Low back squat and higher calorie weekends

Most hard core Powerlifters squat with a low back squat. You can lift more from that position. I've used a high back squat all my life. Since it seems I'm going to be sticking with powerlifting I decided to start using a low back squat. Today was my first day using decent weight from a low back squat position. I built up to 5 reps at 300lbs using a low back squat. I always assumed it would feel uncomfortable. But it felt great. I felt much stronger and I seemed to pop out of the hole more naturally and effortlessly. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works it strength worse at my next meet.

I always struggle with my diet on the weekends. I thought of a simple fix I tried this last weekend and it worked. I ate 500 calories more on Saturday and Sunday, 1000 calories more total than I'd usually eat to lose weight. And I dropped my calories 200 a day during the week, which is also 1000 calories. It's the same calories for the week. I'm just eating more when I struggle and eating less the days I'm usually fine dieting. 

I weighed in today at 271. I've lost exactly 75lbs. 55 more to go until I hit my goal of being in the 220lb powerlifting weight class.

Powerlifting strength, CrossFit, and weight loss

As of this morning I weighed 271lbs. I've lost 75lbs so far. My weight loss is slowing down. My squat has been getting weaker more quickly as I'm losing more weight. My bench and deadlift strength gains have slowed significantly. But they're still going up so that's good. But as I'm losing weight I'm getting better at crossFit. I can now do pull-ups, double unders, burpees, and toes to bars. I couldn't do any of those a month ago.

Based on my loss of strength I'm changing my first weight loss goal. It was 220. Now it's 230. After I hit 230 I'll do a slow reverse, then maintain for as long as I reversed. After that I'll attempt to reach my ultimate goal of 220lbs. If you haven't heard about a reverse diet I'd highly suggest reading up on it. It's fascinating.

Squat struggles

The last month I've been struggling something horrible with my squats. On Friday I was scheduled to do a set of 3 at 395 pounds. I could only get 2 reps at 375. All of my lifts have increased except my squat. Squat. This is kind of shocking for me.  Squats always been my strength. I've never struggled with squats before. But at least everything else is still gaining.

Supplemental training at Bear Canyon CrossFit

Today I was scheduled to do heavy back squats and some light recovery bench press. I wasn't able to train at my Powerlifting gym so I went Bear Canyon Crossfit. I was nervous about training Powerlifting there. I didn't want to get in the way, annoy any of the athletes training there, or piss off the owners and get banished. I got particularly antsy when I saw how many CrossFit'ers there were training. Apparently 3:30 and 4:30pm are peak times. There had to have been close to 30 athletes in there doing the WOD. The place was packed wall to wall. I guess Mark, one of the owners, saw how uncomfortable I was. So he helped me set up my squats on some blocks in a corner as far away from everyone else as possible. He went out of his way to let me know I was always welcome and should feel comfortable training anytime they're open. I think the owners, coaches, and fellow athletes see how out of my comfort zone I feel doing Crossfit and how different my body type is from the average CrossFit'er. And instead of judging me or excluding me they seem to really go out of their way to make me feel comfortable and welcome.

I ended up squatting 4x5 @ 340lbs relatively easily. I'd never felt that strong or confident squating that heavy before. I'm feeling great. Strong, fast, and light.

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.

2017 USPA New Mexico powerlifting state championships report

BW 138k
Squat 457.2lbs (PR & state record)
Bench 297.5lbs (tied PR & state record)
Deadlift 479lbs (PR and state record)
Total 1227lbs (PR and state record)

Yesterday I completed in the 2017 USPA New Mexico state powerlifting championships. I've been lifting exclusively for powerlifting for only 2 months. And two and a half weeks of that I didn't lift because the family and I were on vacation or I had started out at CrossFit and was to tired to lift. So after only 5.5 weeks of actual training I wasn't expecting much. My powerlifting coach Vernon Smith had a lot more faith in my abilities than I did. He sent me the lefts he wanted me to try and it was much much higher than I had faith that I could do.

