We started making shapes with a light pipe, rather than an actual barbell – some simple squats and overhead presses, nothing I hadn’t done before. But when we moved onto squat catches, I was once again filled with fear. I couldn’t make it work, my mind churning with where and when I was supposed to move each body part.

The problem, Whylie explained to me, was that I was trying to move the weight, rather than my body. The goal in Olympic lifting is that you move around the bar, meaning that you don’t pass it from your shoulders to hands or from the ground to your chest, but you leave it floating in midair as you move to catch it. It’s a lesson in trust – and I realised that’s a skill I hugely lack in my training.

In order to put my mind at ease, we perfected everything: my grip, my foot placement, the position of my shoulders, chest, arms and eye line. And that was just for the beginning stance. Whylie broke down each phase of the move into inches that we spent minutes finessing, from learning how to ‘dip’ and ‘hinge’ properly, before powerfully ducking under the bar.

Weightlifting: “Everything I learned in an Olympic lifting class”