Post Arnold. nervous system goes to hell. Coach tears his hair out looking for the answers, both good and bad. Why did one do well? Why did one do poorly? what did I do in either case? Was I a help, a hindrance, neutral? Had I not been there, what would have happened? Am I the wild card?
Two week's worth of training, then a small meet. Test day for those who did not lift at Arnold, but observed it. Redemption day for others who lifted at Arnold. How will it play out in small, unfamiliar confines?
Two lifters first session. Can I dial them each in so that today is a good day? Crowded platforms, nerves, ugh. The usual. Female lifter has a nice warm up, seems positive. Opener in the bag: life. Go up just a bit so that she can have momentum (is there really a momentum crystal?) into the 2nd and 3rd lifts as well as CJ. She misses her second attempt with a lazy arm. The Grim Reaper is in the audience. Instructions to fix the error are given. Ahh, they don't work as the third attempt is missed. GR smiles.
Fortunately, not for long. After quickly moving on to CJ warm up, the snatch is forgotten. Warm up becomes a near disaster as a planned for warm up weight proves to heavy to even pull. Opener cannot be adjusted! Oh, no. No panic, calm, re-take a lighter weight, concentrate on technique. Bang. Opener, bang, second attempt, a tougher clean, a bit forward on jerk, perfect split. Nice. GR has now left. Third attempt, a PR. Clean is made, she knows she can jerk it. Bang. 3 for 3 and a PR CJ.
Young lifter hits his opening attempt in snatch without a hitch. Specific goals for the meet are well within reach. Let's go for the second. It is not made. Just a little bit loose, an easy technical adjustment. he wants a PR attempt, I want a solid snatch. he comes back, tighter, faster, and makes it. The CJ should be easy.
Warm ups go nicely. The last warm up has his feet flying and his arms punching. he carries this to the platform and hits his opener. Now, he can attempt a PR. He racks it, struggles to stand, and just cannot muster up 100% to finish it off. GR re-appears. We can keep him at bay if I can convince the kid to put out just a few more moments of work...can he? he racks it, stands up with less energy this time, and nails a PR jerk. nice work.
Life for coach: 2 PR so far.
Male lifter going for his opener. Warm ups were solid, speedy, nice. Mind good. Attitude, good. Opener, missed. Gaping wound. He re-adjusts, gets tight, and makes the lift. Bandage. Third attempt, should be do-able turns out not to be do-able. Wound re-opens. CJ proves to be very nice. Easy opener. Mind good, no need to do anything besides offer encouragement. Second CJ, a PR attempt, made. Nice. Let's go up to uncharted territory. Good clean, no jerk. No matter, PR CJ, PR total. Life.
Male lifter kind of in a bad mental place needs encouragement and focus: Can I give it to him? Will he take it? Whether he does or does not take it, will he be able to perform? Warm ups go well, mind looks good though energy level could stand to be improved. Snatch opener made, whew. Life. Was it me or was it him? If the former what did I do to make it happen? Life or death?
Second snatch: chased to the edge of the platform, still good. Third snatch, a PR attempt, not made. A bit of a negative, so... CJ warm ups go well. Opening attempt matches the Arnold so it should be easily made. It is and we go up 7 kg to see what will happen. He comes out, cleans it, racks it nicely, jerks it even better. Plenty of juice, life, energy. Third attempt is a pull and the look of desperation comes to his face. "Why can I not do this weight anymore?" he did get his redemption.
Grim Reaper in the house.
next male lifter. Beautiful warm ups. Looking very good, strong, mind good. Opening snatch is nailed easily. Next two snatches are just upright rows. Too much muscle, not enough of the right muscle at the right time. Ugh, gotta control that and make sure the CJ are perfect in the warm up room. opening attempt is racked, stands up, then something happens. not sure what, but he forgot what he was doing it looked like. Kind of a split push jerk or something. Ugh, the lift was not that far off so it looked like increasing the weight was not out of the question. Second attempt is the same. Oh, my, the GR is right there, breathing in my ear. Will he bomb out? What adjustment, since he is following himself, is required to dial him back in? The mind is all over the place with craziness. Pull him back in, get him to focus, and he should be OK. Last attempt; made. Whew. made easily, too which makes the first two misses unexplainable.
Life.
final lifter going for redemption and national Q-total. Warm ups are unbelievable. Focused, fast, furious, nice. Little is said between us except hand signals. All is good. In the bottom position, he leans forward to push some dust away. OH NO! The bright light lack of focus again! Doom! Gloom! Opener: adjusted up, nailed. LIFE! Second attempt, nailed. Third attempt, uncharted territory for him. he makes this, the CJ becomes a walk in the park. he goes out, calmly, focuses in, and NAILS IT! PR! LIIIFFFFFE!
