The 2018 youth and master's championships report

On Saturday I competed in the Youth and Master's New Mexico state championships. I set a meet best and state record snatch of 100k. I've been chasing 100k since 2013. 5 flipping years! I finally got that son-of-a-gun. Such a wonderful day.

My son set state records in the snatchs clean and jerkj and total. He also qualified for the American Open Series and the youth national championships! After less than a year of training he has qualified for as many national championships as I have in a half decade of training and competing☺ At only ten years of age he's better than me. And I couldn't be happier about it.

 And pictured below are two of my Bear Canyon CrossFit team mates who spent the whole day warming me up and coaching me. I couldn't be more greatfull.

First extra credit workout

On Tuesday I did both the strength session and the MetCon (metabolic conditioning, or cardio). I felt great. Fast and efficient. Having lost 80lbs is unbelievably important in CrossFit. Being light for CrossFit is, in my opinion, as important as being in shape. Usually after a hard CrossFit workout I'm so tired I'm worthless for a few hours. But this time I felt pretty good still. So for the first time ever I also completed the extra credit workout after the two normal workouts. AND, I was able to do it RX. That was only the 2nd CrossFit workout I've ever do e RX'd. It was:
3 rounds of
10 DB snatches left hand with 50lbs
10 DB snatches right hand with 50lbs
20 box jump overs

It took me 7:36. Not a great time. But just a few months ago I had to do step ups. Now I can actually jump up on to the box.

Hydrostatic body fat test for Powerlifting at UNM

I got my body fat tested today at the UNM Exercise physiology department. There was great news and bad news. I'm much leaner than I thought I was. I'm at 23.6% body fat. I used to have over 160lbs of fat. Now I only have 56.5lbs of fat. The most lean mass I'd ever had was 187lbs. I'm over 200lbs of lean mass now. And I've only been powerlifting and doing CrossFit for 7 months. So things will only get better from here. The bad news is I look like a still have a much bigger belly than I should for being 23% body fat. It's loose skin. It'll probably never go away. I'll always look like I have a pot belly. That's the consequence of getting to be obese like I did. All I can do is be the best me I can be. And if that means walking around healthy and lean, but still have what looks like a gut. Then I'll walk arounf like the stringess, most confident dude with a gut ever.

May 2018: 265.1lbs @ 23% body fat. 202.5lbs lean mass. 62.5lbs fat.

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.

First hydrostatic body fat test in years

I decided I'm going to get my hydrostatic body fat tested at the UNM Exercise Physiology Department. My appointment is for tomorrow morning. Here are some of my previous results: 

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.

CrossFit triathlon, diet, and my Box

Last year I watched my buddy compete in the 4th annual Hellbox CrossFit triathlon. At the time I weighed in at 346lbs. I wanted to do that triathlon so bad. That's what got me back into CrossFit and eating right. I'm down to 265lbs. I've lost 81lbs preparing for that race so far. If I continue to lose the same rate as I have been I'll be down to approximately 230lbs by then. I will have lost 116lbs. They've renamed the race Enchant-Fit CrossFit triathlon.

This week my Powerlifting coach Vernon Smith is having me do a recovery week. Light weights and low volume. He also requested I don't do any crossfit workouts. All week I've been close to eating bad food and a lot of it. The only thing I've ever found that helps me stay on the diet wagon is crossfit. I'm not exactly sure why. But going to CrossFit keeps me motivated and on track diet wise. My calves were cramping horribly on all three of the runs. My body was freaking the heck out. Which is exactly why coach told to take some time off to recover. But ever since doing that workout i haven't been tempted to binge eat. I think doing that CF workout was the right thing. Perhaps not the best thing for my recovery. But it helped control my desire to over eat.

CrossFit. I don't always like it. I'm not built for it. But it's damn good for me. And I really love the people in my box.

On a side note. I failed the USPA referee test I took last week.

2018 NASA New Mexico Powerlifting state championships report

Body weight 265lbs
275lb weight class

Power clean 52.5k

Strict curls 57.5k (PR & state record)

Squat 435lbs (state record)

Bench 303 (PR & state record)

Deadlift 479 (tied PR & state record)
Total 1216 (state record)

My son
Weighed in at 64.2lbs
Lifted in 65lb weight class
Clean 55lbs (PR & state record)
Squat 60.3lbs (PR & state record)
Bench press 50lbs (PR & state record)
Deadlift 132.2lbs (PR & state record)

This weekend my son and I competed in the 2018 NASA New Mexico Powerlifting state championships.

I'm not going to go into a lot of details about the day. Most of this post will be about my sonss and my coacg. I knew two things was going to happen.
1) since I'd lost 80lbs in the last 7 months I knew I wouldn't be lifting anything amazing.
2) I knew my son was going to do some amazing lifting

My best squat was 435lbs. It was my 2nd best squat in a meet.

My best bench press of the day was a personal best and state record of 303lbs. I was pleasantly surprised by that lift.

My best deadlift was 479lbs. That tied my 2nd best lift.

My total was 1216lbs. My 2nd best total of all time.

Overall I did about the same as I used to do. But I used to weigh 346lbs. Now I'm only 265lbs. For me to have kept up my strength while losing this much is a near miracle. And truth be known, it's not something I'm doing. All the accolades should go to my Powerlifting coach Vernon Smith-More.  He's the most amazing coach I've ever had any sport. Most coaches know how to do one or two different approaches to training their athletes. If those don't work they'll blame the athletes diet, not sleeping enough, or they'll tell the athlete, "just stick with it. You're going through a plateau." Or "it's because your losing weight." But coach Vernon never stops trying new things to make sure I'm getting gains. He doesn't accept me not gaining strength just because I'm dieting. He's tried a lower volume, higher intensity program. A higher intensity, lower volume plan. High both, and low both. As he's trying these things he's watching my results and learning about how my body is responding and applying that knowledge to my next program. He's doing the same for my son. My son's total last year at this same meet was a 110lb total. In one year he's gone up to a 242lb total. His deadlift was 22lbs higher than his total was last year. Coach Vernon is the amazing. Not only is he a great coach, but he's a wonderful and compassionate human being too. As long as Vernon is my sons and my coach our future in powerlifting is going to be great. 

Powerlifting referee

I'm really enjoying Powerlifting. I'm enjoying competing in the sport and I really love the people. I decided I wanted to get more involved. I contacted the NASA powerlifting federation a couple of times and asked if they'd like me to volunteer in any capacity. I never heard back. Eventually I decided to contact a different orginization. I contacted USPA and asked if I could help in any way or perhaps even become a referee/judge. In less than 10 minutes I received a response. They were beyond greatfull for any help I'd be willing to offer. And a few minutes later I recieved thier study guide and USPA state referee test. Apparently they are as excited about finding people who want to give back to the sport as I am to do it.

The test was much harder than I thought it would be. Very intensive. I finished it today and I'll mail it when I get off of work. I should know within a few days if I passed or not. If I did indeed pass then I could potentially be judging as soon as may 5th here in Albuquerque New Mexico.

Upcoming powerlifting meet Gallup New Mexico

This weekend is the NASA (Natural Athlete Strength Association) powerlifting New Mexico state championships. Both my son and I will be competing. He'll be competing in the power press and powerlifting division. I'll be competing in four divisions
Power Sports Police division
Retro police
Power press police
Retro masters 1

I'm very excited about this meet. I'll be attempting to break a 300lb bench and 500lb deadlift for the first time in a meet. I'll also be attempting a 433lb squat. Not a great squat, I know. I've lost some strength in my squating in the last 8 months because I've dropped 80lbs of body weight. Which brings up the other reason I'm really excited about this meet. I'm weighing in at 265lbs right now. I'll be lifting in the 275lb weight class. I usually weigh in at 340-350lbs and lift as a super heavyweight. And even though I've lost 80 pounds I'll still be attempting meet PR's at the bench, deadlift, and total!!!!

