New Mexico Junior Wrestling and New Mexico youth weightlifiting

My youngest son is a wrestler. He's only lost three matches in the last 2 years of wrestling. This year he's 8 years old and weighs 53 pounds. Unless he looses weight by his first wrestling tournament he'll be competing in the 8 and under age group 53-57 pound class. He'll be one of the older but lighter kids this year. Last year he was one of the youngest and lightest in his age group and weight class and he still did pretty good. I'm excited about this year.

My oldest son is 10 and weighs 29.09 kilos. He has a real love for weightlifting. He's been training with his weightlifiting coach, Vernon Smith, for about 5 or 6 months. I looked up the New Mexico weightlifting state records for his weight class. There are none for the 13 and under age 25-29 kilo or the 13 and under 31-35 kilo weight classes. So all he has to do is lift one good snatch and one good clean and jerk and he'll be a state record holder. His first weightlifiting meet will be the 2018 New Mexico games.

a nutrition coach for weightlifting!

In 2004 I weighed 292 pounds. And then I found triathlon and I gradually got thinner as I became more involved in the sport. I got down to and maintained my dream racing weight of 175 pounds. I fell off the diet wagon May of 2012 shortly after I got ran over by a vehicle while I was cycling and suffered a traumatic brain injury. I retired from triathlon and since then I've gained a ridiculous amount of weight. My top weight, which I hit this month, was 318 pounds. I've tried dieting a thousand times. It never works. On the rare occasion I do lose weight for a few weeks in a row I always gain it all back and then some. I got tired of struggling to lose weight and failing. I got sick of being embarrassed about how I look. I got sick of not being able to buy clothes anywhere but Big and Tall stores. I got sick of being to fat to be able to play basketball or ride bikes with my kids. And I've developed sleep apnea from being grossly obese. I decided to do something about it. I hired a nutrition coach, weightlifter Barry Schroeder. He owned(still owns) three New Mexico state record in the 35-39 age group 105k weight class. Then he lost a lot of weight, dropped down to the 94k weight class and broke the 3 state records in that weight class too. To lose that much weight and still be strong enough to crush numerous state records means he knows the science of nutrition and how to eat to perform well for weightlifting while losing weight. I contacted him and asked if he'd be willing to help me. He was very enthusiastic about it. His prices are phenomenal too! Only $75 a month! First step is he'll track my food, calories, and weight for a week, then I'll start his diet magic! Next stop is the 105k weight class and qualifying for the masters national weightlifting championships! I'll keep you informed on my progress! I'm pumped!

the 2015 Lift Outside The Box weightlifting meet report

Today i competed in the 2015 Lift Outside The Box weightlifting meet at The Miller gym in Santa Fe New Mexico. The day started off horrible,  i weighed in at 143k. I knew i was gaining weight,  but dang. I've put on 15k in the last three months.

Today I had one goal and one goal only, to qualify for the Masters weightlifting national championships. To do that i needed to successfully lift a 91k snatch, 116k clean and jerk, for a 207 total.

The first two lifts of an 82k and an 87k snatch were successful, but i knew i was in trouble. On every attempt i was doing power snatches. I didn't drop below the bar once. When i went for the 91k snatch same thing, i didn't squat. 91k was just too much weight for me to lift successfully without decent form. I did a push out, no lift.

On the clean and jerks i lifted a 106, 110, 115. The 115k broke the New Mexico state record by 7k. I also set a clean and jerk and total PR, but i missed qualifying for the Masters weightlifting national championships again. I got closer this time,  but i was still 5k from qualifying. i have one more shot in January to qualify for the national championships.

one year anniversary of my first weightlifting meet

The New Mexico games are next month in Albuquerque. I'm very excited about competing in it this year. Last year's New Mexico games (2014) was the first weightlifting meet I'd ever competed in. I'm hoping i can break the state records for my weight class. That'd be awesome. Breaking state records at a meet a year after my first ever competition.

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.

The Miller Gym's 1st Anniversary Invitational Weightlifting Meet report

I haven't felt much like blogging recently. But I don't want to leave my last meet unblogged, so it'll be short and to the point.

Last week I competed in The Miller Gym's 1st Anniversary Invitational Weightlifting Meet. Before the meet I'd been on vacation and then I got sick. I missed a total of three weeks of training. Getting sick was my fault, my stupidity. It takes a long time to build up the ability to withstand a lot of training volume, especially when your 39 years old. I was pushing it, training to frequently. 

