The 2017 New Mexico games weightlifting report

91/117/208k
BW 148.8k

Today I competed in the 2017 New Mexico games. This meet is the state championships for weightlifting. I'd won the last three years in my age group and weight class. This year I wasn't expecting to do very well. I was out for 6 months with a non-weightlifting related back injury. I've only been back to training for three and a half weeks.

When I first got there I was so happy. I saw all my current teammates, teammates from my former gym, and other weightlifting buddies I've made over the last 5 years. I love weightlifting so much. A lot of the reason is the people. The only person I didn't get to see who I was looking forward to seeing was David B from my old gym. He and I lifted at the same time the full 3.5 years I lifted in Santa Fe. I absolutely adore him and his wife. They're great people who I miss seeing and training with.

Pictured below is my former coach Shane Miller and my current coach Joaquin Chaves. I love both these guys so much. They are more than just friends and mentors.

 I also was lucky enough to be able to get a picture with my current coach, former coach, and my former nutrition coach Barry Schroeder. I'm going to have this picture framed and I'm going to hang it in with my families pictures. Barry was the one who was my motivation to get into weightlifting long ago and he took me under his wing and taught me about weightlifting specific nutrition.

The last couple weeks I haven't been able to snatch anything more than 86k. I only made 84k two out of 7 attempts. Coach Joaquin Chaves told me he wanted to start out at 90k. I begged him to let me start at 74k. He told me he wanted me to start out at 84 at least. He said he knew I could get a 90 easy. Long story short, I made 3 good lifts for the snatch. 84/88/91. Even after 6 months away from weightlifting I was able to get within 9k of my lifetime best snatch of 100k. Coach Chavez was right. I made 91k easy. No problem at all. I need to trust him. He knows my ability more than I do. Anytime I ever doubt him I always find out he was right. 

The clean and jerks felt great also. I made a 114k/117k and missed a 121. There was no reason at all for me to have missed the 121. I pulled it high enough. I just had that same pause at the knee that I usually do with my snatches.

I've noticed the last few weeks my strength has come back quickly. But it's taking me longer to recover between sets than it used to. I never told coach Chaves I wasn't recovering as quickly. I also never told him during the meet that to do well I'd need more time between lifts. But he knew. And after every set he'd change my weight two or three times to buy me extra recovery time. Thanks in large part to my coach I finished 1st in my age group and weight class. This was the fourth straight year I was state champion. But this time it was just plain luck. I was the only one in my division competing.

Now that I'm back into the weightlifting game my next goal is to qualify for the 2018 masters national weightlifting championships that will be held in Buffalo NY. I'll need a 230k total. That's only 22k more than my total today. That gives me plenty of time.

It's been 6.5 months since my last sports competition. That was the longest I'd gone without competing since 2004. I missed competition. My next sporting event is the New Mexico games track and field on June 24th. Its going to be held at Milne stadium in Albuquerque New Mexico. Thats within walking distance of my house!

close to working!

I got a call from my new boss. All my paperwork has been turned in. It should only be a week or two until I start working! I can't wait to start working. The retiree lifestyle is not for me.

Coach Joaquin spent some time helping me with my cleans last night. He told me once my form catches up to my strength I'll be able to clean and jerk a 140. That's motivating! The state games is this weekend. I'm looking forward to it. I'm hoping to hit that elusive 100k snatch and 125k clean and jerk. I've been shooting for a 100k snatch for the last 29 months. A 225 total would be a dream come true.

The 2015 New Mexico games weightlifting report

On Sunday July 19th 2015 i competed in the New Mexico games weightlifting meet. On Monday night of the 13th i got sick and was sick the rest of week. It wasn't  until the night before the meet that i felt well enough to get off the couch. The good news about being sick all week was i lost a few pounds, the bad news was i lost a bunch of strength. i weighed in at 131k, the third lowest I've ever weighed at a weightlifting meet.

The loss of strength was apparent during my warm up. My form was off too. Coach Shane was concerned enough to lower my openering lifts.

My first lift was a 79k snatch. I over pulled and i almost dropped it, i was able to recover. Barely. Good lift.

My 2nd snatch was 84k,  no problems at all,  good lift.

The third snatch was going to be a state record lift of 87k. i didn't finish the pull so the weight almost fell forward. As i was standing up i had to chase it forward. I was about 2 feet from the end of the platform before i was able to get under the bar and secure the lift. The middle judge raised his hands in fear, afraid the weight and i was going to fall on him. Despite scaring the judge i got three white lights, good lift.

