is that getting a medal, it works against you, because everybody's got a medal now. It was one stage. It was 2012. They were giving out medals like it was confetti. And then you are no longer a big deal.

Speaker UNK

Yeah.

Speaker B

Because, well, he's gotten them. He's got a medal. He's got a medal. He's got a medal. You became a victim of your own success.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker B

It was crazy. It's a different mindset. And plus, I don't think some of the training methodology will fly in the west. I don't think you will be able to get away with certain things. Too many distractions. Too many distractions.

Speaker A

Yeah. Culturally, it's just different. I hear what you're saying. I watched some old video years ago. They were talking about the gymnastic teams, like Team America and Team Russia. What they did is they swapped the teams over for, uh, a month or so.

Speaker B

Six weeks.

Speaker A

Right. Kids, let's go to Russia and see what it's like. And Russian kids go to America. Russian kids got to America. Oh, my God. The gym is amazing. The most amazing equipment they've ever seen in their life, which they don't have. Like in Russia, it was just very basic equipment. And then there was candy, chocolate.

Speaker B

Oh, gosh.

Speaker A

And then the kids who went from America to Russia, it was basic Spartan.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker A

And, uh, the training was hard. The coaches weren't messing around.

Speaker B

No.

Speaker A

That'S right. When you said that. You're right. But I guess it's culturally different because you're right, in the west, we're kind of spoilt. We're not hungry. No, in fact, in a way, it can be hard to be a champion because the person you're competing against, they depend on it, not them. Family depends on it. And even their nation might depend on that way. North Korea competing is a serious thing for North Korea. Whereas for the UK, maybe not so serious. It's great to win, but if you don't win, it's not the end.

Speaker B

I mean, the only other country that takes losing seriously is the US.

Speaker A

Oh, really? Like national pride?

Speaker B

Oh, hell yes. I remember the Dream Team. I don't know, was it Atlanta? I think they got their race handed to them. I don't think they came up for the silver medals.

Speaker A

Really bad sportsman.

Speaker B

Oh, gosh. Yeah. Because when you say basketball, it's USA. Yeah, but they came back Sydney.

Speaker A

Okay, so obviously, America, uh, is very affluent, like Western Europe. So why are Americans, in your opinion, so good at sport facilities?

Speaker B

When you look at their colleges, their college sport grounds is what we have. Like our national stadium. Yes, they have the facilities. They have the facilities. I mean, they also have the coaches as well. But it's just investment. But I'll tell you what we are good at in this country. We're good at cycling. Anything, uh, to do with gadgets, cycling, sailing.

Speaker A

And in a way, you could say that's a very affluent sport. These are affluent sports. Only certain people, certain demographics can do those sports.

Speaker B

But then they put their money into it.

Speaker A

They do. But also you have to have money to start doing them.

Speaker B

Yes, you do.

Speaker A

You're not going to have an inner city kid being on the yacht in team or buying like a 5000 pound cycling bike.

Speaker B

No, that's right. It's funny that you should say that, because now what they're doing, they're opening up the games by bringing in the climbing speed. Climbing. You've got skateboarding should be coming in. And also break dancing.

Speaker A

How can that be a sport?

Speaker B

Well, the same way figure skating will be looked at a sport. Or synchronized swimming.

Speaker A

I guess you're right.

Speaker B

Yeah. What dean does a sport you mean x amount of participation. Make sure you have championships. There's like a criteria because yeah, I know, because we did have Urban Games. I think we still have the Urban Games, but now I think they want to try and bring it to the masses. And I also think there's a lot to do with the external factors, ie. Television becoming a superstar, endorsements. Most kids will gravitate, uh, to the blue ribbon events, like the basketball. That's cool.

Speaker A

Yeah, that's right. Everyone has not just TVs in their homes. People have phones and tablets. Everybody can watch these things. Maybe that's why the Olympic Committee is thinking of other ways to bring other sports in to increase the numbers.

Speaker B

Yeah, yeah.

Speaker A

The Tokyo Games was controversial.

Speaker B

Oh, gosh.

Speaker A

Um, for a number of reasons. Right. So many reasons. Probably the biggest one, it was during a pandemic. They had already delayed it for a year. And there was this thing about, do we have it? Do we not have it?

Speaker B

As an athlete and as a business person? Listen, I know it sounds brutal, but the show had to go on. You've come so far with merchandise, I don't even want to think about it. And as an athlete, this could be your last shot this could be your last shot at the Games. And for a number of people, it was, and I can't deny them that. Be sensible, take all the precautions.

