Lily Salisbury’s life has a few common connections with that story, but also plenty of variations. Yes, she’s a former gymnast. But she’s also a former wrestler who placed second at the state championship in high school. She declined an invitation to one of the most prestigious wrestling camps in the United States to pursue weightlifting, and that’s how she found Catalyst Athletics. If you’ve followed Catalyst online over the last couple of years, you’ve probably seen multiple photos and videos of her, working with huge weights in Greg and Aimee’s Oregon gym. In just a few short years, Lily has already competed in multiple national competitions, with next year’s National Championship and American Open Final in her immediate sights.

And like many of us, it’s taken Lily some time to develop the right mindset towards her weightlifting. Very often, lifters have to look inside themselves to find their own perfect combination of confidence, motivation, and purpose. Weightlifting is a mind game, and you don’t always win it quickly. As you’ll read, Lily is on the winning end of her battle with the mental aspect of the iron game, and we’re honored to share her story with you.

Tell us about your background. Where are you from, where do you currently live, what’s your occupation, family life, what kind of sports background do you have outside of lifting, Etc.

Hello! My name is Lily. I was adopted from China when I was eight months old and grew up with just my mom. We moved to Oregon from California when I was five years old so that I could join the Chinese Immersion Program, which I was a part of until I was a junior in high school.

When I was younger, I went to the Boys and Girls Club where I did the seasonal sports like Soccer, Basketball, and Flag Football, but it wasn’t until I was about 13 when I started gymnastics. I continued to compete in gymnastics until my junior year of high school when it was just too much of a financial strain for my mom and I, so I quit. Without gymnastics, I had so much extra time and nothing to do, so I decided to join our high school wrestling team which I did for about one season (six months-ish) and ended up getting second in state, which led to me getting invited to Fargo, which is an intensive camp/competition that lasts one week made up of the top wrestlers in the nation. That being said, I was never that into wrestling, so I declined the invite to Fargo and decided to focus on weightlifting, which I’ve been doing ever since. 

I am currently living in Oregon and training with Greg and Aimee from Catalyst Athletics. I coach at CrossFit Magnify and work for Aimee and Catalyst as well as coaching a few athletes online.

Describe your weightlifting history. When/how did you start? Who have your coaches been? What are your proudest accomplishments?

I started weightlifting in 2015 with a coach back in Portland. I worked with him for about three and a half years before switching to Catalyst. With my former coach, I competed in two Jr. Nationals (2016, 2017) and one American Open Final (2017). At my first Jr. Nationals in 2016, I got second in CJ and at the 2017 Jr. Nationals, I placed third across the board. My proudest accomplishment in weightlifting thus far is learning to truly be proud of myself and celebrate my accomplishments. It wasn’t until about two years into training with Greg that I for the first time felt what it felt like to be truly proud of something I had accomplished. Any accomplishment before then I had never been proud of myself for because it wasn’t ever a goal of mine that had been met but a striving to please someone else.

Please give a basic description of your training method. Just tell us as much as you can about your program, weekly/yearly planning, etc.

I am currently training five days a week weightlifting and five days a week CrossFitting. My weightlifting programming is done by Greg and right now, all based on feel and my CrossFit/accessories are all being done by Aimee.

Weightlifting right now consists of Monday and Wednesday being a variation of the snatch or clean and jerk paired with a variation of snatch/clean pull. Tuesday, Thursdays are currently for a variation of the power snatch or power clean paired with either a front squat or back squat, and Saturday is usually just building to a heavy single for both snatch and clean and jerk.

I CrossFit every day I weight lift, so I will go into the gym around 9:15-9:30 and warm up for weightlifting and lift until about 11:00 then eat a banana and just hop into my metcon and then do my accessories from 12:00pm-1:30pm and stretch/cool down until about 2:00pm.

Describe some of the obstacles you face, or maybe some things that frustrate you in your weightlifting life. What kinds of changes would you like to see, either personally or with the sport in general?

To be honest with you I have no complaints or obstacles I’m facing right now in weightlifting. I am really enjoying every moment of my weightlifting and CrossFitting. It wasn’t always like that. If you would have asked me these questions even two months ago, I would have had very different answers. If I’m being completely honest, I had genuinely disliked weightlifting for a long time. I didn’t want to do it or have anything to do with it. I never felt good enough, and I always felt like I was just banging my head against the wall for hours on end day after day. I felt like such a letdown to Greg and everyone else. In hindsight, I know none of this was true, but it’s how I felt. It wasn’t until I decided to start CrossFitting that I learned to love weightlifting again. CrossFit was honestly my saving grace.

As I have mentioned above, I have always operated through the fear of letting someone down, which is never a fulfilling task. CrossFit was the first thing I’ve chosen for myself not to prove anything to anyone but to do because I thought it was fun. By choosing to do something fulfilling to me and not for someone else, I have learned to show up for myself and just enjoy whatever I am doing!

What are your plans and goals for your weightlifting career? How do you see your future in the sport?

Right now, my plan is to go to American Open Finals/Nationals and just HAVE FUN. No pressure. I know I will be in this sport for a long time and I do believe that if I continue down the path I am on and continue to enjoy myself, I will be more successful than I ever have before because I am really learning to believe in my abilities. I am finally enjoying the process!!!

Who are some of your major influences, people you look up to, etc.? Who are the people you want to thank for your success?

There are a few very influential people who play huge parts in my life and I would like to thank for my success.

Mom: Thank you for always believing in me and doing everything in your power to provide for me as a kid, I love you!

Greg and Aimee: Walking into your garage is the best decision I have ever made. You guys have changed my life for the better and I can’t thank you enough. Since the day I walked into your garage, y’all have gone above and beyond for me not only as an athlete but as a person too. When I wasn’t able to be strong, you were strong for me. You guys loved me through everything I went through. Not only are you guys the most incredible coaches, but you’re even better people. You took me in when I was 19 and lost. You have shown me what tangible love is and what it means to love unconditionally. You never ceased to show up for me. You have made me feel like a worthy human again. You broke the lie I had been taught that I am only worth whatever my athletic ability is. You taught me to love myself again and how to believe in myself. Thank you for helping me grow into a better and stronger person. There is no doubt in my mind that I made the right decision moving to you.
From the bottom of my heart Greg and Aimee, thank you!

Thank you for sharing your story with us, Lily. You’ve got a bright future in the sport, especially now that you’ve learned about how FUN it is. Best of luck in your training!