Nashrul Hj Abu Bakar made history as he became the first Bruneian weightlifter to qualify for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England held last month. The 26-year-old definitely made his opportunity count as he lifted to a new record in the U61kg category to put Brunei on the map in the sport. The 26-year-old Crossfit Trainer, who owns 673 Jerudong, took some time out to answer some questions by YEE CHUN LEONG of BruSports News to get some insight into his weightlifting career.
Q: Tell us on how it all began for you. How did you get into the weightlifting sport?
A: I played competitive football since I was 7-8 years old. I also went to Sports School from 2007 – 2011 with football as my main sport.
After Sports School, I played for a local team in the local league and during the off-season I was looking to gain some size and strength as that was my weakness as a footballer.
I was fast but not powerful enough to compete in a body contact sport. I found a then-CrossFit gym 673 Fitness back in late 2012 and I went on doing CrossFit as a supplement to my football training.
This went on for a year and after that I decided to venture more into a coaching role and competitive athlete in CrossFit.
Through CrossFit, I found Olympic Weightlifting because CrossFit mainly mixes the elements of cardiovascular training like running, rowing, etc with weight lifting and gymnastics elements.
Among all of those elements, I am super obsessed with weightlifting. I competed for a few years in CrossFit before I decided to venture into Weightlifting.
Q: If not weightlifting, which sport would you be doing?
A: I have been exposed to multiple sports growing up, especially football, and then there was badminton, where I used to go with my dad as a kid to watch him play.
There was taekwondo in the smallest part of my secondary school years. But, because I spend the most part of my life playing football, I’d say football would be it.
Q: What do you think is the best thing that has happened to you in weightlifting?
A: The best thing to ever happen to me so far is actually having a spouse (Liyana Sidek) who is also as obsessed with the sport as I am.
I can dare say that our lives now revolve around how we can be better weightlifters!
Weightlifting also somehow jump started my career as a coach/personal trainer. Other than that, making it to the Commonwealth Games is it.
Q: What is your ultimate goal in the sport?
A: I have a dream that one day, I will be able to lift on the biggest weightlifting stage and represent Brunei at the Olympic Games.
But, my ultimate goal in the sport is to be able to spread the sport enough in the country so it becomes one of the biggest sports and our athletes can earn a living just by lifting weights.
Q: What's your training schedule like? How can you improve yourself further?
A: I train at least once a day for 3-4 hours per session from Monday to Saturday. This could go for as many as 7 – 8 times a week with Sunday as my rest day.
Improving in weightlifting is just like any other sport. If you want to improve, you have to take care of your nutrition - what goes in and out of your body – the proper recovery practices you do to keep the joints, muscles and tissues healthy and how much sleep you get every night.
Other than that, improving in weightlifting is simply doing more weightlifting.
Q: Speaking of nutrition, is there any diet that you follow?
A: I don’t follow any specific diet. All I do is stay on caloric surplus during my off-season in order to lift more weights and be on caloric deficit when I am closer to competition, so I can stay within my bodyweight category.
I am currently on a five-day per week meal plan that is tailored to my macronutrient needs for my goals.
Q: Is there any athlete that you idolise?
A: I have had the pleasure of training for a month with Filipino Olympic gold medallist Hidilyn Diaz and her husband, Julius Naranjo who is also her coach.
I got to observe first hand on her day-to-day life and how she still manages to make time to train regardless; how she is able to switch from putting on her athlete hat whenever she has to and I think that is incredibly powerful and inspiring.
Q: Maybe some words you want to give to those looking to start weightlifting.
A: Keep up the training and find friends who share the same passion in weightlifting.
Having a circle working towards the same goal will tremendously help you progress and when you’re able to afford it, hire a coach.
Having another eye and perspective will further unlock your true potential and reveal all the weaknesses you might have overlooked.
Q: What do you think makes a good weightlifter?
A: Just like any other sport, you need to instill good discipline and consistency in your training. In weightlifting, obviously you need to have a good level of physical strength.
Anatomy plays a huge role as well - being closer to the ground gives you so much advantage in moving large weight.
However, what separates good and great weightlifters is having a strong mental capacity and toughness because lifting weight is hard.
Some days the same weight you’re lifting is going to feel extra heavy and there are days that you’re not going to make all of your lifts, especially in competitions.
Having a good mental capacity to handle the volume of reps and the toughness to bounce back from the bad days is what separates good from great.
Q: Where do you see yourself in five years?
A: In 5 years, I hope to be able to gain more international experience and compete against the best weightlifters in the world.
I want to lift double my bodyweight in the snatch (120kg) and increase my clean and jerk to 150kg.
I also would like to get myself into the top 10 weightlifters in the ASEAN region and qualify again for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne along the way.
I also hope I can play a role in helping our grassroot weightlifters.
Q: How do you hype yourself up before any competition? Any superstitions?
A: I usually listen to my hard rock or metal playlist to get into the competition mindset.
However, as much as I can, I usually just try to stick to my normal routine.
I don’t have any superstitions but I’ve come to realise that I wear the same socks in competitions.
Q: The combined record of 227kg, did you expect that at the Commonwealth Games?
A: Nope, but it was close. I had a personal goal of achieving 230kg total, however my lifts didn’t go as planned in the snatch portion, so I had to do some damage control on the clean and jerk to get close.
Q: How far do you think weightlifting has gone as a sport in Brunei?
A: Thanks to CrossFit, weightlifting in my view has been introduced to the country as CrossFit emerged in the country.
It is still young and yet to be viewed as a real sport – there’s so much more potential for it to grow especially towards the young adults.
Q: Anything you want to say to our readers before we end this interview?
A: Keep your friends close but your barbell closer!
