2018 goals

I had e couple big goals for 2017. I wanted to deadlift 495lbs and I wanted to be able to compete the 307lb weight class. I was able to accomplish both in December. My next big goals is to be able to compete in the NASA powerlifting state championships in April in the 275lb weight class. And by the end of 2018 to squat 500lbs or more, bench 300+, and deadlift 600+. A 1400+ pound total.

Bad training days and great coaches

Last week I had a horrible day of squating. I was only able to squat 185X10. I can usually rep out 245 pretty easily. So today at the gym my Powerlifting Coach Vernon Smith pulled me aside to talk about it. He explained hypertrophy. And explained what I should do next time if I'm in that situation again. He put things in perspective. He even gave me a hell of a pep talk. It was exactly what I was needing. I'm ready for my next bad day of training. I know what to do in that situation and how to handle it. I really like my coach. He's awesome.

Celebrating with food

On Christmas Eve I weighed less than 300lbs for the first time in a very long time. On Christmas I over ate. All day. The next morning I weighed 307. I knew most of it was salt and water retention. But still, 4 days after I'm still at 300. I've learned two lessons from this:
1) Overeating for a Holliday or a family function just isn't worth it.
2) when celebrating eat a bit less all day so I can have more to eat during the celebration so that I don't feel like I'm going without or sacrificing as much.

Training ups and downs

On Monday I had a horrible squat day. On Wednesday I had by far the best day of deadlifts I've ever had in my life. Then this morning I had a total crap day of CrossFit. I used to let the ups and downs effect me emotionally. I'd feel on top of the world in every aspect of my life on a good day of training and I'd feel like the world had caved in on me if I had a bad day of training. I'm learning to not allow the highs and lows to effect me as much. I'm trying to remember that training is like bouncing a ball while traveling up hill.  There are a lot of small ups and downs. But the end effect is still going in an upward direction.

For a long time I was angry and resentful. I'd been forced to work 80-90 hours a week for so long I was depressed and had lost hope of a decent life. I haven't worked any overtime since October. Just 36-40 hours a week. Not working as much, being able to spend time with my kids, and time to workout has done miracles for my happiness and contentment. This week was the first time in over a decade that I felt that I was glad to be married.

Christmas binge

I had eaten perfectly every day since September 5th. But Christmas Eve and Christmas I ate whatever I wanted. All that crappy food in excessive amounts made me feel sluggish and weak during my last couple workouts. Today I'm back on the diet wagon. And I'm glad to be eating healthy and reasonable amounts again too. I've been on a roll for the first time in years. As long as I continue to do what Avatar Nutrition tells me to do I should be at my dream weight by mid-late summer. It'll be nice to lift in the 110k weight class. And being 60 pounds lighter will help a lot in CrossFit too. Being 300lbs doesn't exactly make me efficient or fast to say the least.

I was home on Christmas Eve and Christmas. This was only the 2nd time I've ever been off of work and home with my kids on Christmas. It was great. I'm really in a good place right now. I'm happy.

Holliday's at Bear Canyon CrossFit

Most CrossFit gyms are closed on Sundays and Holliday's. But Bear Canyon CrossFit has a Sunday class. They also have a classes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, etc. I love that. But I'm beginning to think the owners of Bear Canyon CrossFit hate Holliday's. Every time I've shown up on a holiday the workouts are brutal. The Thanksgiving sampler took me an hour and eleven minutes. Yesterday's 12 days of Christmas was a nightmare. Today, Christmas Eve, took me 38 minutes. Brutal. But it helps. Because most people over eat on the Holidays. And having a workout before celebrating can help keep a person focused on not over indulging. It helps me to focus on making training and eating a lifestyle. It helps remind us that we can have fun without losing control. Plus after the holiday workouts my legs are to fatigued to get up from the table to refill my plate.

Under 300lbs!

