blog update and Miller weightlifting

It's been a LONG time since I've posted. Anytime I stop posting on my blog it usually means I've fallen off the diet wagon and I'd rather not post at all than admit how badly and how much I'm eating. Emotional eating is my biggest problem. It's my way of hiding from emotions and punishing myself. It's a good thing I'm addicted to food and not alcohol because if I binge drank like I binge eat I'd have killed myself a long time ago. I've gained 20 pounds in the last 6 weeks. I'm back up to 280. This is the 2nd heaviest I've ever weighed. I'm trying to convince myself my weight doesn't define who I am. So far I'm not convinced..

When I was 12 my Dad's girlfriend told him him he had to choose between her or me. He chose her. A few years ago I tracked him down. He lives in Truth or Consequences NM, just a few hours from where I've lived since 1989. 6 weeks ago my grandpa (my Dad's Dad) died. Thankfully a cousin tracked me down to tell me, otherwise I'd never have known, my Dad didn't care enough to tell me.. My wife kids and I drove to southern Texas for the funeral. My natural father was there, along with his entire family. It was extremely uncomfortable. Everyone kept asking where I'd been, why haven't they seen me since I was a kid? I had no idea what to say without trashing my Dad to his brothers, Aunts, etc. It was very awkward.

Less than a month later my uncle died and we drove to Kansas for that funeral too. Same side of the family, same questions. It unburied a lot of my resentment and anger. I came so close to telling them the truth. That my Dad abandoned me when I was a kid and when I needed him most, that because he disappeared from my life even though he knew my Mom was unstable and abusive I ended up living on the streets, alone, a homeless teenager.

Because of the 2 funerals in less than a month, the loss of work, and the cost of travel I'm back to working 80 hours every 6 days. I'm tired. I'm burned out. I am so sick and tired of working in a prison. In the last month I've developed TMJ because the entire time I'm at work I'm so stressed I clench my jaws. It's causing migraines and a myriad of other irritating problems. I'm eligible to retire next year. 242 days left. I can't wait. It's so unhealthy and stressful in a prison for both staff and inmates, such an unhealthy place.

Because of current financial struggles I'm going to have to miss the NASA strength competition in Gallup NM in late April. I have to admit, that hurts. I wanted to compete in that so badly!

On the flip side, even though I've been stressed, eating like crap, working WAY to much, and not sleeping enough, my strength is shooting through the roof! In the last 3 days I've set 7 PR's, one of which tied the state record for the clean and jerk in the super heavyweight division 40-44 age group!!! Shane Miller of Miller weightlifting is a genius. I'm accomplishing things I never dreamed I'd be able to accomplish!

gaining strength and the Natural Athletes Strength Association (NASA) state championships

Today was a great day for training. I did my first clean and jerk with good form. It felt great and my coach Shane Miller said it looked great. I'm getting stronger and my form is getting better every training session. Today I squatted 99 K 5X5 easily. The last set felt like a warm up set, and last week I struggled with that weight. I also did a set of bench pressed, 5 reps at 93 K easily. I'm pretty sure I could have done 6 or 7 reps.

My best friend and I have agreed to compete in the Natural Athletes Strength Association (NASA) state championships held on April 26th in Gallup NM. I've decided to enter all three events consisting of:

a. Squat
b. Bench Press
c. Deadlifts
Full Power Sports Division:
a. Curl
b. Bench Press
c. Deadlift

Power press:
a. Clean
b. Bench Press.

The 2014 Missile man duathlon DNS (did not show)

My Grandpa died. During the week we were at the funeral, visiting family, or traveling I didn't train at all. This Saturday was the Missile Man duathlon at WSMR, NM. I figured the time off was nothing more than a taper. I paid for the race, packed, and even started to drive there, but an hour into the drive to the race I had realized there was no way I was going to be able to ride my bike in a race with vehicle traffic. I DNS'd (did not show). Getting ran over by a vehicle while cycling back in 2011 really screwed me up. I only have to complete 14 more races to accomplish one of my bucket list of finishing 100 triathlons or duathlons, but I'm beginning to doubt if I'll be able to do it now that I'm afraid to bike in traffic.

Yesterday was my 1st day back at weightlifting. Since I had taken a week off coach Shane Miller had me train with slightly lighter weights than usual. He's a smart man. Even with the lighter weights I'm still a little sore today. Today I rode my bike indoors on my Cycle Ops trainer:
5 min warm up
3 min hard, 3 min recovery
2 min hard, 2 min recovery
1 min hard, 1 min recovery
2 min hard, 2 min recovery
3 min hard, 6 minute cool down

I ate like crap the entire time we were traveling. I'm afraid to see where my weight is now.