My son will be attempting a greater than body weight squat and a double bodyweight deadlift. Here's only 10 years old.

The trip will be him, my best friend, my God-daughter, and I. Should be a blast. IllI keep you updated.

My wife, the future CrossFit stud

It was hell getting my wife into CrossFit. She refused for awhile. Then after she agreed she dragged her feet. Her first drive to Bear Canyon CrossFit she cried the entire way there. It was an was an anxiety thing. I don't exactly understand, but I sympathize. After her first day of CrossFit she was so sore she needed help getting out of sitting and laying positions. Even though she was so sore she couldn't move she still went four times. For times in one week is impressive even for someone in great shape. One thing I learned when she and I did CrossFit together in 2013 is that she's a phenomenal athlete. She builds speed, strength, and endurance much much quicker than most. In less than a month of beginning Crossfit in 2013 she was faster than me in every workout. She also has the biggest pain tolerance I've seen. Which is helpful in Crossfit. Because CrossFit hurts. Bad. She once dropped a 45 pound plate on her big toe, crushing the bone to mush. Literally. She still finished the wod. Another time she was struggling with plantar fasciitis so bad that the plantar fascia tore in half during warm ups. And she still finished the workout after rupturing the muscle. Shes's a stud. A natural athlete. I always assumed our kids inherited thier athleticism from me. It wasn't until I saw my wife work out and make gains so quickly that i realized she's the best athlete in the family. My wife is going to be a force to be reckoned with once she has some time in the sport.

CrossFit costs or CrossFit for couples

I decided earlier this week I was going to cancel my Crossfit membership to save money so I could continue to be home with the kids more. After a few days I fell off the diet wagon. So then I went back to crossfit and Wala, I was motivated to eat healthy and count macros again. I think I've come to the realization that I need to continue training at Bear Canyon CrossFit. There's something about that place that makes me motivated to eat right and eat the right amounts. It seems to effect more than just what kind of workout I'm doing. It totally changes my lifestyle. After I told my wife how my diet changes for the worse everytime I stop going to CrossFit she actually decided to try it too. Her first CrossFit workout will be tomorrow. I'll blog about her workout soon. But she and I came up with an idea on how to pay for it. Our membership will be $220 a month. Right now she and I put money into a 401k retirement plan. We'll just deduct $220 a month from how much we're investing in our 401k. The way I look at it is there's more than one way to invest in our future. And one of those ways is investing in our health. What's the point in saving for retirement if we'll be to sick or dead to enjoy it? So, tomorrow she and I start training CrossFit together. I'm really excited. I think this will be great for both our bodies and our relationship. It'll be something we can bond doing together.

CrossFit costs

I really love doing CrossFit. I love the results it gives me. And I love how little time I need to train doing CrossFit to get great results. Unfortunately it's really expensive. I've been attempting to work less hours so I can spend more time with my kids. My hopes are working. My kids and I are closer now than ever. The bad news is working only 35 hours a week is hitting us hard financially. My wife and I are going to see if we can cut some things out of our life to make ends meet. But if those don't work then I'm going to have to give up CrossFit.

The bigger the base, the taller the peak

Ive been really dedicated to powerlifting training. I haven't missed a workout in months. I even trained this weekend in Durango Colorado when my family and I went out of town for the weekend. But I haven't been gaining strength recently. It's because I've been at a calories defacit for the last 6 months. I'm trying to lose weight and get into a lower weight class. Most coaches would just lay blame on the calorie defacit and continue sending the same training plan. Not my coach. He's trying different things just about every training plan. Trying to see what he can do to get my strength up while also losing fat. This training block he's decreasing intensity and increasing volume. I had a triathlon coach back in the day who tried this with me and we got great results. I gained a tremendous amount of speed and endurance. I realize triathlon training and Powerlifting are just about as different as humanly possible. But it's important to build a base regardless of the sport. There's an old saying, "the bigger the base, the taller the peak.". I think that's precisely what my coach is attempting to do. Build a bigger base. As usual, I really love my powerlifting coach. Here's awesome.

My Powerlifting coach

  I've had a ton of coaches in my life. Coaches in triathlon, CrossFit, nutrition, swimming, BJJ, weightlifting, Powerlifting, and more. I've never had a coach I was more impressed with than I am with my powerlifting coach Vernon Smith-More. Not only does he spend a tremendous amount of time, thought, and energy building a perfect program. He's also a fantastic problem solver. I'm a difficult athlete to train right now. There's a lot of things that prevents me from getting the gains a lot of athletes get. I'm in my 40's which minimizes gains, and I've been in a calorie defacit for a long time which also prevents a lot of muscle growth. He' tried a couple different approaches to training with me. When one thing doesn't work or he tries something else. That's rare. Most people coach by putting all their athletes on a cookie cutter program. If it works, great. If not, then that's just to bad. Vernon works hard at creating a tailored program. He's also great at keeping me on track and focused. I sent him an email requesting to do a Powerlifting meet in a couple weeks in Phoenix Arizona. He was able to convince me it was a bad idea. And that my long term development should be my greatest focus right now. Here's an example of a recent email I received from him.

Hey, Cody. I think that’d be a great meet schedule for next year! And yeah, any other meets you’d want to try in between we could just treat as “train through” meets and not necessarily adjust the programming for them. 

And as far as the upcoming April meets are concerned: I think I’d prefer you do the NASA meet. I’ve programmed this block with a bit more volume, but less intensity — which is different from how I’ve programmed you in the past. I’d like to see how you respond to a full block of submaximal training like this. If it goes well and you feel strong, we’ll have a good template going forward for how to best program for you in a caloric deficit. 

How does that sound?

Vernon

The New Mexico Games and The State Games of America

I've competed in The New Mexico games in the sport of weightlifiting the last 4 years in a row. The New Mexico games were considered the weightlifiting state championships here in New Mexico. I knew The New Mexico games had numerous sports in the games. Everything from Archery, arm wrestling, badminton, baseball, BMX, pickleball, weightlifting, track and field, basketball, beach volleyball, indoor volleyball, Beach wrestling, bowling, Bocce, Judo, & more. I never took the time to find out what the state games are. While investigating my next powerlifting competition I found more state games in Colorado. I found out that there is something called the State Games of America. It's an Olympic style competition of many sports that happens every other year. And the cities that host the State Games of America Changes each time also. In 2017 over 200,000 athletes over 50+ sports competed in the state games. I'm thinking of trying to qualify for the State Games of America at the Rocky Mountain State Games on July 21st in Colorado Springs CO. If I qualify the next State Games of America will be in Lynchburg Virginia July31st- Aug 4, 2019.

2018 CrossFit open results

When I first started working out crossCrossFit I was well over 300lbs and in horrible shape. I couldn't do a single burpee, double under, or pull-up. I still don't have great endurance or speed, and I'm still a bit overweight. But I've made huge improvements. As of this morning I've lost 79lbs and I can do all the exercises listed above. I knew I wouldn't do great in the Open. But I'd improved so much that I was excited to compete. I only finished in 14,844th and in the 47th percentile of the world. But I was so happy to have finished where I did. I've improved a ton. If things continue to improve the way I have, then next year's Open will be a wonderful experience.


Workout/ World ranking/Southwest ranking
18.1/196reps/17,591th 37th%/420th 33rd

18.2/11:56/ 17,080 39th percentile/851 38th

18.2A/205lbs/8603 69th/ 512 62nd

18.3/124 reps/ 13,003 59th/709 48th

18.4/21 reps/14,954 47th pecent/ 808 41%
18.5/31 reps/ 16,670 41st/873 36th percentile

Overall ranking/ 14,844 47th percentile/ 807 41st

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.

