In this episode of Athlete Things: Road to Junior Worlds, Bobby catches up with Alba Boström, the current Ranked #1 Female in Sweden while still being a Junior. 

Alba, who has already competed in five World Championships, is preparing for her sixth in Malta.  Fresh off an impressive 4th-place finish at the Open Worlds in Lithuania, she reflects on the power of healthy competition and how it has driven her to incredible heights. 

Alba takes us through her extensive competition history, sharing the unique lessons she's learned from each World Championship, including themes of maturity, confidence, and the role of luck. With more than 20 competitions to her name, Alba discusses how she learns to stay healthy while preparing for competitions.

In her final Junior World Championship, Alba goes up against one of the most decorated powerlifters in history, the current U57 Open World Champion, Jade Jacob. Alba excitedly shares how this invigorates her competitive spirit and she welcomes the competition.

Alba also opens up about her journey into powerlifting, hoping to inspire others to pursue their passions. Don’t miss this inspiring story! 

In this episode of "Athlete Things: Road to Junior Worlds," Bobby chats with Maybelle Thieu and Joyce Solis, who recently competed at the APA Junior Nationals 2024, placing first in the U69 Juniors and second in the U63 Juniors, respectively, with Maybelle also claiming the title of Junior Best Female Lifter. 

Both athletes, coached by Danny, share their experiences of balancing seriousness with fun in their training. As teammates and close friends, Maybelle and Joyce discuss how their bond strengthened, with Maybelle even helping Joyce at her meet despite having to compete the next day. 

They open up about their performances at Nationals, detailing the physical and mental challenges they faced, including significant injuries and self-doubt, and how they overcame these obstacles. 

Training out of Breakthrough Fitness, the duo explains the importance of a conducive training environment and how good training equipment and crew can elevate their training quality and experience.

Lastly, they discuss their ambitions for Worlds and what they hope to achieve in the coming years.

Tune in to hear their inspiring journeys to Worlds! 

In this episode, Tarrin, Steve, and Chris sit down to discuss the role of accessories in powerlifting. One of PerforMotion's Exercise Physiologists, Chris, joined to provide insight from the perspective of a rehab specialist. The conversation then diverges into pain management, exploring how accessories can be used to address the root cause of pain or to work around it.

In this episode of "Athlete Things: Road to Junior Worlds," Bobby chats with Simon Chehade and William Qin, Australia's Junior National Champions in the U93 and U59 categories, respectively. Simon also earned the title of Junior Best Male Lifter, making him Australia's strongest Junior.

Simon and William discuss their intense performances at Nationals, where Simon pulled ahead of his competitors for the win and William forced his rivals to miss. They share their perspectives on these pivotal moments.

Reflecting on the past, Simon and William talk about overcoming their individual knee and back injuries respectively during their training in previous years as well as the lessons learned from past competitions.

In the present, they discuss how training for their biggest meet yet has fostered strong bonds, pushing each other to be the best versions of themselves. Both reveal their ambitious goals, aiming to make a statement in the Opens.

Tune in to hear their inspiring stories!

In this episode of Athlete Things: Road to Junior Worlds 2024: Malta, Bobby sits down with Yue Ning, securing her ticket to Malta by placing second in the U57 Junior Category and third Overall Best Female Lifter at Singapore's Reformd Powerlifting Combined Nationals. 

Yue Ning discusses her aspirations to qualify for Worlds, which began when she seriously took up powerlifting at the end of 2022. Starting from scratch under the guidance of her coach, Bobby, she competed in two local meets in 2023, sharing her insights and lessons learned. In just over a year, she advanced to Nationals and transformed from a beginner to one of Singapore's strongest female juniors. 

Yue Ning has since started working with her new coach and nutritionist, Steven and Sophia, steadily building momentum along the way, all while managing the rigor of medical school. Despite the challenges, she remains confident in her upcoming performance in Malta. 

Yue Ning also delves into her competitive roots in Ultimate Frisbee, revealing the reason behind her competitive nature — a burning desire for self-improvement. That desire alone has transcended over into powerlifting, yielding results powerful enough to take her to the world stage.

Join Yue Ning as she prepares to take on the international platform in just under six weeks! 

In this episode of Athlete Things: Road to Junior Worlds, Bobby sits down with Daisy Brooks (aka Miss Worldwide), Performotion's in-house nutritionist and Australia's u57 Junior National Champion, as she prepares for her journey to Malta in under 6 weeks.

Daisy delves into her competition history, highlighting the transition from mostly local meets in Perth throughout 2023 to a hectic 2024 schedule that includes domestic travels for Junior and Open Nationals and an international trip to the recent Bench Worlds in Austin, Texas.

Daisy also reflects on her first international competition at Bench Worlds, where she secured the first international medal for the Australia Powerlifting Alliance. Additionally, Bobby and Daisy explore the differences in preparation for a full power meet versus a bench-only meet.

She discusses the challenges and experiences of competing frequently, with three competitions in just six months and Junior Worlds being her fourth. Daisy explains the physical and mental measures she takes to maintain her health and performance under such a demanding schedule.

Tune in as Daisy ventures into her journey as an athlete and nutritionist!

In this episode of Athlete Things: Road to Junior Worlds 2024: Malta, join Bobby as he sits down with Glynnis Low, who secured her spot at Junior Worlds by placing second in the U52 Junior Category at Singapore's Reformd Powerlifting Combined Nationals. 

Glynnis shares her journey of transitioning from the U57 weight class to U52, driven by a desire for greater competitiveness and the potential for success in the weight category below.

Under Bobby's guidance, they reflect on their experience working with each other and the strategies that have led to Glynnis' success amidst the adversities in competition.

Drawing from her background in competitive swimming, Glynnis discusses how she has matured as an athlete and applied her takeaways and experiences to excel in powerlifting (with nerves being the recurring theme). 

 Tune in as they delve into Glynnis' aspirations for Worlds, and what lies beyond.

This week, Tarrin and Steve sit down to discuss the elements of reactive programming. What does it mean to program in a reactive and flexible way, and what are the benefits of this approach? How can being overly reactive be detrimental? How can we manage an athlete who wants to make knee-jerk alterations to their training?

4o

As Open Worlds in Lithuania comes to a close, another set of curtains is raised for the future generation of powerlifting in Malta. We kickstart this series "Road to Junior Worlds 2024: Malta" with none other than Sylvie Thomas, Great Britain's U52 Sub Junior National Champion.

Discover how Sylvie's partnership with her coach, Tarrin Wilson from PerforMotion, has shaped her both physically and mentally, leading to remarkable progress in her training.

Drawing from her background in competitive gymnastics, Sylvie reflects on her past experiences and how they have influenced her approach to powerlifting.

Sylvie also discusses her upcoming competitions, including the Junior Europeans in Czech Republic. Despite a short 5 week turnaround, she embraces the challenges that lie ahead with optimism and determination. Tune in to gain insight into Sylvie's journey, her aspirations for the future, and the lessons she has learned along the way.

This week, Tarrin, Steve, Kelly, and David sit down to discuss gameday coaching. What makes a good gameday coach? What are some common mistakes and oversights? How do we gauge what an athlete needs from us if we have never coached them before?