CJ warm ups; he hits his opener in the back room. Adjust that up, then. He hits his opener, he gets a national Q-total. The clean ain't the problem; the jerk could be. NO! A beautiful clean and jerk! YAY! Life! Second attempt is a meet PR. He cleans it nicely, his hand slips, he adjusts, he nails it! More life.
The Grim Reaper is running away now. PR snatch, PR CJ, PR total, nationals in July. What could be better? Oh, how about a 2x BW CJ attempt? he cleans it, jerks it, and just misses getting it. Still, LIFE!
So, someone asked me, "How did your little meet in Louisville go?" I answer, "Same as the Arnold."
Life and death on the platform from the coach's eye.
Sunday, March 17, 2013
How was the Arnold? Or how to live and die at a meet
"Well, how was the Arnold?" That is a question posed to me every year to people I meet post-Arnold. Clearly, the questioner did not go to the Arnold.
It is not an easy "...fun.." or "...great...". It is more of a long descriptive answer along the lines of: exhausting, exhilarating, exciting, disappointing, dramatic, no big deal, insanity, and more highs and lows. It is a paragraph of answers. This year's was no exception.
Without naming names, here were the highs and lows or as I like to call it: Life and death through 6 lifts.
The first two lifters for the club performed quite well. Weight was on target or at least close enough (proof that desk job may contribute a bit to keeping weight on) Training was going well. the 10 day out and 7 day out checkpoints were good. Hopes were high. They did not disappoint.
Snatch lifts were perfection. Each lifter hit PR. Life. Clean and jerks: more progress. solid openers kept me alive. After 5 for 5 days, it was time to just let the energy loose. Neither lifter made his final CJ. Who cares? Life. Still, the analysis: how did I manage them each in the warm up room? what did I say, do, think, move to ensure each lifter's success? how can I repeat that?
Third lifter had been having a rough time over the past few training weeks. Careful management of warm ups and energy might get her to hit a total. Warm up progresses, but it is not as smooth as hoped. OK, let's give it a shot on the platform. Ugh, opener missed. The Grim Reaper appears in the doorway. Come back after it. Miss. The Grim Reaper smiles. Come back for the third. Miss, bomb out. Death of a coach.
What did I do wrong? How did I not set her up for success? What was every word, action, movement, thought, that I did during warm up? how did those affect her? What am I doing for her for the CJ? How to adjust? Is it damage control or is it a quick fix that will right a sinking ship?
No matter. CJ warm up causes her more pain than anything and she must scratch from the meet. Death. Can I come back to coach another day? Should I even be coaching? What did I do wrong? How can I salvage her for the next meet?
Fourth lifter. Prepared better than I have ever prepared him in the past. He is in peak condition for this meet. Aiming for a nationals total which has been accomplished in training, it looks like it should be a simple matter to get the job done. Warm up room is managed great. Good attitude, things look good. he approaches the platform for his opener. Suddenly, he is distracted by a bright light and waves.
Loss of focus! Ahhh, my head explodes, I hope that the brain matter does not get on bystanders. I know that the lift will be missed and, unfortunately, he misses it. FUUUUUCCCKKK! My head reels with the tactics and strategy of how to get his focus back. Get it back fast and get it back in a good way. All the while, I cannot contaminate his thought process so that the entire 5 remaining attempts are smashed underfoot.
he comes back and makes the second, misses the third snatch. I am shaking hands with the Grim Reaper. Focus has to be the focus. The job can be done, it is just gonna take a bit more work. Opening CJ: easy. Should have opened higher, but he is in a good spot. Second, easy clean, jerk not locked. GR has his arm around me. Third lift: do or die, channel Matias Steiner. A miss. No nationals total and training lifts two weeks prior to today were better. Death again.
Fifth lifter. He comes in OK. Heavier than he wants, nursing a bit of a cold and sinus thing; he should be able to pull through adequately. Just gotta massage him the right way. Opening snatch: easy. Sigh of relief. OK, we can plan some stuff now. The second snatch, just a minor correction and the third will be made. Yes, the third is made. 2 for 3, let's go to CJ. His CJ suffers the most when he is ill and sure enough warm up was a bit ragged. Calling for an extremely low opener, he makes it with no problem. Life. OK, I think, let's go up to something reasonable and see how it goes. Back to warm up room and lifts just 5 k more than the opener are not even racked. AHHHHH! My hair is on fire and I run to the scorer's table to change the next attempt for him. TOO LATE! Can his meet be salvaged? Will my stinkin' thinkin' contaminate him? Why is only pulling his clean and not even racking it? Disaster as he misses his next 2 CJ. Death.
Sixth and final lifter, third day of Arnold. There is not enough coffee to keep me going, but the kid has tons of potential and I cannot let him down. I need to set the table so that he is successful. he must be nudged, but not shoved. Challenged, but not stretched too far. How will it go? What will I say? how will he react?
