Her Journey To Olympic Weight Lifitng

"My name is Helena and I am a personal trainer at Riverside Health Club. I am a certified fitness trainer, ISSA (international sport sciences association) certified, a certified nutrition trainer, ISSA (international sport sciences association) a certified specialist in strength and conditioning, ISSA (international sport sciences association) and I am certified in TRX basics.

About 3 years ago, I began focusing my training on Olympic weight lifting. When I started I remember barely being able to snatch 85lbs, and 135lbs in my clean and jerk was monumental for me. I competed in my first competition in February of 2016. In that meet I finished with a 53kg (~117lbs) snatch and a 75kg (165lb) clean & jerk. I competed in two more meets in 2016, finishing off the year's meets with (at the time) a personal best of 61kg (~134lb) snatch and an 83kg (~183lb) clean and jerk. I had never had any sort of formal coaching, it was simply Leland (a trainer at Riverside Health Club) and myself working together to get better at something we were both pretty new at. After 2016 I took a long hiatus due to a hip injury. I went through multiple months of physical therapy to fix me up. I could only work on light weight and form basically during this time. Around February 2017 I was back in the game and started training to get my strength back. Then August 2017 I had to lay off of the lifting and focus on my college volleyball season that went through November.

I came back in December 2017, harder and more determined than ever. At this point Leland and I had stopped working together as I had surpassed his Olympic weightlifting coaching ability to help me as an Olympic lifting athlete (this is not his specialty as a trainer), so this is where the real learning experience began for me. Since then, I have been almost 100% self trained. 

My current training PR for my snatch is 70kg (154lbs) and my clean & jerk is sitting at 93kg (~205lbs). I now comfortably lift my previous PR meet numbers, regularly. 

I'm finally healthy and my strength is back. It's time for another meet!

I have learned so much and I don't want to keep it to myself! If you're a beginner just getting started, or if you're ready to take it to the next level - get in contact with me by entering your info below and I will get you where you want to go!"