The first lift was my favorite one. The Squat. I'd done Olympic style weightlifting for 4.5 years before jumping ship to powerlifting. We squat a lot in weightlifting. But there's absolutely no bench press. And only light weighted clean deadlifts. I got a little freaked out during warm ups because my last set of 405 I struggled with. My first squat of the day was 425lbs. It was felt moderately heavy, but lighter than the warm up 405. The next attempt tied a lifetime best of 440lbs. It didn't feel heavy at all. My last attempt was 457.2lbs. If I made that lift I'd have set a lifetime best of over 17lbs! My last attempt felt even easier than my 2nd attempt. Three white lights. Good lift!! I was shocked! How the heck did I get that strong in only 5.5 weeks of training? The squat was a state record.

Next up was the bench. I've always sucked at bench. And I haven't done any training for bench since Olympic weightlifters never do much upper body work and we NEVER bench. I really didn't think I could do what coach was wanting. But Eric, owner of Iron Soul told me, and I quote, "do what your coach days. You have him for a reason. Do it or your a dumbass." Well, I did it. 270, 285, 297.5 and I was shocked. I had more in the tank. My coach knew me well. The bench was a new state record.

When I first stepped on the platform for my first deadlift I felt like something was wrong. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. But there definitely was. My first deadlift of 430lbs was a good lift. It was also a state record. When the judge went to check my he said, "there's no great to check." I looked down and realized I had forgotten to put on my weightlifiting shoes, weightlifting belt, and knee sleeves. Once I geared up I feel a lot better on my 2nd deadlift of 451lbs. My last lift of 471lbs was going to be a 28lb personal best and another state record. It went up so easy I was amazed. I think a 500lb deadlift is in my near future.

My total of 1227lbs was a lifetime best by 39lbs and a state record. I'm shocked what I was able to do with only a couple months training. I can't wait to see what I'll be able to accomplish with more time in training and more weight loss guided by my awesome coach Vernon Smith.

Bear Canyon CrossFit test day

One of the gyms I train at has two boards hanging on the wall. Each board has the top 5 athletes of each lift, benchmark workout, or hero WOD. They only test for these boards once a year. If you make top five athlete in that event then your name's up there for a full 12 months. Since starting to go to this gym I've been staring at these boards everyday in envy. I want my name up on one of those boards! Yesterday was squat testing. Squats are one of the things I'm best at. I assumed I'd squat in the high 300's. Some how I did a 440lb squat! I tied a lifetime PR! That amazed me. I've only been back to training for 6 weeks! That bodes well for me and the USPA New Mexico state powerlifting  championships. The video is below.

We also did the benchmark workout Isabel. Which is 30 snatches of 135lbs for time. I finished all 30 in 4 minutes 1 second. That was huge for me. I wasn't fast. But it was the first WOD I was able to do at RX. So it meant a lot to me.

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.

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.

NASA New Mexico state powerlifting championships report

Last night my 2 sons and I competed in the NASA New Mexico state powerlifting championships.

My 8 year old son, Cody James,  weighed in before the meet and the scale showed 55 pounds. Cody James competed in the unequiped powerlifting. He built up to a 20k squat, an 11k bench, and a 20k deadlift.

My 6 year old weighed in at 46 pounds. He competed in the bench only division and lifted 14k.

These were the weights I lifted. I set PR'S (personal bests) on the clean, squat, deadlift, and total. I tied my lifetime meet PR on the bench.
Clean 125 PR
Curl 55
Squat 200 PR
Bench 135
Deadlift 205 PR
Powerlifting total 540k (1,188 pounds) PR
Coefficient: 1.4522

 Iron Soul, the powerlifting team my boys and I are on won the state championships!