Opening snatch: bang. Nice. Life. Second snatch: bang, more life. Third snatch, PR attempt, he is ready, and does it. Nice. Tons of life.
I hope I can manage the CJ warm up so that he continues the trend. He is well warmed up, looks good in the back, and nails his opener. He nails his second attempt setting a PR CJ and total in the process. Tons and tons of life. He goes for more. Tough clean, nearly sticks the jerk: a mere coaching flesh wound. Life.
so, how was the Arnold? Life and death, exhausting, exhilarating, exciting, disappointing, dramatic, no big deal, insanity, and more highs and lows. And this is just for one small subset of lifters with one coach. Now bring all the rest of the players into the mix.
It is not an easy "...fun.." or "...great...". It is more of a long descriptive answer along the lines of: exhausting, exhilarating, exciting, disappointing, dramatic, no big deal, insanity, and more highs and lows. It is a paragraph of answers. This year's was no exception.
Without naming names, here were the highs and lows or as I like to call it: Life and death through 6 lifts.
The first two lifters for the club performed quite well. Weight was on target or at least close enough (proof that desk job may contribute a bit to keeping weight on) Training was going well. the 10 day out and 7 day out checkpoints were good. Hopes were high. They did not disappoint.
Snatch lifts were perfection. Each lifter hit PR. Life. Clean and jerks: more progress. solid openers kept me alive. After 5 for 5 days, it was time to just let the energy loose. Neither lifter made his final CJ. Who cares? Life. Still, the analysis: how did I manage them each in the warm up room? what did I say, do, think, move to ensure each lifter's success? how can I repeat that?
Third lifter had been having a rough time over the past few training weeks. Careful management of warm ups and energy might get her to hit a total. Warm up progresses, but it is not as smooth as hoped. OK, let's give it a shot on the platform. Ugh, opener missed. The Grim Reaper appears in the doorway. Come back after it. Miss. The Grim Reaper smiles. Come back for the third. Miss, bomb out. Death of a coach.
What did I do wrong? How did I not set her up for success? What was every word, action, movement, thought, that I did during warm up? how did those affect her? What am I doing for her for the CJ? How to adjust? Is it damage control or is it a quick fix that will right a sinking ship?
No matter. CJ warm up causes her more pain than anything and she must scratch from the meet. Death. Can I come back to coach another day? Should I even be coaching? What did I do wrong? How can I salvage her for the next meet?
Fourth lifter. Prepared better than I have ever prepared him in the past. He is in peak condition for this meet. Aiming for a nationals total which has been accomplished in training, it looks like it should be a simple matter to get the job done. Warm up room is managed great. Good attitude, things look good. he approaches the platform for his opener. Suddenly, he is distracted by a bright light and waves.
Loss of focus! Ahhh, my head explodes, I hope that the brain matter does not get on bystanders. I know that the lift will be missed and, unfortunately, he misses it. FUUUUUCCCKKK! My head reels with the tactics and strategy of how to get his focus back. Get it back fast and get it back in a good way. All the while, I cannot contaminate his thought process so that the entire 5 remaining attempts are smashed underfoot.
he comes back and makes the second, misses the third snatch. I am shaking hands with the Grim Reaper. Focus has to be the focus. The job can be done, it is just gonna take a bit more work. Opening CJ: easy. Should have opened higher, but he is in a good spot. Second, easy clean, jerk not locked. GR has his arm around me. Third lift: do or die, channel Matias Steiner. A miss. No nationals total and training lifts two weeks prior to today were better. Death again.
Fifth lifter. He comes in OK. Heavier than he wants, nursing a bit of a cold and sinus thing; he should be able to pull through adequately. Just gotta massage him the right way. Opening snatch: easy. Sigh of relief. OK, we can plan some stuff now. The second snatch, just a minor correction and the third will be made. Yes, the third is made. 2 for 3, let's go to CJ. His CJ suffers the most when he is ill and sure enough warm up was a bit ragged. Calling for an extremely low opener, he makes it with no problem. Life. OK, I think, let's go up to something reasonable and see how it goes. Back to warm up room and lifts just 5 k more than the opener are not even racked. AHHHHH! My hair is on fire and I run to the scorer's table to change the next attempt for him. TOO LATE! Can his meet be salvaged? Will my stinkin' thinkin' contaminate him? Why is only pulling his clean and not even racking it? Disaster as he misses his next 2 CJ. Death.
Sixth and final lifter, third day of Arnold. There is not enough coffee to keep me going, but the kid has tons of potential and I cannot let him down. I need to set the table so that he is successful. he must be nudged, but not shoved. Challenged, but not stretched too far. How will it go? What will I say? how will he react?
