For female weightlifter Amy Hay it began as young girl
growing up as a gymnast in the beautiful and active town of Hood River, OR. With a passion for competition and an inane
desire to push her-self to the limit athletics defined who Amy was causing
people to quickly jump to the conclusion that she was an unstoppable power
house. Over the last couple years Amy
has paved a new path in her life by following three simple words; paradox (life is a mystery don’t try to
solve it), humor (don’t be afraid to
laugh at yourself), and change (change
is inevitable, embrace it). LifeStyle
Fitness (LF) recently spoke with Amy about her journey towards creating
positive change in her life through choosing to follow a healthy lifestyle of
strong body and mind.
LifeStyle Fitness
(LF): I know you started your athletic and competitive ventures as a
gymnast and track athlete. What was the
shifting point for you as an athlete from gymnastics and track to competitive
weightlifting?
Amy: I began doing weightlifting competitively as injuries
ultimately kept me from competing in either gymnastics or track in
college. During my first year in college,
and my first year not doing anything competitive, I began to feel the
“competitive itch”. I missed it. Local cross fit gyms lured me into their gyms
and I competed for them for a while, however, I didn't find it challenging enough
both physically and mentally so I looked into Olympic Weightlifting. I
contacted a local coach and he agreed to assess me and see if I had any talent.
It turned out I did, so he began training me.
LF: How does
competing in the weightlifting circuit compare to the gymnastic world for you?
Amy: I
find the two very similar as they are both largely individual sports so the
pressure is all on you; there is no one else for you to fall back on when
things do not go well an aspect I really
love as it forces you to hold yourself
accountable. This can be really hard to get used to, you have to be so brave
and learn how to block everyone else out. I haven’t been able to find anything
else in life that really tests you all the way down to your core. Gymnastics
was and always will be my number one passion, but weightlifting is a close
second due to the similar mental and physical reward.
LF: Not only are
you competing at a high level but you are working on finishing up school to
receive your degree in Exercise and Sports Science with a minor in
Spanish. How do you balance your studies
and training?
Amy:
Finding a balance is very hard, and sometimes I have to make school a priority
and skip a training session. I currently train twice a day on M, W, F, and once
on T, Th and Sat. That means getting up early and getting my morning sessions
in before my classes. Often times I am not finished with classes, homework, and
my internship until late at night and so my evening workouts sometimes go as
late as 11pm.
LF: Do you follow
a specific training and/or diet plan to help you find that balance? What does a
typical day look like for you?
Amy: A typical training day for me starts at 8. I wake up
and eat a bowl of oatmeal or eat a banana. Then I am doing my morning workout
by 9am. Morning workouts are usually shorter and only take me about an hour and
a half. I am
usually in classes until 3, and then I come home and have a snack of either
yogurt or an almond butter and honey sandwich. Then I am working with athletes
for my internship until about 8:30pm with a more intense, usually around 2
hours, evening workout. Sometimes I do conditioning after lifting, depending
how late it is. When I get home I always cook green veggies with rice or
potatoes and meat, either chicken or grass fed beef. I don’t particularly
follow a strict diet; I just try to eat a wide variety of healthy foods with a
balance.
LF: Despite being
a lifelong athlete you didn't always follow the healthy lifestyle you do today
was there a wake up call for you that caused you to start making positive
changes in your life?
Amy:
I think that the biggest wake up call came for me when I had put so much stress
on my body through extreme exercise and eating disorders that I became anemic,
my thyroid stopped working, I developed adrenal fatigue, and my body fat
percentage was so low I no longer
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menstruated. During this time I also
developed a stress fracture in my leg due to over use. Part of me knew that I
had done all of this to myself. But I was very stubborn and I tried to lie to
myself about it for a long time. The pivotal moment during all of this came
when a coach of mine said to me, “Amy, people will still love you if you don’t
do gymnastics.” This may sound like common sense to most people, but in my mind
I was nothing without sports. I was worthless—a failure. These intense ideas
led me to my eating and exercise disorders. When I heard what my coach said I
broke down into tears on the floor. It was something I needed to hear for so
long. I had forgotten that I am AMY. I am a person. Someone who matters outside
of sports, outside of having a perfect body. That was the moment that changed
my entire life. That’s when I began to make changes. Three simple words became my everyday
inspiration:
Paradox, meaning life is a mystery, no
use wasting time trying to solve it.
Humor, don’t be afraid to laugh at your
mistakes, and don’t take yourself too seriously.
Change, change is inevitable, so don’t
resist it, embrace it!
Thinking of these three aspects of life help
to keep me grounded. I laugh at myself often and don’t tear myself down when I
make mistakes. When things don’t go as planned I realize that it is meant to be
that way and I let it go. You have to keep moving forward as life comes at you.
LF: What helps
you to continually push past those obstacles and what advice would you have for
others who may be or have struggled with similar obstacles?
