When I first met Ruby, her hands were as steady as her gaze—locked onto the barbell that would soon soar above her head. Today, she's here to recount her evolution from a 15-year-old with a knack for weightlifting to a seasoned athlete, teetering on the edge of her personal best at the Queensland State Under-23 Championships. Ruby's tale is a dance of the snatch and clean and jerk, where every lift is a step towards mental fortitude and the pure rush of her first competition. Under Jay Waller's wing, she's not only sculpting her body but also fortifying her resolve, with the barbell as her steadfast partner.
Ruby competes at 12pm AEST on April 14 . To watch go to Queensland Weightlifting's Facebook page for live stream!
And stay tuned, as the buzz of anticipation for Ruby's championship update promises more than just numbers on a scoreboard—it's about the weight of dreams, the gravity of dedication, and the uplift of the human spirit. We'll follow up with Ruby after Sunday and
More on Ruby Ruby started lifting at the age of 15 in Perth, Western Australia. She loves lifting all the heavy things... barbell-related. Ruby has represented her state and Australia as a junior lifter. She moved to the Whitsundays 3 years ago and has been training at Whitsunday Weightlifting. The loves of her life are her boyfriend Jaspa who is also a very talented lifter and her cattle dog Beau. Follow Ruby on Instagram @ruby_carwardine
When I first met Ruby, her hands were as steady as her gaze—locked onto the barbell that would soon soar above her head. Today, she's here to recount her evolution from a 15-year-old with a knack for weightlifting to a seasoned athlete, teetering on the edge of her personal best at the Queensland State Under-23 Championships. Ruby's tale is a dance of the snatch and clean and jerk, where every lift is a step towards mental fortitude and the pure rush of her first competition. Under Jay Waller's wing, she's not only sculpting her body but also fortifying her resolve, with the barbell as her steadfast partner.
Ruby competes at 12pm AEST on April 14 . To watch go to Queensland Weightlifting's Facebook page for live stream!
And stay tuned, as the buzz of anticipation for Ruby's championship update promises more than just numbers on a scoreboard—it's about the weight of dreams, the gravity of dedication, and the uplift of the human spirit. We'll follow up with Ruby after Sunday and
More on Ruby Ruby started lifting at the age of 15 in Perth, Western Australia. She loves lifting all the heavy things... barbell-related. Ruby has represented her state and Australia as a junior lifter. She moved to the Whitsundays 3 years ago and has been training at Whitsunday Weightlifting. The loves of her life are her boyfriend Jaspa who is also a very talented lifter and her cattle dog Beau. Follow Ruby on Instagram @ruby_carwardine
Welcome to Uplift you, creating strong bodies and mind. Get ready to power up your day with practical strength training tools, inspiring stories and build resilience of body and mind. It's time to uplift you, together with your host, leanne Knox.
Speaker 2:
Hello and welcome to a bonus episode. I thought it would be a really cool and special thing to do to introduce you to one of my lifters, whom I've already talked about on this podcast. Ruby is 22 years old and she's going into the Queensland State Under-23 Championships this Sunday. And in saying that, to introduce the listeners to the life of an Olympic weightlifter and what goes through your body and mind, I thought we'd have a quick talk to Ruby before the event and after the event. So let me introduce Ruby. Ruby comes from Perth, Australia. She's been living in Airlie Beach for three years now and when Ruby came over she came over to be with her boyfriend, who was also a very good Olympic weightlifter, Jasper Hope. In the time that Ruby's been here, she's done a year of powerlifting just for something different, and then about two years ago she went back to Olympic weightlifting and she's been training hard to get back to her all-time best total. So welcome to my podcast, Ruby.
Speaker 1:
Thanks, Leanne.
Speaker 2:
I know you're excited to be here. I can hear it in your voice.
Speaker 1:
Oh yeah, I'm so excited. Podcasting is definitely my thing.
Speaker 2:
It could be. You know it could be. So, ruby, can you just give us a bit of a background? What age did you start weightlifting and what um and whereabouts did you start and what did you enjoy about weightlifting when you first started?
Speaker 1:
Um, I started when I was 15 or like towards the end of grade 10 at school. I started with my two coaches, storm and Adrian, who I don't think they coach anymore, but they're pretty cool. And what did I enjoy about it? I enjoyed that I had found something that I was good at and I enjoyed feeling strong.
Speaker 2:
Fantastic. And when you started Olympic weightlifting, did you feel like it was like at the start? Was it hard for you? Did you feel like I'm never going to get the hang of this, or did you feel like it was something that you could be good at Like? Think back to the first few sessions of weightlifting.