Natural Athlete Strength Association (NASA)

My best friend and I have decided rather unexpectedly to go and compete in a strength lifting competition. I found that there will be 3 events held in New Mexico this year through the Natural Athlete Strength Association (NASA):

April 26th - New Mexico State, Gallup, NM
Septmember 27th - New Mexico Regional, Roswell, NM
December 27th - New Mexico Christmas Regional, Roswell, NM

The NASA has a lot of different divisions an athlete could enter, but their web site is very difficult to navigate. Here are the divisions:

Power lifting:
a. Squat            
b. Bench Press   
c. Deadlifts

Full Power Sports Division:
a. Curl
b. Bench Press
c. Deadlift

Power press:
a.  Clean 
b. Bench Press.

 

single lift events:

a. Curl -- Power Sports

b. Bench Press -- Power Sports, Unequipped or Equipped Divisions
c. Deadlift -- Power Sports

Competition takes place between lifters in categories defined by:
a. Sex,
b. Body Weight
c. Age.
d. Unequipped divisions
e. Equipped divisions

Mens Division:
Open Division: from 13 years upwards (No category restrictions need apply.)

Teenage Division: from 13 – 19 years of age.
Junior Division: from 13 years to and including 23 years of age.

Intermediate Division: 24 to and including 29 years of age.
Sub Masters I Division: 30 to and including 35 years of age.
Sub Masters II Division: 35 to and including 39 years of age.
Masters I Division. 40 years to and including 49 years of age.
Masters II Division: 50 years to and including 59 years of age.
Masters III Division: 60 years to and including 69 years of age.
Masters IV Division: 70 + years of Age and upwards.

Women’s Division:

Open Division: from 13 years upwards (No category restrictions need apply.)

Teenage Division: from 13 – 19 years of age.
Junior Division: from 13 years to and including 23 years of age.

Intermediate Division: 24 to and including 29 years of age.

Sub Masters I Division: 30 to and including 35 years of age.

Sub Masters II Division: 35 to and including 39 years of age.

Masters I Division. 40 years to and including 49 years of age.

Masters II Division: 50 years to and including 59 years of age.

Masters III Division: 60 years to and including 69 years of age.

Masters IV Division: 70 + years of Age and upwards.

 

Body weight Categories (Men)

52.0 kg Class up to 52.0 kg    

56.0 kg Class from 52.01 to 56.0 kg

60.0 kg Class from 56.01 to 60.0 kg

67.5 kg Class from 60.01 to 67.5 kg

75.0 kg Class from 67.51 to 75.0 kg 148.8-165.3 lbs

82.5 kg Class from 75.01 to 82.5 kg 165.4-181.9 lbs

90.0 kg Class from 82.51 to 90.0 kg 181.9- 198.3 lbs

100.0 kg Class from 90.01 to 100.0 kg 198.4-220 lbs

110.0 kg Class from 100.01 to 110.0 kg 220.5-242 lbs

125.0 kg. Class from 110.01 to 125.0 kg 242.5-275 lbs

140.0 kg. Class from 125.01 to 140.0 kg 275.6-308 lbs

140 + kg. Class from 140.01 to unlimited 308.7 lbs+

2nd treadmill tabata of 2014

Today I completed my 2nd treadmill tabata of 2014. This time I wanted to push myself harder than I have in awhile so I increased the treadmills elevation to %12 and ran at a 10:45 pace for the hard sets. The goal was to run 10 hard sets worth. Even though I pushed myself to the point where my legs were almost collapsing and I was getting dizzy I was only able to run 8 hard sets. Next time I'll decrease my pace to a 10:56 and try for the full 10 sets. Once I 'm able to complete the full 10 I'll start increasing the speed I'm running and the amounts of hard sets I'm completing.

This morning I received a call from a loved one to tell me my grandpa died last night. His funeral will be held outside of Dallas Texas. I usually cover any emotions I'm having with eating. I'm going to try really dang hard to do a lot of praying, working out, and talking to my family about my feelings rather than turning to food.

Finally a decent snatch, and I need a different goal!

When I was involved in all the other sports I've tried I would usually struggle for awhile, then get worse for a single practice or a week, then make a huge jump. My progress was almost never gradual or consistent. 2 steps forward, 1 step back. I've been training for Olympic weightlifting for over 2 months now and my snatches suck, my cleans are only a little better. Sunday was my worst training day to date, and then today I felt great! I actually completed a few reps that looked like a real snatch! I live for moments like that. Finally, some progress. Perhaps I'll be ready for the New Mexico state games this summer after all.

