Scott Lincoln improved his shot put PB by almost a metre last year to win the British Championships, despite combining training with a full-time job on a building site, writes Emily Moss

Last year I was delighted to have won what my coach calls the “British grand slam” – the British Championships, the England under-23 Championships and the England Senior Championships as well as Yorkshire and Northern titles.

I feel a lot was still left in the tank. I believe I could have achieved the under-23 European standard. Unfortunately it wasn’t meant to be last year, but I am excited as I am getting a lot closer to reaching these qualifying standards.

I train to become a better athlete and not just a better thrower. My squad is based at the York University athletics track under my coach Paul Wilson. We strongly believe in working as a team to push each other to perform better.

In the winter we do conditioning work to become fitter to train rather than training to be fit. Ed Pratt is my sports therapist and George Robinson helps me out with nutritional advice and has helped me maintain my weight throughout the season, something that I have previously struggled with.

My training programme was changed to help me achieve more strength. We made one big change in the first phase of my technique when throwing, also working hard on several technical movements within my throw. My coach has also given me more explosive strength work, which helped improve my strength by 20% from the year before.

What really excites me is catching the big boys on the world stage. There is still a lot more to work on.

I work full-time as a builder for my dad’s business, so have to train in the evenings after a physical job. This can be exhausting at times and I also have a two-hour round trip to training, but it has worked for me over the last few years. Unfortunately I don’t get the joys of being a student or a funded athlete, but as long as I keep improving that’s the main thing.

For a laugh at work, we used to hold a “building site Olympics”. My dad would get everyone together on our break, spray a circle on the ground and we would use one of my shot putts from home. Funnily enough I’m still the record-holder and unbeaten.

I love to eat chicken after training. I am into a lot of spicy and hot food and again, I spread it all over chicken.

Running and I just don’t get on, but it has to be done. I love bike rides. There is nothing better than jumping on your bike and racing around the back country lanes up here in Yorkshire, with decent tunes blasting through your earphones and great views.

Throwers get virtually no coverage in athletics. I can’t even find a picture of myself on the podium from the British Championships. It’s a vicious circle, as how can athletes be expected to attract new sponsors, and catch the public’s imagination if they get no coverage or recognition for their achievements?

I own quite a few shots, including a 8.5kg, 8kg, 7.6kg and three different diameter 7.26kg shots. I have settled with the 129mm (7.26kg) shot at the moment as it seems to fit nicely in my neck. The other heavier shots are just used throughout winter training.

I go to speedway on my rest day to watch my local team, the Redcar Bears. It’s high adrenaline, fast and close racing between bikes that have no brakes and riders that are just absolutely crazy.

Sport has taught me how far your body will carry on going when your mind is telling you to stop. It has also given me a lot of discipline. I come from a rugby background and played a few seasons with Darlington RUFC. I really enjoyed having the team around me and we just bounced off each other.

In 2016, my aim is to qualify for the European Championships and Rio Olympics, something that my coach and I both firmly believe could be possible. Moving on to 2017, I aim to qualify for the World Championships in London, and in 2018 to win a Commonwealth Games medal.

TYPICAL WEEK’S TRAINING FOR SCOTT LINCOLN

Saturday – PM: Technical session followed by strength exercises. I will also do a lifting session

Sunday – Rest

Monday – PM: Circuit session with the squad in York followed by a plyometric and core session. I will also do some standing throws with a heavy ball

Tuesday – PM: conditioning weights session that is typically 5×5 (5sec down, 5sec up) plus a 10min run for distance

Wednesday – PM: Hurdles drills for flexibility and med ball work followed by runs/sprints and core with all the squad

Thursday – PM: Conditioning weights session followed by plyometric and flexibility exercises

Friday – Rest

» The above sessions are specific to the individual athlete and may not be suitable for other athletes