Next block, probably hypertrophy

I'll be getting my next powerlifting block today from my coach Vernon Smith. I'm pretty sure I'll doing hypertrophy again. That's bitter sweet. On one hand I seem to lose weight a lot quicker when I'm doing hypertrophy. Hypertrophy builds a lot of muscle, makes a guy look pumped, or swole (swole seems to be the new popular phrase). On the other hand my body isn't used to it. It hurts. And I struggle getting through the workouts. But I sure love the prospect of getting bigger and leaner.

I have another powerlifting meet on April 28th in Gallup NM. Its the NASA powerlifting (natural athlete strength association) state championships meet. I'm hoping to get a 450/300/500/1250

18.5 report

Today I competed in the CrossFit open 18.5. it was a 7 Min AMRAP

3-6-9-12-15-18-...

• Thrusters (100/65)
• C2B Pull-ups

I was worried about this workout. The most pull-ups I was ever able to do in a workout was 4. Today somehow I was able to do 13 pull-ups, for a total of 31 reps. I realize compared to other athletes my total will be horrible. But I'm really happy about how I did. Out of every CrossFit work out I've ever done this is the one I'm most proud of. 

After I was done with 18.5 I drove to my barbell club and finished the last recovery powerlifting workout. 

I'll be getting my next powerlifting block today from my coach Vernon Smith. I'm pretty sure illI be doing hypertrophy again. That's bitter sweet. On one hand I seem to lose weight a lot quicker when I'm doing hypertrophy. Hypertrophy builds a lot of muscle, makes a guy look pumped, or swole (swole seems to be the new popular phrase). On the other hand my body isn't used to it. It hurts. And I struggle getting through the workouts. 

18.4 and world ranking report

My CrossFit ranking has been updated. For 18.4 in the Southwest region I finished in 804th out of 1380, and was in the 41st percentile. Worldwide I finished in 14,400th it off 28,357, ranking in the 48th percentile.

Overall so far I've finished 14,381/28,357 and am in the 49th percentile. Overall in the sw I'm 782nd, in the 43rd percentile.

18.4 report and stupid diet decisions

This morning I did the CrossFit open 18.4. I woke up feeling beat the hell up because of the powerlifting meet yesterday. But I love deadlifts, so I was still excited. I finished the first set of 225lb deadlifts in 44 seconds. I wasnt able to get a single set of handstand push-ups. So my total was 21 reps. That's a really sorry 18.4 total!

I got really motivated about dropping more weight after yesterday's powerlifting meet. I know I shouldn't continue to try to lose weight. After 6 moths of dieting hard I should maintain awhile. But I'm not going to. I want to get to 220.

2018 USAPL New Mexico powerlifting state championships report

Me:
433 (state record)
297.5 (tied competition PR and state record)
484 (competition PR and state record)
1214 (state record)

Cody James
71/45/104/ 210

Today my son and I lifted in the USAPL New Mexico Powerlifting state championships meet. My son did great. He lifted 9/9
71/45/104 for a total of 210.

I didn't do very well. I missed my third squat of 455lbs. I'd been struggling with squats in training for awhile. So that didn't surprise me. My top squat of the day was 433lbs. 18lbs less than my last meet.

I pulled my pectoral muscle a little over a month ago so i assumed I'd do poorly in the bench. I was wrong. My third lift of 297.5lbs was easy. That lift tied my competition best.

I assumed I'd kick butt with my deadlifts today. My deadlift training has been amazing the last few months. Boy was I ever wrong. I made my first lift of 484lbs. My 2nd lift was a 525, which should have been easy.  But I missed it. I tried 525 again and missed it. It wasn't even close. This was surprising because my powerlifting coach and I thought I'd get a 550lb deadlift today. My lift was actually a competition best. But we expected more.

But, my powerlifting coach is pretty awesome. He warned me that because of how much weight I've lost I may struggle in the meet. He was right. I've lost 70-75lbs so far. I have anothe 50-55lbs left to lose. This is going to be a struggle. But it'll be worth it.

Emergency diet changes

I've been dieting consistently for 6 months. I've lost close to 75lbs. But I've been getting more and more hungry every week. I used to think it was a motivation problem. But I've learned since then that the increasing hunger is my bodies way of protecting itself for starvation. The hunger is the caused by the bodies matabolism slowing down significantly. This weekend I got so hungry I fell off the wagon. Long ago I lost 120lbs training triathlon and using a diet program called Diet Power. I continued to diet and lose weight continuously for a very long time. As I lost weight I continued to get hungrier and hungrier. By the time I got to my goal weight I was so ravenous that I ended up gaining all my weight back, and then some. I've learned my lesson. I now know what I need to do. I'm going to continue to diet until I get to 270lbs and then I'm going to reverse diet for awhile. I'm bouncing between 271-275 right now. So it shouldn't take too long to get to 270.

18.3

Crossfit open workout 18.3 was going to be horrible for me. It was a lot of exercises I knew I couldn't do.

 2 rounds:

100 double-unders

20 overhead squats (115 pounds)

100 double-unders

12 ring muscle-ups

100 double-unders

20 dumbbell snatches (50 pounds in each hand)

100 double-unders

12 bar muscle-ups

The time cap is 14:00.

I knew I'd suck at the CrossFit open 18.3. I've never done more than 7 double unders. I assumed I'd be stuck in the first 100 double unders the entire 14 minutes. But somehow I did 100 double unders. I had enough time to finish all 20 of the overhead squats and then 4 more double unders. I know 124 reps isn't very good. But for me, it was fantastic.

Somehow my ranking keeps going up instead of down. I wasn't expecting me to finish higher in the last workouts because the workouts get more technical.

For 18.3 world wide I ranked 10,936 out of 28,358 and was 61st percentile. That puts my over all place for the open at 14170 out of 28,358 which is the 50st percentile. 

For the Southwest region for 18.3 i ranked 591st out of 1,380 which is the 57th percentile. Overall in the Southwest region I'm 740th out of 1380 which is the 46th percentile 

CrossFit open 18.2

Even though im in horrible shape and probably shouldn't have. I joined and am competing in the 2018 CrossFit games. I was worried about workout 18.2. It was:
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10 reps for time of: Dumbbell squats with a 50lb dumbbell, Bar-facing burpees. Then is completed in 11 minutes Workout 18.2a is a 1- rep-max clean. 

I honestly didn't think I'd be able to finish the squats and burpees within the cut off time. A month a go I couldn't do a burpee the way CrossFit said I had to do them. But somehow I did them all. I finished 18.2 in 11 minutes and 56 seconds. That left me with 4 seconds to do a max clean. I barely had enough time for one attempt. The bar was loaded with 205lbs. I did it. It was close. But I got the weight up in time. I finished the 18.2 and 18.2A in time with a 205lb clean. I finished 18.2 a with a world ranking of 17,061 Wich is in the 39th percentile. I finished 18.2A in 8,595th in the world which is in the 69th  percentile. In the southwest region I finished 18.2 in 851st, 38th percentile. And 18.2A in 514th, 62nd percentile. Over all between the 18.1, 18.2, and 18.2A I'm racked at 14, 604th, 48th percentile. In the southwest region I'm talked in 768th, 44th percentile.

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.