I weighed in at 299lbs for the 2nd day in a row. I've lost a total of 47 pounds so far. My goal is to get into the 110k (220-242lb) powerlifting weight class. So I need to loose anywhere from 57-79 more pounds. Depending on how I feel will determine how low I'm willing to go.

I was a little hungry this week. Which is unusual. I really haven't been hungry at all since starting Avatar Nutrition. I lost more weight this week then I usually do. 4.1lbs So the the Avatar program will increase my macros next week. They do that to prevent quick weight loss, rebound dieting, muscle loss, and metabolic damage. So far I really love Avatar Nutrition. It works.

My favorite quote

"At the peak of tremendous and victorious effort, while the blood is pounding in your head, all suddenly comes quiet within you. Everything seems clearer and whiter than ever before, as if great spotlights had been turned on. At that moment, you have the conviction that you contain all the power in the world, that you are capable of everything, that you have wings. There is no more precise moment in life than this, the WHITE MOMENT, and you will work hard for years, just to taste it again."

Life in Albuquerque

I'm finding myself blogging almost daily. Occasionally I'll post twice a day. It's been a long time since I've been so excited about something that I've done that. I'm getting stronger, I'm loosing weight, getting faster, building endurance, and having so much fun doing it all. I've found a great niche here in Albuquerque. I have a great powerlifting coach who is understanding about me wanting to supplement Powerlifting with CrossFit for health and weight loss reasons. I really love my CrossFit gym, the coaches, and members there. The support and encouragement I'm getting from both the Powerlifting and CrossFit community is awesome. And most importantly I'm not killing myself working overtime anymore. I have time to spend with my kids, working out, and time for myself. I think the word I'm looking for here is content. I'm content. I'm perfectly happy just the way things are. I still want to loose some more weight, get faster, stronger, and build more endurance. But I'm enjoying the journey instead of just obsessing about the end goal.

1st Powerlifting workout at Bear Canyon CrossFit

In the past I had tried to do my own strength workouts at CrossFit gyms I'd been a member of. They made it known that under no uncertain terms was I allowed to do any workout in their gym but the workout of the day (WOD) during the designated group class settings. When I signed up I had asked the owners of Bear Canyon CrossFit if I could supplement my training with some of my own Olympic style weightlifting or powerlifting on my own in their gym. They said yes. But because of my experience at other CrossFit gyms I didn't believe them. I felt that they were just saying that to get another contract locked in and$ in their pockets. I assumed the moment I tried to do my own thing in my own time in their facility they'd say "hell no". So Yesterday I decided to try it. I did a powerlifting deadlift specific workout at Bear Canyon CrossFit. Not only was everyone cool with it, but they were encouraging and complimentary about my strength and weight loss too. I was pleasantly surprised. I really like it there.

I take my wedding ring off so I don't scratch or bend it when I train. Yesterday while i was doing my Powerlifting routine at Bear Canyon CrossFit I got hit on. At first I thought she was joking. Guys as fat as I am don't get hit on in a gym setting. Ever. There's to many guys there who are in great shape. Why go for the fattest bull in the field when they could try for a young fit one? So I laughed like it was a big joke. But I realized pretty quick she wasn't joking. Looks like it's time for me to get one of those silicone wedding bands to wear when I train. I doubt a bald, fat, old dude like me will ever get hit on again in a gym setting. It's never happened to me before. But just in case I guess it's time for me to buy one of those fancy silicon wedding bands that you can work out in.....

2 gyms memberships and a glory board

I train Powerlifting after work 4 days a week. I've always done it at Iron Soul. Iron Soul is a barbell club. I fit in well at that barbell club and they've always been nothing but good to me. On November 1st I started doing CrossFit 3x a week too. Apparently I'm really starting to like Bear Canyon CrossFit because I've found myself wanting to do my Powerlifting routine there instead of my barbell club. So today I'm doing a test run. I'll be doing my heavy deadlift training day at Bear Canyon CrossFit instead of Iron Soul. We'll see if they will actually be cool with a meat head like me doing nothing but streangth work and no WOD in a CrossFit gym.

