My son and weightlifiting

Before the NM youth and master's weightlifting meet my former coach Joaquin Chaves of High Dessert weightlifting club called me up and asked if I needed him to warm me up, count attempts, and keep track of competition in my weight class and age group. He hasn't trained me as one of his athletes in over two years. There was no reason for him to do that for me. I was so touched.

On a side note my wife has been stressed out driving my son, Cody James to and from weightlifting practice with Coach Vernon Smith on Tuesdays. And now my daughter's volleyball practice is also on Tuesdays and Thursdays. It has gotten to much for her to handle. My wife asked me to pull Cody James out of weightlifting. Instead I called up Joaquin Chaves and asked him if he could take my son at High Dessert Athletic club. Coach Joaquin said yes. I'll be taking him to Joaquin Chaves on Monday's and Wednesday's. My mother-in-law will be taking him on Fridays. On one hand I'm excited that my son will be training three days a week with such an amazing man to guide my son in both weightlifting and life. But in the other hand this kinda sucks because his former coach, Vernon Smith was great with my son. I love Vernon. I think so much of him. Vernon been my powerlifting coach since I started powerlifting in October.

 My son starts HDAC on May 28th.

Weightlifter

This week I've been training really hard. My legs are trashed. Last night I wasn't able to finish my clean and jerk workout. That rarely happens. I'm going to increase my calorie intake by 50 a day to see if that helps. This morning I woke up and my legs are still tired. But I'm going back to High Dessert Athletic Club this morning anyways. There was a period of time that I was struggling to decide if I wanted to be a weightlifter or a powerlifter. I tried powerlifting. I didn't like it. I have focus now. A focus I was missing before. I'm a weightlifter.

A weightlifting wizard

I'm not sure if everyone at High Dessert Athletic Club gets as much from coach Chaves's coaching as I do. But I'm constantly amazed by his ability to diagnose and fix problems with form. The last week my snatches have been absolute crap. After the first couple reps coach Chaves went over and started his magic.

  "Cody, your hesitating after the knee. That pause is causing negative momentum. Which is why your dropping to the front."

  Next set: " Cody, your concentrating on staying over the bar. Which is good. But your overthinking it. It's causing the pause at the knee. Now stay over the bar without slowing down". 

Next set: "now your slowing down to much during the whole lift. Your concentrating on making sure you're getting a good lift so much that you've slowed the whole snatch down. EXPLODE! Don't hesitate! Some of your best lifts are missed. Some are your worst lifts are makes. Now come on. EXPLODE!"

  Not only was he able to see what I was doing wrong with my form, he even told me what I was thinking while I was doing it. And he was right every damn time! Coach Chaves is amazing. I'm so greatfull to have wandered into his gym. 

The pain in my shoulders and elbows is almost gone already. I think I'll be fine at the New Mexico games this Suñday.

Nutrition and less weightlifting support

I learned a ton from my former nutrition coach Barry Schroeder. I decided I'd try some of the things I learned from him. I spent the last 15 days logging everything I ate and measuring how much I weighed. Based off of those two numbers I figured out my metabolic rate. It's a little over 4,100 calories a day. So I'm going to eat 3,400 calories on days I do weightlifting. And 2,800 on days I don't train. That should put me at a 7000 calorie a week deficit. 7,000 calories should make me lose approximately 2 pounds. I doubt I'll stick with it for long. I never do. But I'll try it for now.

My weightlifting coach, Joaquin Chaves, told me he wanted me to train three times this week. Monday, Wednesday, and today.  I wasn't able to train this morning at High Dessert Athletic Club. Normally I'd just shoot him a text and ask him to send me the workout for me to do on my own. But he told me not to text him anymore. I waited all day to see if he'd text me a workout. I never got one. Coach Chaves is looking for ways to decrease the demands in his life. I'm doing my best to be patient and understanding.....

Yesterday I clean and jerked more than 84k for the first time in almost 7 months. Then I did an 86 and a 94. Then coach told me to try a 100k. I stood there on the platform staring at the bar for an eternity trying to pump myself up. Finally I tried. And it was easy. I was so excited and it felt so good I did it a few more times. Thankfully the old saying about muscle memory is true. It comes back quick.

Anytime my schedule changes and I can't lift at High Dessert Athletic Club I text my coach and ask for the workout so I can do it on my own. Yesterday coach Chavez told me not to text him anymore. That throws a wrench into things. I'm a Dad of three young kids. My schedule can be hectic. I guess on the days I can't train at High Dessert Athletic Club I'll just repeat last week's workout for that day. That's not ideal. But life happens. I just need to learn to improvise, adapt, and overcome. Even with no communication or guidance with workouts during schedule changes, he's still one of the best weightlifting coaches in the nation.