Rebok open 18.1 ranking

I finished 6 rounds and 4 reps (196reps) in the first of 5 workouts of the 2018 CrossFit Open. 18.1 was as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
8 toes to bars
10 DB hang clean and jerks with a 50lb DB
14 Calories of rowing
My 196 reps put me at 17,398th out of 28,270 in the world of 40-44 and I was in the 38th percentile.
912th out of 1,377 in the South West region of 40-44, which is in the 33rd percentile.
And 6th out of 6 of the 40-44 at Bear Canyon CrossFit, which is the 0 percentile. Haha.
I've got a long way to go. But I've come a long ways to. When I first started in October I couldn't do a single toes to bar. For the 18.1 open workout I did over 50!

Helen and Max overhead squats

Today in crossfit we tested Helen. Which is 3 rounds of:
400m run
21 kettlebell swings with 53lbs
10 pull-ups

I still can't do that many pull-ups. So I scaled down to 35lb DB and ring rows. I finished with a PR scaled time of 13:09.

On the overhead squats I finished with 255lbs. I think I could have done 10lbs more,but we ran out of time. My old weightlifiting coach Shane Miller used to tell me, "if you can overhead squat it, then you can snatch it." That's kind of exciting to think about! I'm really looking forward to the two New Mexico weightlifiting meets in May and June that Joaquin Chaves will be hosting this year.

CrossFit Open 18.1

I've been working out at CrossFit for 3 months now. I've lost 70lbs and have built a lot more speed and endurance. I out sprinted all three of my kids playing football the other day with them. That hasn't happened in years. I decided to try the Rebok crossfit open. The first workout, called 18.1 was as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of 8 toes to bars, then 10 one arm dumbbell hang clean and jerks, then 14 calorie row. The most toes to bars I'd ever been able to do was 4 in a row. So I assumed I'd only be able to get 2 or 3 rounds completed. But I did much better than I even dreamed I could. I completed 6 rounds and another 4 reps. 196 reps total. I can't believe the progress I've made in only three months.

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.

Pulled pectoral update

I had pulled my pectoral muscle a little less than a month ago. My powerlifting coach Vernon Smith has been helping me to build up the weights on bench again while avoiding injury. Yesterday I built up to a set of 3 reps at 225lbs. It felt great. No pain and the weight felt easy.

Have I mentioned how much I love my powerlifting coach? Out of all the coaches I've ever had he's by far my favorite. And I've had a grip of coaches. Coaches in Football, track, jui-jitsue, triathlon, weightlifting, Powerlifting, and more. There has probably never been a more unlikely duo. I'm a hard core libertarian, he's a devout socialist. But he's accepting of our differences, is able to figure out the best plan for just about anything in regards to training. I've got a hell of a coach, I'm happy to have him.

Diet focus and goals

I've been struggling with my diet the last few weeks. I've been dieting for 5 months straight. I still have almost 6 months left before I get to my goal weight. It was beginning to feel overwhelming. But a couple days ago I recieved an email from Joaquin Chaves, the president of The New Mexico Local weightlifting Club. He's set the dates for the two NMLWC meets. The NMLWC Youth and Master's championships on May 12th and the NMLWC weightlifting championships on June 30th. That helped motivate me again. Helped me refocus. If I can lose 40 more pounds in the next 4.5 months then I'll show up to the state games weighting 100lbs less than I did at last year's weightlifiting state championships.

New Mexico Local weightlifting club series announcement

I recieved confirmation last night that the New Mexico Games will no longer be the weightlifiting state championships. From now on the weightlifting New Mexico state championships will be held and put on by the New Mexico Local weightlifiting club (NMLWC). The NMLWC weightlifting state championships will be held on the weekend of June 30th and July 1st. They will also be hosting the NMLWC youth and master's weightlifting championships on May 12th. That meet will be my 10 year old sons first meet. He and I will be competing together.

New Mexico local weightlifiting club series and The New Mexico Games

I received an email from the president of New Mexico weightlifiting, Joaquin Chaves. Looks like there's some major changes going on for the New Mexico Local Weightlifting Club (NMLWC). I received an email stating the president of NMLWC won't be hosting the New Mexico games and will be starting his own local weightlifiting series. The first will be the the NMLWC youth and master's championships on May 12th, 2018. The next will be a big two day weightlifiting meet. It's going to be the NMLWC state championships June 30th and July 1st. The New Mexico games used to be called the state championships. But looks like it's officially not going to be anymore. Which is big news.

The other big news is that the email showed Joaquin Chaves is no longer signing as High Dessert Athletic Club. He's signing under Black Box CrossFit. I wonder if that means Joaquin, who I love dearly as a friend and weightlifiting coach, closed up his club completely? Is he now a coach for Black Box or a partner? Interesting stuff. Big stuff.

Duration of diet causing injuries?

On Tuesday I was playing basketball with my two sons and when I went to drive to the basket I pulled my left calf. It wasn't a bad pull. It hurt, but not bad enough to limp when I walked. Today I completed a CrossFit workout at Bear Canyon CrossFit without any problems. A little less than a month ago I pulled my left pectoral muscle while benching. That's two muscle pulls in less than a month. I'm not sure what's going on with my body. I'm wondering if perhaps it's from being on a calorie defacit and loosing weight for so long or if it's just that I'm 42 years old now. I've lost 68lbs in the last 5 months. If it is from the weight loss and I continue to get injured I don't think I'd be willing to stop. I want to get down to 220lbs so bad I'd rather be chronically injured than continue to be obese. I don't think that's a healthy way to look at diet and working out. If I continue to drop weight at my current rate I'll be down to 220lbs by July. Hopefully once I get to my goal weight I'll be able to train without the injuries and make taking care of my body a priority

Better days

After years and years of working 80-90 hours work weeks I'm finally to the point that I'm working less. I particularly love Tuesdays and Thursdays. I don't work until later in the day on those two days. So I wake up very early and workout before the sun comes up so that I can get back in time to hang out with my kids before school. Then I drive my daughter to school. It's just her and I. She really seems to enjoy that special alone time. So do I. After I get back from dropping off my daughter I take my two sons to school early and we play basketball or football until the school bell rings. I'm creating a lot of wonderful memories with them. This is probably the happiest I've ever been. That's a big difference from the 10.5 years my wife continually put us in bad financial positions that forced me to work ungodly amounts of hours that caused me to be miserable and depressed to the point of contemplating suicide. Since working less I've grown closer with my children, and have started working on me. I'm working out, getting stronger, losing weight, and am happier. These are good times.

Logging when falling off the diet wagon.

Every couple weeks I end up falling off the diet wagon. For a day or so I'll end up eating all the things I miss so bad. Corn dogs, ice cream, Chinese food, etc. I'd loose weight quicker if I didn't do that. But I doubt I'd be able to stick to a diet if I didn't occasionally eat the things I miss. When I log what I'm eating it makes it easier for me to keep control of how much I'm eating. And on the days I fall off the diet wagon I don't log. I'm going to try and log everything I eat the days I fall off the diet wagon. I think that would help me not eat so dang much on those days.

Chest injury

A couple weeks ago. I pulled a pectoral muscle. It wasn't a bad pull. But the last two weeks I've been having to lift with significantly lower weight and volume on bench. I'm talking 3X5 of 155lbs. Almost half of my max. Friday was the first day I was able to do dips since the injury occurred. I'm recovering quickly. Hopefully it won't be much longer until I can resume heavy bench training.

Speed, endurance, and cardio for CrossFit

Today's CrossFit workout was a lot of fun. The strength session was 3 rounds of max squat cleans with 2 minutes of recovery. The WOD was
40 calories assault bike, then 4 rounds of
15 DB push press
12 DB front rack lunges
9 devil press

I lowered the weight from 50lb DB's to 35 and I was still the slowest one in the class. My cardio and muscular endurance is really bad. I've decided I'm going to start scaling the weight even lower than I used to. That way I can increase my speed and intensity. If I practice going faster with less rest then in theory I should build more speed, endurance, and cardio.

