By Rhiannon Reynolds
I authenticated my main mission as of yesterday. In between client appointments at work, I sat down and read through the new qualification procedures for the American Open and Nationals.
If you haven’t checked it out yet, read through here: USAW Updated Qualifying Procedures
I saw my name, among over 3,000 women weightlifters in the USA, ranked regardless of weight class. Although I am quite appreciative that I am still in the “invite” zone, this serves as further impetus to get better and stay focused on the goal. Since the qualifying procedures have changed, there has been an outrage amongst most weightlifters and coaches. Without going into a huge rant, I believe that this is a good thing. Instead of defeating those who were qualified with old totals, it should encourage them to improve. And for the top 15 that are supposedly “safe” in each weight class; they also have to get strong and stay strong if they want to maintain those top positions. These procedures just make the sport more competitive. I felt that competitive drive again as I scrolled through numerous names, deciding simultaneously where exactly I want to be before the 2014 AO. After that, I made a declaration to myself: “I am going to get there, and won’t stop until I am.”
I already spoke about wanting to drop down to 53kg, wanting to be top 5-10 in my weight class by December. It’s funny though; when you see a list with everyone’s ranking regardless of weight class, how things are put into perspective. I don’t want to be ranked at 151 out of every female lifter in the country! I want to be ranked in the top 50! Maybe even the top 20! I don’t want to be 28th in the 58kg weight class. I want more, and know that there’s nothing holding me back. I am always serious about my goals. I was completely serious the last time I mentioned them a couple of blogs ago. But now I feel like change has to start happening; no time can be wasted. Reading that document lit a fire under my ass. The next day I bought a new, fancy scale, and programmed it in kilograms. I’ve already been eating really healthy and drinking lots of water. Now I am logging everything into a journal religiously. I haven’t hit any new snatch or clean and jerk PR’s recently, but I know that I will soon. I’ve been strictly focused on consistency and minimal or no misses during training.
As for the weight cut, I feel like it’s not happening fast enough. I’ve been getting leaner and stronger, but am still stuck at 56kg. The fitness professional side of me knows that I am on the right track and it’s supposed to happen slowly. I have to lose fat, maintain my muscle mass, and get stronger. Alas, I still want to see the progress moving along steadily. I’m the type of person who is more comfortable reaching my target weight and training at it for a while, so I can get familiar with it. I’ve been approached by members and coworkers alike, asking if I have lost weight. And I look like I’ve visibly lost weight, but the scale hasn’t been budging. Yet, patience is a virtue. You gotta love weightlifter problems.
This is what is helping me get through it: reminiscing about how I cringed at the idea of dropping from 63kg to 58kg. I, like a lot of girls, have had some issues with my body image. But what was different about me is that I always wanted to have more lean muscle mass and be bigger. I dread being “skinny”. I’m like the guy at the gym who says how small he is, even when he’s jacked. It’s funny when I look back at it: I was dreading losing all this muscle mass I had – when in all actuality, it was just body fat that made me look bigger. I still have the same, if not more, muscle mass and now you can see it better instead of being hidden underneath that dang sleeping bag. Again, my fitness professional mind already knew that, but sometimes we tend not listen to ourselves, no matter how much knowledge we possess. Initially, when I thought of dropping to 53kg, my initial thought was the same.
I’ve since learned to set those thoughts aside. I won’t ever be “skinny”, that’s not the way I’m built. And that’s not even the point! That’s not what it should be all about, regardless of what sport you’re in (unless it’s bodybuilding, obviously). I’m actually excited to see what my 53kg body will look and feel like. I want more emphasis to be placed on what it will “feel” like. That’s the most important thing. Although we all have a little part of ourselves that will always want to be happy with our appearance, I love feeling strong, and I can’t wait to feel stronger. I’ll always want to have big muscles. But image isn’t the end all, be all. I’m not judged on the platform by what I look like. Whatever body that allows me to lift the most amount of weight and feel great doing it is the right body for me. So, for now, the 53kg quest continues! Hopefully next week I will be able to report back with a new and improved bodyweight.