2018 NASA New Mexico Powerlifting state championships report

Body weight 265lbs
275lb weight class

Power clean 52.5k

Strict curls 57.5k (PR & state record)

Squat 435lbs (state record)

Bench 303 (PR & state record)

Deadlift 479 (tied PR & state record)
Total 1216 (state record)

My son
Weighed in at 64.2lbs
Lifted in 65lb weight class
Clean 55lbs (PR & state record)
Squat 60.3lbs (PR & state record)
Bench press 50lbs (PR & state record)
Deadlift 132.2lbs (PR & state record)

This weekend my son and I competed in the 2018 NASA New Mexico Powerlifting state championships.

I'm not going to go into a lot of details about the day. Most of this post will be about my sonss and my coacg. I knew two things was going to happen.
1) since I'd lost 80lbs in the last 7 months I knew I wouldn't be lifting anything amazing.
2) I knew my son was going to do some amazing lifting

My best squat was 435lbs. It was my 2nd best squat in a meet.

My best bench press of the day was a personal best and state record of 303lbs. I was pleasantly surprised by that lift.

My best deadlift was 479lbs. That tied my 2nd best lift.

My total was 1216lbs. My 2nd best total of all time.

Overall I did about the same as I used to do. But I used to weigh 346lbs. Now I'm only 265lbs. For me to have kept up my strength while losing this much is a near miracle. And truth be known, it's not something I'm doing. All the accolades should go to my Powerlifting coach Vernon Smith-More.  He's the most amazing coach I've ever had any sport. Most coaches know how to do one or two different approaches to training their athletes. If those don't work they'll blame the athletes diet, not sleeping enough, or they'll tell the athlete, "just stick with it. You're going through a plateau." Or "it's because your losing weight." But coach Vernon never stops trying new things to make sure I'm getting gains. He doesn't accept me not gaining strength just because I'm dieting. He's tried a lower volume, higher intensity program. A higher intensity, lower volume plan. High both, and low both. As he's trying these things he's watching my results and learning about how my body is responding and applying that knowledge to my next program. He's doing the same for my son. My son's total last year at this same meet was a 110lb total. In one year he's gone up to a 242lb total. His deadlift was 22lbs higher than his total was last year. Coach Vernon is the amazing. Not only is he a great coach, but he's a wonderful and compassionate human being too. As long as Vernon is my sons and my coach our future in powerlifting is going to be great. 

Powerlifting referee

I'm really enjoying Powerlifting. I'm enjoying competing in the sport and I really love the people. I decided I wanted to get more involved. I contacted the NASA powerlifting federation a couple of times and asked if they'd like me to volunteer in any capacity. I never heard back. Eventually I decided to contact a different orginization. I contacted USPA and asked if I could help in any way or perhaps even become a referee/judge. In less than 10 minutes I received a response. They were beyond greatfull for any help I'd be willing to offer. And a few minutes later I recieved thier study guide and USPA state referee test. Apparently they are as excited about finding people who want to give back to the sport as I am to do it.

The test was much harder than I thought it would be. Very intensive. I finished it today and I'll mail it when I get off of work. I should know within a few days if I passed or not. If I did indeed pass then I could potentially be judging as soon as may 5th here in Albuquerque New Mexico.

Upcoming powerlifting meet Gallup New Mexico

This weekend is the NASA (Natural Athlete Strength Association) powerlifting New Mexico state championships. Both my son and I will be competing. He'll be competing in the power press and powerlifting division. I'll be competing in four divisions
Power Sports Police division
Retro police
Power press police
Retro masters 1

I'm very excited about this meet. I'll be attempting to break a 300lb bench and 500lb deadlift for the first time in a meet. I'll also be attempting a 433lb squat. Not a great squat, I know. I've lost some strength in my squating in the last 8 months because I've dropped 80lbs of body weight. Which brings up the other reason I'm really excited about this meet. I'm weighing in at 265lbs right now. I'll be lifting in the 275lb weight class. I usually weigh in at 340-350lbs and lift as a super heavyweight. And even though I've lost 80 pounds I'll still be attempting meet PR's at the bench, deadlift, and total!!!!

My son will be attempting a greater than body weight squat and a double bodyweight deadlift. Here's only 10 years old.

The trip will be him, my best friend, my God-daughter, and I. Should be a blast. IllI keep you updated.