Speaker 1:
So I actually first started with just strength type exercises I think, like deadlifts, squats, and then just kettlebell work, pull-ups, all that type of stuff. But my first session of learning the snatch and the clean um just with an empty bar or even with a broom, I can vividly remember thinking how unstable and horrible the snatch felt overhead so, yeah, you were feeling unstable with what a broomstick over your head.
Speaker 1:
It was the barbell, okay and I remember thinking holy, how do people do this with like 100 kilos? Because just 15 kilos feels really weird in this position.
Speaker 2:
So for our listeners, Ruby, can you just describe that actual snatch position? What is that? Because I'm sure some of the people listening have never tried a snatch or possibly don't even know what we're talking about.
Speaker 1:
So basically you hold a barbell above your head but your hands are gripping the barbell towards the end Like it's a really wide grip. Your hands are fairly far apart on the bar and it was over your head, so obviously you need a lot of stability in your shoulders and back and arms.
Speaker 2:
And how did it make you feel when you started getting the hang of weightlifting? What was it about weightlifting that kept you going with it?
Speaker 1:
I think it was after my first competition and that was the first time I'd sort of lifted against well, lifted against anyone and it was the first time I'd seen people other than like the three people that I trained with lifting and I thought, wow, this is awesome. And like I just remember the excitement of feeling like I wanted to get stronger and I wanted to. This might sound bad, but like I want to be better than these people.
Speaker 2:
It doesn't sound bad at all. It sounds like competition actually motivated you to continue in the sport and want to get better.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, definitely did, it definitely did.
Speaker 2:
So moving along from there, because our listeners don't know your journey. They know that you started in year 10. Where did you get to when you were living in Perth, what standard did you get to and what were some of the highlights of your weightlifting before you moved over to the Whitsundays?
Speaker 1:
Okay, so I would say the biggest highlight for me was December of 2020, which was right before I came to the Whitsundays, when I actually qualified for Junior Worlds 2021, but that competition never ended up happening because of COVID. But I hit the total for it, which was 189, and that, to this day, is still my greatest total, but that might change this Sunday. That would be my highlight like the biggest highlight, but through my year of coaching with Jay Waller, there was many highlights. I just remember feeling my strength increase like it hadn't done since I first started, and that was probably about three years into weightlifting I think. I went to him at the start of 2020, and I had like a front squat of 110 and, I think, a back squat of 120. And by probably six or eight months of coaching with him, I had a front squat of 125 and a back squat of 140. Yeah, and a deadlift of 180, which was probably a 30 kilo increase, like in that one year.
Speaker 2:
So that was pretty awesome and so when you felt that, like when you had that increase in strength, how, how did that actually make you feel? Did that inspire you to continue to train um? And what do you enjoy the most about about the um o the Olympic weightlifting world? Is it the actual lifts of the snatch and clean and jerk, or is it the strength that goes along with that? And for those of you that don't know what goes along with that, the basic strength that goes along with that is the front and back squat, the pull off the ground, which is a deadlift, and the press over the head. So which parts of Olympic weightlifting do you enjoy the most?
Speaker 1:
Well, I love the snatch and the clean and jerk. I think that they're both. I actually liked the way you put it. When I heard you say it the other week. It was like gymnastics with a barbell. I love how technical it is, yet how strong and fast you have to be all at the same time. I think that there's almost nothing more impressive, physically and, I guess, sport-wise, that I've really ever seen than Olympic weightlifting. I just think it's like those two movements are, yeah, really impressive to watch. I also do obviously just enjoy the overall strength that I can feel as a result of the training and I guess, just in day-to-day life, I mean I would say that I probably struggle with I don't really know like I struggle less than someone who, I guess, doesn't train and is not physically strong. Like I enjoy the I guess, freedom in a way that I get from being strong.
Speaker 2:
That's really interesting that you say freedom, because freedom is actually one of my pillars or one of my values, and when I think of freedom, when I think of freedom as one of my values, I think of freedom of choice, of movement, because there's so many different sports you could do right and I'm sure you've done more than Olympic weightlifting but it's having the freedom to choose whatever you love doing and also having the freedom to have that freedom, you also need to have the ability to do any sport that you choose to do. So it sounds to me like you would be good at pretty much any sport that you chose, would be good at pretty much any sport that you chose. Um, and what do you? What do you feel like when you? What do?
Speaker 1:
what comes to your mind when you talk about freedom? Um, I guess I'm. I am sort of thinking in terms of sport, like I could just do power lifting. I could probably give CrossFit a go. I could pretty much give anything that I wanted a go, and I feel like I would be at sort of an advantage from the strength that I've built in Olympic weightlifting. But I'm also talking about life in general, like I'm trying to think of a good example here.
