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.

Bear Canyon CrossFit and Bear Canyon CrossFit barbell club

Like I said in my last post, I miss weightlifting. I can't train at the two places I want to train at because of my work schedule, High Dessert Athletic Club or with Vernon Smith. And I won't train weightlifting by myself. Weightlifting by  yourself sucks! So I've been wracking my brain trying to figure out how/where to train. I found a CrossFit gym a block from my house. I remembered watching them compete in the state games this summer and thinking to myself that they were the only CrossFit weightlifting team I'd ever seen that had decent weightlifting form. So yesterday I drove to Bear Canyon CrossFit to try them out. I did a CrossFit workout both yesterday and today. I'm in REALLY bad shape. No cardio what so ever. I had to keep dropping my weight until I was down to the girls R/X weight. Today I decided I wasn't going to lower my weights during the workout. I started at the girls R/X weight right off the bat. And the workout was still hard with that light of weight. I'm in really bad shape! No one seemed to be judge me. As a matter of a fact they were all super supportive. I also trained with their barbell club. It was max day. So I maxed out my snatch and clean and jerk. I've lost a rediculous amount of strength and explosiveness. I maxed at a 86k snatch and 110k c & j. Those are down from 100k & 125k. That's a big loss of strength. I want to get back into weightlifting, I need to lose a crap ton of weight, and I need to get my cardio back. So I joined for a month long membership. The big question is, how is thier weightlifting coaching? If the weightlifting coaching is good, I'll sign a year long membership. If not then I'll just go back to Vernon Smith's powerlifting program. I'll keep you updated on my progress and what I think of Bear Canyon CrossFit and thier barbell club.

Starting point:
Body weight- 326lb (down from 346)
Max snatch- 86k
Max clean and jerk- 110k

Goals:
Do a competition at 224lbs (the lowest I've ever competed in a weightlifting comp is 288lbs)
Sntach- 101k (1k above lifetime PR)
Clean and jerk- 126k (1k above lifetime PR)
And of course my long time and biggest goal- qualify for the Masters National weightlifting championships

weightlifting and excessive celebration

My lifetime goal in weightlifting was a 100k snatch & a 125 clean and jerk. A couple weeks ago I hit the 100k snatch I wanted, which is 4k above the state record. Afterwards I jumped up and down, clapping, and yelling. After I finished celebrating coach Joaquin told me to try a 105k. But it was to late. Once I started jumping around acting a fool I'd lost my go heavy mindset. I missed the 105k. It was close. But close doesn't count in weightlifting. I learned a lesson. Don't run around the gym like I have ants in my pants until I'm done lifting for the day.

Today after my workout coach Joaquin had me load 110 to clean and jerk. I nailed it easy. Next was 115, then 120, & then I had an opportunity to go for another lifetime goal of 125k, which is 3k above the state record. It was a good lift and best of all it felt easy. Rather than scream and jump around I looked at coach and waited calmly for my my orders. He had me stop there because he has a meet scheduled for later this month and he doesn't want me to hurt my chances of a great meet. But this time I was mentally prepared to continue to go up if he asked me to.

In the last two weeks I've accomplished two of my biggest weightlifting goals. A 100/125. Next step is to do them together at a sanctioned weightlifting meet later this month.

fat acceptance and my nutrition plan

My weight loss has plateaued. My sports nutrition coach has decided to drop 250 calories from my non-training days. He was originally going to drop 500 calories from non-training days but he decided to wait until after the 2nd annual John Davis weightlifting meet on the 23rd to drop it that much.

My weight hasn't changed in a few weeks. But I have lost a total of 12.25 inches in 8 weeks. Which is pretty cool.

For a long time I was obsessed with losing weight. I wasn't happy with myself unless I was lean. I was constantly on this emotional and physical yo-yo of losing weight and being so happy and then gaining it back and hating myself. Last month after listening to a Pandora program called This American Life: tell me im fat, I came to the realization that I can like myself even if I'm over weight. I don't have to be thin to be happy or to be loved. I'm still using a sports nutrition coach to try to drop some weight. But it's not for the same reasons as before. Before I HAD to lose weight to be happy with myself, to be content with myself and my life. Now I only want to lose weight to break the state records of the weight class below the one I'm in now. Now that weight loss is just something for me to do to be more successful at as hobby of mine it seems to have made it much easier to accomplish. I'm not sure exactly how to explain why. I think it's like when my wife was in nursing school and she'd have a big test she had to pass. She had to pass or she'd be kicked out of nursing school. Ankxiety would cause her to bomb a test she knew all the answers to. Now that being in great shape and looking good isn't the most important thing in my life it seems easier to accomplish.

