dieting while out of town

My family and I are on our way to Las Vegas Nevada. We're not going there the same reason most people do, we're going to visit my half brother and my step-brother. I was afraid that while we were in Las Vegas I was going to become frustrated with dieting and give up like I almost did during Christmas break. I figured the only way I can be sure I wouldn't throw in the towel is to figure out why Christmas break was so disheartening for me. I think the reason is that i was trying to eat perfectly, eat only the food I packed and brought with me. When I didn't have the will power to say no to all the amazing food I became so frustrated I almost gave up. I've decided I won't do that while on vacation. I'm going to eat the food I want, but will try and eat in moderation. As long as I don't binge eat the next 4 days I'll consider my diet while on vacation a success. But no matter how I do,  I'll get back on my diet when I get back.

support and weightlifting

Since I hit a lifetime PR on the snatch yesterday I've been on cloud 9. I never believed I'd get to a 100k snatch at all, much less this quickly.  Especially since I didn't start weightlifting until I was 38 years old. When I was attempting to max yesterday I ran out of energy half way through. One of my training partners had a particularly long and grueling training day, yet he still gave me his Cliff bar even though he obviously was going to need it to get through his workout. Coach Erik saw me miss a few of my lighter attempts so he watched the rest my lifts and helped me with my form. All that help made me think of how much support it takes to be an olympic weightlifter. For me, in addition to the obvious, like my wife adjusting her schedule to watch my three young children anytime I'm wanting to train. There's also the half dozen coaches and athletes who help me with form and advice every single time I'm in The Miller Gym. And of course my nutrition coach who has made the adjustments I needed to make the biggest gains I've ever made in a two month period. Weightlifting is the most amazing sport I've ever competed in. But it takes more support than any sport I've ever done too. I'm blessed enough to have such an amazing support system around me. I'm a lucky man.

I've decided that if I qualify for the 2016 master's national weightlifting championships I'm going. I'll have to sell my triathlon bike, road bike, race wheels,  And wet suits to be able to afford it. But if I qualify,  I'm going!

Christmas and dieting

I did everything I needed to prepare to eat well on Christmas eve and Christmas. I made and logged all my food. I brought all my prepared food with me to my in-laws house. But once I saw all the amazing food I fell off the diet wagon somethin' horrible! This morning I was frustrated. I was close to giving upon dieting and just staying obese the rest of my life. For breakfast I ate exactly what I wasn't supposed to, cinnamon toast with butter. Eating like that is exactly what got me to 318 pounds. Then I went to the gym and set a lifetime personal best snatch of 100k! In the last 3 months I've put 12k onto my snatch. The most I'd put on in the same period before this was 5k. I realize the gains I've made is because the diet my sports nutrition coach put me on and that I almost gave up on. Talk about motivation! Once I got home I ate a healthy and moderate servings of baked sweet potato and chicken breast.

carbs on training days and vacation

I have 250 grams carbs to eat daily. On the days i workout i eat a large amount of my carbs before and during my training. This morning pre-workout I ate 2 cups rice, one cup skim milk, coffee with half and half,  totaling 121 grams carbs. Afterwards i took my oldest son out for lunch & I ate two grilled chicken sandwiches from Burger King which was 76 grams carbs. Total carbs eaten by 9 am was 197. That left 53 grams left to eat the rest of the day, less than 11 grams per meal. On a normal day i'd have things to keep my mind off food suchs s helping kids with homework, driving kids to and from practice or friends houses, work, etc.  But i'm on vacation. Apparently being on a diet during vacation is MUCH harder. All I've been thinking about all day is food. There's a key lime pie in the freezer, shepherds pie in the fridge, granola bars, and cup cakes. Oh man. Dieting while in vacation is danm hard! But i MUST stay dedicated to this diet! I'm averaging 1 pound a week of weight loss. At this rate I'll get to my dream weight of 230  pounds in 71 weeks. That's already 1 year, 4 months, & 3 weeks away. Any failure to follow my diet perfectly will make this take even longer.

