A graduate from the Sport and Exercise Science course at The University of Wales Trinity Saint David has become a British champion after recently winning his first natural bodybuilding competition.
Lewis Beecher currently works as a Gym/ Sports Centre attendant on the Carmarthen and Lampeter campus. He recently competed in a competition that was organised by 2brospro events held in Maidenhead. He won the open class category for bodybuilding 1st timers, and as a result, he qualified to compete at the British finals, where he also won his category.
Lewis developed a passion for resistance training after an injury in his early 20’s, where he discovered that his physique seemed to respond well to exercising various muscle groups. He said,
“It’s the same with any sport or hobby, once you start to develop an understanding of the fundamentals required to improve as a person athlete you can then dedicate your time and effort to trying to improve your physical aesthetic look and well-being, which are both massively important. This is what I enjoy most about bodybuilding, the idea of trying to fine tune your body and watching it physically change and develop.”
As Lewis prepared for the regional competition, he had to follow a strict 11-week contest preparation diet. This included watching what he was eating as well as following a strict training plan where he would have weekly check ins with his coach to monitor his physique and to track his progress.
Although Lewis currently works on campus, his involvement with UWTSD dates back to 2017 when he came as a student to study Sport and Exercise Science.
He said: “I enjoyed learning about the body and how exercise changes the physiology of what goes on during exercise/training. Understanding what adaptations occur is massively important to take into consideration when prescribing exercise selection for yourself and others. The practical aspect of the course is invaluable and really does help with the application to learning. The laboratory-based lectures focus on the various fitness tests i.e., VO2max testing, Body Composition Machine, force plate analysis all helped us as students utilise the equipment to collect and analyse different sets of data.
“Another area which I really enjoyed was the module on Sports Psychology and was fortunate enough to conduct my Sports Psychology interview was an assignment with a Swimmer who represented Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics this year. I found mental approach / application and theory I found very interesting.”
During his time as a student, Lewis felt that the support given to him from the lecturers was invaluable.
Lewis added: “Dave, Dylan, and Geraint throughout the degree would offer their support and explanation on any subject you found difficult to grasp or needed extra learning support when it came to assignment criteria. They would actively encourage you to participate in sessions, tasks, and tutorials outside of the allocated workload. Any additional support not just I but others required they would make sure they scheduled in additional time to allow us to fulfil our potential and help us prepare best we can in achieving the grades we hoped for. Also, aside for academic support which has been second to none, the comradery they show with students goes a long way in building those student / lecturer relations which is massively important to achieving a successful student / course outcome.”
Lecturer Geraint Forster said: “It’s great to see a graduate like Lewis applying the knowledge and skills he has developed on the course to work towards achieving this success. Lewis has always demonstrated a passion for learning in this area. Our aim on the course is to help students to translate the theory of sport and exercise science into useful and practical competencies that can be applied to working towards any number of sport and exercise goals. The skills and knowledge Lewis is continuing to develop by training himself will only serve to improve his competence as an exercise professional in the future.”
As Lewis develops his bodybuilding career the lecturers continue to show an interest in his progress which means a lot to him.
The future looks bright for Lewis. As he looks forward to continue competing in bodybuilding competitions, he has other plans also as well as continuing to work at the University’s Sports Centre.
He said: “I either intend to carry on working full time and aim to either complete a master’s or complete my teacher training as the influence of my academic lecturers on the course had inspired me to possibly pursue this avenue. Either way I plan to hopefully use my degree as a steppingstone to better my life and opportunity. I will always be grateful to the UWTSD for accepting me as a student and allowing me that opportunity to better myself as student and person.”