I did some investigating. From 2007-2015 I worked 42,120 hours. That's 4,680 hours a year. An average person that works 40 hours a week works 2,080 hours a year. I averaged more than double that. These are the types of things no one tells men and boys about marriage. If they did we wouldn't do it.

Day two of my return

Wednesday was my first day back to weightlifting in 6 months. It was wonderful. My clean and jerk form felt pretty good considering how long I'd been out. And although I'd lost a lot of strength, I didn't lose as much as I thought I would.

Today I was so sore! I couldn't walk normal. After a few sets my legs lost the sore feeling and I was training again. I did my first set of snatches in half a year. They were kinda ugly. But it was still a ton of fun! I'm so glad to be back with my coach's, my team, and weightlifting!

Powerlifting training

Well, I hate to admit it, but I'm not enjoying powerlifting training at all. I loved training for weightlifting. I thought they would be about the same. But it's not. And my work schedule doesn't allow me to train at High Dessert Athletic Club (HDAC), a Weightlifting gym here in Albuquerque. So if I don't like powerlifting and can't train weightlifting what now....

This is the 2nd time I've hired my powerlifting coach Rich Kahle. He's a great coach and fantastic person. I don't want to fire him​ a 2nd time. I'm unsure what to do. It doesn't make sense to continue to do something I don't enjoy for fear of upsetting someone I like and respect. Should I fire him and do nothing at all until I can get enough seniority at my job to start training at HDAC again? That could be a few years.....

Physical and mental weightlifting setbacks

Since getting ran over by a car I haven't been able to clean anything higher than %70 of my max. My snatch and jerks are still good. It's just my cleans that I'm struggling with. That leaves me contemplating..... Did I lose strength? Or is it some sort of a mental block? Perhaps a combination of both? I feel that if it's a loss of strength then it's not a problem. I'll rebuild my strength in no time. Muscles have memory. But unfortunately I feel it's some sort of mental block. Last night anytime I tried to clean over 105k I'd freak out once it was time for me to drop under the bar and I'd jump out of the way or push the bar away. I'm pretty sure the problem is in my head. Some sort of response to the trauma of having been ran over. And I have absolutely no idea how to handle this. Do I use lower weights until I start feeling comfortable dropping under the bar again? Or do I keep attempting to lift the heavy weights and force my way through it?

I've seen my weightlifting coach, Joaquin Chaves of High Dessert Athletic Club, do some pretty amazing things with his athletes. He's always able to coach his athletes through any problem they're having. Sometimes he focuses on form. Sometimes he talks them up using motivation. On occasion he'll even jump down one of his athletes throats, using hard coaching, or tough love. On some athletes who are particularly hard on themselves coach Chavez will always use positive and inspirational coaching. He seems to know each of his athletes and knows exactly what each one is capable of and how to get them there. 

Last night coach Chaves saw I was struggling and he had me drop down to 90k and build back up to 110. I missed 110 so he had me drop back down again. On the third time through this pattern he had me stop with the clean and jerks and had me move on to squats. I've never seen him do that before. He always found some way of coaching his athletes through whatever struggles their facing. But last night he somehow knew that the problems I was struggling with wasn't something that should be pushed through yet. That I was facing something more than a problem with my form or motivation. He just somehow knew addressing the issue again later was the best course of action. After last night I realized that I don't have to stress or worry about how I'm going to get through this. I have a great coach and mentor. All I have to do is show up and he'll figure out how to get me through this. I'm in great hands. 

back at HDAC and most blog hits

Tuesday and Wednesday was my first day back to weightlifting in 3 weeks. It felt great being back in the gym. My weightlifting coach seemed genuinely happy to see me- I really think the world of that guy. The members of my weightlifting team were giving me hugs, high fives, and yelling "Cody!". It was wonderful being back. It was a perfect welcoming. And surprisingly my form was a lot better than I thought it would be after a three week break.

Yesterday I had a the most hits on my blog in 10 years of blogging. I'm not sure why. Might be all my fellow 12 steppers using 12 step terms in Google search. Or fans of the show I talked about. I usually only average 30-40 hits a day. Yesterday I had almost 900. Interesting. I'm dumbfounded.

being a mediocre weightlifter

I recently came to the realization that I was just about at my full genetic potential in weightlifting. My body is better suited to powerlifting than weightlifting. So I switched sports last week to powerlifting exclusively. But this week something happened that took me completely by surprise. I missed weightlifting. I missed the speed lifts. I missed my team. I missed the group workouts. And I especially missed my weightlifting coach Joaquin Chavez. I'm really glad I tried powerlifting because I learned something. I learned I'd rather be a mediocre weightlifter than a great powerlifter. So starting on Friday I'll be back with weightlifting at High Dessert Athletic Club. I feel like the last week I've been an athlete with no impulse control. "Hey, I'm a weightlifter. Now I've decided to dedicate myself to powerlifting! Now I'm a weightlifter again!" Man, the last couples weeks has been a trip.

