A Journey from International Powerlifter to Aspiring Pro Bodybuilder
Good as Gold's Podcast EP07
Trigger warning – eating disorders
Nicholas, or Nick, Weir is an internationally recognised powerlifter, an aspiring pro IFBB bodybuilder, a sports nutritionist, an online physique coach and a biomedicine undergraduate student. Thankfully he managed to find a few minutes in his extremely busy life to sit down and chat with hosts Cal and Em on the Good as Gold’s podcast about his journey with exercise and bodybuilding, and the importance of mindset and nutrition.
In his early twenties, Nick was a competitive powerlifter – a sport that saw him travel to Vegas for the World Powerlifting Championships.
“I did around 270 kilo squat at that competition, I think it was 180 kilogram bench and I was on track for a 300 plus kilo deadlift but I tore my teres major quite severely on my opening deadlift so I had to just finish my numbers at 260 but still came first so I was happy with that.”
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In mid 2020 Nick decided to pursue a different dream and transition from powerlifting to bodybuilding – something he wanted to do for a very long time! He’s now working towards obtaining his pro card.
“A pro card is a credential in the bodybuilding community, that kind of is kept exclusive to the best of the best. In order to get it you have to win your class in the opens and then go to a national or pro qualifier and also come first in that typically.”
His end goal is to compete on the Mr. Olympia stage.
“I think regardless of who it is, like if you’re a competitor, if you compete in bodybuilding, you’re going to have some degree of a competitive streak. It’ll vary from person to person. So I can’t deny that. I just want to be the best of the best. I want to win.”
For Nick, lifting gave him a purpose in life and helped him overcome extreme challenges.
“I mean I started lifting about ten years ago. I was 57 kilo. I had anorexia in high school and if I kept heading down that path, my doctor basically said I would end up in hospital. So I had to turn a page so to speak. I had a lot of things throughout my childhood where I had no control or influence over, and so the outcome was largely outside of my control. But when it came to the food I had 100% control over it. So I kind of hyper focused on that and always trying to control my food because it was the only thing that I had to follow in my life at that point in time.”
He put in the work to recover…and today is a whole new man.
In April he entered his first bodybuilding competition and won first timers. He is now putting into place what he learnt in that show, to work towards his Mr. Olympia goal. Nick said while it is 80 per cent nutrition, and of course training, it also comes down to mindset.
“When it comes to setting a goal, obviously you need to understand your why, like the intrinsic reason behind what you’re setting out to do and achieve. If you just set a goal, I want to get a six pack because then people would like me more or I’ll be more self-confident. Like a lot of the time a bad goal. It’s a very weak framework for a goal because you don’t get self-confidence from achieving a certain body composition.”
When it comes to his clients, and himself, Nick focuses on process oriented goals and training.
“I always try to say to my clients always shoot for your goal. Set the standards, set the bar high and try not to have a plan B because I think plan B is implying that plan A is going to fail. I don’t like plan B. I do think that you need to be willing to improvise and adapt to the situation and the circumstances as they come and go and change, but don’t go into pursuing a goal while having another plan on the back burner because it’s going to take some of your focus and attention away.”
To hear more about Nick’s journey and his Mr. Olympia goal, subscribe or follow us on Youtube, Spotify or Apple Podcasts.