Opening snatch: bang. Nice. Life. Second snatch: bang, more life. Third snatch, PR attempt, he is ready, and does it. Nice. Tons of life.
I hope I can manage the CJ warm up so that he continues the trend. He is well warmed up, looks good in the back, and nails his opener. He nails his second attempt setting a PR CJ and total in the process. Tons and tons of life. He goes for more. Tough clean, nearly sticks the jerk: a mere coaching flesh wound. Life.
so, how was the Arnold? Life and death, exhausting, exhilarating, exciting, disappointing, dramatic, no big deal, insanity, and more highs and lows. And this is just for one small subset of lifters with one coach. Now bring all the rest of the players into the mix.
Sunday, February 17, 2013
Spring Invitational and Battle for the Belt
The spring invitational on Saturday February 16 looked to have a lot of excitement in store as some lifters were posting good practice totals, others were working hard but not so much from the floor, and still others would be lifting in their first meet. Always an interesting experience and quite the long walk from the training platform where you can always tighten up and take it again without penalty to the competition platform where there is not any quarter.
"No quarter; none taken, none given." On to the meet.
many thanks to the volunteers who help put the meet on and run it smoothly: Kellene as scorekeeper, Pat and Dave as loaders, Frank, Chelsea, and Fern as the referees. Thanks also to Elite Chiropractic for some energizing massage and manipulation for the lifters.
After contesting the standard contest, the club would also battle for The Belt. This battle was a medley of: sled push (for most people, anyhow) followed by threading beads followed by plate carry followed by a handwriting exercise followed by farmer's walk. Fastest time in this event scored more points. Lifter with the most points between the lifting competition and the medley would be declared the winner. Ron, the holder of the belt at the time, told everyone he didn't even bring it because there would be no point. Would these words come back to haunt him later as he did not "bring it" but others did.
In the lifting contest, the first four lifters could not have done better personal performances than what they did today. Very nice.
Terre, lifting in her first meet for Cincinnati Weightlifting Club, hit a PR snatch, PR clean and jerk, PR total, and set a state of Ohio record in her weight class.
Abby, tuning up for university championships in April, hit a PR snatch, hit a PR CJ at a weight she could not even stand up with in the last meet, and a PR total. Oh, and set a state of Ohio record in her weight class.
Jessica, not wanting to miss out, hit 3 PRs and set a state record in her weight class.
Erik, attempting to qualify for youth nationals as a 14 years old 77 kilo lifter did it. First he had to snatch a mis loaded barbell (which he did) then he had to hit the Q total by uncorking a PR CJ.
With these four setting the bar pretty darn high, the men went to work.
Adam, from Central Kentucky Weightlifting Club, lifting in his first meet went 6 for 6 and posted 76/102/178. Nice work.
Keith, in heavy prep work for July nationals, hit respectable 72/92/164 and will be in a better spot for Arnold in a few weeks.
Jordan finally was able to hit his opening snatch to set a PR and then put up two good jerks, again posting PR there. A three PR day for him.
Matt lifting in his first weightlifting meet went three for three in snatch, including one snatch he moved so fast there were vapor trails coming off the collars, and two for three in CJ. He posted respectable total of 85/100/185.
Zach just could not dial in the snatch correctly and ended up all over the platform with his opening attempt. His jerk went better including a PR CJ. Not a bad note on which to finish, but no total this time. he will learn a lot from his first bomb out.
Ron had been practicing well and looked to snag at least one PR, but this was not the case. He tied his PR snatch and PR CJ for a nice day of 4/6 and 90/110/200.
George lifting in his first meet has been working hard over the last few weeks; hopefully it would pay off. The snatch opener went great. Plenty of energy and snap. Too bad the next two attempts were not the same way. Just not enough wrist extension and the bar stayed out in front of him. His CJ would be better as he got his opener easily, looking like a Olympic weightlifter from a few years back, and he got his second. The third was just a bit too much for him. 92/137/229 as a 104.2 (where that 0.2 would make a big difference later...)
Ben lifting in his first meet since October finally cracked the 100 barrier officially in his snatch: 102! Yay. Could he hold on to that momentum crystal going in to the CJ? He cleaned 127, with tons of room to spare, and jerked it. It looked more like a press than a jerk...easy. Then, 132 no good. Warming up for his third attempt, he cleaned 130 twice and declared he wanted 137. Against my better judgement, the bar was loaded to the 137. It was a pretty good looking fast moving deadlift. He was credited with 102/127/229 at a body weight of 104.1.
Best lifter was Ron with a Sinclair of 268.19 followed by Ben at 250.53, George at 250.44, and Keith at 250.35.
Based upon points earned in the lifting contest, Terre was in the lead (not insurmountable) with Jordan and Erik right in there close to her. At this point, Ron probably would not be able to defend his title. After some discussion, Jordan and Erik went first. Jordan posted best time so far. Zach, who could act as spoiler, and Terre went next. Zach overtook Jordan for the lead. Then, everybody got into the act, including Pat with no warming up and an afternoon of loading.