I made the first clean and jerk of 99k, but it felt awkward. My form was crap. I dropped my 2nd clean and jerk of 104k. I don't think it was that i lacked the strength,  i think because of the illness it was taking me longer to recover from the lift before. Coach Miller could tell i was tired and needed some extra recovery time so he changed my next lift to 105 so i could have an extra couple of lifters between me and my next lift. I told coach i'd already totalled and secured 1st place in  my division, i still felt strong, with the extra recovery time i was certain i could successfully lift another state record of 108k. Coach Shane's eyes almost popped out of his head when i asked for 108k, "you missed 104k & want to go up to 108k? That goes against every rule I have.... if you miss this....." he changed my next lift to 108k but he wasn't happy about it. The extra rest helped a ton. I nailed the lift! I was so happy i stood there on the platform and yelled "YEAH!".

I took 1st place in my division  and became state champion for the 2nd year in a row,  i also set three state records.

Last year i lifted a 65/89/154. This year i lifted a 87/108/195. That's an increase of 41k (90lbs)!

The next goal is to qualify for the national championships. I'll need to get a 207k total. Right now I'm 12k short of 207k.

weightlifting, massage and illness

My wife's family bought my wife a couples message for her birthday. She and i had a the massage on Monday. I thought that was perfect timing because I have a weightlifting meet this Sunday. I figured the massage would help me recover and taper. Instead of helping me,  3-4 hours after the massage i became sick. It was the exact same thing that happened last time i got a massage. Same symptoms and time frame. I'm trying to figure out if it's the massage that's making me sick or if I'm over training. The next time I get a massage I'm not going to get it during my taper. I don't know, can a massage cause a person to get sick?

The  week before last my wife and i did our budget,  but we neglected to factor in that our kids are home for summer break so we'd be going through a lot more food. By Thursday the following week we were out of food. That day was my last heavy day to determine what weights I'd be attempting at the New Mexico games weightlifting meet. Even though i hadn't eaten i still lifted a 85/105. After every lift I'd see spots and get light headed. Apparently eating  before lifting is important. Who knew? Haha.

motivation and weightlifting numbers

Out of 5 training cycles I'd become sick at the end of all 5. That was a sure sign of overtraining. This training cycle i've decreased the number of days I'm working out a week. Its worked perfectly. I haven't become sick  once.

On Sunday Barry Schroeder showed up to train at The Miller Gym the same time i did.  That was great motivation! I trained harder and took less recovery between sets that I'm used to. The next day i was so sore! For those of you who haven't read my blog one of my goals in life is to loose enough weight to be in his weight class and beat Barry in a weightlifting meet. When i set this goal I needed to loose 106 pounds. I still need to loose 83. Even if I'm able to loose that much weight, getting strong enough to beat him is another thing. His PR's are 105/125/230.  He knows my goal is to beat him, yet he still is constantly helping me. Sometimes it's weightlifting advise, diet advise, or just moral support. Needless to say, he's one of the nicest and most supportive people I've ever had the pleasure of training with.

The 2015 State Games is only 12 days away. My strength still hasn't returned to what it was in April of this year, but I'm still much stronger than i was at last years State Games. At the state games last year i only did a 65k snatch, 88k clean and jerk, a 154k total. This year i think I'll get a 84/104, 188.

weightlifting without supplements and too much work

I've been back, training again for two and a half weeks. My power exercises like squat, clean, and deadlift are back to where they were before my hiatus. But form exercises like snatch, jerk,  overhead squat,  etc are still bad. The New Mexico games are only four and a half weeks away. It'll be close if i can get my lifts back to where they were at my last meet in April.

I've been training consistently. Haven't missed a day since coming back. My diet has been good. I'm eating relatively healthy,  keeping my proteins up. I haven't been using supplements at all. No protein  powder after workouts, no glutamine,  or creatine. I wanted to take a break from them for a weightlifting cycle.

I've been working unbelievable amounts of hours at work. By July fifth i will have worked 5 weeks straight with only two days off, twelve to sixteen hours shifts each day. I'm tying to save up enough cash to move my family off of prison grounds,  buy a house, retire from the prison, and start another career. I'm so tired. I'm sure working this many hours is negatively affecting my weightlifting,  but I'm eager to start the next chapter of my life.

getting back into training

It's amazing to me how quickly i lose strength when i miss training. I lost a ton during the 7 weeks i was out. The good news is I'm gaining it back really quickly.

I'm loving the new training program my coach built for me. It's a 10 day program. My body is chronically sore. I'm loving this so much. I'm hoping i can get back to where i was by the New Mexico games in late July.

back in training and the New Mexico games

Thanks to a vacation, illness, and a torn calf muscle yesterday was my first day training in over a month. Since it'd been so long since I'd lifted my coach had me lift light and with limited the sets. Snatches are mostly form so they were no problem, i was able to do the recommended weights and sets. For the  squat I built up to a relatively light weight of 115k. Even with the light weights my quads were exhausted and were cramping after the 2nd set. I also struggled at the end of my workout with push presses. Sets of 70k were no problem, buy anything more than that and my calf, which i tore a few weeks ago would hurt. Even though i went light I'm still SO SORE today!

