This month has been extremely busy for me and I have been unable to post much – for that, I apologize.  I promise I will be posting Monday night, weekly, at least for the next five weeks.  I now have a lot of people a few hundred miles away from me that have watched me grow and develop over the past year.  If I feel like I owe it to anyone to get back to writing regularly, it is them.  These past few weeks I have finally felt “settled” and calm, after a personal roller coaster year filled with total lows and total highs.  Through it all however, I have tried to place as much trust in my ability to exercise, in the program I have been following, in my coach, and in my gut feelings.   In all honesty, that doesn’t always come easy for me.  I am a thinker – an over thinker most times – and I am always analyzing how I could or should be doing things different than how I am doing them.  Obviously, in constant pursuit of perfect results.

Sometimes trusting in the system is the hardest thing to do – especially at this point in the CrossFit season.  The Open has kicked off and all those nervous, questionable thoughts seem to rush in, no matter how prepared you know you are.  Last year, I was never faced with all that seriousness because I had not been training with intentions of making any kind of run in the region.  I had simply found a fun and competitive sport and was just happy to be there.  This year, I feel like I have expectations to meet – from myself and others – expectations that I have been working hard to meet.   I know as long as I trust in the system and my ability to work, things will take care of themselves.  These Open workouts have a way of making people crazy.  Although a very meaningful part of the season, as a rookie, I think I need to understand that loyalty and trust in the system as a whole is the most important thing. Coach K preached for four years about the great Coach John Wooden’s “pyramid of success” – and though I could never even remember half of it, I always remembered that at the center of the foundation was Loyalty – Be True To Yourself, Be True To Those You Lead And Those That Lead You.  If all of us competitive exercisers can keep any piece of mind in the crazy Open season it NEEDS to be that.  Trust and believe in the work you have done up until now and are continuing to do each week.  Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves.

14.1 Recap:  I guess I have to do this, although I really don’t want to because I want to forget this workout as quickly as I am able to.  I was obviously not around the sport in 2011, so this was my first experience with this piece.  It is one of those workouts that looks pretty innocent, until you’re in the eye of the storm.  10 Minutes of light snatches and double unders really didn’t shake me up, but I knew those rounds were going to be fast – so there was going to be A LOT of them.  Double unders are one of my more favored movements in competitive exercise and well, I snatch often.  I knew the workout was going to be a straight test of lung capacity and basically a cardiovascular race of “who can go the longest without hitting a serious oxygen deficit”.  I also knew that being one of the taller girls in the sport I had a lot more distance to cover with the barbell, so I would automatically need to be more efficient.  I completed 358 reps of 14.1.  That was two snatches shy of 8 full rounds.  I feel like I executed my plan as best as I could.  I was able to complete all my double unders unbroken and broke my snatches up beginning in the third round, as planned.  I feel all of the heart rate and aerobic capacity work that coach implemented into my weekly programming this past month really helped me out in this workout.  I didn’t seem to hit “the suck” as we like to call it, until about the 8 minute mark.  At that point, I could already see the light at the end of the tunnel and it was not that difficult to just hold on.  My execution was good enough for 25th in my region.  Of course, as with anything, I have been replaying this silly workout over and over in my head thinking up places where I could make up time and gain more reps.  This is where the trust comes in.  I know this is only a small first step in my plans for this year.  It is time to turn the page and get back to work – 14.2 is only days away.

*You can find this post and other posts by my peers and I at:

http://www.3sixtyathletics.com/360blog/

I’m apologizing right off the bat for the delay of the Kill Cliff’s East Coast Championship recap.  In all honesty, I sat down a few times to write about it right after the event and I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do it justice with a few paragraphs.  It was an amazing event in Boston put on by Ben Bergeron from CrossFit New England in conjunction with Kill Cliff.  It was not a relatively long event (one day individual, one day team), nor did it hold any real importance like regionals does, however it was pretty significant to me personally.  I headed into the day up against a line-up of athletes who’s names are staples in the competitive exercise world.  The workouts had been released prior, and I was able to run through some form of them before the competition.  I was comfortable with them and knew, as always, that there were some I could do really well in, and some that I would struggle through. I can’t say that I was nervous, I honestly think it really never hit me until after I was done for the day that I would be exercising next to the best in my sport.  

