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Olympic weightlifting, skiing and long-distance running are just some of the different sports that Rebecca Brett is currently involved with. Alongside these sports, she also competes in hyrox, a competition which combines running with different intense exercises.
When asked about her motivations behind competing on so many different fronts, Rebecca cited her passion for fitness in general, saying that “for me it’s more for fun. I just love being strong, being fit”. Rebecca also said that she can sometimes spend up to four hours in the gym, both training and socialising with friends.
Growing up, she was also a regular skier, spending time on the slopes since she was five years old, even spending part of her gap year on a ski season, learning different skills such as black country skiing.
Originally, the first area that Rebecca decided to pursue was in Olympic weightlifting, starting out by going to the gym at the age of 16 and running her own fitness account. At first, she attempted to teach herself how to do the different techniques in Olympic weightlifting, before a coach then reached out to her on social media, offering to train her. This passion then led her to going to Loughborough University studying sports science. where she began competing in the sport.
During her first year at Loughborough, she competed in her first tournament at Brunel University in London, going on to compete regularly as a 59kg weightlifter, the most competitive categories for women. As someone who had only taken up Olympic weightlifting to set a challenge for herself, Rebecca said that competing at university was “a really different experience competing with all eyes on you”.
Describing competitions as a “very intense” environment, Rebecca said that to this day, she has still never hit a personal best competing at university. However, Rebecca said that she has become more relaxed in the environment and will be ready to go back into competitions when she returns to Loughborough for her final year. This year, she has spent time on a placement year working with endurance athletes, focusing on her own endurance and taking up an interest in running.
Over the course of this placement year beginning in November, taking a step back from weightlifting, Rebecca said that she is currently training for a half-marathon, again something she had never considered before, never running before competing in her first hyrox last April. Getting into running had originally come from a desire to improve her performances as a hyrox athlete, before deciding to do a half marathon later this year.
Rebecca said that she had never even done running just as a form of cardio, preferring rowing (which she has also competed in). In her own words, she “absolutely hated” running. For her upcoming half marathon, Rebecca said that she has set herself a target of completing the process in under two hours, saying “I’m not one to shy away from fitness challenges”. These challenges can also help provide structures for her training.
She also recommended that other Jews should be getting more into fitness generally, combating the stigma around what weightlifters should look like. In terms of what advice she would give to other people beginning their fitness journey, Rebecca said that people should “have a goal to train towards that’s not to do with how you look”. As a qualified personal trainer/online coach, she also said that she is happy to help anyone reaching out with questions related to performance goals.
“For me, the most empowering thing is feeling strong. I’m more grateful for what my body can do to me instead of how it looks”, Rebecca said.
Returning to Loughborough next year, Rebecca said that her aspirations, as ever, are related to her previous achievements, and that her focus for next year is “to get to the strongest I’ve ever been”.