Yesterday was test day for power cleans at Bear Canyon CrossFit. I got a 265lb power clean. I tied for 2nd in the gym. I'm pretty excited about that. I'll be getting my name on the gym's glory board for every event I take top five in. So far I've placed top 5 in 3 of the 4 streangth tests. Squat, deadlift, and power clean.

Power cleans and Grace test

Today was my favorite day at Bear Canyon CrossFit. Test day! We tested power cleans and the benchmark workout called Grace which is 30 power cleans for time. There was only 4 people in the class. A relatively small class, so I thought we'd have a little more time. But I felt a little rushed. I wanted to try at least another 2 attempts but wasn't able to. I was still pretty happy with my result though. I got a 265lb power clean. My Grace time was slow though, 4:24. Cardio is definitely my weakness. But that's changing as I'm getting in better shape and loosing weight. I have %100 faith that between my Powerlifting Coach Vernon Smith, Bear Canyon CrossFit, and Avatar Nutrition I'll be a hell of an athlete soon.

It burns!!!

Today was the first day of my new programming. Coach Vernon had me doing hypertrophy. That means high reps and short rest intervals. My plan was to go into the gym gung-ho and only take 45-60 second rests between sets. After my first set I realized short rests was NOT going to happen. I had no idea hypertrophy was going to burn so bad. I don't remember hypertrophy EVER hurting like this before. I'm not sure if it hurts like this because it's been so long since I've done hypertrophy (it's been 10+ years). Perhaps it's because I've never been this strong and done this much weight with high reps and short rests. Or if it's just because I'm getting old. But regardless it surprised me. This block of training is going to be unpleasant. The good news is hypertrophy makes it easier to slim down. That makes me happy. I've been hovering around 304-302lbs for almost a month. It would be really nice to get into the 200's again.

day one of 2nd training plan

 Coach Vernon sent me my next training block. It starts tomorrow. I've enjoyed this week away from the gym. But it got old quick. I can't wait until tomorrow. I miss training. I miss the stress relies and working towards a goal. I'm also thoroughly looking forward to test Tuesday at Bear Canyon CrossFit. I can't wait to find out what we're testing. Bench press and Grace are the two I'm looking forward to most.

Recovery mode

My body was really tired after the deadlift test on Tuesday. I tried doing a small squat workout on Wednesday. But my body is fried and needs some R&R. I'm not stepping foot in a gym or working out until Monday. And then coach Vernon Smith said he's going to be pushing me as hard as my body can handle. He warned me, this next training session will be intense. He told me he needed me to come into the gym physically and mentally ready. Because he's going to test my limits, So, no training for me until Monday. Sounds like fun huh?

Deadlift test day at Bear Canyon CrossFit

On Saturday I competed in a powerlifting competition. My top deadlift at the meet was a lifetime best of 479lbs. On Tuesday my CrossFit gym was having a deadlift test day. If I finished in the top 5 of the entire gym then my name would be put on a board that hangs in the gym for an entire year. It had only been three days since my Powerlifting meet so I was sore and felt beat up. But somehow I set another lifetime best deadlift of 495lbs. And the craziest thing, I did this after having lost 43lbs, and I felt like I could have gone higher! Usually people loose streangth when they loose weight. But I've been loosing weight by using a website called Avatar Nutrition and flexible dieting. It's awesome. I love it. I especially love the price, $9.99 a month.

NASA, USAPL, and USPA in New Mexico

My middle son, age 10, enjoys doing powerlifting meets with me in addition to weightlifting. He won the NASA powerlifting state championships in both 2016 & 2017. He wanted to compete last weekend in the USPA state championships, but they have an age minimum of 13. USAPL contacted me and they advised me they have a youth division my son can lift in. So my son and I will be lifting together in the USAPL New Mexico state championships on March 17th 2018. Bonding time. I can't wait.