Weight loss was the most important thing to me in my life. It really was. Not anymore.  So if I lose the 75 pounds to get into the 105k weight class then that's awesome. But if for whatever reason I can't I'm OK with that too.

dreaming of a 100/125/225

My lifting has been amazing. My form has been the best it's ever been. And I'm stronger now than I've ever been. My next weightlifting meet is on July 23rd. The meet is at my old gym in Santa Fe. I'd love to have a great meet among my friends and former coach. The best meet I could possibly dream of would be a 100k snatch, a 125k clean and jerk, for a 225k total. And.... I think a 225k is within my reach. A 225k has been a huge dream of mine for a long time. I'm so excited I can barely sit still!

good things

Things are looking up. I had the best clean and jerk training session of my life on Monday. My jerks have improved immensely. I predict a 125k C&J in my future very soon.

I hit 30 days of logging my food and eating a healthy diet. I really like the diet my nutrition coch has me on. I've lost 6 pounds in the last 30 days. I never really feel hungry or miss any foods.

I start work at my new job on Monday. For the first two weeks I'll be working Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday from 5:30am to 2:30pm. That's a dream shift for a family man. I can't wait. I love working. It gives me a feeling of accomplishment and belonging. I plan on working my entire life. No matter how old I get. I was hoping to work this new job immediately after retiring from the state penitentiary without a break of employment. But it took much longer to get my level 3 gaurd card than I thought it would.

Even better news is that my family will have medical insurance 90 days after my first day worked at my new job. On September 9th we'll be covered by Blue Cross and Blue Shield. Finally. I have three children ages 6-10. Kids get hurt and sick a lot. We need that medical coverage as quickly as possible. In the last few months I've developed a lump on my left chest right below my nipple. It's a little bigger than a quarter and it's a bit sore when touched. Once I get medical coverage I'll get it checked out STAT. September 9th can't come quick enough.

back with my nutrition coach

Today I started working with a nutrition coach, Barry Schroeder. We'd worked together before earlier this year and I'd made the best strength and speed gains I've ever made. The nutrition program he has me doing now is going to be WAY more flexible and easier to fit into my life.

My first goal is to get to the 275lb weight class by the NASA powerlifting meet in July. That will make a little less than 2 pounds of weight loss needed a week.

My other athletic goals is to hit a 450lb squat, a 450lb deadlift, a 300lb bench press, a 100k snatch, and a 125k clean and jerk. There's no doubt in my mind I'll hit those numbers now that I've got my nutrition coach back.

unresonable goal setting

My biggest trouble in Athletics is goals. I find a goal to focus on and a month later I drop that one and move on to another goal. My old triathlon coach, Pete Alfino of Mile High Multi-sport coaching was the first one to tell me, "what my problem is". He was right. He usually was. He wasn't very good at presenting things in a way that was good for me. He was more of a this is what I think f#cking deal with and quit whining kind of coach. He pissed me off and hurt my feeling a lot, but he was usually right.


My goal for a long time was to drop to the 105k (232pound) weight class for olympic style weightlifting. It's actually a very good goal, but it's to big and would take to long to get to. So I'd get frustrated or bored and give up on weight loss and just focus on weightlifting.

I'm currently 319 pounds. I need a more attainable goal. My nutrition coach Barry Schroeder helped me find a goal that'll help me keep my motivation up and give me a short term win: i love to compete in NASA powerlifting competitions. I'm currently in the super heavyweight division. To drop into the next division I'd need to get to 307.9 pounds. The next NASA powerlifting meet is July 9th. That gives me a couple months to lose 10 pounds. 1.5 pounds a week. It's doable, won't take much time, and is motivational. At my current strength I could set 11 national and 30 New Mexico state NASA powerlifting records. Now that's motivating!

So, Barry and I are back at it. Trying to get my big fat butt to lose some weight. Here it goes....

re-hiring my nutrition coach

The best results I've ever had weightlifting was when I was working with a nutrition coach. Usually when a person loses weight they lose strength too. The crazy thing was I was losing 2-3 pounds every week and STILL making unbelievable speed and strength gains.