Farewell to Ski weightlifting meet report

Today I lifted in the "Farewell to Ski" weightlifting meet. The meet was comimorated to the life of hall of fame weightlifter Norbert Schemanski who died earlier this year. It was held at High Dessert Athletic Club in Albuquerque New Mexico.

 I weighed in at 143.69k. Thanks to my nutrition coach Barry Schroeder.

My snatches have felt strong, fast, and I've had the best form of my life. Even on warm ups I felt unbelievable!
-My first lift was a 94k. Easy.
-My 2nd lift was a 98k. Easy. It also set a new NM masters 105k+ 40-44ag state record.
-My third attempt was a 101k. It felt so easy I felt I may have over pulled it. So I didn't finish my 2nd pull and I missed the lift. Even though I missed it I was still really happy. It felt so easy! I should have made that lift. Actually, I could have made a heavier lift. I've never missed a lift and been so happy! I'm sure I'm good for a 102-104k. That makes me happy.

Next up was the clean and jerks. I was cleaning great during warm ups. But my jerks were atrocious. I missed a practice 115k jerk. I barely made a 119k clean and jerk on my last practice attempt.
-My first clean and jerk of the tournament was 120k. I cleaned it super easy. I barely made the jerk. Coach asked me if I wanted to go for a 123 or a 125k C&J. I said 123k. He told the volunteers, "put on 125k".
-I cleaned it easy. I missed the jerk. I wasn't even close!! I had one more attempt of 125. The state record  is 122k.
-on my third attempt the weight landed to far forward. It rolled a little down my delts and my back arched forward. Somehow I was able to roll the weight back and straighten my back. At that point i was stuck sitting in the hole. But somehow I was able to stand up with it! Standing up after landing in such a bad position took a lot of effort. If I was going to make the jerk it was going to have to be because of great form, because i blew all my energy with the clean. All I kept thinking was keep my elbows high! Keep my elbows high! And after I dipped and threw the weight up as fast & explosive as i could, it was a good lift!!!! If it would have been 125.1 i wouldn't have been able ti do it. It was that close! That was the absolute most i could have jerked. It was a lifetime PR and a state record by 3k!

Overall I set 3 new state records of 98k/125k/223k. I missed qualifying for the masters national championships by 7k. But I don't mind at all. This was the best weightlifting meet of my life. Not only by the amount of weight lifted, and state records, b

ut also by how great I felt in the snatches, and how great my effort was in the clean and jerks.

post and shift bidding

Today I bid on the shift and post I'll be working the next 5 months. The bidding is based on senority amd I've only been working this job for 4 months. My only real goal was to stay off swing shift. My wife and kids are only home in the evennings so swings would have been horrible for my family life. All in all i think i lucked out. The good news is I'll be working during days and I'll be able to train with Joaquin Chavez of High Dessert Athletic Club 3 days a week. The bad news is I'll be off of work on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. I think it'll take me awhile to get weekends off. But that's ok. I'll get there eventually. Until then I'll be happy as long as I can train at High Dessert Athletic Club.

The horrible post I blogged about a couple days ago was taken by a senior officer who wanted nights, weekends, and Holidays off.

crappy work positions and great weightlifting

After I retired from the penitentiary I got a job that's been really great. Until now. Starting tomorrow I'll be working in downtown Albuquerque in a high danger and high stress post. I'm dreading this new nightmare post, but there is an upside. I'll be getting off work at 4:30pm so I can start training 4 days a week with coach Joaquin Chavez of High Dessert Athletic Club. I can't say I'm happy about working this new post. But it's really perfect timing. The next weightlifting meet will be in 17 days & there's no one who can perfect my form in such a short period of time like Joaquin can.  If I'm even close to qualifying for the masters national weightlifting championships, Joaquin will make it happen.

I think weightlifting after working such a stressful job will help me keep my sanity. Thank God for weightlifting.

struggling with the jerk

This morning at High Dessert Athletic Club coach Joaquin Chavez had me build up to a 90k snatch. That's only 7k below the the state record, and it felt rediculously easy. After that I built up to %90 of my max clean and it also felt rediculously easy, but I pressed out the jerk everytime. It's absurd that I can clean so much, but can't jerk it. Jerks are supposed to be the easy part. My next weightlifting meet is on October 29th. I better get those jerks cleaned up or I can kiss the 2017 masters national weightlifting championships goodbye.

the masters national weightlifting championships qualifying totals

Today I got to train at High Dessert Athletic Club for the 2nd time in 3 days, instead of just my usual once a week. It was awesome. I love training there. I'm sure I sound like a commercial singing the praises of HDAC. But the coaching really is that good, and the team really is that wonderful.

