back to blogging? or switching sports?

This season I qualified and was training for the tested powerlifting national championships in July and the IPL tested world championships in November. I asked my coach to let me push harder this year in training. He said he thought that was a bad idea but he'd program it if I wanted him to. Well apparently it was a bad idea, just like he said. I got my first two lifting related injuries. Nothing terrible. A pulled glute and a pulled oblique. They were bad enough I had to bail out of the national championships. I still had time to train have a good showing at worlds though. But when I was fully healed and got back to training I found I was severely burned out with powerlifting. So after about a month of contemplating I decided to switch sports top training for the 1500 meter, or mile track and field meet. It's not too terribly out of the blue. I competed in the 2018 and 2019 New Mexico games track and field 100, 200, and shotput taking 2nd, 3rd, and 1st respectively. 

One thing I noticed was blogging about powerlifting was BORING! But for done reason blogging about endurance athletics I have always enjoyed. Now that I started endurance athletics again I guess I'll start blogging again. 

45-49 tested and non-tested

I'm aging up to the 45-49 age group in November. I'm pretty excited to age up because I've never been able to make the qualifying totals for the USPA non-tested national championships in the 40-44 age group. I'm strong enough to qualify for the non-tested in the 45-49 age group. So if things continue as well as they are now I'll be qualifying for and competing in both the tested and non-tested national championships next year.

275 tested 45-49: 1166lbs

275 non-tested: 1320lbs

308 tested 45-49: 1276

308 non-tested 45-49:  1353

USPA referee certification and reverse dieting

I recieved word today that I passed the USPA referee/judge written exam. The next step is for me to take the practical test. I'm going to ask the meet director of the USPA meet, The Showdown powerlifting meet in Lubbock Texas if I could take the practical test there. I have loved ones who live in Lubbock. My family and I can stay with them while we're there.

I'm so hungry all the time. I'm not sure if it's because my body is trying to build muscle from the powerlifting training or if my body is still freaking out from having dieted for 8 months continuously. I started a reverse diet last week. Not only will the gradual increase of calories help with the hunger, but it'll also help with building some serious strength. Perfect timing. I have two more important meets this year. July 1st is the LWC New Mexico state championships and December 1st is the USPA New Mexico powerlifting state championships. I plan on dieting again starting on December 2nd. The day after the USPA state championships. Until the state championships I'lI be focusing on getting as strong as pissposs. And that'll take extra calories.

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.

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.

the 2016 US Powerlifting Association New Mexico state championships report

190/120/185/495k
Wilks 275.814

Today I competed in the US Powerlifting Association (USPA) New Mexico state championships in Albuquerque New Mexico . I entered in the masters Super Heavy Weight  (SHW) division and the Open SHW division. I weighed in at 142.8k.

First up was the squat. I love the squat. It's my best powerlifting event. I assumed I was stronger than the last time I competed in a powerlifting meet in April because I've been training really hard the last 6 months for olympic style weightlifting. And usually weightlifting transfers over well to powerlifting. Oh boy was I wrong! In warm ups everything felt heavy. When I tried 396 pounds for warm ups I barely got it up. My opening squat for the meet as 418 pounds. It was highly likely that I'd bomb out in the first event! On my first attempt I was able to lift the 418 pounds (190k), but it was close. I went up a few kilos and missed my 2nd and 3rd attempts. But that's ok, with one good lift i was still in the game. And my one squat was actually a state record!!!! I was pretty disappointed to find out my squat has gotten weaker in the last 6 months. I've been training so hard!

The 2nd event was bench press. I hadn't trained bench at all since April, and I was afraid pushing out a max on my first time bench pressing in 6 months would cause an injury, so I successfully lifted a 265lb (120k) bench on my first attempt and stopped there. And amazingly that was a state record! Ha! It's good to be a 40-44 age group SHW. There aren't that many of us left! Victory through attrition!

In olympic style weightlifting I never deadlift heavy. The most i deadlift is a 130k to warm up for clean and jerks. So I started light, 407 (185k). I had a birthday party that I invited a dozen people I've met since moving to Albuquerque so I had to leave after my first deadlift or I'd be late to my party. And believe it or not my one light deadlift was a state record!!

My total of 190/185/120/495 was a state record. I took first place in the 40-44 age group SHW raw division and the open SHW division. That makes me the New Mexico state champion in both of those divisions! It was a good day.

Once I got to the house I was pretty disappointed to see only one of the twelve people I invited showed up to the party. I'm finding it difficult to build a group of friends here in Albuquerque.

victory through attrition

The USPA, a powerlifting federation is having the New Mexico state championships here in Albuquerque on November 19th, 2016. I train strictly for weightlifting. But I've found weightlifting traning transfers well for powerlifting. I decided, just for fun, to look up the Super heavyweight 40-44 age group state records for the raw and classic raw divisions and there aren't any. All I have to do is show up and successfully lift a single squat, deadlift, and bench and technically I'll be the USPL state champion and state record holder. As I'm continuing this journey into strength athletics I've found there aren't many super heavyweight 40 or older left. They all have bad backs, knees, hearts, etc. I've won almost ever single weightlifting and powerlifting meet ive ever entered, simply because I'm usually the only one in my division. So far I've won 3 New Mexico state weightlifting championships, hold all the of the New Mexico weightlifting state records, won a New Mexico state NASA championship and hold 9 New Mexici state NASA powerlifting records. The owner of Iron Soul Gym tells me I'm earning victories through attrition. I think that's going to be my new motto, "victory through attrition."

I recently made peace with my weight. I'm happy with myself as I am. Well, last week my wife told me she wants me to lose 75 pounds. That she said that she doesn't like the way I look. That hurt. So I asked my sports nutrition coach Barry Schroeder if we could speed up my weight loss, even if it means sacraficing weightlifting performance.

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.