Speaker 2:
But like I just feel as though I don't have to ask for help in a lot of situations where some people might have to ask for help, because I have enough strength myself to have a bit of independence, I suppose Okay, yeah, would you say. Then, if you're talking about not asking for help, we could take that one step further. And I know ruby's life um daily life. I do know one thing, and that's ruby helps her boyfriend, jasper, do a lot of gardening, for example. So so when jasper gets you to garden, does he get you to like dig holes, carry plants and do some quite heavy lifting and heavy work that the average 22 year old girl who doesn't train would not be capable of yes, he loves to get me on the shovel, um digging holes, um, and I like to think I'm pretty good at it.
Speaker 1:
Um, he has told me I'm good at it, but that might just be because he wants me to keep helping him. I'm not really sure, um. But yeah, we also like carry buckets of water to plants because we don't really have a good irrigation system set up. And yeah, we lift, obviously, big heavy plants or multiple small plants that we're going to go plant. I can like carry heavy bags of fertilizer and stuff to Jasper if he needs them. And yeah, I have a good I would say a good physical capability to help out with tasks such as gardening. That was an example that I couldn't quite think of before, but that's a good example.
Speaker 2:
All right. So, moving along from that and you've already talked about your competition experience, and you did say that when I said to you what made you once you started training, what made you want to keep doing it, and you mentioned that it was actually a competition. So, after competing for what? How long have we been? You've been competing for now At least five years. I would say Six years.
Speaker 1:
Yep. Six years, I would say exactly since my first competition just about.
Speaker 2:
Okay, so, after competing for six years, how are you feeling about going into the Queensland State titles this Sunday? How do you feel about that? What are some of your goals and how are you feeling physically? Let's go, because we're talking about strong body and strong mind here. Let's go with your body first. How is your body feeling going into the competition and what are some of your goals?
Speaker 1:
I would say my body is feeling like I'm obviously a little bit fatigued right now at the end of like a training cycle leading into a competition, but I will have a good few days rest. But overall my body's feeling the strongest it's felt in probably in the last three years and I've had a really, really solid probably six months of training now and I had a really good practice competition at Mackay two weekends ago which went as well as I could have hoped for, and now I feel ready to outdo my best lifetime total. That's how I feel right now physically best lifetime total.
Speaker 2:
That's how I feel right now. Physically, that's fantastic. So your lifetime total that you're going to outdo is 189. Is that correct? Yeah, and what did you get in Mackay two weekends ago? I got 186. 186. So we're closing in fast. And, ruby, I remember I recall you saying that you had a special goal in the clean and jerk. Can you tell the listeners what that is?
Speaker 1:
yes, my special goal is because I've never done it on a platform is to clean and jerk the red and the blue plates which, for those of you that don't know, on the women's 15 kilo bar.
Speaker 2:
That is 110 kilos and to put that, that into context, what's your weight class? Under 71 kilos, all right. So 110 kilos is a little bit more than one and a half times your body weight. Yep, and to put that into context, double body weight, clean and jerks in Australia are a massive achievement and I do believe that I witnessed Australia's first, one of the first females who ever got a clean and jerk double body weight clean and jerk, and that was Erica Yamasaki a few years ago at Nationals, and that image is burnt into my brain when she clean and jerked double her body weight. It was such a special occasion. So is that something that you think you could work towards, ruby, something that you is one of your big goals?
Speaker 1:
Yeah, definitely, I can only keep working towards it, Karna, I mean at 142, that would be, which would be an absolutely astronomically massive clean and jerk, especially for any woman in Australia. I don't know that well, I don't really know much history, but I, in the current sort of current times, I haven't seen anyone lift that sort of weight in Australia. That would be amazing. And yes, I believe that if I keep training, there's no reason why I won't be able to clean and jerk that one day.
Speaker 2:
Exactly right One day, and you're only 22, so plenty of time Now going on to your mindset. So, going on to speaking about the mind, what approach are you going to use this weekend at state titles as you're going in? So what are some of the things for the audience, because we really want to hone in on what happens to your mind when you get close to competition and even the day of the competition. What are some of the things that you're saying to yourself to keep yourself in that positive frame of mind, or what we call a positive mindset?
Speaker 1:
I guess I'm telling myself that I've done these things before and I'm feeling amazing right now, so there's no reason why I can't do them again. Like especially just two weeks ago I did it so like I should definitely be able to do it this weekend. I can definitely do it this weekend again.