Speaker A

I think at that point, as well, obviously, people are recognizing that. But now people are like, Listen, this is going to fly in a monkey pocus.

Speaker B

Happened.

Speaker A

There was like, I don't want to hear that. Also then, in Olympic weightlifting, the Tokyo Games, britain won a medal. Emily Campbell, right.

Speaker B

Yes, she did.

Speaker A

First medal for a female yes. A British female athlete in Olympic weightlifting.

Speaker B

Yes. It was good that she won. It was good. It was awesome. All credit to her. But there's been so much controversy with the weightlifting over the few years, and so many other of the big nations have been suspended.

Speaker A

Yeah. Olympic weightlifting is governed by the International Weightlifting Federation.

Speaker B

That's correct.

Speaker A

And they came under some serious fire, I think, in all the sports, these things that go on yeah, we've had it in cycling.

Speaker B

Yes, absolutely.

Speaker A

Money changes hands. But I think in Olympic weightlifting, apart from bodybuilding, it's one of the sports that people look at and like, well, if there's anybody cheating, it's probably the Olympic weightlifters. And it's unfair to say that because it's in many other sports as well. Uh, it is, but it just seems like, because it's a strength based sport, of course they're cheap.

Speaker B

Yes. Because it's so obvious. Because it's to do with weights, because it's to do with performance in hearts, in drugs, antibiotics. Whereas for middle distance, like the long distance cyclists, the EPO, uh, it was prevalent. The cyclists will be cycling. The doctors in the car, drop your pants. Boom, straight into the glutes.

Speaker A

One of the mechanics was right next to me, and he said, how do you know? Look in his eyes. Just breathing. There's no suffering. It's almost like whatever they're doing, they got so much oxygen, it's like they're not feeling the pain.

Speaker B

But yeah, because it was so obvious. It's a very visual thing. Weightlifting is very visual.

Speaker A

Did you watch Icarus, the documentary?

Speaker B

Yes, I did.

Speaker A

I mean, obviously, the whole Lance Armstrong thing, it surprised a lot of people. Personally, I wasn't surprised because it's a very controversial subject about performance enhances. For me, it's not the only indicator that makes a champion a champion. Those people who are in the top five uh, would have been in the top five anyway, in my opinion, without the performance enhancers. You can't just give someone performance enhancer doesn't work like that. So to just say, well, that's the thing. They're a cheater. I feel like that's kind of controversial.

Speaker B

Anyway, the funny thing is that the cheetah in the sporting world, you're a pariah.

Speaker A

Yeah.

Speaker B

This is the thing about it. And it's like, come on, sports companies. Come on. Closing companies. You want people to lift this way. You want people to run this speed. You want people to jump, throw. Come on. There's only a certain amount of performance you're going to get from meat and potatoes. There's only a certain amount. Let's keep it real here. We're looking at the day when a human cleans and jerks 300 kilos. Uh, that's the next one. The day that a human cleans and jerks 300 kilos, that's on the cards.

Speaker A

It's funny because you're right, the human body can only go so far, but what everybody wants to see is records being broken.

Speaker B

There you go. That's the thing. That's a double edged sword.

Speaker A

Yeah. It's a paradox. It is.

Speaker B

So you want us to do all these wonderful death defying feats of physicality, but then you don't want to know.

Speaker A

How we did it.

Speaker B

Yeah, exactly.

Speaker A

My view is I don't like it when people make a pariah out of someone, destroy their whole life.

Speaker B

Yes.

Speaker A

Because that person was an amazing athlete.

Speaker B

I know.

Speaker A

Amazing. That thing there did not make them win. They put a lot of work in. They were still the best. And in my opinion, it's controversial. In my opinion, all the top people were doing exactly the same thing as that person.

Speaker B

Oh, yeah. I mean, it was sole Olympics. I think it got to a state critical mass for the 100 meters. It was basically to see whose performance enhancer was the better one on the day. His laboratory was the better one for the day. Yeah, it was ridiculous. I don't want to endorse it. Not at all. Because the health reasons and all sorts of reasons, morals and everything, but it is what it is, and that's what was taking place. You give somebody a suitcase and say, if you can break this record, this million plus is yours. Come on, what do you expect people to do?