The 2016 USPA Regional powerlifting championships

I thoroughly enjoyed my first powerlifting meet a few weeks ago. I enjoyed it so much I've been dreaming of doing another one as soon as possible. I was going to compete in the NASA powerlifting national championships in Feb 2016 in OKC, Oklahoma. But yesterday a fellow weightlifter, Dana Ashcraft, told me that the 2016 USPA Regional powerlifting championships will be held in Feb 2016 right here in Albuquerque New Mexico, just an hours drive from my house! Competing here in New Mexico will save me a grip of money!  Every dollar saved and put into savings for a down payment for a home is a day closer to retiring from the prison! So I went in early this morning and got the day off from work, then registered for the meet! I accidentally registered for the 275 lb division. I meant to register for the 308 lb division. I'm hoping they'll change my entry form. I'm currently weighing 301lbs. My nutrition coach is having me lose 1 pound a week, so I'll probably weigh around 292 by then. If they're not willing to change my weight class I'll need to cut 17 pounds. This might be crazy,  but if I have to cut 17 pounds I'm going to ask my favorite MMA fighter of all time, retired MMA fighter and Albuquerque resident "the dean of mean" Keith Jardine for help. He was a big light heavyweight fighter. During his career he had to cut an absurd amount of weight for his fights. Very few people would know how to cut weight better than him. He retired from fighting a few years ago 34-11 in his MMA and boxing career.

weightlifting on vacation

I'm on vacation until December 31st. This is the first time in 21 years of working at the prison that I've had Christmas week off. It's only the third time I haven't had to work on Christmas day. MY wife and kids are on vacation too. This holiday is turning out to be pretty wonderful.

We'll be going to Las Vegas NV from the 27th-30th to visit my half brother. He's 21 years younger than me. Not that it matters, I just find that amusing and thought I'd share.

 It's difficult training olympic style weightlifting while on vacation. More difficult than any sport I've ever participated in. A person can run anywhere. There's jiu jitsu gyms in virtually every city in the U.S..  But there's not many gyms with drop plates  and bars that work for olympic weightlifting. I've found a couple gyms that say they have bars and plates for weightlifting. I'm hoping they'll let me drop in.

traveling for weightlifting meets

My training program is having me taper this week, which means I'll be peaking next week. My weightlifting meet isn't until Jan 16th. The last program i finished i lifted a lifetime best 91/115 which would have qualified me for the masters national championship. But I peaked almost a month before my meet. Since I peaked so long before my tournament I ended up only lifting an 88/115 at The Lift Outside The Box weightlifting meet and missed qualifying for the masters national championships. Same thing is happening now with this training program. I'm peaking 3 weeks to soon.

I've been eligible to retire from the prison since May. In addition to working at the prison my family and I live on prison grounds. I don't want to retire and leave the prison until we save up a down payment of %20 for a home. It has been more difficult to save up $40,000 than I thought it would be. If we continue to save at the rate we are currently I won't be able to retire from the penitentiary until 2020. I'm not ok with that. We need to make some adjustments. We're already on a pretty strict budget. About the only place we can make any changes is to take the money I'm saving to travel to the masters national championships in Savannah Georgia this upcoming March and add it to the down payment for a home fund. So its looking like if I qualify for the masters national championships I won't be able to go. I guess that makes the problem of my training program not match up with weightlifting meets not matter much. I don't want this to sound like a pity party. I'm completely at peace with it. I'm a family man. Nothing matters to me more. I love putting my family first. I don't need to actually go and compete in the masters national championships, simply qualifying is enough.

Snatch high pulls and other weightlifting joys

Today I completed 4 sets of snatch high pulls at 90%. I LOVE snatch high pulls and clean high pulls! They're one of my favorite exercises of all time. When I first started weightlifting I hated any kind of high pulls. I sucked at them, and they completely exhausted me. Not only would high pulls tire me out for the rest of the workout, but I'd be physically wiped out the rest of the day too! It's amazing to me how the body can adapt if it's given the right stimuli.