At the end of the Crazy Medley, Matt posted the fastest time (and prompted the development of the Matt Rule, similar in philosophy to the famous Kazmaier rule) with Pat, Zach, Jordan, and Ben rounding out the rest.
None of this mattered as Terre's lead did prove to be insurmountable and she stood alone. Next battle, Terre gets to defend The Belt.
"No quarter; none taken, none given." On to the meet.
many thanks to the volunteers who help put the meet on and run it smoothly: Kellene as scorekeeper, Pat and Dave as loaders, Frank, Chelsea, and Fern as the referees. Thanks also to Elite Chiropractic for some energizing massage and manipulation for the lifters.
After contesting the standard contest, the club would also battle for The Belt. This battle was a medley of: sled push (for most people, anyhow) followed by threading beads followed by plate carry followed by a handwriting exercise followed by farmer's walk. Fastest time in this event scored more points. Lifter with the most points between the lifting competition and the medley would be declared the winner. Ron, the holder of the belt at the time, told everyone he didn't even bring it because there would be no point. Would these words come back to haunt him later as he did not "bring it" but others did.
In the lifting contest, the first four lifters could not have done better personal performances than what they did today. Very nice.
Terre, lifting in her first meet for Cincinnati Weightlifting Club, hit a PR snatch, PR clean and jerk, PR total, and set a state of Ohio record in her weight class.
Abby, tuning up for university championships in April, hit a PR snatch, hit a PR CJ at a weight she could not even stand up with in the last meet, and a PR total. Oh, and set a state of Ohio record in her weight class.
Jessica, not wanting to miss out, hit 3 PRs and set a state record in her weight class.
Erik, attempting to qualify for youth nationals as a 14 years old 77 kilo lifter did it. First he had to snatch a mis loaded barbell (which he did) then he had to hit the Q total by uncorking a PR CJ.
With these four setting the bar pretty darn high, the men went to work.
Adam, from Central Kentucky Weightlifting Club, lifting in his first meet went 6 for 6 and posted 76/102/178. Nice work.
Keith, in heavy prep work for July nationals, hit respectable 72/92/164 and will be in a better spot for Arnold in a few weeks.
Jordan finally was able to hit his opening snatch to set a PR and then put up two good jerks, again posting PR there. A three PR day for him.
Matt lifting in his first weightlifting meet went three for three in snatch, including one snatch he moved so fast there were vapor trails coming off the collars, and two for three in CJ. He posted respectable total of 85/100/185.
Zach just could not dial in the snatch correctly and ended up all over the platform with his opening attempt. His jerk went better including a PR CJ. Not a bad note on which to finish, but no total this time. he will learn a lot from his first bomb out.
Ron had been practicing well and looked to snag at least one PR, but this was not the case. He tied his PR snatch and PR CJ for a nice day of 4/6 and 90/110/200.
George lifting in his first meet has been working hard over the last few weeks; hopefully it would pay off. The snatch opener went great. Plenty of energy and snap. Too bad the next two attempts were not the same way. Just not enough wrist extension and the bar stayed out in front of him. His CJ would be better as he got his opener easily, looking like a Olympic weightlifter from a few years back, and he got his second. The third was just a bit too much for him. 92/137/229 as a 104.2 (where that 0.2 would make a big difference later...)
Ben lifting in his first meet since October finally cracked the 100 barrier officially in his snatch: 102! Yay. Could he hold on to that momentum crystal going in to the CJ? He cleaned 127, with tons of room to spare, and jerked it. It looked more like a press than a jerk...easy. Then, 132 no good. Warming up for his third attempt, he cleaned 130 twice and declared he wanted 137. Against my better judgement, the bar was loaded to the 137. It was a pretty good looking fast moving deadlift. He was credited with 102/127/229 at a body weight of 104.1.
Best lifter was Ron with a Sinclair of 268.19 followed by Ben at 250.53, George at 250.44, and Keith at 250.35.
Based upon points earned in the lifting contest, Terre was in the lead (not insurmountable) with Jordan and Erik right in there close to her. At this point, Ron probably would not be able to defend his title. After some discussion, Jordan and Erik went first. Jordan posted best time so far. Zach, who could act as spoiler, and Terre went next. Zach overtook Jordan for the lead. Then, everybody got into the act, including Pat with no warming up and an afternoon of loading.
At the end of the Crazy Medley, Matt posted the fastest time (and prompted the development of the Matt Rule, similar in philosophy to the famous Kazmaier rule) with Pat, Zach, Jordan, and Ben rounding out the rest.
None of this mattered as Terre's lead did prove to be insurmountable and she stood alone. Next battle, Terre gets to defend The Belt.