Speaker A

Yeah, you could say the shoes that someone is running in as a performance enhancer. There's controversy about how much a bike weighs motors in a bike. There's controversy about the water dynamics of a suit. Right. Like how it cuts through the water to minimize friction and resistance. So it's weird because steroids, that's the one. That's the thing that we need to crack down on. I'm not an advocate for people using steroids as well, but there are, um, other things that people are doing to enhance their performance in conjunction, which gets the green flag. But I agree with you. The thing about performance enhances, in my opinion, is if you're not a professional.

Speaker B

Athlete no, you shouldn't be.

Speaker A

Then why are you doing it? Because it's so unregulated, you could be doing harm to yourself. So if it's making you a lot of money and you're at the top, the top tier, and I'm like, well, all the other guys at the top tier are doing the same thing. But it's controversial to say that.

Speaker B

Yeah. And this is the thing with the anabolics. It was basically started from World War II, so it's to build up all the emaciated soldiers that was in the Japanese prison camps and so on and so forth. But for a good, healthy body, it has such a detrimental effect, it's ridiculous. And also, even if you do come off it, there is some sort of residue that stays in the body.

Speaker A

Icarus, I think, opened a lot of people's eyes to how much of an industry and a science there is involved in it. And basically, it was an arms race. An arms race between one side trying to catch the people who are making the performance arms and drugs, and the other people trying to evade them. So which is why, I guess, now they're like, we're going to hold your results for ten years and then strip you of your medal six years later. Because we couldn't test it back then.

Speaker B

But now we, um, can test it. Every time I look at 2012 now, my gosh, the amount of lifters that have lost their medals and records it's sad. It's so sad. But, yes, they keep it for about eight years.

Speaker A

There are other sports that are lagging as well, but I guess it's almost the easy target. But at the same time, we have the McLaren report, and that was pretty bad. So there was a question mark about whether Olympic weightlifting would continue in the Olympics. One of these fountain, uh, sports, will it continue?

Speaker B

It will bounce back. It will bounce back. I mean, I love the sport. Yes. Okay. We're going to get rap on the knuckles, so to speak.

Speaker A

So the misconception that women have about lifting weights when I was a kid, a lot of girls didn't want to lift weights. If I lift weights, I'm going to get too big involved. Right. Even today, there's still that idea. It's changing, though. A lot more girls are lifting weights now.

Speaker B

Yeah.

Speaker A

So what do you think about that, actually, first? And what do you think about that misconception of that? It's going to make me big and bulky like a man?

Speaker B

No, there's a lot going on here. I like females lifting weights if it's for the right reason and not for the gram, not for your social media. Power to them. Power to them. Not too long ago, it was deemed as a man. But then there are different factors of training. There's different factors of people's body types. There are some females, the old fashioned mesomorph. They just have to look at a weight and then boom. Because they have the genetics.

Speaker A

Where do you explain that? The endomorph and the mesomorph.

Speaker B

Okay, so you got the mesomorph. That person has right genetics, um, of leverage, the arms and the legs, and they have the whole package of being able to be an all round athlete, of sprinting, maybe do a bit of middle distance running. But they have all the right qualities because of their genetics. The, um, endomorph is a slightly stockier person. They will hold fat, not very aerobic, so to speak, but they will make like an excellent power lifter because they have the right leverage with their arms and legs, they have the right muscle mass, and basically they will be carrying a lot of fat, their post tissue, but they will still have the right qualities to lift heavy weights. So the ectomorph is a long one. You have the mesomorph, which is the um, one in the middle, the muscular one. Well, they had the potential of being muscular and you have the endomorphism, the stocky one. But for the females, we all have different levels of testosterone. There's some females that will just have maybe like 0.5 and there's some females that have like 3.0 of testosterone in them and they're the ones that will be able to lift weights and better physique when it comes to lifting weights because they have maybe that little bit more testosterone than the regular female. But at the end of the day, it's how you train. It's how you train. If you want to go for like endurance and you just lightweight with high repetitions, if you're looking to get that speed, you're looking to get that power, then obviously the rep ranges are a lot lower and then the intensity is a lot higher. The weight of the barbell is going to be a lot higher. But I don't like generalizing. It's your genetics and what you're looking for and how you train and how you eat that will determine the kind of muscle size that you will be putting on.

Speaker A

You don't hear that actually. Some guys find it very hard to put on muscle or gain strength.

