Here is a day in a life of the 2014 European 75kg champion, Lydia Valentin.
I think it’s targeted towards the non weightlifting crowd, but I think Lidia fans will still enjoy it.
With my crappy Spanish skills I got that she has a 70/30 carbs / protein mix after training, but that’s about it.
Update: Gracias a Juan for translating. (Scroll down for the translation)
From Juan: At last! Finally I can contribute to the world of weightifting. The documentary, as you say, it is not very technical and meant for the general public, but this is the overview:
Sign outside weightlifting gym:
“They call it luck, but it is consistency. They call it coincidence, but it is discipline. They call it genetics, but it is sacrifice”
Her training is very routinary (she is preparing for the European championship at the time of the filming):
- 9am – start of morning training;
- 1pm – end of morning training;
- (she then showers, eats and has a nap)
- 5pm – start of evening training;
- 7.30-8pm – end of evening training
- (she then goes to the spa to relax)
- 9pm – Eats dinner
- 11pm – she is sleeping
She started by chance when she was 11 years old. She was very sporty (did all kinds of sports) and the weightlifting coach saw her and suggested to try the sport. Her mother was opposed to it initially as it was a very manly sport and she was just 11 years old, but after she saw that she really enjoyed it she accepted it.
She comments that you need a good physique, ability, flexibility and good technique to get results in weightlifting.
She then talks and explains a snatch, saying how it is the more technical and complicated of the two movements. Then she talks and explains the clean and jerk.
Goals:
She wants to be in the high performance programme (“Alto Rendimiento”: a Spanish programme for elite athletes) until 2016, when she will turn 31.
After that she doesn’t know depending on how she feels, whether she achieves international medals and keeps the same level as she has at the minute; but officially her objective is 2016.
Massage Guy (Sergio):
She goes to have a massage because of muscle overload/soreness on the dorsal and lumbar area of her back.
Sergio comments how these type of soreness is common amongst weightlifters and he treats them every day to take out all the muscular tensions before the second training session of the day. He says that Lidia tends to have recurring tension accumulating in the sacro-lumbar region of her back.
Protein Shake:
70% carbs / 30% proteins – Essential for to replenish the wear from the first training session (ED: you got it right Gregor!)
Snatch Sequence:
Sequence of her 122 kgs snatch from the Worlds in November where she got the bronze medal. She is very proud of it and calls it her super snatch, which she dedicated to her coach Matias
Matias (Lidia’s coach):
He has trained her from the age of 15, since she arrived at the High Performance Centre.
Her Room:
She lives in the Joaquin Blume residence in the Centre of High Performance (CAR = Centro de Alto Rendimiento; its abbreviation in Spanish).
Only the elite sportsmen/women live there, those that are subsidised by grants from the Spanish sports federation.
She also has an ADO grant (Asociacion de Deportes Olimpicos = Olympic Sport Association) and two other funding awards from the regional government of Castilla Leon (the region from where she is from in Spain).
It depends on the level of the sportsman/woman but in her case these grants and allow her to dedicate 100% to olympic weightlifting, without the need to find a job.
Medals:
The most valuable items in her room. She shows her medals when she was silver in the European Championship, gold in the Mediterranean Games, gold in the national championship, bronze at the Worlds and gold at the Grand Prix (President Cup in Russia)
In 20 Years Time:
She says that she sees herself in 20 years having her own business, which will have to do with sports, including personal training and sports training.
She then goes and have dinner with the other girls 🙂
Other Athlete Profiles:
At last! Finally I can contribute to the world of weightifting. The documentary, as you say, it is not very technical and meant for the general pubic, but this is the overview:
– Sign outside weightlifting gym:
“They call it luck, but it is consistency. They call it coincidence but it is discipline. They call it genetics, but it is sacrifice”
– Her training is very routinary (she is preparing for the European championship at the time of the filming):
9am – start of morning training;
1pm – end of morning training;
(she then showers, eats and has a nap)
5pm – start of evening training;
7.30-8pm – end of evening training
(she then goes to the spa to relax)
9pm – Eats dinner
11pm – she is sleeping
– She started when she was 11 years old by chance. She was very sporty (did all kinds of sports) and the weightlifting coach saw her and suggested to try the sport)
– Mother was opposed to it initially as it was a very manly sport and she was just 11 years old, but after she saw that she really enjoyed it she accepts it
– She comments that you need a good physique, ability, flexibility and good technique to get results in weightlifting
– She then talks and explains a snatch, saying how it is the more technical and complicated of the two movements
– She talks and explains the clean and jerk.
OBJECTIVE
– She wants to be in the high performance programme (“Alto Rendimiento”: a Spanish programme for elite athletes) until 2016, when she will turn 31
– After that she doesn’t know depending on how she feels, whether she achieves international medals and keeps the same level as she has at the minute; but officially her objective is 2016
MASSAGE GUY (Sergio)
– She goes to have a massage because of muscle overload/soreness on the dorsal and lumbar area of her back
– Sergio comments how these type of soreness is common amongst weightlifters and he treats them every day to unload the muscle and eliminate tension for the evening session
– He comments that Lidia tends to have reoccurring tension accumulating in the sacro-lumbar region of her back
PROTEIN SHAKE
– 70% carbs / 30% proteins – Essential for to replenish the wear from the first training session (ED: you got it right Gregor!)
SNATCH SEQUENCE
– Sequence of her 122 kgs snatch from the Worlds in November where she got the bronze medal
– She is very proud of it and calls it her super snatch, which she dedicated to her coach Matias
MATIAS (Lidia’s coach)
– He has trained her from the age of 15, since she arrived at the High Performance Centre
HER ROOM
– She lives in the Joaquin Blume residence in the Centre of High Performance (CAR = Centro de Alto Rendimiento; its abbreviation in Spanish).
– Only the elite sportsmen/women live there, those that are subsidised by grants from the Spanish sports federation
– She also has an ADO grant (Asociacion de Deportes Olimpicos = Olympic Sport Association) and two other funding awards from the regional government of Castilla Leon (the region from where she is from in Spain)
– It depends on the level of the sportsman/woman but in her case these grants and allow her to dedicate 100% to olympic weightlifting, without the need to find a job
MEDALS
– The most valuable items in her room
– She shows her medals when she was silver in the European Championship, gold in the Mediterranean Games, gold in the national championship, bronze at the Worlds and gold at the Grand Prix (President Cup in Russia)
IN 20 YEARS TIME
– She says that she sees herself in 20 years having her own business, which will have to do with sports, including personal training and sports training
She then goes and have dinner with the other girls 🙂
A bit of a long summary, but take whatever you may. Hope it helps!
Thanks a lot for taking the time.
No bother. A few errors in my text, but you can correct them on your edit. As said, it is not very informative and technical, so I hope you can use it all or at least part of it
Seven (!) hours of training per day? I know it’s likely not all spent lifting, but still it seems excessive compared to Russian/Chinese or even German program reports.
I think she meant the time “from dressing to showering”. I don’t think its very unsual. I would guess that the Chinese spend even more time in the training facilities. There was a time – I think pre-Athens – when the Germans did three sessions per day. The Bulgarians were basically training the whole day (see Vanevs schedule on this site)
It always appears to me that athletes tend to pick their busiest days when they do videos like this. The Chinese train roughly 6-7 hrs a day 2-3 times a week rest of the week is 2.5-3 hrs but once again all the accessory warm up n cool down is included in that for the most part i believe
Speaking of her medals, with Zubova getting the boot LV can now update her 2013 WWC individual snatch to silver while also receiving a c&j and total bronze. Persistence I guess.