I set 10 national records and 11 state records:

1) power press- police division: PR clean, PR total, national and state record.
2) power press- open division: PR Clean, PR total, national and state record
3) power press- pure division: PR clean, PR total, national and state record
4) power sports- pure division: PR deadlift, PR total, national and state record
5) power sports- police division: PR deadlift, PR total, national and state record
6) power sports- master 1 division: PR deadlift, PR total, national and state record
7) Unequiped push/pull- pure division: PR Deadlift, PR total, national and state record
8) Unequiped push/pull- police division: PR deadlift, PR total, national and state record
9) Unequiped powerlifting- police division: PR deadlift, PR squat, PR total, national and state record
10) Unequiped bench- police division: PR, national and state record
11) Clean- pure division: PR total and state record

The 2016 USPA High Dessert regional powerlifting championships

On February 27th 2016 I competed in the USPA High Dessert regional powerlifting championships held at Duke City Strength in Albuquerque New Mexico.

I took a couple weeks off right before the meet so I was expecting to lift poorly. But, somehow I still pulled off a few lifetime PR'S and a meet PR. I think most of my accomplishments at the meet had to do with having someone there to coach me who was knowledgeable and motivational. Vernon Smith coaches out of Grow Strong which is a weightlifting, powerlifting, and strong man gym. I met him at a few olympic style weightlifting meets. Then in December 2015 he was coaching some of his athletes at a NASA powerlifting meet. I didn't have a coach there, it was my first powerlifting meet. I was completely lost, out of my realm, and overwhelmed. Vernon asked if I wanted him to coach me. He saved my meet. He offered to coach my best friend and I at the 2016 US powerlifting association High Dessert regional powerlifting championships. I knew we were in good hands with Vernon.

I entered the classic raw division because the weights I'd be lifting would break all the masters 40-44 AG 308lb classic raw state records. Even though I entered the classic raw division and I could have wrapped my knees, which is a lifting advantage, I opted out of wrapping my knees. I've never trained with my knees wrapped, and at a meet isn't a good time to try something new.

I ended up successfully lifting a meet PR 130k (286lb) bench and lifetime PR's of a 190k (418lb) squat, a 197.5k (435lb) deadlift, and a 517.5k (1,138.5lb) total. I took first place in the 40-44 AG, 308lb, classic raw division. And a Wilks of 292.182.

Turns out I had to tell the meet director before my lifts that I was attempting state records. So even though the weights I lifted were state records USPA won't count my lifts as state records.

back to training and competing

Yesterday was my first day back in the gym in a couple weeks. I have a powerlifting meet this weekend, The 2016 USPA regional powerlifting championships. The timing couldn't be worse.

 I know, I know. What's an olympic style weightlifter doing competing at a powerlifting meet? Truth is I love training weightlifting more than I've ever loved training any other sport, but I'm not that fond of weightlifting meets. Where as I LOVE powerlifting competitions, but not that fond of powerlifting training. Thankfully olympic style weightlifting training transfers very well into powerlifting meets. Plus, my best friend and I are doing this together. He and I have done a all sorts of awesome competitions together. From Triathlons, jui jitsu tournaments, marathons.... you name it, we've done it.

The good news is my lifting felt pretty good considering how much time I'd taken off. Things didn't feel that much heavier. I did fatigue quicker than usual, but all things considered I'll take that over a loss of strength any day. I'm not tapering for the powerlifting meet. The one good thing about being a super heavyweight weightlifter in my 40's is I rarely have anyone else in my age group and weight class. With rare exception all I gotta do to win my division is show up. My goals this weekend is a 140k (308lb) bench, 185k (407lbs) squat, 190k (418lbs) deadlift, 515k total (1,133lbs). Not great numbers, but not bad for only my 2nd powerlifting meet.

back squat personal best and chronic fatigue

Usually after a peak performance it takes awhile to rebuild fitness. So I was happy hitting a 90k/110k today in training. That's a pretty good place to start for the olympic lifts this early in a program. What surprised me was that I also lifted a lifetime person best of a 182k (400 lbs)back squat and I had plenty left in the tank. I could of gone heavier. I'm a heck of a lot better at the powerlifting lifts than I am at the olympic lifts. The olympic lifts are so much more complicated. They're more of a mental game.