Speaker B

And also they're eating very important. They're eating thinking, if I have fast food, lifting weights is going to counteract that. It doesn't. It doesn't. It's like having a Ferrari and putting diesel. You can't have a Ferrari and put diesel in it. It's got to be the finest and purest fuel that you put in that machine. Basically, with your training and with your eating, it has to be a lifestyle. When you have people that go on these silly little diets, it's not sustainable. And you have it for X amount of weeks or months, then you lose the weight, but then you go back to your normal eating habits and of course you're going to put weight on and then some. That it's all about balance what have.

Speaker A

You against the grammars. Because he said, I'm not a fan of the women you did for the gram.

Speaker B

You're here to train, male or female? Get off your, uh, damn phone and train. We are serious. We ain't coming to mess about. This is not on social media platform. We're puritans. We're here to train. We're here on a mission, we're here to do a job. All you're here for is just to get the likes and come with a pure heart. This is the sport, this is our community. It feels like you're just using us, all the stuff that we've had to go through. Or you want to look like a man and now you guys are just waltzing in with your phone to get the touch that we have been working for the last 20 odd years. Nobody wanted to know. Back in the 90s, we were getting all kind of name calling or you want to like a man and this and you won't see a female in there for the love nor money. We have paved the way for you guys. We have taken the knocks for you guys so you can enjoy coming to the gym is all trendy now. Before it was awful. They look at you and think, she's weird, she's a diet, she's a dish, she's a that. We had all of that going, all of that. But it just feels like there's no respect anymore.

Speaker A

Okay, so now then, let's talk about CrossFit. Because again, CrossFit has made weightlifting sexier because people see the CrossFit games. But also the other side is a lot of women have seen CrossFit and been like, that's a way to transition into health and fitness rather than just going to the gym.

Speaker B

Yes, that's the trouble because people like doing CrossFit, doing many different things in a certain time limit. I mean, I'm not a big fan of that because our sport is not an endurance sport. Our sport is a power sport and if things are not done correctly, if it's not taught in the correct mannerism, it's going to cause injuries. And it has caused injuries and it is causing injuries. And that's what I don't like about it. The thing that it introduces more females, that's great. However, I'm not really happy how some of the females look because there are certain things that they're going to be taking to achieve that look. But CrossFit, it's not for the working man.

Speaker A

What do you mean?

Speaker B

It's very middle class.

Speaker A

I see what you mean, it's very middle class. Yeah, I hear what you're saying. I guess there are economic barriers to a sport like Cross.

Speaker B

Yes, that's right.

Speaker A

I mean, we talked about that with other sports as well.

Speaker B

Yeah, we tried to make it as accessible as possible. We've had some lifters that have actually come from CrossFit, to be quite honest.

Speaker A

Yeah, I did a podcast of a CrossFit coat and he said in his defense. He was very honest about CrossFit. He was like, there's a lot of flaws, but he said, we're a young sport, we're still trying to learn our way. There are things that we have done that are really bad and we're trying to improve. And he said that one of the things he wanted to do. He said, I realized I need to start learning how to lift properly, right, to get better at the sport. And he says, I had to find an Olympic weightlifting coach. And he said, some people, literally, as you said, come from CrossFit. And they're like, I need to learn how to lift because it makes a difference.

Speaker B

We've had a new rule introduced because of the new pad of CrossFit when it came into our sport. And one of the things that was very relevant was people putting their foot on the barbell.

Speaker A

Uh, what do you mean?

Speaker B

So the barbell will be on the floor, and if you want to move it, instead of bending down using your hands, they would move the bell with their foot. For us, it was like sacrilegy, you can't do that. For me, it's like contempt. It's like, don't do that for health and safety reason, obviously, as well.

Speaker A

Also, you're disrespecting.

Speaker B

That's why I don't like, I can't stand that. That is a rule that was brought in. So if you put your foot anywhere on the barbell, on the shaft or under the disc itself, that is a no lift. Even before you've picked it up, and, uh, even after you've picked it up, you'll get red light for that.

Speaker A

I remember when I used to do tie box, actually. My coach would be like, you don't put your gloves on the floor when you take them off. Yes, don't put your gloves on the floor. Yeah, that was a big no no. Disrespectful. Yes.

Speaker B

There you go. Don't put your gloves on the flock. Yeah. Resonate with that. Resonate with that. I'm all about the community. It alienates a lot of the community because of the economics. I'm all about the grassroots.