Now that I've recovered from my frustration of training on my own and wanting to quit rather than lift by myself, I started thinking about the qualifying totals of the master's national weightlifting championships in March of 2017. The qualifying totals were increased for the 2017 championships. I wasn't willing to look up my totals because of my frustration with not being able to train with my coach and team. But today i went ahead and took a look. 230k! 230k (506lbs) is some pretty big numbers. My lifetime best meet was a 219k.

My team has agreed that we'll all fly there together and rent a house in Savanna for all of the ones who qualify. Now that sounds like fun! Looks like I have some work to do!

I quit weightlifting

A couple weeks ago I became frustrated with training on my own and quit weightlifting. I was planning on going back to weightlifting after my work schedule changed and I can go back to High Dessert Athletic Club. But that won't be until November 1st. So, without weightlifting I kept getting more and more grouchy until this morning my wife demanded I go back to the gym. Turns out as much as I hate training on my own I hate not weightlifting even more. It makes me happy and helps me deal with stress. Without weightlifting I turn into a jerk pretty quick. Man did it ever feel great getting back into weightlifting! And my first day back to weightlifting was at HDAC. It was awesome. I really love it there.

weightlifting gym choices

My work schedule makes it so I'm only able to train at High Dessert Athletic Club with coach Joaquin Chavez on Saturdays. The rest of the week I've been lifting at a powerlifting gym. I'm miserable weightlifting at a powerlifting gym. They're great people there. But I'm the only one doing olympic style. It's not fun by myself.

The only other place I've found that i can fit weightlifting around my work schedule is Albuquerque CrossFit on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Sundays. The coaches there aren't real big on correcting form unless someone asks. But even without much guidance it's still better than being the only weightlifter in the entire gym. So starting on Tue I'll be training at both Albuquerque CrossFit and High Dessert Athletic Club.

I post bid and shift bid mid October. I'm hoping I can get a schedule that fits with HDAC. I love it there. And I got the best gains of my life there.

post bid and weightlifting

My work schedule changed again. I'm only able to train at HDAC with coach Joaquin Chavez on Saturdays. I've been struggling to force myself to train on the days I'm not not at High Dessert Athletic Club. It's just not fun to do weightlifting on my own. I pretty much hate it.

In October of this year I bid for my next post and shift. I just started at this new career so I'm #70 out of 71 full time employees. Its probable I'll get the worst days off and least popular shift. As far as the job goes I'm OK with working bad posts. But if I'm forced to work evennings I won't be able to train at Joaquin's at all. I have to admit, I probably won't continue with weightlifting if I can't be trained at HDAC. I'd pick it back up once I built up enough senority to have a schedule that I can train at HDAC.

post max slump

Last week I went heavy at the gym. Coach Chavez gave me a pep talk and then I hit a 100k snatch. His pep talks always gets the best out of me. He's a master motivator. I've dreamed of hitting a 100k snatch for a very long time. It was a dream come true. Next goal is a 125k clean and jerk. I think it will take awhile before I get there. I've found when I go heavy it makes me feel slow, sluggish, and my form goes to crap for awhile. I think maxing out does that for everyone. But it affects me a lot more severely and it takes me much longer to recover. My old coach told me the bigger the athlete the longer it takes them to recover. And that in Germany they only let their super heavyweights max once every two years. I'm a big dude. 300+ pounds. Plus I'm 40 years old. That's pretty old for a serious weightlifter. I have a weightlifting meet in August. I'm hoping i can get out of this slump quickly to hit my dream 100/125. If anyone can pull me out of a post-max slump Joaquin Chaves can.

change of work schedule

My Captain called me and told me my work schedule is changing.... again. It sucks being the rookie at my new job. But this time my new work schedule benifits weightlifting training. I'll be able to train with Joaquin Chaves of High Dessert Athletic Club on Fridays and Saturdays. On Mondays and Wednesdays I'll train at Iron Soul. Earlier this week I was struggling to decide which of my three gym memberships I should cancel. Because of the new schedule I'll be unable to continue training at Albuquerque CrossFit. In October I'll be doing my first post bid. My number one goal is to get a work schedule that I'll be able to train at High Dessert Athletic Club 4 days a week. I'm really impressed with the coach, training, and team enviroment there.