Weightlifting with Hidilyn Diaz

LAST Wednesday, I had the privilege of lecturing in Cebu Weightlifting’s seminar alongside Hidilyn Diaz, Rio Olympics Silver medalist. The event, organized by Jude Sulla, and with the guidance of Cebu Schools Athletic Foundation Inc. (Cesafi) commissioner Felix Tiukinhoy, was geared toward propagating the sport at the grassroots level.

Why weightlifting?

Weightlifting is a sport we Filipinos should be very competitive with in the international level. Competitors are divided in weight classes, which negates any advantage brought about by heft.

What are the benefits of weightlifting?

Weightlifting is all about strength, speed and technique, things that carry over to any sport very well. One must lift heavy loads quickly and be good with the technique in order to be effective.

For fitness, it’s a great way to challenge your workouts, as there is something very gratifying about moving heavy loads fast. It is also innately satisfying to see your lifts improve over time when you stick to a proper program. One can build muscle mass with a weightlifting program, become more athletic and even lose fat.

I’m hoping that more coaches train under Cebu Weightlifting, and I also hope that they keep their standards high and strict. This is only necessary to make sure that clients don’t get injured. It’s one thing to watch videos from YouTube on how to lift, but it’s another to actually work with a seasoned veteran who’s learned in the sport.

I also got to meet again coaches Ramon Solis, Eli Deldig and Danny Catingub, coaches in Cebu I’ve admired and should be enshrined in our Sports Hall of Fame. I also enjoy meeting these guys as there’s always something to learn from just talking shop with them.

I hope weightlifting catches on as a competitive sport in Cebu. I hope that the interest continues to grow and that we will see weightlifting as a part of school competitions.

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