Powerlifting and CrossFit

Last night I attempted one heavy snatch and one heavy clean and jerk. And the weight I lifted was rediculously low. The last couple years I've been struggling at weightlifiting. I love weightlifting. But my body just isn't good at it. I can squat and deadlift very well. But not the snatch and clean and jerk. I've decided I'm going to train CrossFit and powerlifting. Which works well because I really like the powerlifting coach I've been training with. I know how rediculous this is. I've flip flopped between weightlifiting and powerlifting a dozen times the last couple years. I need to decide and stick to it. I think this time I will. But then again I thought I'd decided a bunch of times before and it changed shortly.

Eat and sleep!

Last night I struggled getting through my weightlifting workout. Once I got home I was so exhausted I couldn't get off the couch. I finally mustered enough energy to eat and shower. Then I collapsed into bed. I slept for ten hours. Once I awoke I weighed in, increased my macros on MyFitnessPal,  and ate a big healthy meal. Now I feel like a million bucks!

All week my calories were really low. Probably to low. I gained two pounds this week. I weighed in at 319 with 31% body fat. I assume the weight gain is either my body freaking out from not having enough fuel, water retention, or muscle gains. I'm doing a ton of strength training right now. Weightlifting 3 times a week and 3-4 days a week of CrossFit. But even with that much strength training I'm assuming 2 pounds of muscle gains in one week is pretty much an impossibility. I increased my calories on Avatar Nutrition to only lose a moderate amount of weight instead of the extreme weight loss option. I guess my next weigh in on 11/7/17 will show me if I made the right choice.

Weightlifting, CrossFit, and powerlifting

Weightlifting is my baby. Has been for about a half decade. I'm not saying I'm great at it or consistent. Just that I love it. It's the most complicated and rewarding sport I've ever competed in.

In addition to weightlifting I also enjoy competing in powerlifting. Weightlifting training transfers well into squat and deadlift, but not bench press. So not only will I be doing weightlifting and CrossFit I'll also be training bench press. I maxed out on bench this morning and I was pleasantly surprised. 285lbs! That's the 3rd most I've ever maxed. 

I completed 3 CrossFit workouts in the last 4 days. I woke up this morning and was exhausted. I needed a day of recovery. Tomorrow I'm doing another CrossFit workout. And then on Monday I'll be starting a weightlifting program with coach Dylan McGwire out of Bear Canyon CrossFit. It'll be my first training session with coach McGwire. I'm exited and nervous. I'm hoping it's quality weightlifting coaching. If it's not then I'll have to start training at High Dessert Athletic Club with Joaquin Chaves or Iron Soul with Vernon Smith. Going to two different gyms, one CrossFit box, and one weightlifting gym would make training much more difficult and costly. I'll keep you informed on how the coaching and training is.

Weightlifting and track training

Last night after work I trained at the gym for  a couple hours. By the time I got home, prepared my meals for the next day, and got my uniform ready it was time for me to go to bed. This Morning I woke up early and completed a track workout before my overtime post. I'm still slow at track sprinting but I'm gaining speed very quickly. Hopefully I will have improved enough by July that I won't completely imbarrass myself at the New Mexico games.

I haven't been this dedicated since my triathlon years. It feels good. Apparently all I needed was to be away from weightlifting to realize how much I missed it. I'm sure I'll be improving a lot more now that I've my love for weightlifting and track and field has reawakened.

Earlier this month I sent my powerlifting coach an email that said I was going to stop powerlifting and go back to weightlifting. I paid him for an extra month in the hopes it would keep there from being any hard feelings. I never heard back from him. That can't be a good sign. I feel bad. He's a great guy. And he's an absolutely amazing powerlifting coach. Me firing him is no reflection of him. It's just my love of weightlifting keeps pulling me back.

Back to weightlifting!!!!

My Dr released me to go back to weightlifting a couple months ago. I wasn't able to go back because my work schedule didn't fit with my coach's training times. This week my work approved a shift transfer that works with weightlifting. So after 6 months I'm finally back to weightlifting!

Yesterday was my first day back. Today I'm pretty sore. But not nearly as bad as I thought I would be.

I went off the deep end today and registered for the state games. The New Mexico games is in 4 weeks. I doubt I'll be ready to compete that soon. But I'll try anyways!

