Emirati weightlifter and Olympic hopeful Amna Al Haddad has just returned from her second competition – and trip – out of the country where she rubbed shoulders with and learned from the sport’s elite at the Arnold Weightlifting Championships in Columbus, Ohio.
She came away with a host of information on the ins and outs of lifting on a competitive level as she prepares for Rio 2016. Sport360 took the chance to speak to the 23-year-old about her day-to-day life and what the future holds.
What was it like being at the Arnold Weightlifting Championships (AWC)?
It was absolutely a big milestone in my journey as an Olympic Weightlifter. It took me to a whole new level of understanding the sport closely and how it works in competition. It was really exciting to meet a lot of well-known athletes – some are record holders, and I even met a US Olympian who competed at London 2012, Holley Mangold, who was kind enough to spend some time with me trying to locate someone in the big venue!
It is humbling to have competed among some of the elite athletes, and even athletes within my level. Weightlifting is more of mental-muscle sport, than it is physical, and you could really see that in the lifters both onstage and behind in the warm-up area.
What positives did you draw from the experience?
Given the amount of time I have been in the sport and seriously training for it, I have done myself proud by simply having the ability to compete, show good technique, and most importantly, getting my first official competition total (the highest successful lifts in the Snatch and the Clean and Jerk).
My goal for this competition was to focus on learning how the sport works, get a total, and enjoy the overall experience. I am not in a hurry for the ranks and medals just yet, as I know weightlifting requires a lot more than four months of training to reach a proficient and elite level. In fact a lot of weightlifters peak within 10 years of training!
Now you’re back, what’s the game plan?
I’ve been in my off-season for a couple of weeks for recovery and especially because my training is intensifying again. Hopefully I’ll be competing in another event soon (more details later). When it comes to training and competing, my coaches at FAST Athletic Training consider micro and macro cycles that develop me as an athlete.
Factors such as preparation, competing, transitioning, power, strength, and technical work are all taken into account of my programming and peaking for competition for the short-term and long-term plan. I am aiming to compete in a minimum three to four competitions a year, and hopefully once I am fully sponsored, I would like to compete in a lot more events.
Share with us a typical day in your life.
On average, when I wake I eat my favourite breakfast (meat and avocados), I would train twice a day (based on my training phase) or eight sessions a week, anywhere between three-four hours in a day, nap between training sessions if I could, and then spend my evenings working on my blog, writing, studying my lifts/performance, researching. Then I focus on recovery, so spending 30 minutes to an hour stretching, foam rolling, and doing trigger point therapy.
Do you make time for anything else?!
I do make time to attend events from time to time, catch up with friends, go to the movies. I do that twice a week on average. But yes, most of my time is spent within the sport, health and fitness industry, and I love it!
You seem very much a tomboy and yet very beautiful/well kept, not to mention Arab and Emirati, has there been any pressure from anyone within your family?
I may seem like a tomboy in the media due to the nature of my sport and what I wear, which is what I need because it allows free movement when I train, but that doesn’t make me not feminine. Of course the marriage talk has come up in regards to what I do many times, but I am not looking to change who I am to fit anyone’s ideals, but my own.
I am confident with what I do, who I am as a person and as a woman. I do go for an occasional spa-day every now and then, dress up, and go to weddings… I don’t think these words put together reflect anything but facts about myself. At the end of the day I am a human with a passion, dreams and a goal and that’s what people, in my opinion, are positively responding to.
What have you learnt of the process of preparing and qualifying for Rio 2016?
When I made the decision to qualify for the Olympics, I truly had absolutely no idea what was laying ahead of me, but I knew one thing: I want to do this, so whatever it takes, I am willing to make any necessary sacrifices. I only understood how the sport works late last year and what competitions are vital for me to participate in so I can qualify and compete in the Olympics, and the importance of the UAE Weightlifting Federation.
It is a lot harder than I expected, and it is a lot more than just going to the gym and lifting weights, but I think I’ve been doing quite well, taking it day by day to deal without any hiccups. I have made quite a few sacrifices so far – quitting my job, putting in time toward training and recovery as opposed to socialising, and getting out of my comfort zone in so many ways!
As we’ve just left behind International Womens Day, who is the most inspirational woman you’ve ever met, and if you could acquire one trait from her, what would it be?
My mother – patience.
Go-to snack: Protein shake
Guilty pleasure: Baskin Robins!
Preferred music for training: rock or metal
Most valuable piece of advice from someone in weightlifting/sport: That your mental attitude dictates everything. It’s important to be patient in learning the sport and not compare yourself with another athlete, because the true battle is the one between you and the weight on the barbell.
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