On another note, there's a guy I've blogged about a few times named Barry Schroeder. he's in my age group, and I hope to get down to the weight division he's lifting in, the heavy weights. I've said I wanted to continue to lift, progress, and eventually try to compete with him. Yesterday he hit a 400 pound squat. I think I need to find another golden carrot, a different person to try to strive to beat. my max lifts are ridiculous compared to his. My max power snatch was 152, bench was 270, squat was 280, and my max dead lift was 350. My best lifts are no where near his warm ups!

weight gained again. Paleo time?

Earlier this month I got down to the 250 pound range for the first time in a couple years. And now I'm back into the 260's again. I love food, I hate dieting. I'm getting frustrated. I lost 20 pounds in a few weeks of starting Olympic weightlifting and have now become stuck, bouncing around between 258-262. I think I'm going to try the Paleo diet again. Perhaps just until I lose this extra 30 pounds and I get into the 105k weight class. I've had great losses when I get onto the Paleo diet, but I also end up with the worst cravings in my life, which often times ends up causing me to binge and gain all my weight back and then some.

Oh how glorious it would be to be back into the 230's.....

My first Olympic weightlifting goal

I've been training in Olympic weightlifting for a little more than 2 months now. My form is still really bad, especially in the snatch. I don't think I've progressed enough to have picked any goal weights to hit this year, but I have decided I want my A event to be the 2nd annual Buffalo classic weightlifting competition held by Zia CrossFit November of this year here in Santa Fe NM. I have 10 months until the 2nd annual Buffalo Classic . That's 10 months to work on my form and build some more strength. I'm planning on competing in a couple sanctioned Olympic weightlifting events before the Buffalo Classic so that I can get used to lifting in a formal competition.

I posted a link to the 2013 1st annual Buffalo Classic weight lifting competition below.

https://www.usaw.hangastar.com/EMS_Events_Results.aspx

1st annual Buffalo Classic results

Event Name	Event Site	Event State	Event Date	Athlete Name	Wt. Class(kg)	Body Wt.(kg)	Best SNA(kg)	Best C&J(kg)	Total(kg)
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Biddle, Makalah Grace	69.0	66.00	40.0	55.0	95.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Schaum, Eliza	63.0	60.83	31.0	44.0	75.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Applewhite, Faith	63.0	62.02	43.0	59.0	102.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Kleinsmith, Marissa	53.0	52.84	48.0	59.0	107.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Stumbo, Jodi L.	75.0	72.40	65.0	78.0	143.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Werenko, Deborah D	58.0	56.44	35.0	42.0	77.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Miller, Vedder Rise	77.0	76.56	75.0	90.0	165.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Monroe, Logan	56.0	55.95	63.0	75.0	138.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Ferguson, Hunter T	85.0	77.23	75.0	90.0	165.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Farris, Dominick Ethan	105+	116.22	105.0	131.0	236.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Hernandez, Lorenzo	77.0	73.00	0.0	84.0	0.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Lovato, Leonard Steve III	77.0	73.70	0.0	89.0	0.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Harris, Nate	85.0	83.90	70.0	94.0	164.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	O'Connell, William	85.0	84.23	80.0	105.0	185.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Johnson, Martin William	105+	114.43	76.0	117.0	193.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Nester, Jacob E.	94.0	87.88	85.0	107.0	192.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Fletcher, Benson	94.0	91.80	85.0	98.0	183.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Robinson, Darrick	94.0	88.22	66.0	90.0	156.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Martinez, Mark	85.0	81.38	60.0	0.0	0.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Schaum, Christopher	85.0	80.67	55.0	65.0	120.00
1ST ANNUAL BUFFALO CLASSIC 42-13-05	SANTA FE	NM	11/9/2013	Longhurst, William L.	105.0	99.59	53.0	76.0	129.00

back pain and improper weightlifting form

The last week my lower back has been hurting. I knew it had to be from improper lifting form, but I had no clue what I was doing wrong. I've been frustrated. Yesterday coach Jodi and coach Linda pointed out my starting position of the snatch was wrong. Since it was the starting position it meant I was putting undue stress on my lower back every set of the snatch, clean and jerk, and dead lift. After my workout I spent an hour practicing my starting position. I'm hoping I've fixed my form and that my back will stop hurting.

I love Olympic weightlifting, but I assumed I'd be better at it by now. It shouldn't be as difficult learning the form as I'm having. I don't know. Maybe the brain injury I suffered when I got ran over by a vehicle while cycling a couple years ago affected me a lot worse than I thought it did. Regardless, I'll keep training as hard as I can. I'll keep showing up. Eventually I'll learn. Perhaps not as quickly as I'd like, but I'll get there. If it's harder for me than it is for others, then I'll be more grateful than everyone else once I get there right?