Test day snatch and Fran

Today Bear Canyon CrossFit was testing max Snatch and Fran. Fran is 21, 15, 9 of thrusters and pull-ups. I wasn't looking forward to those. I gave up weightlifiting because I sucked at the speed exercises like the snatch. My biggest weakness in CrossFit is thrusters. And I'm still to big to do pull-ups.

When maxing the snatch I started out by missing 155lbs. That is much to light of a weight to miss. That didn't bode well for the day. I missed 155 again. Coach Rob Tapia came over and gave me some pointers. Boom. Nailed it. Went up to 185 and made the lift. From there I went up by 5-10lbs each lift. I had to take three attempts at 205. After some form correction by coach Rob again I made 205. Then somehow I pulled off a 215lb snatch! That's only 5 pounds from matching by lifetime best! But when I made that lifetime best I weighed 60lbs more than now.

I did horrible at Fran. I lowered the weight from the RX 95 to 75 pounds. I also had to do ring rows instead of pull-ups. Even with all the lowering of weights and scaling of exercises I still only was able to do an 8:10. One minute fifty seconds from the cut off time.

RX'd Burpees and 15th wedding anniversary

This morning I was able to do an entire workout doing burpees the way CrossFit says is proper and legal. Before today I couldn't do them because my stomach was to big and got in the way. In the last week I've had a few firsts. First time I was able to do box jumps, double unders, and burpees. I'm much more prepared for the CrossFit open now. And I'm very excited about competing this year.

Today is the 15th anniversary for my wife and I. From the way things have been the last few months I'd say this next year has the potential of being the best of our entire marriage.

Pictures online

Because of how fat i got I refused to let any of my friends or family take pictures of me. And when they did I made them promise not to post it online. I was so humiliated by how obese I had become. Since September I've lost 60 pounds. And last night I posted a picture of my son and I with our coach at the gym. This was the first time in almost a decade I posted a picture of myself on Facebook. 60 down. 48 more to go. This was me September of 2017.

This is me last night.

I'm finally not ashamed of how I look. I'm not humiliated of who I am. I'm starting to feel confident and happy again.

Benchmark Jackie and power snatches

This morning we tested power snatch and Jackie, which is 1000m row, 50 thrusters 44#, and 30 pull ups. I was able to do a 210lb power snatch and an 11:55 Jackie. Although I had to do ring pull-ups so it wasn't RX.

My first double unders and box jumps

A few days ago I signed up for the Crossfit open. Since then I purchased a good jump rope and have been practicing double unders. I can string together 10 at a time now. I couldn't do any double unders a week ago. I decided to practice them because The Open always has double unders. I'm ok with having to compete in the scaled division for things like handstand push-ups, pull-ups, and muscle ups. But having to compete in the scaled division for jump ropes or box jumps would have hurt my pride. Speaking of box jumps. I did my first box jumps today! 5 in a row. I couldn't do them before this. I was just to overweight. This morning I weighed in at 286lbs. I've lost 60lbs so far. I'm over half way to my goal! If I keep it up, at this rate I'll be at my goal by mid to late summer. I'm really excited to go to the New Mexico games this June weighing 100lbs less. None of my weightlifiting buddies have seen me since I've started loosing weight. I wonder, at 100lbs lighter if anyone will recognize me?

Bench, 500m row, and Annie

Today for testers Tuesday we tested Bench Press, 500 meter row, and Annie. Annie is 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 of double unders and ab mat sit ups.

On the bench I broke my lifetime best of 310lbs set in 2014 while weighing 330lbs. Today I weighed in at 288lbs and benched 330lbs.

I completed the 500m row in 1:42.

And I did Annie in 10:54. I can't do double unders yet so I did twice as many singles of 100, 80, 60, 40, & 20.

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.

Bad reasons to quit CrossFit

I had almost quit CrossFit. There were a few reasons why. It wasn't until I ran and played with my kids this weekend that I realized quitting was a bad idea. I hadn't been able to run and play sports with my kids like that in years. I realize it's because CrossFit has gotten me in MUCH better shape incredibly quickly. After such a wonderful weekend with my kids I realized how stupid all my reasons to quit were. Here were my three big problems I had with CrossFit and the the honest answers to those problems.

1) I've never been as bad at a sport as I am at CrossFit.
Truth: I've found a weakness in my athletisism. The best athletes in the world don't avoid weaknesses. They fix them when they find them.

2) I want to be a great Powerlifter. I'm afraid CrossFit will prevent or limit that.
Truth: in moderation CrossFit won't inhibit my streangth gains at all. But CrossFit will absolutely prevent me from becoming an unathletic, fat, slow, and unhealthy Powerlifter.

3) CrossFit is expensive.
Truth: it's cheaper than massive health problems from not staying healthy and active. And more years alive in my kids life is priceless.

Now that I've come to these realizations I've decided not quit the CrossFit cult. And now I'm even thinking about getting my CrossFit level 1 coaching certificate. The CrossFit version of becoming a deacon at the local cult faction.

Max squat cleans and Karen

This morning in CrossFit we tested max squat cleans and the benchmark workout Karen.

I was able to max squat clean 265lbs. Which is only 10lbs less than my lifetime best. And I've lost 58lbs recently. So even though I'm a little weaker my Sinclair coefficient went up significantly. Up to a 221 now. I'm pleased about that.

Wall balls and thrusters are a huge weakness of mine. And Karen is 150 wall balls. The average time for Karen was 7-10 minutes. It took me 15:38. But I didn't mind. I was just excited to be able to get an RX time for one of the benchmark CrossFit workouts.

Running with my kids again

Today my kids and I were home all day together. It was wonderful. We finished building our rabbitry, played basketball, and played football. I was able to run out for passes, Chase them down on defense to prevent touchdowns, and be quick on my feet changing direction playing basketball. I couldn't do any of those things 3 months ago. Not only has the weight loss helped, but I've gotten in better shape. I didn't realize what a difference crossfit has made until today. The change was amazing. As bad as I wanted to quit CrossFit, after this weekend I won't. I'm so glad I can run and play with my kids again.

Competing when I suck

I'm at a pivital point with CrossFit. I'm trying to figure out if I'm going to quit or not. On one hand I know I need to do it because I'm in horrible shape. On the other hand I've never been this bad at a sport in my life. I've come in last place in the daily WODs all but a couple times. Not last in my heat, but last in the entire gym. Last out of all the times combined. I'm ok with being humbled. But I'm not so good at handling imbarrasment and humiliation. On Thursday I wasn't going to go unless the workout was a workout that had my strengths. It was. I didn't come in last place. 2nd to last. Doesn't sound that great. But to me, 2nd to last is huge. Last night I looked at today's workout. I wasn't going if it had a bunch of things I'm not good at. It was power snatches and pvc ab mat sit ups. I love sntaches. And I don't mind sit ups. I'm not great at them. But it's better than hand stand push-ups, ring dips, or pull-ups. So I showed up. And I didn't come in last today. I was 3rd from last. That's the best I've ever finished. Not dead last. I don't know if I'm doing better because I'm getting in better shape. If it's because I'm so much lighter. Or if others were milking it. I've lost 56 pounds so far. Moving faster is easier when you don't have to move as much weight. Well.... I guess if I'm making progress I should keep showing up. Tuesday is my next scheduled CrossFit day. And it's test Tuesday. I love test Tuesdays. I love a competition. Competition drives me. I don't like to loose. So on Tuesdays I usually do better than I usually could.