Amy: I have learned to love myself and pay attention to the love
that others have for me. I have begun to view life as something so precious, so
rare, and something to cherish. Ultimately you have to completely love
yourself. Just like you love your family unconditionally, you must too love
yourself unconditionally. Imperfections are meant to be there and so you must
embrace them, don’t try to cover them up. They’re part of you!
LF: What was the
journey like going from whom you used to be to the confident vibrant person you
are now?
Amy: It definitely wasn't easy, but it has been very fun! I finally
was able to relax and not constantly stress about my body. I have become
entirely care free and I can enjoy food and exercise without obsessing about
it.
LF: What
has been the biggest obstacle for you to overcome in your training?
Amy: I
would say the training is definitely the hardest. Physically it is exhausting;
you have to be able to maintain technique and form while fatigued. It’s
especially hard during school when many of my workouts are late at night. So
many times I would rather be getting into bed and instead I am putting on my
lifting shoes. The tough workouts take so much confidence. I am constantly
telling myself that I can do it, you can’t think for a second that you’re going
to miss, otherwise you will. I think this mindset translates over directly into
my everyday life and the confidence I have there as well.
LF: As a female
weightlifter do you feel pressure from the stereotype that often follows the
sport that it’s meant only for men?
Amy: Yes
at times! This question actually made me laugh a little because it reminded me
of some of the comments I get from men on this subject. I have been accused by
men countless times of using steroids, usually it’s because I am stronger than
them and they can’t handle it! I have also been told that I am getting “too
bulky” and that I should stop so I don’t get any more muscle. None of these
comments ever come from women. Women are always very supportive and think what
I do is awesome. I think a strong woman makes some men insecure and so they
come up with hurtful things to try and bring me down. I laugh off any comments
like that.
LF: As with anything in life there are days (even weeks were you just want to throw in the towel; what inspires you to keep motivated
and constantly pushing your body to a new level
Amy: Weightlifting takes so long to get good at, and so I remind
myself on bad days that day does not define me or my potential as a
weightlifter. The only way I can survive this frustration is my not being too
hard on myself. I have developed so much patience. My competitors and coaches
are my biggest motivators. I stay in contact with my competitors and we share
videos with each other of our lifts and that really helps to push all of us.
When I see women in my weight class making lifts, it makes me think, “Wow! She
did it, then that must mean I can too!” Even though we’re all trying to beat
each other, we’re also very supportive and want the others to do well.
LF: So we
understand that training and school make up a majority of your time but in your
downtime, when you aren't training or in school, what do you like to do?
Amy: Any
free time I have I take my dog with me to trails in the gorge, both in
Washington and Oregon, sometimes every day of the week! I have a huge passion
for the outdoors. It’s very relaxing for me and I love the views. I also get to
run! Typically my coaches won’t let me do any running at all, but my dog keeps
a fast pace so I am constantly running to keep up with him. It’s a nice change
of pace from lifting weights all the time.
LF: As you have competed on the national level for two years
now you must have a competition that stands out in your mind as one of your
favorite experiences.
Amy: I would say my most memorable and fun competition was at a
meet in the fall in
Washington. There
was a HUGE crowd watching (which is rare for weightlifting meets). Everyone was
cheering me on, the energy was fantastic and I ended up getting personal
records in both the Snatch and Clean & Jerk and ended up winning the meet,
which got me prize money and new weightlifting shoes. It was so much fun!
LF: Should we
look for you in the Olympics any time soon?
Amy: I would like to compete on an international stage however as
it takes such a long time to get that elite of a level in weightlifting that is
a VERY long term goal. Currently I am
focusing on medaling at nationals.
LF: Outside of
the competition world what do you see yourself doing in the future?
Amy: I would love to help and reach out to teens that are going
through the same struggles I faced and to help them move past it towards living
a healthy lifestyle. Eventually I would
love to be a teacher either at the middle school or high school level.
LF: The goal of
LifeStyle Fitness is to promote a healthy way of life through exercise and
clean eating; what advice do you have for those who are looking to make
positive changes in their life?
Amy: I would say that baby steps are key! If you want to make
changes in your life you must do them progressively and work them into your
daily routine. Maybe that means changing just one meal a day at first, or going
for a walk instead of watching a movie. Eventually that will get easy and you
can continue to add healthy choices into your life. The biggest mistake people
make is trying to change everything all at once. That can be overwhelming and
frustrating and usually sets you up for failure. Baby steps are the wisest way
to go about it. And once you have reached your goal of living a healthy
lifestyle, don’t be afraid to treat yourself or take the day off when you need
it. Life is too short to completely restrict yourself. Don’t be afraid to laugh at yourself and have
fun.
Never forget that life is a journey
and if you don’t keep moving forward as it comes at you, you will miss it.