I went 5 for 6. I lifted an 80/84/86 in the snatch and a 100/106/ and missed my last attempt at 110k clean and jerk. The 86 snatch was a PR and a state record, I also set a state record with a 192k total. In the 15 months I've been weightlifting I've set 9 state records. 

New Mexico weightlifting state records, diet, aand sleep

I just received an updated list of the New Mexico state weightlifting records. It was wonderful seeing my name on the list as a New Mexico weightlifting state record holder in the 105k+ 40-44 age group. 

I noticed that a couple of 105k state records in the 40-44 age group was broken late last year. The new clean and jerk state record is 135k & the new total is now 228k both set by Jeremy Hale. I had set a goal to lose weight and get down to the 105k 40-44 ag division and break those three records. I'm still hoping to do that, but it's going to take a little longer and a lot more work now. Those numbers are even bigger than what Barry Schroeder puts up!

Speaking of losing weight, I'm still doing well with my diet and weight loss. 25 days back on the diet wagon. Increasing the amount of calories i was eating while attempting to drop weight was the key. I'm not struggling with excessive hunger or extreme cravings anymore. I've lost 11 pound.

I've been eating healthy each and every meal & keeping my protein up. Unfortunately I've been working a lot of hours and not sleeping as much as an athlete should. My wife and i received her first student loan bill of $16,000. The same week my Chevy Suburban broke down costing just shy of $2,000 to fix. Most weeks I'm working 5 twelve hour and 1 sixteen hour shift a week. I'm tired. I've been the only income for our family of five since 2007.  I've been sleep deprived for a long time. It sucks. I'm really tired of being tired all the dang time. 8 years of this is to long.

The 2015 John Davis memorial weightlifting meet report

Yesterday, January 24th 2015, I competed in the John Davis memorial weightlifting meet at The Miller gym in Santa Fe NM. I'd been training for this meet exclusively for over 13 months. I was on track to break the New Mexico weightlifting 40-44 age group super heavyweight division (105k+) state records held by Scott Carpenter since 2004. I took 2 days vacation from work before the meet to make sure I was fully rested.

I found out just before the meet started that Rise Miller wasn't going to be there at the meet to coach me. He'd been the guy who had ran me through warm ups and coached me at all three of my previous meets. I wasn't expecting that & I had a bit of a panic attack finding out that he wasn't going to be there to coach me as I had become accustomed. Another very knowledgeable and accomplished lifter, Dominic Farris, took Rise's spot and did so perfectly. Once I started warm ups I got really freakin nervous. This was the first meet I'd lifted for something other than just for fun. This meet meant something. I thought I'd be better about handling the pressure, but I was wrong. I was so anxious my hands were shaking.

As I was walking out for my opening lift I was so scared! I've walked into prison riots at work where I was less nervous than that. Somehow even through the massive adrenaline rush I still managed to make a good lift of a 75k snatch. That was NM state weightlufting record #1. The 2nd snatch was also successful and was NMW record #2 for the day. My third lift of 83k was going to be an all time personal best by over 4 kilos. It was also a good lift and was NMW record #3. My last snatch broke the old state record by 23 kilos!

My first two clean and jerks were 98k and 103k. Both were NMW records. State records #4 &5. By the time I was ready to take my third and final C&J I was so very fatigued! Not because of the lifting, but because of the extreme amounts of adrenaline my body had been dumping into my system all day. As coach Shane Miller was talking to me about my last lift I was feeling so fatigued I was wondering if I'd have the energy to walk up to the platform, much less lift another PR. Somehow I pulled off a successful 107k clean and jerk. The last C & J broke the old state record by 27 kilos, state record #6. Plus the the totals were all records, they were records 7, 8, & 9.

My ending total was 190 kilos, breaking the old state record by 50 kilos, 110 lbs.

illness and an 81k /105k lifelong Olympic style weightlifting PR

A couple weeks ago i felt i was gaining strength in Olympic style weightlifting so quickly that the training program i was on wasn't keeping up with my gains. I wanted to do more but couldn't add more weight to the bar because my weightlifting coach watched everyone lift and he'd see if i veered from the training plan. So instead i threw in an extra day of training. I did 5 workouts in a week i was only supposed to do 4. By the end of the week my body was beat up, i felt unbelievably fatigued and i ended up showing the beginning stages of being sick. This was the 2nd time I've doubted my coach's programming, each time i did more than he prescribed, both times I've gotten sick. I've learned my lesson. My coach is extremely good at what he does. One of the best in the nation.  I need to learn to trust him. 