I'm also amazed at how much more sleep I need now that I'm an olympic style weightlifter. Today after my workout I laid down to rest for a moment or two. I had no intention of falling asleep. I woke up 2 hours later. Since picking up weightlifting I sleep much more deeply. I never struggle to get to sleep and I rarely wake up during the night. I never needed this much sleep when i played football, trained MMA or triathlon.

Since the powerlifting meet I competed in a few weeks ago my elbows have been hurting when I do jerks or any kind of presses. I'm not sure what's going on there,  but I purchased a bottle of glucosamine chondroitin. Glucosamine really is a miracle drug. My Rottweiler used to run with me when I was a hard core triathlete. She'd average 25 miles a week. About the time she turned 7 her hips would hurt after long runs. I started giving her human grade Glucosamine and after a few weeks she never had problems with her hips ever again. On hindsight I suppose I should have started taking glucosamine as soon as I became really serious about weightlifting. Especially since I didn't pick the sport of weightlifting up until I was 38 years old.

pay it forward for Chistmas

In 2011 i got ran over by a vehicle while cycling and suffered a traumatic brain injury. Not working and the medical bills devastated us financially. There were many days we didn't have any food in the house. On Christmas we had to explain to the kids, ages 2, 4, & 6 that we couldn't afford gifts that year. My middle son assumed Santa Clause wasn't coming because of him. He repeatedly begged me to tell Santa he was sorry and he'd be a good boy from now on. No matter how hard i tried to explain it wasn't their fault the tears continued to fall, mine included. A few minutes later a coworker of mine from the prison knocked on our door and dropped off a huge pile of gifts for my children. Their Christmas was saved. I've never been more grateful in my life.

A few months ago my wife and I paid off a huge amount of her students loans and my medical bills. We're in a much better place financially.

My wife and I heard about a father on an Indian reservation not far from us that committed suicide. He left behind a wife who was a stay at home mom and three young kids the same age as ours were in 2011. I also have a coworker who's 2 year old son is really sick and has been in and out of the hospital all year. My wife and i scrounged together every penny we could possibly afford and gave each of them a check. I know money wont fix what those families are going through. But I'm hoping at the very least they will be able to have a moment of joy and forget for a short while all the problems in their life as they see the joy in their kids faces when they open their gifts on Christmas morning. I know that's how my wife and I felt on Christmas 4 years ago.

new weightlifting personal best lifts (PR's)

In October 2015 I competed in the Lift Outside The Box weightlifting meet. I weighed in at 143 kilos, (314.6 pounds) I snatched an 87, and clean and jerked 115 kilos for a 202k total. I missed qualifying for the 2016 Masters National Weightlifting championships by 5k.

For the last 2 months I've been losing weight and my lifts have increased. Usually a person loses strength while losing weight. Today I weighed in at 136.8 kilos and I lifted a lifetime PR of a 92k snatch and a 116.5k clean and jerk, for a total of 208.5k. My totals are now 1.5k above what I need to do to qualify. If I'm making these kinds of gains now I can't help but to dream what I'll be able to do once I get to my goal weight and am able to start eating to make big weightlifting gains.

My goal of being a competitive 105k masters weightlifter is progressing.

I'm in full blown athlete mode!

When I first started training triathlon in 2004 i weighed 292 pounds. I trained hard and got surprising results for a guy as big as i was. During races and training I'd constantly be told, "how does a big guy run so fast?" I knew they meant it as a compliment, but i didn't want to be fast for a big guy, I wanted to be in the front of the pack. 

                                   (February 2003)
The only way I could do that was lose weight. It took me a long time, 5 years actually, to figure out how to eat to lose weight without ruining my training and racing. There was a fine line. Slide a little to much to one side and I lost weight but sacrificed performance. Ate a bit to much and I'd recover from training better but the extra weight would slow me down. Eventually I figured it out. I got down to and maintained a body weight of 175 pounds for 18 months. I'd lost 117 pounds total. It was hell getting there, but once i got there a switch went off in my head. I went into full on athlete mode. Nothing got in the way of my training and eating right. I went on a two year streak that i took top 10 in almost every race i entered. I was no longer just fast for a big guy,  i was one of the fastest multisport athletes in the region. I became a sponsored athlete. 

