Running is in the DNA of Chia Charge, and so is appreciating other sports. One of the newest recruits to our list of ambassadors is Jessica Perrin Snowden, or "little coach" as we respectfully call her in weight lifting class.

Here JP shares some background on how she won her Bronze Medal in the English championships last month.

How Chia got me back on the road to success 

This is my first blog post so please bear with me. I want to tell you about the highs and the lows of being a weightlifter. This sport is growing in popularity every year and I am a real fanatic.

I left the 2015 British Weightlifting Championships with very mixed emotions. While I was overjoyed at participating in my weight groups A category, and hadn't suffered any injuries, I was gutted to have finished 5^th. My lifts had been very inconsistent and this made me even more determined to take it even more seriously. I stepped up my training and hit every session even harder.

Fuel your training with Chia Charge flapjacks

My meetings with my coach became a weekly occurrence. I needed this so he could really drill into me the best techniques and show me the necessary accessory work and make me understand it's importance.

With training sessions lasting 1.5hours-2hours I’d be so tired by the end that I thought it better to conserve my energy.

Which led me to develop a habit of skipping the accessory work or not really concentrating and even having a chat whilst executing the moves.

What I wasn't getting, however, was the benefits of the training, so with my coaches support I really started focussing more on technique.

I also looked into my nutrition and started making adjustments, eating protein with every meal and carbs at the right time, actually fuelling my body. This is where I first came across chia seeds. Easy to chuck on top of any meal, into yoghurts to really get that protein hit.

This led me to giving my diet and nutrition an overhaul. I looked at foods that would both help me recover from sessions quicker and improve my muscle mass. Other adjustments included eating protein at every meal and only eating carbs when I needed them in order to give me fuel.

This simple change put an end to the peaks and troughs I had previously suffered from during my training. There had been times when I I would be bouncing with energy, really enjoying my training and even challenging my training partner to lift offs. Then on other weeks I was so exhausted and disheartened that I wondered why I bothered. These are a thing of the past thanks to my diet changes.

I now follow a strict macro diet and kick start the day with Chia seeds on top of my morning, pre-workout porridge. The nut butters are part of my last meal of the day and I swear by the mini banana flapjacks. I always keep a couple in my kit bag as they not only get me through a tough session but also give me a real boost when I start to flag.

English Weightlifting Championships 2016

The results of all this were clear to see in January 2016 when I took the bronze medal at the English Championships. The British Championships is the next big event I'm training for, and I feel better than ever.

Thanks for the photos Under the Bar. You can see more of JP on instagram here. When she is in York JP coaches at Crossfit Kroy

Try the Chia Charged peanut butters