I asked my former nutrition coach Barry Schroeder if he'd be willing to work with me again after I'm done training for my new career. He agreed. The major change I'm going to ask for compared to the last time we worked together is I occasionally want to stop losing weight and get onto a diet to maintain my weight. Trying to lose 80 pounds nonstop was just to overwhelming. There was no light at the end of the tunnel. After a couple months I'd lost 19 pounds, which was great. But dieting and being hungry for another 32 weeks just wasn't going to happen. I decided  I'd rather give up than suffer through that. This time i want to diet for a month, then eat a maintenance diet for a week. That would be much easier. That would make for more frequent goals to work for with the reward of being able to eat more at the end of that successful goal. By my estimation if I lose 10 pounds a month with a week of maintaining in between that will get me to my goal of 235 pounds in 10 months.

mental focus

I struggle staying focused. I'll set an athletic goal that's motivational. I'll be unbelievably dedicated until I get close to my event, then i loose focus and start dreaming of my next athletic endeavor. I'm doing that now. I've been trying to qualify for the Master's Weightlifting National Championships for 25 months now. I am really close to accomplishing that goal this Saturday. Instead of focusing on THIS weightlifting meet I keep dreaming of starting my next training cycle. Wondering how much better I'll do now that I'm getting a proper amount of sleep. Contemplating if hiring a nutrition coach and eating healthy will help me continue to get the big gains like it has the last couple months. I'm preoccupied with this years state games. I'm obsessed if I can get to a 500 lbs squat and a 400 pounds bench press. I'm wondering if I can surpass Dominic or Barry in the snatch, clean and jerk, or total this year. I'm not sure why I end up losing focus when I'm close to accomplishing big goals. But I do.

triathlon and weightlifting?

One of my bucket list goals was to complete 100 multisport races. In the 7 years I had competed in multisport I completed 86 triathlons and duathlons. You'd never know by my current physique, but I used to be a skinny and blazing fast triathlete.

I received a Facebook message by a state record weightlifter, Barry Schroeder. He asked if I wanted to compete in a team triathlon with him next year. That got me to thinking.... There's no reason I shouldn't compete in a few triathlons or duathlons occasionally. Barry's been a huge motivator on my life the last couple years. Seems like anytime I'm needing a moral boost or pep talk he shows up.

My favorite races were in the South West Challenge Series. I finished top 3 in the SW Challenge series for 6 consecutive years, 2006-2012. I'd need to finish 6 races in 2016 to be eligible for the series championship. I won't lie, finishing an endurance race at my current weight of 312 pounds would be hard, but I'm always up for a challenge. Plus that would probably motivate me to lose some weight. losing weight would help my health, racing multisport again, and most importantly my weightlifting. At my current weight class i missed qualifying by 5k. If I was in the 105k weight class for weightlifting my current weightlifting totals would have qualified me for The Masters Weightlifting National Chamionships.

I dunno. Should I try doing to Polar Bear triathlon in Las Cruces NM on Dec 6th of this year? That's the first race of The South West Challenge Series 2016 season. I'd only have to do 5 more to qualify to be a 2016 South West Challenge Series champion. If I did 6 races for the 2016 season I'd only have to complete 8 more in my lifetime to have completed my goal of 100. I'm competing in a NASA powerlifting meet on Dec 5th in Roswell NM. I could drive from the meet straight to Las Cruces and compete in the triathlon the next morning. That would be insane to compete in a powerlifting meet and a triathlon on back to back days, but it would be a weekend I'd always remember. Hhhmmm. What do you think?

weightlifting goals and programming

Coach Miller started me on a new training program today. He always places the weights he thinks I'll hit at the bottom of the programs he builds. After he handed the new workout plan to me i dashed to a quiet place in the gym and greedily looked at what the numbers he thinks I'll accomplish. Snatch 92k, clean and jerk 116k, a total of 208k! If i am able to do what my weightlifting coach thinks i can do i will qualify for the 2016 USA masters weightlifting national championships!!!!! My biggest goal when i started weightlifting 19 months ago was to qualify for the masters weightlifting national championships. I thought it would take me many years to get to the national championships. Turns out i may reach that goal sooner than i thought.