These are the athletes that I have been watching and studying meticulously since I decided that I wanted to be a competitive exerciser.  I know a lot about how they move and work and what their background stories and accomplishments consist of.  I’m not an individual that gets intimidated, I have played against big names in big time arenas plenty of times in my collegiate basketball career.  However, I am an individual who gives respect and credit where due, I understood that I would be competing in a field that would take complete advantage of any weakness, inefficiency, or mental lapse that I exposed.  My goal going into the day was to try and limit those areas of fault in order to give me the best shot at competing.

THE WORKOUTS

PART 1

2x5m Shuttle (burpee to turn)

1 Rope Climb

2x10m Shuttle (burpee to turn)

1 Rope Climb

2x15m Shuttle (burpee to turn)

1 Rope Climb

20m Sprint to finish 

*** 1 Minute Rest ***

PART 2

50′ Handstand Walk

15 Power Cleans (135)

50′ Handstand Walk

30 TTB

50′ Handstand Walk

30 OHS (135)

This was the first workout and one that I actually enjoyed because I knew I would be able to do well on the first part which would hopefully give me some momentum headed into the second part which I knew would be on the more difficult side for me.  Luckily, these workouts were scored separately which presented a good opportunity for me.  I stuck to that mentality and used my strengths as a running/jumping athlete to come out in the front of the pack on Part 1.  I love sprinting and climbing so this was one that made me excited and was a great way to start the weekend.  The second part was heavily reliant on handstand walks.  This is a movement that does not come natural to me and one that I have been working hard on lately.  The first time I ever kicked up onto my hands to attempt to walk was 10 months ago.  Since then I have made significant progress but am nowhere near as comfortable or smooth as the elite females I was up against at ECC.  Needless to say, I did not do very well on Part 2, however, the fact that I was able to hang in and actually get through my first competitive workout consisting of handstand walking left me with a positive streak and even more of a determination to keep improving on them.

3 Rounds for time:

15 C2B Pullups

12 Lateral Burpee Box Jump Overs

9 Back Squats (125)

This workout was one I had tested all the way through prior to the competition just so I would understand how it would feel.  I think it is an amazingly programmed workout – one that incorporates a skilled gymnastics movement, a highly aerobic movement, and then a decently heavy strength movement all in one.  My C2B pullups have been a continual work in progress that are still very inconsistent and can get sloppy easily.  I knew the key for me to do well in this workout would be the ability to maintain efficient, clean C2Bs that would not leave me too fatigued or frustrated for the other two movements.  I was able to do this through the first and second round, however they did get slow and sloppy on round 3 as my muscles started to reach a state of fatigue.  I know this is where I could have improved significantly in this workout and this is another strong point of focus in my daily training leading up to the open and regionals. After that workout, they made a cut to a field of 24 athletes.  I made the cut and was sitting in 14th place going into the next workout.

30 Wall Balls (20#)

then 3 Rounds of:

10 Axel Bar Snatches (65)

20′ OH Lunges with Axel Bar (65)

This workout I was pretty excited for.  First, I knew it consisted of movements that play into my strengths, and second, I was not happy with my performance on the previous workout and wanted to let loose on this one.  Wall balls might be my favorite movement in competitive exercise.  I’m not sure if its easy translation to a jump shot, my length/height, or the simple fact that I get to throw a ball over my head at a specific target a bunch of times (like I have been trained for years to do), or maybe just a combination of all three. The axel bar also seems to be a non factor for me because my hands are relatively large.  It doesn’t by any means feel normal or comfortable, but it doesn’t hinder my movements.  This workout felt like it was over in a flash, and I felt like I was in destroy mode the entire time.  It was, for sure, my best performance of the weekend.  After this, they made a cut to the top 12 athletes for the Finals workout.  My solid performance on this workout allowed me to snag a tie for 11th and I slipped into the finals by the skin of my teeth.