After I was done lifting Barry Schroeder pulled me aside and gave me some great advise about staying positive and enjoying the sport. It was wonderful advise and I was grateful.

Barry Schroeder at Miller weightlifting

I'm going to eat a healthy snack then take a nap so that I'm fully rested and recovered for tomorrow. What happens tomorrow you ask? Barry Schroeder is going to workout with me at Miller weightlifting. This will be my first time seeing him in action. Barry Schroeder owns every state Olympic Olympic weightlifting record in both the 94k and 105k weight classes in my age group of 35-39. I posted an article about him, what he's done, and how it affects me. Click on the link below to read more about it:

https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=7284817641207555818#editor/target=post;postID=580449116031509380;onPublishedMenu=allposts;onClosedMenu=allposts;postNum=26;src=postname

Olympic weightlifting with PTSD

Today at the gym I was ready to do my squats, but the gym was packed and all the squat racks were taken so I had to use a multi use stand in the corner of the gym. To use that stand safely I have to face the stand, keeping my back to the room so that I can rack the weight after squatting. After a couple sets I started getting a lot of anxiety. I've been a correctional officer in a prison for almost 19 years and I get really stressed out keeping my back to a room, especially a busy room with a lot of people in it. Getting ran over by a vehicle while on a bike ride Sept of 2011 seems to have made my PTSD symptoms much worse. By the end of my 5 sets of squats I was a wreck and I had to leave without doing my cardio.

On the brighter side of things I've been using saffron extract to curb my hunger. This morning I woke up weighing 256 pounds! I'm back into the 250's for the first time in a very long time baby!!!!!!! 21 more pounds to lose and I'll be out of the super heavy weight division and into the heavy weight division!

2013 year end miles

When I was a hard core triathlete I used to post here on my blog how many miles I'd swim, bike, and run at the end of each year. Since I got ran over by a vehicle while cycling back in 2011 I've virtually stopped all swimming, cycling, and running. I wasn't going to post my years milage because of how low the totals were, but I've decided to go ahead. Most people who read my blog have no clue who I am anyways so what could it hurt?

2013
bike 689 miles
averaged 57.4 miles a month, 13.25 miles a week
run 122.1 miles
averaged 10.1 miles a month, 2.3 miles a week
swim 874.9 yards
averaged averaged 72 yards a month, 16.8 yards a week

2012
bike 3,161 miles (almost entirely indoor trainer miles)
averaged 263.4 miles a month, 60.7 miles a week
run 493.6 miles
averaged 41.1 miles a month, 9.5 miles a week
swim 7,864 yards
averaged 655.3 yards a month, 151.2 yards a week

2011 milage
bike miles: 4,410.6
Averaged 367.5 miles a month, 84.8 miles a week.
run miles 1057.8
averaged 88.15 miles a month, 20.3 miles a week.
swim yards: 48,040.4
averaged 4,003.3 yards a month, 923.8 a week

2010 milage
Bike 4,505.6 miles
averaged 375 miles a month, 86 miles a week
run 775.7 miles
64.5 miles a month, 14.9 miles a week
swim 5,258.3 yards
averaged 438.1 yards a month, 101.1 yards a week

2009
total bike miles 3915.3
averaged 326 miles a month, 75 miles a week
total run miles 705.1
58.75 miles a month, 13.5 miles a week
toatal swim miles 102,960 yards
averaged 8580 yards a month, 1,980 yards a week

Saffron Extract and hunger

I've been overly hungry since I started taking creatine monohydrate and whey protein. Each day I've eaten all of my alotted calories and I've still been hungry so I've been taking Saffron extract to curb my hunger. It's working great at making my hunger go away. I'm still stuck at a body weight of 260 pounds, but since I'm building muscle that must mean I'm losing fat right?

I've tried taking safrom extract before. It always helped prevent hunger, but it does nothing to stop emotional eating. When I used Safron extract I'd always make quick weight loss, but have never been able to sustain any long term weight loss.

