1) Who is Gareth Evans? (where are you from, what do you do, a bit about yourself (hobbies, etc)
My name is Gaz Evans and I'm an Olympic weightlifter from Holyhead North Wales representing Wales and Great Britain. Since starting weightlifting I have lifted on every major international platform from European U-17 right through to Olympic Games. I work in the sport department of Bangor University and I co-host a podcast called 'The Sinclair Debate' discussing all things Weightlifting in he UK. When I'm not training I enjoy spending time with my 9 year old daughter Lexie, eating out, sea angling and supporting Wrexham AFC.
2) How many years have you been training?
I started Weightlifting in 1998 when I was 12 years old so 2018 marks my 20th competitive year in the sport!
3) Whats been the most challenging/hardest part of your journey so far? and how have you overcome them (set backs, rejections, injuries, basically anything difficult that you have had to overcome)
There has been a fair few in the past 20 years! Every injury is a setback but I think as the years have passed you learn how to deal with them better and better. But the hardest thing I have had to deal with in my career is definitely leaving my 3 year old daughter to move to Leeds to train full time to qualify for the London 2012 Olympics.
4) What does your typical workout/diet routine look like?
Now that I'm approaching 32 years old my training load has decreased to 4-5 sessions a week with the focus purely on quality rather than quantity. if I start a session and it doesn't feel like I'm going to be able to complete it to a standard I am happy with then I will stop and rest and then re arrange the session on a rest day. My diet is pretty good, my girlfriend is an international standard weightlifter too so I just eat what she cooks most of the time.
5) What new knowledge have you learned over this past year regarding training, lifestyle and nutrition?
Take advantage of any support you have around you, whether that is NGB, local support or friends and family.
6) Whats your favourite cheat/Treat meal?
I cant really pin this down to one cheat or treat meal to be honest. but one of my go to favourites is an Indian take away. I like a curry with all the added bits, pilau rice, bhaji's, samosas and garlic and keema naan!
7) Whats one supplement that you could not live without?
I'm a big fan of pre workout if I'm totally honest it helps with the big sessions after I have been in work for the day. Pro Athlete Supplementation (PAS) 'Game ready' is by far my favourite.
8) If you had to start your Journey from scratch with your health & physique what would you do differently and why?
Consistency is probably the thing I would concentrate on, far too much as a teenager and into my early twenties I was stopping and starting training and its something I have always regretted.
9) Who do you look upto in the fitness industry and why?
My coach Ray Williams, he is an ex Army captain in the PT corps as well as a commonwealth games gold medallist and he has taught me a huge amount as far as coaching, training and being a good athlete goes.
10) If you had to give one bit of advice to people starting out what would that be?
Enjoy what you do! Enjoy the training and make it fun, Competition is your time to show everyone all the hard work you have put in!
11) What new goals do you have on the horizon?
I have one main goal and that is a Commonwealth Games medal, preferably a Gold one ;-)
12) Where can people find you? (website, social media accounts)
You can find me on,
Twitter: Gazpin_69kg
Instagram: gazpin_69kg
And you can also get a weightlifting fix and catch the Sinclair Debate podcast on SoundCloud and Facebook by searching 'The Sinclair Debate'