Speaker 2:
So, in other words, success breeds success, right? Yeah, so last you know, you did it last weekend, you were successful and therefore you can be successful again Now as your coach. I'm not actually going to be there. I'm going to be sitting on a screen, screaming at the screen, like I always do when I can't be with my lifters. But we do have a special coach to warm Ruby up, and I just want to give him a shout out here, because he's our resident with Sunday Weightlifting Coach and he steps in for us. Every time I can't be there and I'm so grateful and that is Lucas Gardner, who has been such a great support for our club over the last few years. And what do you think Lucas's approach is going to be, ruby? What do you, what can you picture Lucas saying when you're going for the reds and the blues on the clean and jerk?
Speaker 1:
Am I allowed to swear?
Speaker 2:
Sure.
Speaker 1:
Just fucking lift it, just fucking do it.
Speaker 2:
So that's going to be some words of encouragement from good old Lucas. So thank you, lucas. We are eternally grateful for your support with our lifters. So what I'd like to tell the audience now is, if you follow along on Whitsunday Weightlifting and my Instagram, lk Strength Coach, this Sunday Ruby is competing at 11am and as soon as we get the results, we will be posting how Ruby went on Instagram so you can follow along. And then when Ruby returns, she's actually going over to Perth to see her family after the competition. So when she returns from the competition, we're going to have a follow-up and we're going to look at how Ruby went compared to Ruby's got like going into the competition, how Ruby feels and how she thinks she's going to go and how Ruby actually went, and we're going to follow up on that after the competition in another special edition podcast.
Speaker 2:
So, ruby, I like to ask people, get people to speak to the audience, in to the audience, in giving them your opinion of what you think about the sport, and it can be strength, it doesn't have to be necessarily Olympic weightlifting, but what has the strength, the barbell sports that you've done done for you as a person Growing up, you're only 22, but you've been doing it since you were 15. So what has that? How has that made your life better? How has it given you more value?
Speaker 1:
I think the biggest and first thing that comes to my mind is the increase in confidence that I have felt like, not just in the gym, but in everyday life as well, and yes, it's just like. What am I trying to say here?
Speaker 2:
You said not just in the gym, but in everyday life.
Speaker 1:
Yeah, in everyday life. I feel more confident and I've got a better like social life because I've met lots of awesome people and have lots of friends that also come to the gym. I could say that, especially since I've moved to the Whitsundays like being a totally different area where I didn't know anyone, except for Jasper and his family moving over here the gym has definitely given me a social outlet, I guess. Like I didn't really have any friends when I came here, or I didn't know anyone, and I now have like a really awesome community of people who I love to come and train with on Monday and Wednesday afternoons. So it's given me I would say the sport has given me a really good community to belong to and increased my self-confidence.
Speaker 2:
And that sounds fantastic, because a lot of young people these days really are lacking that self-confidence and that self-esteem. And certainly with the prevalence of social media, even though they're connected on social media, they're not connecting as much as they as, like when I was young, they're not connecting as much in person with people. So the fact that you come along to the classes and you're in the community, that is a physical connection where you're in the same room as people, you're not being distracted by screens and you're enjoying the same activity together. So that is a really powerful way to connect to people and make you feel like you belong and grow in confidence. And can I just say I think you're very brave moving from the other side of Australia when you know no one. And for those of you that aren't living in Australia, Perth is not a hop, skip and a jump. Perth is actually further away from the Whitsundays than some of our closest countries like New Zealand. So Perth is on the west coast of Australia. Do you know how many thousands of kilometres away?
Speaker 1:
It's over 3,000 kilometres.
Speaker 2:
Okay.
Speaker 1:
I'm not sure like the exact number, but it's over 3,000 kilometres.
Speaker 2:
So Ruby moved 3,000 kilometres.
Speaker 1:
When I was 18.
Speaker 2:
When she was 18 years old mom and dad um, I'm sure they've forgiven you by now.
Speaker 2:
We hope so. She's moved 3 000 kilometers from one side of the country to the other, not knowing anyone, stayed in the sport, and that's a very brave move. So, and the fact that you've stayed in the sport through that transition and it's not just a transition of moving from your family to somewhere where you don't know anyone it's also a transition of climate, because the climate here is the polar opposite of Perth. Perth is dry and it's a different type of heat, and it gets a lot cooler in winter and over in the wet Sundays it's very humid and that takes its toll as well. So I think you're very brave, ruby, and I'm sure we're going to see that bravery on the platform this weekend.
Speaker 1:
We absolutely are.
Speaker 2:
So stay tuned, everyone for the follow-up podcast and keep your eye out on Instagram. And thank you, ruby, for being actually the first guest on my podcast. Don't tell my husband, steve, because I told him last night that he was going to be my first guest. Ruby just like slipped in there because she's competing this Sunday.
Speaker 1:
I'm going to tell Steve next time I'm getting my car serviced.
Speaker 2:
Hopefully he won't listen to this podcast before then. All right, stay tuned everyone, and thanks for being here. See you, ruby. See you.