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. 

overtime and weightlifting training

My new job seems to be in a constant state of chaos and is short staffed. Which is baffling to me because the pay is pretty awesome. I can handle a lot of B.S. for a job that pays as well as this one. On most of my weekends my Captain will call and ask if I can work at least one of my days off. Sometimes both of them. The constant change of hours and shifts has made it difficult to get adjusted. But like I said the pay is great so I'll just keep my head down and do what I'm asked when I'm asked.

For the next 5 months my days off were supposed to be Tuesday and Wednesday. But my Captain has asked if I'd work every Wednesday until he's able to get us fully staffed- which hasn't happened as long as anyone can remember. So I'm just assuming I'll be working 6 days a week for the next 5 months- at least. He was nice enough to work around the 2 hour block I need with my coach on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. So between that and the pay I'm happy as I pig in slop. I'll leave the complaining and dissident to some of my fellow coworkers who have no idea how how lucky we really are. I've got a great paying job that is willing to work around weightlifting training. What more could a man ask for?

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.

hand tears in weightlifting

I constantly see weightlifters sanding thier calluses to prevent their hands from tearing while weightlifting. I never do that. I was blessesd and got my Dad's bulletproof hands. After almost 4 years of weightlifting I've only had one rip. Last week i had my 2nd. I feel so special. Like I'm part of a member of a secret club or something.

weightlifting coach talked me off the ledge

I listened to a pod cast by Mark Rippetoe a little over a month ago. He claimed the reason Americans are so poor at Olympic style weightlifting is that they don't do enough deadlifts. He said that American coaches are making a mistake by adopting the European model of weightlifting where they have thier athletes do tons of pulls but very few deadlifts. He was essentially saying anyone training like that isn't strong enough to lift the weights they are capable of. Since listening to that podcast I've been obsessing about doing more deadlifts. I've been contemplating sneaking more deadlifts into my training program. Vernon Smith, one of my two weightlifting coaches, talked me out of it. He said I shouldn't mess with coach Joaquin Chavez training programs. He said that my squat and weightlifting numbers show that I have more than enough strength. That it's my form that's holding me back from lifting more weight.

building a home weightlifting gym

I work 12 hour shifts and Iron Soul, one of my gyms, is 30 minutes from my work, and my home is another 30 minutes from the gym. That makes for a long day. More importantly it makes me not get as much sleep as I should. Up until now I didn't mind a little sleep deprivation. But now that I want to focus on qualifying for the masters national weightlifting championships I need to be getting a full nights sleep to get the full benifits of training. Thankfully building a home gym for weightlifting doesn't take a tremendous amount of equipment. Just a platform, drop plates, a squat rack, and a weightlifting bar. The first thing I'll be buying is a bar. I've decided on a California bar by American Barbell. A lot of the reviews of the Ohio bar by Rouge fitness say the bars rust easily.

dry heaving at Albuquerque CrossFit

I decided to train at Albuquerque CrossFit last night. They have olympic weightlifting classes on Tuesday nights. The box (gym) is really close to my house. & They also have a trainer there who's pretty good at coaching weightlifting, Joe Vegil. The only thing I don't like is everyone is in great shape. By great shape I mean crazy hard muscles and unbelievable 6 packs. I'm 5'11" 325 pounds. I'm the total opposite of ever other person in there.
During the warm up I felt very okut of place so i did warm ups behind everyone else in the hope that no one will notice me. Finally we start lifting. I grab a rack in the far corner. I'm trying the "out of sight out of mind" approach. And just my luck, the person who's in the best shape and is the most beautiful in the entire gym sets up right behind me.

She's also strong as heck, she was lifting as much as I am the entire workout. I'm feeling a little inadequate. To make myself feel better I say to myself, "you're an olympic style weightlifter. Let's show all these beautiful people what great weightlifting form looks like." And I do. My form was really good last night. 

As I'm lifting I'm trying to not breath heavily. I'm already imbarrassed by being three times the size of everyone else. I don't want to make it even more obvious that I'm out of shape by gasping for breath in between sets. A little over half way through the workout, I'm adding more weight to the bar and I inhale a bug. I immediately cough and then my cough turns into dry heaving! I'm gagging because I have an insect wiggling around in my lungs, but no one else knows why. I'm sure it appeared that I was dry heaving because I'm in such bad shape. I was hoping she didn't notice. So inbetween dry heaves I glanced out of the corner of my eye to see if she saw me gagging and making a fool out of myself. And she did. She was staring at me with a look of concern on her face. I was so imbarrassed. But, regardless of the humiliation I'll be back on Thursday night. Hopefully this time I won't make an ass out of myself.

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.