Avatar Nutrition and exsessive weight loss

After having not lost any weight for 3.5 weeks, I've lost 10 pounds in the last 10 days. I use a diet app called Avatar Nutrition. It adjusts my calories/macros to make sure I loose a set number of pounds each week. I was afraid that since I lost significantly more weight than I should have that the program was going to increase my calories an excessive amount. It didn't. It only raised it 100 calories. There seems to be some kind of fail safe on the program that prevents to large of increases or decreases of calories each week. The longer I'm using Avatar Nutrition the more I'm liking it. I've lost 54 pounds since September 5th. Another 50 pounds to go to reach my goal of the 242lb powerlifting weight class.

CrossFit revelation

I'd almost convinced myself to quit CrossFit. I was frustrated that i was slow and the workouts consistently had exercises I couldn't do. I blamed it on the exercises. I told myself the movements were only good for little guys. Today the WOD was perfect for me. 5 rounds of 15 calories on the bike and 15 sumo deadlift high pulls. Those are two of my strengths and I still struggled. I realized that the problem isn't what body types are best suited for CrossFit. The problem is CrossFit is hard cardio and I'm in bad shape. Quitting because the sport isn't best for a big guy like me makes sense. But quitting because I'm fat and out of shape doesn't.

maximum streangth block

On Monday I started a maximum streangth program, sets of 5 reps. No more hypertrophy, sets of 10 reps. In some ways I'll miss hypertrophy. I get pretty muscular during hypertrophy. And it's easy to loose weight too. But the big strength gains comes during the blocks of 5 reps. The next Powerlifting meet is in March. It's the USAPL Powerlifting state championships. My middle child will be competing with me also.

Weight loss jumps and plateaus

I loose weight oddly. On Friday I weighed 301lbs. Then  this morning I weighed 293 pounds. When loosing weight I'll plateau for weeks. And then in a two day period my body weight will drop 7-10 pounds. I've always done that. It's odd. But at least it's moving down.

I only have 18 more pounds to loose to get into the 275lb Powerlifting weight class. And I'm now over half way to  my ultimate goal of lifting in the 242 pound weight class. 53lbs lost, 51 more to go!!!!

I'd really like to show up to the New Mexico games at 242lbs. The last time my weightlifting buddies saw me I weighed in the 340's. It'd be great to show up having lost 100lbs. 

Start of a recovery week

Today was day 12 of my Powerlifting block. Tomorrow starts my first day of a recovery week. I'm looking forward to some rest and recovery . My body is tired. Today I had to use Spark to get through my workout. I haven't had to use Spark in almost two years. I've been training very hard the last 3 weeks. This is the first heavy hypertrophy program I've done in years. I'm not used to it yet. I'm getting great results though. After my recovery week I'll be starting a power building program of 5 reps.

The make up break up game

I quit CrossFit today. I didn't want to just disappear without saying goodbye to my favorite CrossFit coach. He sent me a message back that made me decide to stay with it. To keep trying even though I finish last every day. To keep attempting to loose all this damn fat, to get to a healthy body weight, and to get strong and fit instead of just strong. Coach Damion sent this message:


Brother, you work hard! Your numbers are fantastic and if you keep it up you'll be where you want. I know it's frustrating coming in at the bottom. I did it today. I messed my shoulder up again and I won't lie to you and say it's not depressing. Our bodies aren't young anymore and we have to work ten times harder than everyone else. Trust me, I want to quit every day. I joke that I'm the coach with the lowest self esteem. Tears of a clown I suppose, but I refuse to quit. I see you work your ass off brother. Believe it or not, it's members like you that keep me from quitting because you make me feel important. I'm here for anything you need brother. Keep coming!

Deadlift form and CrossFit technical exercises

I come from an Olympic weightlifting background. So I've always deadlift with a clean and jerk width on my feet and hands. Now that I'm exclusively a powerlifter I've decided to try moving my feet and hands significantly closer. So far it's working wonderfully. I'm lifting more weight and more reps. All aspects of Powerlifting training seems to be doing great right now. My body is definitely suited for this sport.

I played hooky from CrossFit again today. CrossFit is great cardio. I'm sure it'll help me loose weight and look better. But I'm frustrated with some of the CrossFit exercises. Only small people can do them fast or well. Things like handstand push-ups, muscle ups, etc. Even if I loose a ton of weight and get super lean I'll still be 235-255 pounds and I'll probably never be able to do a lot of the CrossFit gymnastics exercises well or efficiently. I'm not sure if I want to stick with a sport that I'll never be anything more than below average at. I'm torn weather to stick with CrossFit or go back to track sprinting for my cardio.

Powerlifting knee wraps and CrossFit

At my last powerlifting meet I competed in the classic division. That means I could use powerlifting knee wraps. I've never used knee wraps, so I didn't compete with them. If I'd have used them I could have lifted somewhere around 50lbs more on both the squat and deadlift. I asked my coach to start adding an occasional set using the wraps to get used to using them. He agreed. Knee wraps.... I guess I'm a real powerlifter now...

I've been getting frustrated with CrossFit. In CrossFit they do a lot of technical exercises that i can't do. Hell, I've never been able to do them even when I was in the best shape of my life. Things like handstand push-ups, double unders, rope climbing, multiple sets of 20 pull ups. I've become frustrated enough that I've only gone to CrossFit once in the last week. 

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.

Bad training days and great coaches

Last week I had a horrible day of squating. I was only able to squat 185X10. I can usually rep out 245 pretty easily. So today at the gym my Powerlifting Coach Vernon Smith pulled me aside to talk about it. He explained hypertrophy. And explained what I should do next time if I'm in that situation again. He put things in perspective. He even gave me a hell of a pep talk. It was exactly what I was needing. I'm ready for my next bad day of training. I know what to do in that situation and how to handle it. I really like my coach. He's awesome.

Celebrating with food

On Christmas Eve I weighed less than 300lbs for the first time in a very long time. On Christmas I over ate. All day. The next morning I weighed 307. I knew most of it was salt and water retention. But still, 4 days after I'm still at 300. I've learned two lessons from this:
1) Overeating for a Holliday or a family function just isn't worth it.
2) when celebrating eat a bit less all day so I can have more to eat during the celebration so that I don't feel like I'm going without or sacrificing as much.

Training ups and downs

On Monday I had a horrible squat day. On Wednesday I had by far the best day of deadlifts I've ever had in my life. Then this morning I had a total crap day of CrossFit. I used to let the ups and downs effect me emotionally. I'd feel on top of the world in every aspect of my life on a good day of training and I'd feel like the world had caved in on me if I had a bad day of training. I'm learning to not allow the highs and lows to effect me as much. I'm trying to remember that training is like bouncing a ball while traveling up hill.  There are a lot of small ups and downs. But the end effect is still going in an upward direction.

For a long time I was angry and resentful. I'd been forced to work 80-90 hours a week for so long I was depressed and had lost hope of a decent life. I haven't worked any overtime since October. Just 36-40 hours a week. Not working as much, being able to spend time with my kids, and time to workout has done miracles for my happiness and contentment. This week was the first time in over a decade that I felt that I was glad to be married.

Christmas binge

I had eaten perfectly every day since September 5th. But Christmas Eve and Christmas I ate whatever I wanted. All that crappy food in excessive amounts made me feel sluggish and weak during my last couple workouts. Today I'm back on the diet wagon. And I'm glad to be eating healthy and reasonable amounts again too. I've been on a roll for the first time in years. As long as I continue to do what Avatar Nutrition tells me to do I should be at my dream weight by mid-late summer. It'll be nice to lift in the 110k weight class. And being 60 pounds lighter will help a lot in CrossFit too. Being 300lbs doesn't exactly make me efficient or fast to say the least.

I was home on Christmas Eve and Christmas. This was only the 2nd time I've ever been off of work and home with my kids on Christmas. It was great. I'm really in a good place right now. I'm happy.