Monday, November 12, 2012
The Week in Review
Three years ago, when Ben first started lifting with us, he was strong as heck (still is) and as tight as piano wire. After a few weeks, he was able to hit 76/100 easily. Then became the grind of learning a new skill and then applying that skill. He was told at the time that his present CJ would become his future snatch. It did.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that he has done exactly that. He hit 97 in his last meet (102 in practice) and a 137 (140 in practice). And a pretty good ratio though the snatch could be a little higher in relation to the CJ. Three years of 4 days a week of training with all of its frustrations and little wins until he hits the milestone. It ain't easy, gotta keep at it.
Great job, Ben, and for all the Type A personalities who want to get their lifting into the stratosphere over the long weekend ("Let's bang this thing out and put 60 k on my lifts."), bear in mind, he did over 600 lifting sessions to make this happen.
In other great stuff:
Jordan sets PR in snatch and is the first lifter to fully complete the 6 week introduction to weightlifting program. Nice work!
Rio became a PR machine with PR in jerk and front squat. Way to go!
Fern is working through the body composition change program and noticing incredible results as her CJ, done for 10 singles, matches her previous meet PR.
Not to be outdone, George grinds out a couple of PR CJ at 125 and 130.
Brigid who also snatches more than what she used to CJ and taking a little more than about 2 years to do so continues her American Open preparation program. This week's sessions will be quite demanding.
Keith who warms up for the snatch with more than he used to CJ also continues his American Open preparation. His week looks pretty demanding, too.
Good things happen and progress is made if you knuckle down and put forth the effort.
Suddenly, it dawned on me that he has done exactly that. He hit 97 in his last meet (102 in practice) and a 137 (140 in practice). And a pretty good ratio though the snatch could be a little higher in relation to the CJ. Three years of 4 days a week of training with all of its frustrations and little wins until he hits the milestone. It ain't easy, gotta keep at it.
Great job, Ben, and for all the Type A personalities who want to get their lifting into the stratosphere over the long weekend ("Let's bang this thing out and put 60 k on my lifts."), bear in mind, he did over 600 lifting sessions to make this happen.
In other great stuff:
Jordan sets PR in snatch and is the first lifter to fully complete the 6 week introduction to weightlifting program. Nice work!
Rio became a PR machine with PR in jerk and front squat. Way to go!
Fern is working through the body composition change program and noticing incredible results as her CJ, done for 10 singles, matches her previous meet PR.
Not to be outdone, George grinds out a couple of PR CJ at 125 and 130.
Brigid who also snatches more than what she used to CJ and taking a little more than about 2 years to do so continues her American Open preparation program. This week's sessions will be quite demanding.
Keith who warms up for the snatch with more than he used to CJ also continues his American Open preparation. His week looks pretty demanding, too.
Good things happen and progress is made if you knuckle down and put forth the effort.
Sunday, October 21, 2012
The Final Round in the Battle for the Belt
One could not ask for it to be closer than this battle for the battle was. Starting September 16 with a meet in Lexington, then a crazy fun team competition, and culminating in the FSU Open on October 20.
Since the battle rules include the possibility of losing ground, there were 5 contenders for the belt:
Zach, leading with 44.75 points
Chelsea with 33
Fern with 29.75
Pat with 29
Ron with 27.
Toss in the fact that there is also a multiplier when the competition is in a pure weightlifting meet and who knows who could end up on top.
Chelsea was in there with the 33 and a 6 for 6 day would have put her to 39 points. Alas, she missed lifts and was fixed at 33. Pat was somewhat on the outside looking in, but could leapfrog past people if others had a bad day and he had a good day. He missed lifts so he was still stuck at 29.
Fern threw it down by hitting two PR in the meet getting her 12.50 points and catapulting her to 42.25 points. Focus was on Zach as he could have a bad day, though unlikely.
Zach hits three PR in the meet, but misses one lift. Walks come back to haunt you in baseball and missed lifts haunt you in weightlifting. His multiplier is 1.25 and he gains 18.75 points ending with a total of 63.5. He is sitting pretty.
Ron, the only challenger left, responds with a 3 for 3 PR snatch performance and then goes 3 for 3 in CJ along with a PR. With his multiplier of 1.75, he gets 36.75 points. I had to check the calculator two or three times before seeing that Ron successfully defended the belt by 0.25 points!
Now, the question becomes, who is going to pry that thing out of Ron's hands with their own great lifting?
Fun stuff! Stay tuned for the next Battle for the Belt!
Since the battle rules include the possibility of losing ground, there were 5 contenders for the belt:
Zach, leading with 44.75 points
Chelsea with 33
Fern with 29.75
Pat with 29
Ron with 27.
Toss in the fact that there is also a multiplier when the competition is in a pure weightlifting meet and who knows who could end up on top.