After working 80-90 hour work weeks since 2006 I've finally got my families finances to the point where i can slow down a bit on overtime. Barring a vehicle breakdown or some other financial calamity i should only have to work 50-60 hour work weeks from here on out.  Perfect timing with me being so close to qualifying for the national championships. I'll be training extra hard and will need the extra time for rest and recovery. 

hydrostatic body fat test and Olympic weightlifting goals

Like i wrote on my blog yesterday,  I'm a flake. After i set a goal i get overly excited about a different goal and give up on my original. I've been losing weight since December and recently started thinking, "is this really worth it? What if I just maintain where I'm at? As long as I'm eating healthy foods and exercising why should it matter how much i weigh?". To help me decide what i should do in regards to my weight I went to get a hydrostatic body fat test at the University of New Mexico exercise physiology department.  The numbers i recieved were humbling. No. They were heart breaking. I'm currently weighing,  by their scale,  288.4lbs, i am 35.2% body fat, 187lbs lean mass, 101.5lbs fat. Alright, that hit me hard. I'll stay dieting. Yup, i need to drop 50-75 pounds. I think i need to set, AND STICK TO, a long term goal of getting to and maintaining 205-235 pounds.

Here are my hydrostatic body fat tests over the years:

March 2015: 288.4 pounds @ 35.2% body fat. 187 pounds lean mass. 101.5 pounds fat.

Nov 2013: 274.7 pounds @ 34.52% body fat. 179.9 pounds lean mass.  95.8 pounds fat.

April 2013: 229.7 pounds @ 23.12% body fat.  176.6 pounds lean mass. 53.1 pounds fat.

Feb 12 2013: 241.1 pounds @ 28.14% body fat. 173.3 pounds lean mass. 67.8 pounds fat.

Oct 2011: 181 pounds @ 6.86% body fat. 169.3 pounds lean mass. 12.5 pounds fat.

June 2011: 188.4 pounds @ 10.9%. 169.4 pounds lean mass. 19 pounds fat.

Nov 2010: 222.2 pounds at 19.01% body fat. 180 pounds lean mass. 42.2 pounds fat.

July 2010: 189 pounds at 9.81% body fat. 170.6 pounds lean mass. 18.5 pounds fat.

I'm a flake and OCD both

I used to drive my old triathlon coach Pete Alfino nuts. I'd set a goal to compete at a race and a couple months into training for it i'd get the itch and want to change my goal. And here i am contemplating changing my goal again.  Since December I'd been gradually losing weight. My goal was to get to the 105k weight class. Although i was still gaining strength as i was losing weight, I'm not gaining as much as I do when I'm not trying to lose weight. So now of course I'm attempting to  justify staying at current weight. There's no doubt I'd look better if i lost weight. I'm sure I'd also feel better about myself at a lighter weight. But if i stay my current weight I'll be stronger for Olympic style weightlifting. And i REALLY LOVE Olympic style weightlifting! I'm even better at weightlifting than i was at triathlon, and i ended up being a highly decorated triathlete. I also have a really legitimate fear of getting obsessed with weight loss. I have a tendency to get a little out of control with sports and food. I found a picture of when i was a hard core triathlete. I was to thin and absolutely not eating enough.

And here's one of me now. 

I'd love to lose 80-90 pounds, but I'm afraid of going off the deep end with my eating again. 

What to do? What to do? 

a world class weightlifting gym, weight loss, and weightlifting progress

Yesterday another athlete, Stephan, joined the Miller gym and is commuting to Santa Fe all the way from Albuquerque, 120 miles round trip to train with us. There's a half dozen athletes who are making that commute to be coached by Shane Miller. He's one of the best Olympic style  weightlifting coaches in the nation. When Shane introduced me to Stephan he introduced me as "...Cody, who owns all three of the 40-44 age group super heavy weight state records". That was the first time I'd been introduced as the state record holder. I must say, it felt awesome! It's addicting! I desperately want to get to the 105k weight class & break those records too. I know, I'm a glory hound. Nothing new there. 


One of the weight lifters, Katie, who commutes from Albuquerque set a personal best snatch today of 62k. One more kilo and she'll be doing a body weight snatch. A body weight snatch is what most amateur weightlifters aspire for, very few achieve it. i cant wait to see that. Talk about inspiring! 


 I've been eating perfectly for 31 days. Lots of meat, fruit, vegetables, nuts, and salads. I've had no sugar and virtually no processed foods. This is the 2nd longest steak I've been on since i stopped training and racing triathlon in 2011. I'm currently 298 pounds, I've lost 13 since mid December.  66 more pounds to lose until i get to my ultimate goal of lifting in the 105k weight class and hopefully breaking the 105k state records of 95k snatch, 135k clean and jerk, and a 228k total too. 

next Olympic weightlifting goals/records

Now that the big weightlifting meet is over & i broke all three 105k+ 40-44 age group New Mexico state records it's time for me to set my eyes on my next big goal. I'm going to attempt to drop to the 105k weight class and break the 40-44 age group 105k state records. After the weights i lifted this weekend I've realized those records are well within my reach as long as i can lose 67 pounds. 67 pounds is a lot, but with coach Shane Miller's guidance I'm sure i can get there. 