It felt great getting back into the gym and training. i missed it so bad! I'm beyond grateful to whoever the anonymous person is that is helping finance me to get back into the gym.

I registered for the New Mexico state games last night. Hopefully my body will have recovered from my injuries and time off and I'll be back in shape by then. I'd like to break the state records at the New Mexico games that i had set earlier this year.

a torn calf muscle

On Saturday i was playing football and chase with my kids and i tore my calf muscle. It hurt like a son of a gun. At the time i couldn't walk without crutches. It's healing up so quickly it's unbelievable. I can walk with only a slight limp, barely noticeable. I'm going to work tonight. Yup, I'm going to work with a torn calf muscle. I love my job and i love the people i work with. I always feel guilty when i call in sick, like I'm abandoning them. Anyways, back to my injury, I'm pretty sure I'll be back to training in a few weeks or less.  The New Mexico state games is in July and I'm close to qualifying for the masters national championships. I need  to get back in the gym!

last heavy weightlifting day before the NM games

I work nights and sleep during the day. Yesterday I wasn't able to sleep because my neighbors were blasting music. This morning I was forced to work a 16 hour shift at the prison. After my shift I slept for 2 1/2 hours, then woke up and went to the gym. I was exhausted, but I didn't want to miss the last heavy training session before my first olympic weightlifting competition, The NM games, which will be held this Saturday. I'll wear my old NM outlaws triathlon bib for the competition. I trained in it today, it was tight, but it worked. Next time I post I'll let you know how my competition went. Thanks for tuning in.

olympic weightlifting bib

I looked up the USAW rules and my triathlon bib fits in their rules for competition. So the good news is I can use my tri-bib to compete in Olympic weightlifting competitions, the bad news is that I don't fit into my tri-bib anymore. I need to lose at least 10 pounds before the NM state games on May 16th. If I can't fit into my tri-bib I cant compete because we cant afford to buy a weightlifting bib right now. I'll be broken hearted if I cant compete. I'm currently 279.6 pounds..... Looks like I'll start my diet tomorrow..... or maybe Friday..... or perhaps Monday...... If I can't compete in the NM state games I'll just be all that much stronger for the next competition right?

what I live for

I've felt amazing the last week! I've felt rested, happy, and alive! I took 4 days off from work to spend with the family for their spring and Easter break. Nothing makes me happier than being with my wife and kids. During that time I slept a full 8 1/2 hours each night. It's not very often I get to sleep as much as my body needs.

In addition to time with the family I've made some awesome gains with my strength . In the last 2 training sessions I've set lifetime PR's at the clean and jerk, snatch, and deadlift, I'm hoping to break my bench press PR set back in 1999 by the end of this summer. I'm sure a lot of my gains has to do with catching up on my sleep, but I think the majority of my gains has to do with the feeling I get from competing. I've been training in Olympic weightlifting for 5 months now. I have my first competition, the New Mexico games, in mid May. This whole competing in weightlifting thing is totally new to me, and now that I'm getting close to my first weightlifting event I'm starting to feel alive! I haven't felt this good since I was training and racing for triathlons. I need to compete to feel happy. I've learned its the way I'm wired. There's nothing I can do to change it, so I might as well live it to its fullest, enjoy it for all its worth! That's what I'm starting to do. I'm getting back into the groove of training and focusing on competing. But doing well has never been good enough for me. I have to beat people who are great! When the dust settles I need to be on the podium, being better at what I'm doing than people who have better genetics and have been doing it longer than me. I have the drive to push myself harder than most people can. After only 2 years of swimming, cycling, and running I qualified for my first national triathlon championships. A year later I qualified for the 70.3 world championships. My goal is to do the same thing with Olympic weightlifting. I'm planning on breaking the 3 state records for the clean and jerk, snatch, and the total before I hit the 2 year mark of strength training. Wow. I live for this stuff. It fuels me, makes me feel happier and more passionate about all aspects of my life!

Finally a decent snatch, and I need a different goal!

When I was involved in all the other sports I've tried I would usually struggle for awhile, then get worse for a single practice or a week, then make a huge jump. My progress was almost never gradual or consistent. 2 steps forward, 1 step back. I've been training for Olympic weightlifting for over 2 months now and my snatches suck, my cleans are only a little better. Sunday was my worst training day to date, and then today I felt great! I actually completed a few reps that looked like a real snatch! I live for moments like that. Finally, some progress. Perhaps I'll be ready for the New Mexico state games this summer after all.

On another note, there's a guy I've blogged about a few times named Barry Schroeder. he's in my age group, and I hope to get down to the weight division he's lifting in, the heavy weights. I've said I wanted to continue to lift, progress, and eventually try to compete with him. Yesterday he hit a 400 pound squat. I think I need to find another golden carrot, a different person to try to strive to beat. my max lifts are ridiculous compared to his. My max power snatch was 152, bench was 270, squat was 280, and my max dead lift was 350. My best lifts are no where near his warm ups!