2017 USPA New Mexico powerlifting state championships report

BW 138k
Squat 457.2lbs (PR & state record)
Bench 297.5lbs (tied PR & state record)
Deadlift 479lbs (PR and state record)
Total 1227lbs (PR and state record)

Yesterday I completed in the 2017 USPA New Mexico state powerlifting championships. I've been lifting exclusively for powerlifting for only 2 months. And two and a half weeks of that I didn't lift because the family and I were on vacation or I had started out at CrossFit and was to tired to lift. So after only 5.5 weeks of actual training I wasn't expecting much. My powerlifting coach Vernon Smith had a lot more faith in my abilities than I did. He sent me the lefts he wanted me to try and it was much much higher than I had faith that I could do.

The first lift was my favorite one. The Squat. I'd done Olympic style weightlifting for 4.5 years before jumping ship to powerlifting. We squat a lot in weightlifting. But there's absolutely no bench press. And only light weighted clean deadlifts. I got a little freaked out during warm ups because my last set of 405 I struggled with. My first squat of the day was 425lbs. It was felt moderately heavy, but lighter than the warm up 405. The next attempt tied a lifetime best of 440lbs. It didn't feel heavy at all. My last attempt was 457.2lbs. If I made that lift I'd have set a lifetime best of over 17lbs! My last attempt felt even easier than my 2nd attempt. Three white lights. Good lift!! I was shocked! How the heck did I get that strong in only 5.5 weeks of training? The squat was a state record.

Next up was the bench. I've always sucked at bench. And I haven't done any training for bench since Olympic weightlifters never do much upper body work and we NEVER bench. I really didn't think I could do what coach was wanting. But Eric, owner of Iron Soul told me, and I quote, "do what your coach days. You have him for a reason. Do it or your a dumbass." Well, I did it. 270, 285, 297.5 and I was shocked. I had more in the tank. My coach knew me well. The bench was a new state record.

When I first stepped on the platform for my first deadlift I felt like something was wrong. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. But there definitely was. My first deadlift of 430lbs was a good lift. It was also a state record. When the judge went to check my he said, "there's no great to check." I looked down and realized I had forgotten to put on my weightlifiting shoes, weightlifting belt, and knee sleeves. Once I geared up I feel a lot better on my 2nd deadlift of 451lbs. My last lift of 471lbs was going to be a 28lb personal best and another state record. It went up so easy I was amazed. I think a 500lb deadlift is in my near future.

My total of 1227lbs was a lifetime best by 39lbs and a state record. I'm shocked what I was able to do with only a couple months training. I can't wait to see what I'll be able to accomplish with more time in training and more weight loss guided by my awesome coach Vernon Smith.

Registered for a Track and field meet

Now that I've been training consistently in both powerlifting and CrossFit and have lost 42 pounds I'm feeling more athletic and confident. I'm getting the itch to go out and see what my body can do. So yesterday I registered for the 9th annual Garden Swartz Great South West track and field classic. I signed up for the 60 meter and 200 meter dash. Best case scenario I do well. Worst case scenario I do poorly and will be able to look back years from now and say, "look how far I've come." The event will be held at the Albuquerque convention center on Mondo track. Mondo track is the 2nd fastest indoor track in the nation.

 This will be my first track and field meet since 1989! 27 years! Eek!

There beginning of 2018 is going to be super busy. In addition to all three of our kids involved in three different sports with practices all over the city. The kids and I have competitions all over New Mexico. This is happiness and living life to the fullest.

-Jan 7 wrestling, Moriarty
-Jan 13 powerlifting seminar, Albuquerque
-Jan 20 wrestling, Carlsbad
-Feb 3rd wrestling, Albuquerque
-Feb 10 9th annual Garden Swartz Great South West track and field classic, Albuquerque
-Feb 24th NASA open, Roswell
-March 17 USAPL state championships, Albuquerque
-April 28, NASA New Mexico state powerlifting championships, Gallup

NASA powerlifting New Mexico state records

Since I'm tapering for a meet this weekend I've got more time on my hands. And now that I've lost enough weight to lift in a lower weight class I decided to look up the NASA New Mexico state records for records that are vacant or that I'm strong enough to break. It's a long list.