Starting yesterday I plan on losing 1.5 pounds a week for 4 weeks, then 1 pound a week until the next weightlifting meet.

2015 & 2016 Olympic weightlifting goals

When i first started weightlifting in December of 2013 my ultimate goal was to beat an amazing local weightlifter by the name of Barry Schroeder. After watching him lift at a couple meets and seeing him break every New Mexico weightlifting record in both the 94k & 105k thirty five to thirty nine age group i decided to change my goals to something more realistic. 

On August 1st 2014, only 8 months into the sport of weightlifting i was strong enough to break the 105k+ forty to forty four age group New Mexico weightlifting state records. At that time I also become motivated to lose weight and i decided I'd attempt to break the state records in the 105k & 94k forty to forty four age group New Mexico state weightlifting records as i lost weight. Shortly after setting those new goals i fell off the diet wagon and gave up on losing weight. Since then I've gained more weight, for the first time in my life I'm over 300 pounds and I've developed the beginning stages of sleep apnea. So here i am motivated once again to break state records as i lose weight and get to an ideal body weight.  

Barry Schroeder will age up and start lifting in my age group in 2017. So i have until early 2017 to break the old 105k & 94k records, after which its possible he'll crush any records i set between now and then. Or the other option is I gain enough strength to accomplish my original goal of beating Barry Schroeder so my records will stand regardless of what age group he's in. 


My current best lifts after 12 months of Olympic weightlifting are:
Snatch 79k 
Clean and jerk 103k 
Total 182


The records for the 105k 40-44AG are: 
95k snatch set by Doug Briggs in 1999 (I'm currently 16k away from this state record)
122k clean and jerk set by Doug Briggs in 2000 (19k away)
215k total set by Doug Briggs in 1999 (35k away)


The 94k weight class state records are:
100k Snatch set by Jim Snyder in 2005 (I'm currently 21k away from this state record)
117.5k clean and jerk set by Jim Snyder in 2005 (15.5k away)
217.5k total set in 2005 by a Jim Snyder (36.5k away)

42 days until my big weightlifting meet

It's 1 month 12 days until the John Davis memorial weightlifting meet. All of my weights are moving up and my form is getting better day by day. My ultimate goal would be to have a 186 total. At my last meet I totaled a 182. I'm relatively sure with my recent strength and form increases I should be able to accomplish my goal. I cant wait, I'm super excited.

I've been trained by coach Shane Miller for a little over 11 months and already I can front squat more than I could back squat before. This week I set a front squat pr of 118.5 kilos and a back squat PR of 137 kilos.

My wife failed a 2nd class this semester. The nursing school she is attending kicks out any students who fails 2 classes. She is appealing the decision in hopes that she can continue. If she wins her appeal the school wont let her continue if she fails a third class. If she fails her appeal she's going to attempt getting a nursing degree in a third school. If she fails a third semester at the school she's at or at another school we have agreed she'll go back to work. We're racking up so many school loans we never be able to recover. Pray for her please.

new olympic weightlifting goals

When I first started olympic weightlifting in November of 2013 the lifetime goal I set for myself was a 100k clean and jerk. Since I had never been naturally gifted with strength I thought 100k would take years. Turns out it only took me 8 months of training and it happened at my 2nd weightlifting tournament. Since I accomplished that goal I've set my eyes on 4 more.

1) break all 3 of the 105k+ weight class 40-44 age group New Mexico state weightlifting records by early 2015.
2) get down to the 105k weight class by late 2015 or early 2016.
3) break all 3 of the 105k weight class 40-44 age group New Mexico state weightlifting records.
4) Get down to the 194k weight class in the year 2016 or 2017.
5) Break all three of the 94k weight class 40-44 age group New Mexico state weightlifting records by early 2015.

The records for the 105 and the 94k  weight class 40-44 age group are similar in weight and are both very high. They are as follows:

105k weight class:
95k snatch held by Doug Briggs since 1999
122k clean and jerk held by Doug Briggs since 2000
215k total held by Doug Briggs since 1999

94k weight class:
100K snatch held by Jim Snyder since 2005
117.5k clean and jerk held by Jim Snyder since 2005
217.5k total held by Jim Snyder since 2005