After weeks of struggling with bad form on the snatch I finally did a set with decent form. Finally some progress on the most technical lift!

creatine, whey protein and Olympic weightlifting

I've made big gains in my strength the last week. I've made bigger gains this week than any other 3 weeks combined. I'm even feeling less fatigue and recovering more quickly between sets! The only thing I've been doing differently this week than before is that I'm taking 5 grams of creatine monohydrate once a day and whey protein immediately after my workouts. The only negative effect's I've found about taking creatine and whey protein is that my weight loss has stopped and I'm REALLY hungry all the time! I assume the weight loss having stopped and me being so hungry is because I'm building more muscle, so I can't complain. Ultimately me gaining more muscle will make my body burn more calories and help me to drop more fat later on, so I'm content maintaining my weight of 260 pounds for awhile if I continue to make such wonderful gains.

first run in many moons: treadmill tabata

I have been postponing running until I get below 250 pounds, I'm currently 260, but since I signed up for The Missile Man duathlon (formerly the Jon Stermer duathlon) on Feruary 1st 2014 I decided I needed to start running now. Yesterday I did a tabata so that I'm building my running ability while also building fast twitch muscles. I did a 5 minute warm up on the treadmil, then set the incline to 4% and the pace at 8 mph. Then I ran 20 seconds on 10 seconds off. I could only keep that up for 6 rounds, stopping at the 9:50 mark. I've also started cycling to and from work again. Until the Missile man duathlon I'll be weightlifting on Mon, Wed, Fri, and Sat's. Cycling on Tue's, and running on Thur's. After today my tabatas will be more strenuous. I'll set the incline to 12% and the pace 30 seconds slower than my latest best 5k. Then 20 seconds on 10 seconds off for four minutes or 8 rounds.

I have to say thank you to Travis from Zia CrossFit for helping me out with this fast twitch building cardio. It's new to me and I'd never have known what to do if it wasn't for your help and guidance.

The upcoming Missile Man duathlon Feb 1st 2014

I've decided to register for the Missile Man duathlon at White Sands Missile Range NM which will be held on Feb 1st 2014. Ever since I got ran over while cycling back in 2011 I don't feel comfortable cycling near vehicles. So now on the rare times I race I prefer to race at WSMR. There's rarely anyone driving on the bike course, when there is a rare vehicle driving near us they always slow way down, are courteous, and give the cyclists a ton of space and respect when passing. WSMR is the closest thing I've found to racing on a completely closed bike course.

The 2014 Missile Man duathlon will be my 87th multisport race and my 21st duathlon. I competed in this race last year. At the time I weighed 250 pounds, the race took me a dismal 2 hours 28 minutes and hurt me like bloody hell. Right now I'm weighing 260 pounds..... gulp. I expect it'll hurt even worse now that I'm heavier. I'll let you know how I do.

creatine monohydrate and weight loss

I've been dieting since starting Olympic weightlifting a couple months ago. My goal is to get to the middle heavyweight division (94k), but I also want to get as strong as possible while losing the weight. It's not easy to try and get strong while losing weight. Even with an exellent diet a person usually losses some muscle while on a calorie restriction. So far I've been pretty lucky. I've gained a bunch of strength while having lost a bunch of fat. To help continue my strength gain I've decided to try supplementing my diet with creatine monohydrate. I know creatine helps build muscle and also causes a gain in water weight, but I'm not sure how it works for an athlete who is dieting. Will the creatine stop or slow my fat loss? Or will my dieting nulify the benifits of creatine? I'll use myself as an experiment. I started yesterday. I'll post my results and findings below: 

 Jan 14, 2014 http://cody-the-clydsdale.blogspot.com/2014/01/creatine-whey-protein-and-olympic.html

first cardio since respiratory illness

I got the worst respiratory illness of my life the last week of December. I didn't feel well enough to lift again until a few days ago. Today was the first day I've felt well enough to try doing cardio. I did a tabata on my indoor bike keeping the hard sets above 22 mph. Tonight I'll be commuting to and from work on my bike. Hopefully I've recovered enough for my body to handle the cardio. I'll soon find out, I'll let you guys know how it goes.

dieting, food cravings, and strength

Back in the day, when I was an endurance athlete, I was on calorie restriction for what felt like FOREVER. One of the lessons I learned while staying endurance athlete light (gaunt) was that I needed to take a break from calorie restriction on occasion. I can tell when I need to stop dieting and go into a maintenance phase because I start resenting having to eat less than I want and I start craving lots and lots of crap! I hit that point of food obsession this weekend. For the next 1 to 2 weeks I'm going to maintain my body weight. After the food cravings go away I'll go back to dieting again. While my calories are increased not only will I be preparing my body to lose weight more comfortably but I'll gain more strength too. More food and an increase in strength, it's going to be a fun couple weeks!

I'm currently weighing 260 lbs. I've lost 20 pounds since picking up Olympic weightlifting. 54 more pounds to go until I've hit my goal of getting into the middle heavyweight division (94k weight class).