(April 2010)

Since I picked up weightlifting my training has been great. I have perfect coaching and i was focused on training. But my diet sucked big time. Before my nutrition coach started helping me I'd try dieting like i used to when i was a multi-sport athlete. But i'd miss food so bad! I wanted to eat the foods i loved more than i wanted to be in great shape. I gained back all the weight I'd lost in traithlon and then some, getting to 318 pounds. I could find the motivational to train hard,  but couldn't find enough motivation to do the right thing with my diet. That changed on Holloween. My sports nutrition coach, Barry Schroeder, found my blog and decided he was going to help me. Since then my diet has been nearly perfect. I'm recovering faster. I'm gaining strength and speed quicker. And I'm doing all that while still losing weight. I feel like I've hit that full blown athlete mode again. I never miss training. And I don't leave the house without having my entire days meals planned out. Now i'm entirely focused on eating food that will help me recover and make gains. I'm perfectly content going without the bad food others may eat in front of me. I've reached that state of mind that if my body is craving something I'll have a bite or two of it and feel satisfied. I feel like a serious athlete again.

update on calorie change

A couple days ago my sports nutrition coach changed my daily calorie allotment. It took a couple days for me to figure out what the new calorie regiment would feel like. On my non-training days it feels like I have lots of carbohydrates to eat at everyone meal. On my training days I eat the majority of my carbs before, during, and after training. The rest of the day I only have a dozen grams of carbs to eat at each meal. Even though my carbs feel low the rest of the day, I never feel hungry because I have 300 grams protein and 125 grams fat each day. I've always felt best eating lower carbs  and a little more fat than most people. On the occasions I've tried low fat diets I fell apart quickly. I lost strength, endurance, and energy. This diet seems perfectly suited for my body type. I'm down to 304 pounds. I've lost 14. Just 75 pounds to go to hit my goal of being a 105k.

hand care for weightlifting

Yesterday during training my weightlifting coach asked one off his star lifters if she'd been doing proper hand care. Hand care? I know a lot of weightlifters use sandpaper to grind the calasus off their hands. But if that was the only thing we were supposed to do they'd simply call it sanding your hands. I asked coach Shane Miller, the guru of all things weightlifting, what things is important in hand care? These are the things he said:

- your hands should be completely smooth. If your skin is rough or lumpy, they are more likely to catch on the bar when you are lifting causing painful rips or tears. So shave your hands. The best time to do it is after you shower or  bathe.

-wash your hands after lifting to get all chalk off your hands. Leaving the chalk in will dry out your hands.

-use lotion on your hands to keep them from cracking or getting rough. it's especially important after washing your hands after lifting.

-use a small amount of chalk when you work out to keep your hands dry and help your grip. That will make you less likely to hold the bar too tight, which is a good thing as far as callus prevention.

- don't over-chalk. That may actually create more friction by having too much chalk on your hands.

- Use a towel to dry your hands between sets.

- weightlifting will make your hands tougher. The longer your a weightlifter, the better conditioned your hands will be, but it takes time.You will go through a period of time where no matter how careful you are, your hands will rip if you hit a high enough volume of exercise. Be patient and be careful and you will get through it. Your hands will come out tougher on the other side.

change of calories

My sports nutrition coach is making some changes to my diet. On workout days I used to eat 390 grams of carbohydrates. On non-workout days I'd eat 190 carbohydrates. Now things are changing a bit. I'm going to be eating 250 carbs 6 days a week. Once a week, the day of my choosing,  I'm scheduled to eat 410 carbs.