Chelsea was in there with the 33 and a 6 for 6 day would have put her to 39 points. Alas, she missed lifts and was fixed at 33. Pat was somewhat on the outside looking in, but could leapfrog past people if others had a bad day and he had a good day. He missed lifts so he was still stuck at 29.
Fern threw it down by hitting two PR in the meet getting her 12.50 points and catapulting her to 42.25 points. Focus was on Zach as he could have a bad day, though unlikely.
Zach hits three PR in the meet, but misses one lift. Walks come back to haunt you in baseball and missed lifts haunt you in weightlifting. His multiplier is 1.25 and he gains 18.75 points ending with a total of 63.5. He is sitting pretty.
Ron, the only challenger left, responds with a 3 for 3 PR snatch performance and then goes 3 for 3 in CJ along with a PR. With his multiplier of 1.75, he gets 36.75 points. I had to check the calculator two or three times before seeing that Ron successfully defended the belt by 0.25 points!
Now, the question becomes, who is going to pry that thing out of Ron's hands with their own great lifting?
Fun stuff! Stay tuned for the next Battle for the Belt!
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Competition: Team CF vs Team WL
OK, not an epic battle, but certainly a good time for all! Trash talking was abundant leading up to this team competition pitting 6 members of Team Crossfit (George, Pat, Chelsea, Terre, Kellene, and Mike) versus 7 members of Team Weightlifting (Ron, Keith, Zach, Jordan, Fern, Erik, and Abby). The contest consisted of: clean (3 attempts to maximum), dead lift (2 attempts to a maximum), and the medley (various stuff to get the heart rate and lactic acid levels up). In the unlikely event of a tie, Fern had brought in the Concept 2 rower for a 1000 meter drag race.
Points were scored for the top 10 positions and the team with the highest point total would be declared the winner. The winner would take all the money, pride, and bragging rights until the next time. Fortunately, there were no injuries so, the day was a good one and, to spare the reader the agony of going through the whole story, the winning team was Team Crossfit. Here are the details.
(one caveat: I think that I have all the numbers right, including the intermediate Battle for the Belt details. But, there might be a revision after a couple of days of other eyes on it besides mine...so, check back!)
First up was the clean to a max. No jerk, just clean. Since we had competitors of all ages, the Sinclair formula was used as well as the master's factor. Lifters were ranked according to their formula number, i.e. Sinclair x Master x Clean (in kg)= posted total. The numbers don't lie, either.
George ended up with the highest formula as he hit a 130 clean. There may have been some illegal contact on his final clean, but it was declared good. In order, we had: Ron in second, Pat, Keith, Mike, Zach, Chelsea, Jordan, Kellene, and Terre.
Now, the lifters prepared for the dead lift. This was a conventional dead lift with the knuckles facing out, same shoes as was worn in the snatch, no straps, and hands outside the feet. So, no Sumo allowed. Fascinating to watch the preparation for the lifters.
The junior lifters and female lifters went first. Chelsea squeezed out a dead lift of 121 that was one more kilo than Fern. Terre, Erik, Kellene, and Abby rounded out the rest.
On to the lightweight (under 200#) men, where there were three lifters. Pat made it not even close as he pulled 175 followed by Ron @ 150 and Keith @ 125.
Heavyweight men were next. George went all out, going 2 for 2, and pulling 215. Zach, also 2 for 2, hit 202, saving it for the medley. Mike and Jordan rounded out the field.
On to the medley which was a sled push, sled pull, implement (!) carry, plate carry, and 20 squats with an empty bar. Fastest time would be the basis for points. The field was divided into juniors/female and men. (it may be better to change how competitors are ranked the next time as this event was a dead heat on points 51 to 51).
Chelsea and Erik were the first pairing and she posted a time to beat of 1:19.72. Abby and Terre battled next followed by Fern versus Kellene. Finishing order had Chelsea followed by Fern,Terre, Erik, Kellene, and Abby
Keith went alone, paced by Ben. Ben had just finished his heavy day 4 lifting and stepped up to help out. Keith hit a pretty good time of 1:19.52 and was just faster than Ben who hit 1:30.00.
Pat and Ron went head to head with Pat posting a fast time of 1:13.63. Mike and Jordan went next. Lots of humanity out on the course with these two going at it. Mike blazed to a 1:02.38 with Jordan, despite taking a header during the plate carry, posted a fast 1:16.68.
Zach and George were battling for pride at this point as Team Crossfit was already spending the prize money. Zach smoked the course and beat Mike's time with a 1:01.94. George, developing a new appreciation for Crossfit and hate of oxygen debt, hit 1:18.56.
Final score: Team CF 146.5 to Team WL 133. Great competition and fun!
