BY RACHEL GALATIS
A few months ago, John Paulhamus decided he wanted to challenge himself.
“Me and a few other friends competed in what would be my first weight-lifting competition in October together, and I was pleased with the way it went,” he said.
In years prior, the sophomore, who goes by the nickname “Paully,” spent his time sprinting and prepping for track meets. But with a little persuasion from his friends back home, he decided to take a different route and prep for something different.
The competition was held on October 30 at Odyssey Barbell Club in Salem, New Hampshire, and consisted of three weight categories: squat, bench, and deadlift. Competitors have three attempts at each one.
Final scores consist of the best weight in each category added together. Paully finished with 163 pounds, which he considers to be “the cap.”
“Occasionally, I find it hard to stay lean and have muscle and strength, and sometimes you feel like you are struggling,” he said. “Other times you feel amazing at what you can accomplish.”
To prepare, Paully trains with a “push, pull, leg split,” which involves two days dedicated to each one for six days out of the week. He calls day seven his “rest day,” which he dedicates to “lots of stretching and cardio.”
Typically, weightlifters take five months in between competitions to recover and prepare because of how intense training is.
He said that the most important part of the process is to remember to stay mobile because of how many different positions weightlifting incorporates, but the hardest part is the diet that is needed to prepare.
“Diet is a big part of it because you can’t eat whatever you want,” he said. “It’s a lot of protein and little carbs, which is tough to balance and often leaves me hungry in the weeks prior to competing.”
To fuel his tough workouts, which can sometime be an hour or two of fasted cardio, Paully said he eats mostly chicken breasts from the salad bar at the dining hall and protein shakes. He credits “low carb tortillas with cheese and grilled chicken” as his go-to meal when he’s in a rush.
When he’s not in the gym, he goes to class, does homework, or plays in club soccer games and practices. He said that it can be hard to balance everything as a full-time student and athlete with the intensity of weightlifting.
“It can be tough trying to balance everything because I have to make sure I get all of my work done on top of practices, and by the end of the day, I have to worry about getting in that extra cardio and figure out what to eat,” Paully said.
Paully said that he likes being part of a community where everyone is supportive and roots for each other regardless of experience level.
“This is a place where everybody is routing for each other and no one is bringing anyone down, which makes it feel less like a competition and more like fun,” he said. “It’s very enjoyable seeing all these people out here; the energy is very good.”
Paully will be competing in his next competition on January 22 at Audacity Barbell Club.