Today I had a really hard workout. 2 hours and 20 minutes of %60-%90 of max. I needed the fuel to get through a workout that intensive. Before training i had two cups of white rice mixed with 1/2 cup of skim milk,  coffee with 2 TBSP half n half. During the workout i drank 2 servings of Gatorade and a half scoop of whey protein. Post workout i drank a shake with 1 cup skim milk,  1 scoop protein, 1 banana, 2 TBSP peanut butter, BCA's, & glutamine. The rest of the day I only had 70 grams of carbohydrates left to eat. I had enough protein and fat to keep me from getting hungry, but eating only 70 carbs the rest of the day made me grumpy. I'm not sure if it was my bodies blood sugar levels dropping or what, but i turned into an a-hole the rest of the day. As long as I don't lose my strength and speed gains I'll be really happy continuing to lose weight,  get thinner, become faster, & feel better about myself. Today I keep trying to remind myself that my nutrition coach is the bomb, plus he's a serious weightlifter too. So I know he understands what it takes to lose weight without losing performance. But I'm like an old grumpy man. I freak out about changes. I'm trying really hard not to freak out,  because like i said, my nutrition coach has a life time of eating healthy and competing seriously in athletics to base his reasoning on. I've even seen it first hand the last month. I've lost 14 pounds while recovering faster and making greater gains than I ever have before. Both my weightlifting coach and nutrition coach are ALWAYS having to remind me, "trust the program Cody". So right now I'm doing my best to simply focus on trusting the program and ignoring my fears.

to much competitive spirit?

Earlier this year I found out NASA (natural athletes strength association) powerlifting has a power clean division. Not many powerlifters in New Mexico have competed in the clean division. Consequently there's almost no New Mexico state records in the power clean divisions. When i found this out I became very excited. I told all the athletes I know at The Miller Gym, High Dessert Athletics Club, Praxis, and Santa Fe CrossFit that they could compete in the upcoming New Mexico state NASA powerlifting championships held on April 2016 in Gallup New Mexico. I told them just showing up and lifting the bar would make them both state champions and a state record holders in the power clean division! I let them know i could fit 9 athletes in my vehicle if people wanted to carpool. I assumed everyone would be as excited as I am about going to a new venue, setting new records, and becoming state champions just by essentially showing up. Not a single person seemed interested. I asked my wife, "How could this opportunity not get everyone fired up? If I heard I could set a state records in something even if it was something I sucked at I'd still show up. For the experience and memories if nothing else." My wife told me most people just aren't as competitive as I am. On a basic level that makes sense. But on the other hand I REALLY don't understand. Everything about competing is awesome. I never feel as alive as when I compete. I'll compete in anything. Even if it's something I don't really enjoy or know anything about. You name it I'll try it. Not only are they fun, but I find it's a great way to gain back dwindling motivation for weight loss, training, or life in general. In the last 11 years I've competed in 86 multi-sport races, 8 running races, 2 Jiu Jitsue tournaments, 7 weightlifting meets, 1 powerlifting meet, and 1 CrossFit games. That averaging almost 1 competition a month. To me that's what makes life worth living! With all the options and opportunities out there nowadays why the heck would people not want to try something new and exciting all the time? Perhaps my wife is right. Maybe I'm much to competitive. And perhaps, as unbelievable as it sounds, maybe a new adventure and finding new adversaries just isn't as appealing to others as it is to me. Could there be such a thing as to competitive?

New Mexico New year's classic powerlifting meet report

Squat 175k

Bench 132.5k

Deadlift 195k

Coefficient 1.4438

On December 5th 2015 I competed in The New Mexico New Years classic powerlifting meet in Roswell NM. The meet was put on by NASA (Natural Athlete Strength Association). This was the first powerlifting meet I'd ever done. I've been training olympic style weightlifting for two years, but nothing even close to powerlifting. 

I was wanting to compete in the SHW divisions which is 309lbs or more. I woke up that morning weighting 305 lbs. Before I left the house for the 3 1/2 hour drive to the meet in Roswell NM a drank a glass of water with a couple teaspoons of salt stirred in. I figured the extra sodium would help my body retain water. 10 minutes before weighing in I chugged as much water as I could. I weighed in at 312 lbs easily making the SHW minimum weight. 

I entered 9 divisions. It cost me a fortune, but it was one of the most fun and memorable experiences of my life! Totally worth every penny! These were the divisions I entered. 