Intermediate Battle for the Belt standings have Zach (42) in first followed by George, Chelsea, Pat, Ron, and Fern. Now, Chelsea and Pat can only score a theoretical maximum of 6 points in the 10/20 meet but Zach could lose points according to the battle rules. And Ron could catapult himself into the lead with a
Points were scored for the top 10 positions and the team with the highest point total would be declared the winner. The winner would take all the money, pride, and bragging rights until the next time. Fortunately, there were no injuries so, the day was a good one and, to spare the reader the agony of going through the whole story, the winning team was Team Crossfit. Here are the details.
(one caveat: I think that I have all the numbers right, including the intermediate Battle for the Belt details. But, there might be a revision after a couple of days of other eyes on it besides mine...so, check back!)
First up was the clean to a max. No jerk, just clean. Since we had competitors of all ages, the Sinclair formula was used as well as the master's factor. Lifters were ranked according to their formula number, i.e. Sinclair x Master x Clean (in kg)= posted total. The numbers don't lie, either.
George ended up with the highest formula as he hit a 130 clean. There may have been some illegal contact on his final clean, but it was declared good. In order, we had: Ron in second, Pat, Keith, Mike, Zach, Chelsea, Jordan, Kellene, and Terre.
Now, the lifters prepared for the dead lift. This was a conventional dead lift with the knuckles facing out, same shoes as was worn in the snatch, no straps, and hands outside the feet. So, no Sumo allowed. Fascinating to watch the preparation for the lifters.
The junior lifters and female lifters went first. Chelsea squeezed out a dead lift of 121 that was one more kilo than Fern. Terre, Erik, Kellene, and Abby rounded out the rest.
On to the lightweight (under 200#) men, where there were three lifters. Pat made it not even close as he pulled 175 followed by Ron @ 150 and Keith @ 125.
Heavyweight men were next. George went all out, going 2 for 2, and pulling 215. Zach, also 2 for 2, hit 202, saving it for the medley. Mike and Jordan rounded out the field.
On to the medley which was a sled push, sled pull, implement (!) carry, plate carry, and 20 squats with an empty bar. Fastest time would be the basis for points. The field was divided into juniors/female and men. (it may be better to change how competitors are ranked the next time as this event was a dead heat on points 51 to 51).
Chelsea and Erik were the first pairing and she posted a time to beat of 1:19.72. Abby and Terre battled next followed by Fern versus Kellene. Finishing order had Chelsea followed by Fern,Terre, Erik, Kellene, and Abby
Keith went alone, paced by Ben. Ben had just finished his heavy day 4 lifting and stepped up to help out. Keith hit a pretty good time of 1:19.52 and was just faster than Ben who hit 1:30.00.
Pat and Ron went head to head with Pat posting a fast time of 1:13.63. Mike and Jordan went next. Lots of humanity out on the course with these two going at it. Mike blazed to a 1:02.38 with Jordan, despite taking a header during the plate carry, posted a fast 1:16.68.
Zach and George were battling for pride at this point as Team Crossfit was already spending the prize money. Zach smoked the course and beat Mike's time with a 1:01.94. George, developing a new appreciation for Crossfit and hate of oxygen debt, hit 1:18.56.
Final score: Team CF 146.5 to Team WL 133. Great competition and fun!
Intermediate Battle for the Belt standings have Zach (42) in first followed by George, Chelsea, Pat, Ron, and Fern. Now, Chelsea and Pat can only score a theoretical maximum of 6 points in the 10/20 meet but Zach could lose points according to the battle rules. And Ron could catapult himself into the lead with a
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Progress in a steady manner
Erik, a.k.a. "Rio", is our 14 year old lifter who started lifting after being a spectator at a meet a few months ago. Which emphasizes the importance of getting someone to a meet so that he can get excited about competing. If you are an adult weightlifter going to a meet and you don't have a youngster with you, well, I could go on and on, but this post is about progress.
Last night at practice, he is putting in a lot of effort doing his push presses. He is struggling to drive that weight up there as his legs were probably burnt out by the heavy squats just completed. I walk over to him to tell him he just completed 5 reps in the push press with a weight that he could not squat just a few weeks ago.
How is that for progress? What kid or adult would not want to experience that kind of progress? A loaded barbell that you cannot roll across the floor and now you are putting it up overhead for multiple reps??
Can I get a Cincinnati Reds rally howl?
Last night at practice, he is putting in a lot of effort doing his push presses. He is struggling to drive that weight up there as his legs were probably burnt out by the heavy squats just completed. I walk over to him to tell him he just completed 5 reps in the push press with a weight that he could not squat just a few weeks ago.
How is that for progress? What kid or adult would not want to experience that kind of progress? A loaded barbell that you cannot roll across the floor and now you are putting it up overhead for multiple reps??
Can I get a Cincinnati Reds rally howl?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