Holliday's at Bear Canyon CrossFit

Most CrossFit gyms are closed on Sundays and Holliday's. But Bear Canyon CrossFit has a Sunday class. They also have a classes on Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, etc. I love that. But I'm beginning to think the owners of Bear Canyon CrossFit hate Holliday's. Every time I've shown up on a holiday the workouts are brutal. The Thanksgiving sampler took me an hour and eleven minutes. Yesterday's 12 days of Christmas was a nightmare. Today, Christmas Eve, took me 38 minutes. Brutal. But it helps. Because most people over eat on the Holidays. And having a workout before celebrating can help keep a person focused on not over indulging. It helps me to focus on making training and eating a lifestyle. It helps remind us that we can have fun without losing control. Plus after the holiday workouts my legs are to fatigued to get up from the table to refill my plate.

Under 300lbs!

I weighed in at 299lbs for the 2nd day in a row. I've lost a total of 47 pounds so far. My goal is to get into the 110k (220-242lb) powerlifting weight class. So I need to loose anywhere from 57-79 more pounds. Depending on how I feel will determine how low I'm willing to go.

I was a little hungry this week. Which is unusual. I really haven't been hungry at all since starting Avatar Nutrition. I lost more weight this week then I usually do. 4.1lbs So the the Avatar program will increase my macros next week. They do that to prevent quick weight loss, rebound dieting, muscle loss, and metabolic damage. So far I really love Avatar Nutrition. It works.

My favorite quote

"At the peak of tremendous and victorious effort, while the blood is pounding in your head, all suddenly comes quiet within you. Everything seems clearer and whiter than ever before, as if great spotlights had been turned on. At that moment, you have the conviction that you contain all the power in the world, that you are capable of everything, that you have wings. There is no more precise moment in life than this, the WHITE MOMENT, and you will work hard for years, just to taste it again."

Life in Albuquerque

I'm finding myself blogging almost daily. Occasionally I'll post twice a day. It's been a long time since I've been so excited about something that I've done that. I'm getting stronger, I'm loosing weight, getting faster, building endurance, and having so much fun doing it all. I've found a great niche here in Albuquerque. I have a great powerlifting coach who is understanding about me wanting to supplement Powerlifting with CrossFit for health and weight loss reasons. I really love my CrossFit gym, the coaches, and members there. The support and encouragement I'm getting from both the Powerlifting and CrossFit community is awesome. And most importantly I'm not killing myself working overtime anymore. I have time to spend with my kids, working out, and time for myself. I think the word I'm looking for here is content. I'm content. I'm perfectly happy just the way things are. I still want to loose some more weight, get faster, stronger, and build more endurance. But I'm enjoying the journey instead of just obsessing about the end goal.

1st Powerlifting workout at Bear Canyon CrossFit

In the past I had tried to do my own strength workouts at CrossFit gyms I'd been a member of. They made it known that under no uncertain terms was I allowed to do any workout in their gym but the workout of the day (WOD) during the designated group class settings. When I signed up I had asked the owners of Bear Canyon CrossFit if I could supplement my training with some of my own Olympic style weightlifting or powerlifting on my own in their gym. They said yes. But because of my experience at other CrossFit gyms I didn't believe them. I felt that they were just saying that to get another contract locked in and$ in their pockets. I assumed the moment I tried to do my own thing in my own time in their facility they'd say "hell no". So Yesterday I decided to try it. I did a powerlifting deadlift specific workout at Bear Canyon CrossFit. Not only was everyone cool with it, but they were encouraging and complimentary about my strength and weight loss too. I was pleasantly surprised. I really like it there.

I take my wedding ring off so I don't scratch or bend it when I train. Yesterday while i was doing my Powerlifting routine at Bear Canyon CrossFit I got hit on. At first I thought she was joking. Guys as fat as I am don't get hit on in a gym setting. Ever. There's to many guys there who are in great shape. Why go for the fattest bull in the field when they could try for a young fit one? So I laughed like it was a big joke. But I realized pretty quick she wasn't joking. Looks like it's time for me to get one of those silicone wedding bands to wear when I train. I doubt a bald, fat, old dude like me will ever get hit on again in a gym setting. It's never happened to me before. But just in case I guess it's time for me to buy one of those fancy silicon wedding bands that you can work out in.....

2 gyms memberships and a glory board

I train Powerlifting after work 4 days a week. I've always done it at Iron Soul. Iron Soul is a barbell club. I fit in well at that barbell club and they've always been nothing but good to me. On November 1st I started doing CrossFit 3x a week too. Apparently I'm really starting to like Bear Canyon CrossFit because I've found myself wanting to do my Powerlifting routine there instead of my barbell club. So today I'm doing a test run. I'll be doing my heavy deadlift training day at Bear Canyon CrossFit instead of Iron Soul. We'll see if they will actually be cool with a meat head like me doing nothing but streangth work and no WOD in a CrossFit gym.

Yesterday was test day for power cleans at Bear Canyon CrossFit. I got a 265lb power clean. I tied for 2nd in the gym. I'm pretty excited about that. I'll be getting my name on the gym's glory board for every event I take top five in. So far I've placed top 5 in 3 of the 4 streangth tests. Squat, deadlift, and power clean.

Power cleans and Grace test

Today was my favorite day at Bear Canyon CrossFit. Test day! We tested power cleans and the benchmark workout called Grace which is 30 power cleans for time. There was only 4 people in the class. A relatively small class, so I thought we'd have a little more time. But I felt a little rushed. I wanted to try at least another 2 attempts but wasn't able to. I was still pretty happy with my result though. I got a 265lb power clean. My Grace time was slow though, 4:24. Cardio is definitely my weakness. But that's changing as I'm getting in better shape and loosing weight. I have %100 faith that between my Powerlifting Coach Vernon Smith, Bear Canyon CrossFit, and Avatar Nutrition I'll be a hell of an athlete soon.

It burns!!!

Today was the first day of my new programming. Coach Vernon had me doing hypertrophy. That means high reps and short rest intervals. My plan was to go into the gym gung-ho and only take 45-60 second rests between sets. After my first set I realized short rests was NOT going to happen. I had no idea hypertrophy was going to burn so bad. I don't remember hypertrophy EVER hurting like this before. I'm not sure if it hurts like this because it's been so long since I've done hypertrophy (it's been 10+ years). Perhaps it's because I've never been this strong and done this much weight with high reps and short rests. Or if it's just because I'm getting old. But regardless it surprised me. This block of training is going to be unpleasant. The good news is hypertrophy makes it easier to slim down. That makes me happy. I've been hovering around 304-302lbs for almost a month. It would be really nice to get into the 200's again.

day one of 2nd training plan

 Coach Vernon sent me my next training block. It starts tomorrow. I've enjoyed this week away from the gym. But it got old quick. I can't wait until tomorrow. I miss training. I miss the stress relies and working towards a goal. I'm also thoroughly looking forward to test Tuesday at Bear Canyon CrossFit. I can't wait to find out what we're testing. Bench press and Grace are the two I'm looking forward to most.

Recovery mode

My body was really tired after the deadlift test on Tuesday. I tried doing a small squat workout on Wednesday. But my body is fried and needs some R&R. I'm not stepping foot in a gym or working out until Monday. And then coach Vernon Smith said he's going to be pushing me as hard as my body can handle. He warned me, this next training session will be intense. He told me he needed me to come into the gym physically and mentally ready. Because he's going to test my limits, So, no training for me until Monday. Sounds like fun huh?