1- clean only masters pure SHW

2- clean only masters one SHW

3- clean only law enforcement SHW 

4- power press masters pure

5- power press masters one 

6- power press law enforcement SHW

7- push pull masters law enforcement SHW

8- unequiped powerlifting law enforcement SHW 

9- power sports law enforcement SHW 

The first lift was the power clean. I was really glad the clean was first. I know how to clean well and I'm comfortable doing cleans since the clean and jerk is one of the two lifts I've been training at for the last two years. I lifted a 120k clean. It was the heaviest clean of the day and a state record.

The next lift was the strict curl. I hadn't done curls at all since 2003. So I had no clue what weights to attempt. i lifted 35k, 50k, and my third lift was a 65k.

The third lift was the squat. I built up to a 170k squat. Since that was a national records they let me attempt a fourth lift. 175k, good lift.

After the squat it was obvious to everyone I was a rookie at powerlifting. I was having to ask athletes and officials a thousand questions. A powerlifting coach, Vernon Smith, who owns Grow Strong strength and conditioning in Albuquerque New Mexico came up to me and offered to coach me the rest of the day. I gratefully accepted his generous offer. The rest of the meet was so much easier and less stressful with a powerlifting coach helping me.

The bench press was the fourth lift. I ended up struggling with this. Out of habit I didn't wait for the head referees commands. Even though I lifted the weight easily I was given three red lights at both of my first two lifts for lifting the weight off my chest and racking without the officials commands. On the third lift I had to remember to wait for the head judges commands or I'd end up bombing out. On my third attempt of 132.5k I got three white lights. 132.5 was super easy. I could have lifted a lot more,  but after  two "no lifts" I was only concerned about not bombing out. I only started training again in the bench press this summer. Until this summer my lifetime bench PR was 275lbs I set back in 1999 when I was 24 years old. This summer when I first picked up benching again I could only lift 245 pounds. So all things considered 132.5k (291.5 pounds) is pretty awesome. I was allowed a fourth attempt and I successfully lifted 135k.

The deadlift was the fifth lift. I had no idea what to try to lift in this lift either. I used to deadlift when I first started olympic style weightlifting, but the deadlifts were hurting my hips so my weightlifting coach stopped putting them into my programing. It had been 20 months since I'd done any deadlifts. I started out with a 110k deadlift- ridiculously easy. My 2nd attempt I jumped up to a 150k lift. Also ridiculously easy. I decided to try 180 for my third. Also amazingly easy. I was allowed a fourth lift and i lifted 195k.... easily. I learned a very valuable lesson. I should know approximately how much my max lifts are if I'm going to lift in a powerlifting meet- duh!

I set 9 state records and 4 national records.  I entered these divisions and next to each is my total and placing. 

 clean only masters pure SHW (Super Heavy Weight), 120k, state record

clean only masters one SHW, 120k state record

clean only masters law enforcement SHW 120, state record

power press masters pure 152.5k state record

power press masters one 152.5k state record

power press law masters enforcement SHW 152.5, state and national record

 push pull masters law enforcement SHW, 327.5k, state record and national record 

 unequiped powerlifting masters law enforcement SHW, 502.5k, state and national record 

power sports masters law enforcement SHW, 392.5k, state and national record

The NASA powerlifting trophies and medals are top notch!

pre-workout meal comparison and weightlifting belts

After trying every food imaginable I've found the food that gives me the most energy to sustain my energy through an entire weightlifting workout is white rice mixed 1/2 cup skim milk, sugar, and  one or two cups of coffee. After Thanksgiving I had a pumpkin pie and thought,  "this has lots of calories and is high in the glycemic index. I bet pumpkin pie will work great as a pre-workout meal!" Just in case your wondering,  pumpkin pie does not fuel an athlete well. Not only did I end up running out of energy half way through my workout, i felt like crap the rest of the day. And the pumpkin pie used so much of my daily allotment of carbs and fat that I was hungry the rest of the day. No bueno.