This morning i woke up feeling horrible.  I had a horrible cough, body aches, and the shivers. This morning was also the morning i was supposed to meet with coach Miller to do some heavy clean and jerks. It was also my last heavy day before starting to taper. I decided to gut check it, ignore the illness and lift. i felt like death warmed over. Even though i was slow, felt sluggish, and was getting fatigued very quickly i still lifted a life long clean and jerk PR of 105k. Last week i lifted a lifelong snatch PR of 81k. So at the John Davis memorial meet, the meet I've been training for the last 12 months, i should be able lift a minimum of an 81k /105k /186k, which will break the New Mexico weightlifting 105k+ 40-44ag state record by a hundred pounds!

weightlifting with a hangover

Today i learned two things:

1) new years day is really bad for weightlifting. I don't party much any more, so i was surprised by how much i was affected. I've had more than 24 hours to recover and i was still weak and felt incredibly sluggish. 

2) even though i had an off day lifting i was strong and made every lift. As long as my form and speed is half as good as my strength has become I'm going to crush the John Davis memorial weightlifting meet on January 24th, 2015. If my speed and form is half way decent i think i'll be able to put up an 81/107/188!!!! My old PR was set just 2 months ago,  in November 2014, it was a 79/103/182. The old New Mexico state record is a 60/80/140!!!!! I'm looking forward to crushing both my PR and the state record!!!!!

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)

greater totals and greater goals

This week was a great week for lifting! On Monday I lifted a new snatch PR of 75k. Today I lifted a new lifetime PR of 95k in the clean and jerk. I'm foaming at the mouth thinking about hitting a 100k clean and jerk! My next competition is the last Saturday of this month at Miller weightlifting in Santa Fe NM. If my weights continue to increase it's possible I'll lift 20k more than I did in May at the New Mexico games. That's a big increase in only a couple months. In January I age up to the 40-44 AG, and I'm currently lifting 132 pounds above the New Mexico 40-44 AG 105k+ total state record.

I'm having so much fun with the sport of olympic weightlifting. The next big mile stone I'm shooting for is a 400lb total, which is 181.4k. I'm currently 11k away. I'm really loving this.

my 1st goal set by coach Shane Miller

My coach, Shane Miller, has set the first big goal for me to accomplish. The goal he set for me is to qualify for the 2015 Pan American masters weightlifting championships or the 2015 American masters championships. On Jan 1st I age up to the 40-44 AG and the qualifying totals I'd need for the 40-44 AG 105+ is 207k. To put the masters weightlifting championships qualifying totals into perspective, my current total is 168k, which is 28k above the New Mexico 40-44 AG 105+ state records set back in 1999 by Scott Capenter. Even though I'm currently 28K above the New Mexico state 40-44 105+ record I'm still 39k short of the weights needed to make the masters qualifying totals. This will be difficult, but I expect with Shane's help I'll be successful.

2nd week of Olympic weightlifting

I'm in my 2nd week of Olympic weightlifting. I'm really enjoying it. My coach, Shane Miller of Miller weightlifting is awesome. His athletes have over 450 national records.

I'm starting to build up a lot of excitement and starting to dream big. Partly for fun and partly for motivation I looked up the New Mexico Olympic weightlifting records for my age and weight divisions I eventually want to drop down to.

I was only scheduled for 3 workouts this week but I was so motivated I threw an extra one in one Sunday.

Age 35-39 105k+ (232 lbs+)
Snatch- Richard Kahl- 105k (231lbs)
CJ- Richard Kahl- 135k (297lbs)
Total- Richard Kahl- 240k- 529 lbs

Age 35-39 105k (206-231 lbs)
S- Barry Schroeder- 94k (207 lbs)
CJ- Barry Schroeder- 116k (255 lbs)
T- Barry Schroeder- 210k (462 lbs)

Age 35-39 94k (187-206 lbs)
S- Barry Schroeder- 93k (204lbs)
CJ- Barry Schroeder- 109k (240lbs)
T- Barry Schroeder- 202k (445 lbs)

Age 35-39 85k (169-187lbs)
S- Eric Johnson- 108k (238lbs)
CJ- Eric Johnson- 130k (286lbs)
T- Eric Johnson- 238k (524lbs)