Speaker A

And there's no sports. There's a low barrier to entry boxing. Low barrier to entry boxing. It's a great sport. Not a lot of people do it. Judo, low barrier to entry. Very cheap. There are many sports out there that some are accessible. I think all sports should be accessible, but there are some that aren't. And then there aren't their own models for kids to want to do it, necessarily.

Speaker B

Yeah. There's a lot of black weight lifters, which is awesome to begin with. Actually, in the early forty s and fifty s. There was also a lot of black lifters then, but we were lifting under the British crown. Like Louis Martin, he was like a world record holder, a world champion, rather fire, the West Indies lifting from Britain. I want to get the urban kids in there, get less vantage children in there, because there's a lot of talent out there, and once again, getting the parents to come along and see what your children are lifting. And this is the same sort of weight that parents would lift. Ten kilos is ten kilos with this bag of shopping, uh, Tessel belt.

Speaker A

That's what I said, like, in the beginning. There's a misconception about weight lifting in general, even, like, children and what they should do, what they shouldn't do. It's like you're still lifting weight. Weight is weight. Right. An object is an object. Just how much mass does the object have?

Speaker B

The first thing you pick up in weight lifting is a broomstick.

Speaker A

One thing to talk about, there's a difference between men and women.

Speaker B

Absolutely.

Speaker A

Obviously, what's been in the news recently, cast of Semenya, a South African athlete. Now, she just happens to have higher testosterone levels, right? That's just her makeup. But the Olympic Committee seems to be like, well, you need to lower that, because it's not fair. That's how she is. She's a female. She just happened to have more testosterone. What's your view?

Speaker B

So the old fashioned term was hermaphrodite, and the new term is intersex. She just so happens to be born that way. There is, um, a lot of politics with this. She's in a sport that is very middle class. I remember a number of years ago, there were several middle distance runners, uh, that were complaining because of Cassandra and the advantage that she has. Naturally, if it was another sport, I don't think we would have got that coverage. We had something similar in weightlifting. The athlete was called Lauren.

Speaker A

She competed in the Tokyo Games, right?

Speaker B

Yes, she did.

Speaker A

In the same category as Emily Campbell.

Speaker B

Yes, I know that's crazy. But you see, nothing was really said then because there's two different social groups going on. Unfortunately, they let that fly, but they came down on the South African. But they let that one fly.

Speaker A

Yeah. New Zealand.

Speaker B

So the politics behind that, that was not fair. But I guarantee you, if anything was like that to happen at Wimbledon, you would see how fast they will close that down. They will close that down like no tomorrow, to basically get your voice heard, unfortunately, you're going to have to tackle certain demographic groups, certain economical, um, groups, because they're the ones that have the voices, they're the ones that have the money. They're the ones that have the power.

Speaker A

For the black community, it was like an obvious thing, like, what's going on here? How come you're coming down so hard on this athlete? You don't come down on other athletes who happen to have genetic attributes that are beneficial to them. But this athlete happens to be South Africa, and she's black. She's got too much testosterone. What does that mean? What does that mean? You want the best athlete to perform on the day, and this is the best athlete in an hour. But it's unfair. We got to reduce her levels because it's unfair to the other women. Isn't that what sport is about? Whoever is better?

Speaker B

Correct. Yeah. That was similar when the Williams sisters.

Speaker A

Came onto the yeah, again, you're right. Because of, uh, the demographic that was associated with the sport at the time. It slightly shifted now because there are more players coming up like Naomi. But yes, when they came, it was like, they're too muscular. They don't play tennis with a finesse.

Speaker B

What do you mean? They're just better athletes. That's the same thing with the gymnastics with Simone power. Absolute powerhouse. And it was like, Whoa, they're not used to that genetics. And they're coming into sports that are.

Speaker A

Very white, middle class, basically. Essentially. I don't think it's something that anybody denies. These are traditionally white, middle class sports. Okay. Now, we have a lot of trans athletes who are competing on both sides, but the main issue is when trans athletes are, uh, competing in female sports, when formerly they were male. And so there's this argument of, well, it's an advantage to have been a male, and it's an unfair advantage. I think there's a female group which is fair play for women in sports, and they brought the issue of Laurel, who was in Tokyo games, like, well, this is unfair because somebody missed out on a spot to put this athlete in.

