- Olivia Reeves, 21, is competing in her first Olympics after setting three world records last year.
- She trains four times a week and visualizes herself smashing each lift before competing.
- This story is part of "Road to Paris," a series chronicling athletes' and spectators' experiences at the Olympic Games.
Olivia Reeves never set out to make the Olympics. But at 21, the Team USA athlete is heading to Paris and is tipped to win gold in women's weightlifting.
Reeves started weightlifting at age 12 and has trained four times a week ever since.
"I probably never missed more than two weeks of training," Reeves told Business Insider.
Reeves now competes in the 156-pound, or 71-kilogram, weight class and holds the junior world record for all three Olympic weightlifting categories: snatch, clean and jerk, and total.
A snatch is performed by lifting a barbell from the ground to overhead in one smooth motion. A clean and jerk is a two-part lift that involves lifting a barbell from the ground to the shoulders (the clean), then lifting the barbell overhead (the jerk). A weightlifter's total is the combined weight of their heaviest snatch and clean and jerk.
She broke three records in December when she lifted a combined total of 498 pounds at the International Weightlifting Federation Grand Prix II in Doha, Qatar.
She just set an American women's weightlifting record of 597 pounds total at the 2024 USA Weightlifting's National Championships Week in June.
Reeves' secret to success? Prioritizing rest, balance, and enjoyment.
As she prepares for her first Olympic Games, Reeves is still a full-time student majoring in sociology at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and doesn't follow a hugely strict diet or sleep schedule. She had pancakes with eggs and coffee for breakfast the day that she spoke with BI and usually goes to bed at about 10 p.m.
Most competitive weightlifters train up to nine times a week, Steve Fauer, her longtime coach, told BI. But after years of training athletes, he's learned it's possible to achieve more with fewer sessions. It enables them to lift heavier weights more often, as they have time to recover in between workouts, and prevents burnout, he added.
"She still comes in enthusiastic nine years later. So I know I'm not burning her out. I'm prolonging her career as long as possible. She's having a good time," he said.
"I think we found a good balance between rest and work and longevity," he added. "We're just trying to do a little better than what we did yesterday. And if that means that we end up being a world champion, then we're a world champion."
While natural ability has helped her succeed, her enthusiasm for weightlifting and drive to show up and keep getting better are what make her unique, Fauer said.
"She just enjoys it so much. She just wants to do better than what she's done before," he said.
Reeves shared with BI how she's preparing for the Olympics.
Integrating rest into training
Reeves' typical two-hour sessions include a snatch variation, a clean-and-jerk variation, and a squat. She works on her technique and lifts on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
Outside training, she does hot yoga once a week for fun and mobility and goes hiking with her dog.
"I would say that's probably the extent of my physical activity," she said. "Rest plays a big part."
As the Paris Games draw closer, Fauer said Reeves would probably go down to two or three sessions a week to give her as much time to rest as possible. This is what they've done for previous competitions, and they plan to change as little as possible.
This less-is-more approach is endorsed by many experts in the fitness world. There's evidence to suggest that "junk volume," which is exercise that doesn't improve strength or build muscle, wastes time and energy and can be an obstacle to progress.
Having a work-life balance
While she prioritizes her sport, Reeves likes having other things in her life, like school, to give her perspective.
"It's really encompassing to have just weightlifting," she said.
It's clear that she tries to apply minimal pressure to herself and keep each part of her life balanced. When asked what advice she would give to someone trying to reach a goal, she said: "Be patient, find something that you enjoy, and then it'll work out."
Fauer applies this kind of balance and realism to how he coaches Reeves. If she's having an off day, for example, he won't push it.
"You just have to really control yourself as a coach to not always want to push," he said.
Visualizing success
To ease her nerves, Reeves is trying to see the Olympics as the same as any other weightlifting competition.
"For me, almost dumbing it down or minimizing it a little bit helps take the pressure off," she said. "Reminding myself that I've done it before — I can do it again."
Like many elite athletes, Reeves uses visualization, a technique in which you imagine yourself smashing your target.
She researches the venue beforehand and watches others compete there so she can closely picture what it will be like on the day.
"I think about how I'm going to walk up the stairs, how I'm going to put chalk on my hands, and exactly how I'm going to walk up to the bar," she said.
On competition day, Reeves wants to feel like she can rely on the autopilot she has meticulously trained.
"Just take a breath. Do a snatch," she said. "That's what I repeat to myself."