Every 4-6 weeks I tweak my back doing back squats. It's never an injury severe enough to make me miss training,  but it's serious enough to bug for a week of two while it heals up. I've tried everything to stop this from happening: changing my form, tightening my belt REALLY tight, squating slower.... nothing seemed to stop it. A few weeks ago I had to order a different weightlifting belt. The one i had been using the last couple years wasn't legal in powerlifting meets. Bada Bing bada bang, problem fixed! Turns out I was needing a different weightlifting belt. The one I'm using now gives my back perfect support!  I haven't had any problems at all since lifting with the new belt. It's an Ader 4 inch weightlifting belt. Its a miracle worker and a back saver!

There's a funny 105k+ story to go along with this belt. I ordered the belt based on their sizing chart. When I got it in the mail I thought they had to have sent me the wrong sized belt because this sucker was huge! I'm sure it would fit around two normal sized men twice with plenty of room to spare.  I started packing it in the box to return it and my wife said, "why don't you try it on so you know how much smaller of a belt you'll need to replace it with." Great idea! I tried it on, not only did it fit,  but if I was a half inch bigger around the belt would be to small. Ah, the life of a super heavy weight. Every day in the shoes of a 105k+ is an adventure!

wrist problem fixed

The last couple weeks my right wrist had been hurting when I do snatches. On Saturday i told Erik, one of the coaches at The Miller Gym. After watching me lift only one time he figured out my problem. I allow my wrists to bend backwards when the weight reaches the top of the snatch. Normally that wouldn't be much of a problem, but my wrists are super flexible. They end up bending to far. See picture below:

The picture below is how I'm trying to have the weight land. This feels so much better. The only down side is changing my form on the snatch is harder than I thought it would be. It's caused a lot of missed lifts and frustration. Since the very first day i started doing the snatch I've ALWAYS done it that way. Changing it has thrown off my balance,  and to some extent even my confidence. With hard work, focus, and determination I'll get it. Like my Mom used to tell me, "this to shall pass."

afraid of big weights

At my last meet in October, The Lift Outside The Box weightlifting meet,  I missed my last snatch of 91k. If I'd have made that lift I'd have qualified for the master's weightlifting national championships. When I missed that lift I was crushed. Failing at my goal of the national championships made me more determined. I'm training harder, focusing on sleeping more, and I hired a sports nutrition coach.

Now that I'm to the part of my training that I'm starting to lift heavier weights again I've realized another side effect of my failure in October. I seem to get scared of lifting big weights. That had never been a problem for me before.  Now anytime I lift higher than%80 of my max I get intimidated and i have to walk around the gym trying to motivate myself and talk myself into attempting the lift. So far I haven't missed any big lifts, but the fear remains. Today I even succeeded at a snatch of only 5k below the weight I attempted in October, but the fear remains. I'm constantly amazed how much of a mental game weightlifting is.

eating before and during training

Since hiring a sports nutrition coach I've been eating smaller healthier meals. I almost never eat until I'm full. The good news is my stomach has shrunk so I get full sooner. The bad news is my stomach can't handle my normal pre-workout meal anymore. I used to eat two cups white rice,  one cup milk,  and coffee. If i eat that now i feel overly full and uncomfortable while training. Now that I'm eating less for my pre-workout meal I'm running out of energy during my workouts. I've started sipping on a 16 ounce Gatorade with a half scoop of whey protein during my workouts. That seems to have fixed everything. I'm no longer overly full and I have energy to finish training.

dinning out on a budget

My wife and I are on a strict budget. We put aside $50 every pay day for dining out.  $50 every two weeks isn't much for a family of 5. We'll usually eat out once a week at someplace cheap like McDonald's or Taco Bell. On Sunday the wife, kids, and I helped an old friend of ours move. We helped move from early morning until 6 pm that night. Afterwards everyone was exhausted and no one felt like cooking so our buddies took us to eat at Applebees. Its amazing how much we enjoyed eating out at an actual restaurant. Back before we had kids and students loans we ate out all the time without thinking about it. It never really felt like that big of a deal. But now going to eat made us fell like royalty. Its amazing how going without something can make us feel so much more grateful and appreciative when we do get it.