My wife, the future CrossFit stud

It was hell getting my wife into CrossFit. She refused for awhile. Then after she agreed she dragged her feet. Her first drive to Bear Canyon CrossFit she cried the entire way there. It was an was an anxiety thing. I don't exactly understand, but I sympathize. After her first day of CrossFit she was so sore she needed help getting out of sitting and laying positions. Even though she was so sore she couldn't move she still went four times. For times in one week is impressive even for someone in great shape. One thing I learned when she and I did CrossFit together in 2013 is that she's a phenomenal athlete. She builds speed, strength, and endurance much much quicker than most. In less than a month of beginning Crossfit in 2013 she was faster than me in every workout. She also has the biggest pain tolerance I've seen. Which is helpful in Crossfit. Because CrossFit hurts. Bad. She once dropped a 45 pound plate on her big toe, crushing the bone to mush. Literally. She still finished the wod. Another time she was struggling with plantar fasciitis so bad that the plantar fascia tore in half during warm ups. And she still finished the workout after rupturing the muscle. Shes's a stud. A natural athlete. I always assumed our kids inherited thier athleticism from me. It wasn't until I saw my wife work out and make gains so quickly that i realized she's the best athlete in the family. My wife is going to be a force to be reckoned with once she has some time in the sport.

CrossFit costs or CrossFit for couples

I decided earlier this week I was going to cancel my Crossfit membership to save money so I could continue to be home with the kids more. After a few days I fell off the diet wagon. So then I went back to crossfit and Wala, I was motivated to eat healthy and count macros again. I think I've come to the realization that I need to continue training at Bear Canyon CrossFit. There's something about that place that makes me motivated to eat right and eat the right amounts. It seems to effect more than just what kind of workout I'm doing. It totally changes my lifestyle. After I told my wife how my diet changes for the worse everytime I stop going to CrossFit she actually decided to try it too. Her first CrossFit workout will be tomorrow. I'll blog about her workout soon. But she and I came up with an idea on how to pay for it. Our membership will be $220 a month. Right now she and I put money into a 401k retirement plan. We'll just deduct $220 a month from how much we're investing in our 401k. The way I look at it is there's more than one way to invest in our future. And one of those ways is investing in our health. What's the point in saving for retirement if we'll be to sick or dead to enjoy it? So, tomorrow she and I start training CrossFit together. I'm really excited. I think this will be great for both our bodies and our relationship. It'll be something we can bond doing together.

CrossFit costs

I really love doing CrossFit. I love the results it gives me. And I love how little time I need to train doing CrossFit to get great results. Unfortunately it's really expensive. I've been attempting to work less hours so I can spend more time with my kids. My hopes are working. My kids and I are closer now than ever. The bad news is working only 35 hours a week is hitting us hard financially. My wife and I are going to see if we can cut some things out of our life to make ends meet. But if those don't work then I'm going to have to give up CrossFit.

The bigger the base, the taller the peak

Ive been really dedicated to powerlifting training. I haven't missed a workout in months. I even trained this weekend in Durango Colorado when my family and I went out of town for the weekend. But I haven't been gaining strength recently. It's because I've been at a calories defacit for the last 6 months. I'm trying to lose weight and get into a lower weight class. Most coaches would just lay blame on the calorie defacit and continue sending the same training plan. Not my coach. He's trying different things just about every training plan. Trying to see what he can do to get my strength up while also losing fat. This training block he's decreasing intensity and increasing volume. I had a triathlon coach back in the day who tried this with me and we got great results. I gained a tremendous amount of speed and endurance. I realize triathlon training and Powerlifting are just about as different as humanly possible. But it's important to build a base regardless of the sport. There's an old saying, "the bigger the base, the taller the peak.". I think that's precisely what my coach is attempting to do. Build a bigger base. As usual, I really love my powerlifting coach. Here's awesome.

My Powerlifting coach

  I've had a ton of coaches in my life. Coaches in triathlon, CrossFit, nutrition, swimming, BJJ, weightlifting, Powerlifting, and more. I've never had a coach I was more impressed with than I am with my powerlifting coach Vernon Smith-More. Not only does he spend a tremendous amount of time, thought, and energy building a perfect program. He's also a fantastic problem solver. I'm a difficult athlete to train right now. There's a lot of things that prevents me from getting the gains a lot of athletes get. I'm in my 40's which minimizes gains, and I've been in a calorie defacit for a long time which also prevents a lot of muscle growth. He' tried a couple different approaches to training with me. When one thing doesn't work or he tries something else. That's rare. Most people coach by putting all their athletes on a cookie cutter program. If it works, great. If not, then that's just to bad. Vernon works hard at creating a tailored program. He's also great at keeping me on track and focused. I sent him an email requesting to do a Powerlifting meet in a couple weeks in Phoenix Arizona. He was able to convince me it was a bad idea. And that my long term development should be my greatest focus right now. Here's an example of a recent email I received from him.

Hey, Cody. I think that’d be a great meet schedule for next year! And yeah, any other meets you’d want to try in between we could just treat as “train through” meets and not necessarily adjust the programming for them. 

And as far as the upcoming April meets are concerned: I think I’d prefer you do the NASA meet. I’ve programmed this block with a bit more volume, but less intensity — which is different from how I’ve programmed you in the past. I’d like to see how you respond to a full block of submaximal training like this. If it goes well and you feel strong, we’ll have a good template going forward for how to best program for you in a caloric deficit. 

How does that sound?

Vernon