I'm struggling with fatigue. My work week routine has been pretty hard. After I get off work at 6am I'll sleep for a little over 3 hours. I'll wake at 9:45am and go to the gym to train. Then I'll go back home and try to nap until my kids get home. Going back to sleep is usually next to impossible. By the end of the week I'm usually a wreck. The first day of my weekend i usually sleep for 11 1/2 hours. My 2nd day off I'll take a 2-3 hour nap. I'm not sure how much longer I can keep this up. My gym is the best gym in the world. They have the best weightlifting coaching in the world, and my weightlifting team is like family.  But the gym's hours are hard for me since I work from 6pm-6am. They close from 1pm-4pm, so I have to wake up half way through my sleep to get my training in. This schedule is taking it's toll on my body. I feel chronically fatigued. I wonder how much of my obesity problems has to do with not getting enough sleep.

New Mexico New year's classic powerlifting meet report

Squat 175k

Bench 132.5k

Deadlift 195k

Coefficient 1.4438

On December 5th 2015 I competed in The New Mexico New Years classic powerlifting meet in Roswell NM. The meet was put on by NASA (Natural Athlete Strength Association). This was the first powerlifting meet I'd ever done. I've been training olympic style weightlifting for two years, but nothing even close to powerlifting. 

I was wanting to compete in the SHW divisions which is 309lbs or more. I woke up that morning weighting 305 lbs. Before I left the house for the 3 1/2 hour drive to the meet in Roswell NM a drank a glass of water with a couple teaspoons of salt stirred in. I figured the extra sodium would help my body retain water. 10 minutes before weighing in I chugged as much water as I could. I weighed in at 312 lbs easily making the SHW minimum weight. 

I entered 9 divisions. It cost me a fortune, but it was one of the most fun and memorable experiences of my life! Totally worth every penny! These were the divisions I entered. 

1- clean only masters pure SHW

2- clean only masters one SHW

3- clean only law enforcement SHW 

4- power press masters pure

5- power press masters one 

6- power press law enforcement SHW

7- push pull masters law enforcement SHW

8- unequiped powerlifting law enforcement SHW 

9- power sports law enforcement SHW 

The first lift was the power clean. I was really glad the clean was first. I know how to clean well and I'm comfortable doing cleans since the clean and jerk is one of the two lifts I've been training at for the last two years. I lifted a 120k clean. It was the heaviest clean of the day and a state record.

The next lift was the strict curl. I hadn't done curls at all since 2003. So I had no clue what weights to attempt. i lifted 35k, 50k, and my third lift was a 65k.

The third lift was the squat. I built up to a 170k squat. Since that was a national records they let me attempt a fourth lift. 175k, good lift.

After the squat it was obvious to everyone I was a rookie at powerlifting. I was having to ask athletes and officials a thousand questions. A powerlifting coach, Vernon Smith, who owns Grow Strong strength and conditioning in Albuquerque New Mexico came up to me and offered to coach me the rest of the day. I gratefully accepted his generous offer. The rest of the meet was so much easier and less stressful with a powerlifting coach helping me.

The bench press was the fourth lift. I ended up struggling with this. Out of habit I didn't wait for the head referees commands. Even though I lifted the weight easily I was given three red lights at both of my first two lifts for lifting the weight off my chest and racking without the officials commands. On the third lift I had to remember to wait for the head judges commands or I'd end up bombing out. On my third attempt of 132.5k I got three white lights. 132.5 was super easy. I could have lifted a lot more,  but after  two "no lifts" I was only concerned about not bombing out. I only started training again in the bench press this summer. Until this summer my lifetime bench PR was 275lbs I set back in 1999 when I was 24 years old. This summer when I first picked up benching again I could only lift 245 pounds. So all things considered 132.5k (291.5 pounds) is pretty awesome. I was allowed a fourth attempt and I successfully lifted 135k.