In the 308lb weight class:
Unequipped pure
Unequipped masters 1
Unequipped masters pure
Retro pure 308
Retro open
Retro police
Retro masters 1
Unequipped push/pull pure
Unequipped push/pull open
Unequipped push/pull police
Unequipped push/pull masters pure
Unequipped push/pull masters 1
Power sports police
Power sports Masters 1
Power sports pure
Power sports open
Power press masters 1
Power press pure
Power press open
Power press police

275lb weight class:
Retro open
Retro pure
Retro police
Retro masters 1
Unequipped push/pull pure (325k)
Unequipped push/pull open
Unequipped push/pull masters 1
Unequipped push/pull masters pure
Power sports police
Power sports open
Power press pure
Power press masters 1
Power press pure
Power press open
Power press police

The beginning of a new adventure

 I've struggled the last 2.5 years trying to decide if I should train exclusively for weightlifiting or powerlifting. I flip flopped between the two more times than I'm comfortable admitting. It wasn't until a few weeks ago I finally decided that powerlifting will be my #1 girl. I'm the type of person who throws himself into a project full force once I'm fully committed.

 Today was my last workout before my powerlifting meet. The next training block I do will be significantly more difficult. The last training cycle I did was to get back in shape and to prepare my body for heavy lifting. But after the powerlifting meet on Saturday things will get harder and more intense. So as i threw my last workout into the trash at the gym I got a little sentimental. That little piece of paper is the last piece of the first step of this grand adventure I've decided to partake. Goodbye old me.

Hello to a new adventure, a new lifestyle, a new me, and a huge new goal.

Next training cycle

Have I mentioned recently how much I like my powerlifting coach? Well I think he's pretty awesome. I emailed him this morning and asked if I should start training more frequently. I asked if he thought I could handle training some two-a-days. His response motiated me.

His response, "I’d say stick with 4 days of powerlifting a week. Since we’ll be going off of 1RMs during this next training cycle (instead of just slowing getting back into lifting shape), the workouts should be much harder and much more taxing. Doing a two-a-day in the midst of such workouts would, I think, be Ill advised."

Looks like the next training cycle will be pretty intense. I can't wait!!!

Crazy taper thoughts

This Saturday is the US powerlifting association New Mexico state championships meet. This week I started my deload week. We used to call it a taper back in my triathlon days. I hate tapering. I keep thinking crazy OCD thoughts, "I could be gaining more streangth if I was training hard. What if I'm doing my taper wrong and screw up my meet. Why don't I Just say screw this meet and continue training through to prepare for the next one. Missing one meet won't hurt. Etc."

I also started eating to maintain my weight instead of dieting to drop weight. That way I'll go into the meet fully fueled and not at a deficit. And of course I'm miserable doing that to. I have more and even stronger OCD thoughts about pushing pause on my weight loss until after the meet. "I could be 5 pounds lighter by now! I could just diet through the meet, 5 or 10 pounds on my meets total won't really matter. I'm finally on a roll loosing weight, what if I can't get back on the diet wagon?"

I know I'm doing the right thing by slowing my training and dieting. But it's hard when I'm such a one track mind kind of a guy.

Oh, by the way. Have I mentioned lately how much happier I am now that I'm not being forced to work 80-90 hours a week anymore? I'm spending a lot of my time with my kids. Driving them to wrestling, volleyball, and weightlifiting practices. Watching thier sporting events. Getting in my workout time. And now that I can sleep a normal amount of time I'm no longer struggling with overeating and depression. Life is finally good again. That 11 years of hell is finally over.