Speaker B

It's totally unfair. It's the death of women's sport. This will be the death of women's sport. Men and women are different. I don't know why we are denying the science. We embrace the science for climate change, but we are denying the science for biology. Guys have the testosterone levels. 1013 nanometers of testosterone, and even sometimes higher than that, like, 20. For a male athlete to come down, they have to be below ten animals. For us to get to a male's minimum testosterone level, we females will have to dope okay, our maximum is, like, three nimals. For us to get to your minimum, we will have to dope a man coming down to, like, ten animals. That is ridiculous, because not only is it dangerous for him, because you're messing about with his hormones, you're messing about with his chemistry, you're messing about with his whole being. It is still an unfair advantage. Where you have the lung capacity, you have the tensile strength, you have the bone density. I can't believe this is a topic for discussion. It's why are you denying the science? Why are people, uh, denying the science? This is what I don't understand. And unfortunately, it's another group coming for females. This is the biggest injustice since the suffragette movement. I'm absolutely mortified. I'm so glad I'm not competing again. But I make my point very clear that this is wrong on every level. This is wrong. Um, you give with one hand, and you take back with the other.

Speaker A

We've been told for a long time with the feminist movement and equal opportunity movements in different groups. We've been told people are the same. Yeah, people are the same in principle, but there are differences. And in sport, there's a difference somewhere. Like, men and women are the same. You're like, well, if men and women are the same, when we look at the results in the sports, why is it always different? Why is the man always faster? He can jump higher. He can lift more weights. Right. Because there's a difference between a man and a woman. That's why men and women don't compete together in most sports. Most sports, men and women don't compete together. Any sport I can think of where men and women compete together is like doubles tennis. But then you still have to have you wouldn't have, like, two women and two men on the same side. Um, you have to have both because there would be a clear advantage for man.

Speaker B

I don't know if you ever saw the mixed relays.

Speaker A

No.

Speaker B

Oh, God.

Speaker A

I didn't see that.

Speaker B

It was a joke. You will have the female, uh, she'd be getting a great head start, and she's running on the track. And then it will change over to the male leg. And then that distance will just be coming up. And he comes up and he surpasses her, thinking he just smoked the whole field, I think. I can't believe what they're doing. They're trying to be so inclusive that they're losing the plot.

Speaker A

Yeah. It's such a tricky subject today. It's so tricky that it's funny that women now feel like they're on the defense because they're being attacked. If they say, uh, something about it, it's like, Oh, no, you're not being inclusive. The interesting thing about Laurel was that she lost. She didn't actually qualify for her lift, which everyone was like, you see? She lost. But the issue was here. But a female athlete couldn't compete because of her. She took the place of someone else. I can't remember the girl's name. A girl from Nauru. Right. This small polynesian island. But, yes, you can compete.

Speaker B

Yeah, I know that. It's outrageous.

Speaker A

Okay, so we've been going for an hour and 50 minutes.

Speaker B

Okay.

Speaker A

Uh, so we had a good chat. What would you say to people who are thinking of doing Olympic weightlifting?

Speaker B

I always say, do something that a lot of people don't do. Stand up from the crowd. It's a great sport. It's very technical. You have to have a different mindset to do it. It benefits for you in so many different levels. So many different levels. You, as a person, how you see yourself, the determination to do something so different, so technical, so demanding. It does have a good knock on effect to your mindset with life. And it makes you a complete athlete, where you have the mobility, you have the flexibility, you have the strength, you have the power. It's the whole nine yards. And I think females absolutely come on board it empowers them. So when they go to the gym, they do not feel intimidated. Actually, they're the ones that are doing the intimidation, because the movements they're doing is like raw. God, that woman is getting under the bar with her own body weight in seconds.

Speaker A

Where can we find more about you? Do you have social media? Where can we follow the team?

Speaker B

We have the website Zodiac Arts, Sports for all. We, uh, also have the Chin Tobago Olympic Weightlifting Federation. And so if you look at Twas, it's TTOWF, you see all the stuff that we've done for Trinidad and Tobago. We're on Instagram, West London Lifters. Find us on Instagram, see what we're up to. Absolutely.

Speaker A

All right. It's been amazing. Thank you, Coach laura, you're very interesting.

Speaker B

Thank you.

Speaker A

Thank you. Okay, guys, to find out more about my guest, as always, check out the show notes. If you liked this episode, I really recommend you check out episode 17, balancing Health and Art as a Co Witch. And episode seven, crossing Fitness with Coach Grant Reynolds. Okay, guys, see you in a couple of weeks.