Deadlift test day at Bear Canyon CrossFit

On Saturday I competed in a powerlifting competition. My top deadlift at the meet was a lifetime best of 479lbs. On Tuesday my CrossFit gym was having a deadlift test day. If I finished in the top 5 of the entire gym then my name would be put on a board that hangs in the gym for an entire year. It had only been three days since my Powerlifting meet so I was sore and felt beat up. But somehow I set another lifetime best deadlift of 495lbs. And the craziest thing, I did this after having lost 43lbs, and I felt like I could have gone higher! Usually people loose streangth when they loose weight. But I've been loosing weight by using a website called Avatar Nutrition and flexible dieting. It's awesome. I love it. I especially love the price, $9.99 a month.

NASA, USAPL, and USPA in New Mexico

My middle son, age 10, enjoys doing powerlifting meets with me in addition to weightlifting. He won the NASA powerlifting state championships in both 2016 & 2017. He wanted to compete last weekend in the USPA state championships, but they have an age minimum of 13. USAPL contacted me and they advised me they have a youth division my son can lift in. So my son and I will be lifting together in the USAPL New Mexico state championships on March 17th 2018. Bonding time. I can't wait.

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.

Registered for a Track and field meet

Now that I've been training consistently in both powerlifting and CrossFit and have lost 42 pounds I'm feeling more athletic and confident. I'm getting the itch to go out and see what my body can do. So yesterday I registered for the 9th annual Garden Swartz Great South West track and field classic. I signed up for the 60 meter and 200 meter dash. Best case scenario I do well. Worst case scenario I do poorly and will be able to look back years from now and say, "look how far I've come." The event will be held at the Albuquerque convention center on Mondo track. Mondo track is the 2nd fastest indoor track in the nation.

 This will be my first track and field meet since 1989! 27 years! Eek!

There beginning of 2018 is going to be super busy. In addition to all three of our kids involved in three different sports with practices all over the city. The kids and I have competitions all over New Mexico. This is happiness and living life to the fullest.

-Jan 7 wrestling, Moriarty
-Jan 13 powerlifting seminar, Albuquerque
-Jan 20 wrestling, Carlsbad
-Feb 3rd wrestling, Albuquerque
-Feb 10 9th annual Garden Swartz Great South West track and field classic, Albuquerque
-Feb 24th NASA open, Roswell
-March 17 USAPL state championships, Albuquerque
-April 28, NASA New Mexico state powerlifting championships, Gallup

NASA powerlifting New Mexico state records

Since I'm tapering for a meet this weekend I've got more time on my hands. And now that I've lost enough weight to lift in a lower weight class I decided to look up the NASA New Mexico state records for records that are vacant or that I'm strong enough to break. It's a long list.

In the 308lb weight class:
Unequipped pure
Unequipped masters 1
Unequipped masters pure
Retro pure 308
Retro open
Retro police
Retro masters 1
Unequipped push/pull pure
Unequipped push/pull open
Unequipped push/pull police
Unequipped push/pull masters pure
Unequipped push/pull masters 1
Power sports police
Power sports Masters 1
Power sports pure
Power sports open
Power press masters 1
Power press pure
Power press open
Power press police

275lb weight class:
Retro open
Retro pure
Retro police
Retro masters 1
Unequipped push/pull pure (325k)
Unequipped push/pull open
Unequipped push/pull masters 1
Unequipped push/pull masters pure
Power sports police
Power sports open
Power press pure
Power press masters 1
Power press pure
Power press open
Power press police

The beginning of a new adventure

 I've struggled the last 2.5 years trying to decide if I should train exclusively for weightlifiting or powerlifting. I flip flopped between the two more times than I'm comfortable admitting. It wasn't until a few weeks ago I finally decided that powerlifting will be my #1 girl. I'm the type of person who throws himself into a project full force once I'm fully committed.

 Today was my last workout before my powerlifting meet. The next training block I do will be significantly more difficult. The last training cycle I did was to get back in shape and to prepare my body for heavy lifting. But after the powerlifting meet on Saturday things will get harder and more intense. So as i threw my last workout into the trash at the gym I got a little sentimental. That little piece of paper is the last piece of the first step of this grand adventure I've decided to partake. Goodbye old me.

Hello to a new adventure, a new lifestyle, a new me, and a huge new goal.

Next training cycle

Have I mentioned recently how much I like my powerlifting coach? Well I think he's pretty awesome. I emailed him this morning and asked if I should start training more frequently. I asked if he thought I could handle training some two-a-days. His response motiated me.

His response, "I’d say stick with 4 days of powerlifting a week. Since we’ll be going off of 1RMs during this next training cycle (instead of just slowing getting back into lifting shape), the workouts should be much harder and much more taxing. Doing a two-a-day in the midst of such workouts would, I think, be Ill advised."

Looks like the next training cycle will be pretty intense. I can't wait!!!

Crazy taper thoughts

This Saturday is the US powerlifting association New Mexico state championships meet. This week I started my deload week. We used to call it a taper back in my triathlon days. I hate tapering. I keep thinking crazy OCD thoughts, "I could be gaining more streangth if I was training hard. What if I'm doing my taper wrong and screw up my meet. Why don't I Just say screw this meet and continue training through to prepare for the next one. Missing one meet won't hurt. Etc."

I also started eating to maintain my weight instead of dieting to drop weight. That way I'll go into the meet fully fueled and not at a deficit. And of course I'm miserable doing that to. I have more and even stronger OCD thoughts about pushing pause on my weight loss until after the meet. "I could be 5 pounds lighter by now! I could just diet through the meet, 5 or 10 pounds on my meets total won't really matter. I'm finally on a roll loosing weight, what if I can't get back on the diet wagon?"

I know I'm doing the right thing by slowing my training and dieting. But it's hard when I'm such a one track mind kind of a guy.

Oh, by the way. Have I mentioned lately how much happier I am now that I'm not being forced to work 80-90 hours a week anymore? I'm spending a lot of my time with my kids. Driving them to wrestling, volleyball, and weightlifiting practices. Watching thier sporting events. Getting in my workout time. And now that I can sleep a normal amount of time I'm no longer struggling with overeating and depression. Life is finally good again. That 11 years of hell is finally over.

Train less, gain more, hire a strength coach

For years I was a hard gainer. That's a term powerlifters, bodybuilders, and strength athletes use for someone who doesn't gain size or streangth easily. Someone who has to train harder and still takes longer to get gains than most. For years I'd heard how the majority of streangth athletes over train. And of course I thought I was training perfectly. I felt I was doing the proper amount of everything. And then I hired my powerlifting coach Vernon Smith. I'm training less now than I ever have. And now I'm getting the best streangth gains I could ever have dreamed. Turns out I was just like every other idiot amatuer athlete out there. To much training and not enough rest. All I needed this whole time was a good coach. I only wish I had figured this out when I was younger. I wasted a tremendous amount of time and effort in my twenties training religiously with hardly any gains.

If your an athlete. Do yourself a favor. Hire a coach. You'll be great full you did.

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.

NASA powerlifting men's weight classes

I'm finally on a roll with my weight loss so now of course I'm obsessing about the weight classes of different federations I lift in. I thought I'd put NASA's up and calculated into pounds so it's easier for me.

SHW 140k and up/ 308.1 lbs and up
125-139.9/ 275.01-308lbs
110.01-125k/ 242.02-275lbs
100.01-110k/ 220.1-242.01
90.01-100k/ 198.1-220
82.51-90/ 181.5-198
75.01-82.5/ 165.1-181.4
67.5-75/148.5-165
60.01-67.51/ 135-147.5
56.01-60/ 123.5- 147.4
52.01-56/ 114.4-123.4
48.01-52/ 105.6-114.3
44.01-48/ 96.8-105.5
44 & under/ 96.7 & under