The deadlift was the fifth lift. I had no idea what to try to lift in this lift either. I used to deadlift when I first started olympic style weightlifting, but the deadlifts were hurting my hips so my weightlifting coach stopped putting them into my programing. It had been 20 months since I'd done any deadlifts. I started out with a 110k deadlift- ridiculously easy. My 2nd attempt I jumped up to a 150k lift. Also ridiculously easy. I decided to try 180 for my third. Also amazingly easy. I was allowed a fourth lift and i lifted 195k.... easily. I learned a very valuable lesson. I should know approximately how much my max lifts are if I'm going to lift in a powerlifting meet- duh!

I set 9 state records and 4 national records.  I entered these divisions and next to each is my total and placing. 

 clean only masters pure SHW (Super Heavy Weight), 120k, state record

clean only masters one SHW, 120k state record

clean only masters law enforcement SHW 120, state record

power press masters pure 152.5k state record

power press masters one 152.5k state record

power press law masters enforcement SHW 152.5, state and national record

 push pull masters law enforcement SHW, 327.5k, state record and national record 

 unequiped powerlifting masters law enforcement SHW, 502.5k, state and national record 

power sports masters law enforcement SHW, 392.5k, state and national record

The NASA powerlifting trophies and medals are top notch!

back squat day and increased calories

Today i was scheduled for 2X4 sets of back squat @147k (315lbs). On any other day that would be an easy couple sets, but it was a rough night last night at the prison. After all the adrenaline from last night my body was exhausted. It was all force of will and determination, but i was able to make the lifts.

About a week ago i started to struggle to finish my workouts so i increased my calories. Increasing my calories helped a ton. I maintained my weight during that week and started to feel 100% again. As of last night i decreased my calories again to 3250 calories a day. I'll lose about a pound a week with that. I'll keep you informed on how the weightlifting is going with the decreased calories. 

increased calories, PR's, and phone data

The last few workouts I've struggled to finish my workouts. I'm running out of energy which is an obvious sign that i need to increase my calories for awhile. I'll be raising it to my metabolic rate of 4000 calories a day for approximately 1-2 weeks depending how i feel.

I pick up my youngest son from pre-k before i go to weightlift each day. He's really well behaved for a 5 years old, but 1-2 hours in the gym everyday is a struggle for him. Last week i increased the data on my phone plan so he can watch NetFlix while I'm working out. That's been one of the best decisions I've made in awhile. I can lift with less interruptions and stress, and he's entertained and happy. Win win.

I lifted an 81k snatch rather easily last week which tied my training PR. The last time i got up an 81k snatch was in January and it was a struggle. Two weeks ago i squated 2 sets of 6 reps at 3301lb another PR. I'm looking forward to my next meet in April. I'm on track to crush my old PR's.

metabolic rate and Olympic weightlifting

In the last week I've lost 1.6 pounds. That's a little quicker than i had originally planned, but my strength doesn't seem to be affected at all. Last week i squated 301 pounds 6 times.  And today i tied a training PR snatch of 81k. In the last 3 weeks I've lost 1.75 inches around my waist. I've accomplished all that while eating 3,250 calories a day plus eating any calories burned from working out.  That means my metabolic rate is still hovering at around 4,000 calories a day. The life & metabolism of an Olympic weightlifter is great!

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.

Another snatch PR and the New Mexico games women only weightlifting competition

This morning I finished a workout set building up to a 2X2 snatch of 71k. 71k is a lifetime PR for me. I completed it easily, making all four attempts. I'm not sure why I do so well at the snatch but struggle at the clean and jerk. After the snatch I did a 1X5 back squat of 120k.  I also set a new lifetime PR in the deadlift of 163k.

This weekend my wife and I watched the women only weightlifting for the New Mexico games. There were so many amazing athletes. I have a few videos I want to upload soon onto my blog withing the next couple days. A lot of those women were stronger than the men lifting a couple weeks ago.

I'm freaking out a little bit. In the last couple weeks i gained a lot of weight. I'm now up to 289. I gotta do something. This is getting ridiculous.