FINALS 

5 Muscle Ups

50 DU’s

40 Axel Bar Deadlifts (105)

5 Muscle Ups

50 DU’s

30 Axel Bar Front Squats (105)

5 Muscle Ups

50 DU’s

20 Axel Shoulder to OH (105)

5 Muscle Ups

50 DU’s

10 Axel Thrusters (105)

This was the coolest part of the day.  It was the championship heat with alot of the best female exercisers on earth.  I had a smile on my face just to be there, however I knew it was gametime… especially with 20 Muscle Ups in front of me.  Muscle Ups are something that have been a tireless work in progress for me.  They are now at the point where I can complete them when they are presented to me in a workout, however their consistency and efficiency in comparison to the best are very sub par.  I knew this going into the workout, but I also knew that the workout consisted of other movements (double unders, barbell things) that I can hang with anyone in.  My mentality was to just keep moving on the rings, don’t fail on any MU’s and try and make up time on the jump rope and barbell.  This plan worked through the first two or three rounds, however by round 4 and 5 I fell behind as the other girls exposed my weakness on the rings more and more.  I finished the workout in 11th, and that’s where I finished on the weekend.

4 WEEKS OUT

We are exactly 4 weeks away from the release of the first open workout.  This is an exciting time for me because I feel like my first real season is approaching.  This season will be my first “full season” of training to be a competitive exercise and I cannot wait to see the results of my hard work.  I am glad I had the opportunity to compete at the ECC because I feel like it gave me a clear idea and a reality check on where I stand among the girls I want to be considered with one day.  My daily training consists of some kind of “barbell gymnastics” (snatch, clean, jerk), then some strength work (squats, bench, presses, lunges), then some gymnastics skill work, then a conditioning piece.  The conditioning pieces vary greatly in length, content, and rest intervals and fall anywhere from “crossfitty” style workouts such as triplets and ladders to more single modal pieces like burpees, rowing, or running.  A few times a week I do strict interval work, while doing straight “for time” or “for reps” pieces as well.  My coach has recently presented the implementation of using a heart rate monitor in workout to track where we work at and build aerobic capacity.  This is something that I find really interesting and think will help my teammates and I significantly when the season comes around.

*You can find this post and other posts by my peers and I at:

http://www.3sixtyathletics.com/360blog/

This weekend the CrossFit community was rocked by a terrible injury sustained by a big name athlete at a large scale competition. Kevin Ogar from Crossfit Unbroken in Denver, CO missed a 235# Snatch which ricocheted off plates stacked behind him — striking his back, and severing his spinal cord at T11/T12. Currently, he is paralyzed from the waist down. I do not know Kevin. My only connection is through groups of athletes and coaches that know him well. However, that really does not matter here. When I heard this news I froze and immediately got chills. I am in a community of people who perform these lifts at high intensity and heavy load almost everyday, he is no different than any of us. This was not out of the ordinary. That is the most frightening part of all of this.

I think the biggest thing here is that we understand what we are doing, this exercising, this “CrossFit”, is now a full blown sport – one that is growing and growing by the minute. Just like in any sport, there is an unavoidable risk of injury – sprained ligaments, torn muscles, broken bones, and unfortunately, the ones that are much much worse, like the one we all learned about this weekend. It is important for us all to understand that there is no one or nothing to blame here. That may be difficult for some of us. When something bad happens our natural human instinct is to try our hardest to find someone or something to blame. It is usually our way of trying to comes to terms with how and why something so awful could happen. We need to find the strength to trust in a larger plan – even if that seems so ridiculous. We cannot blame the sport, or the equipment, or the event. Even in the safest place and under the safest circumstances we can create, there is an undeniable amount of risk involved in any sport.

I was a junior in college when Eric LeGrand of Rutgers University’s football team suffered a similar injury during a game. I remember reacting both physically and emotionally in almost the same way I am after Kevin’s injury. I realized that LeGrand was no different than me. He put his uniform on, taped his ankles, laced his shoes up, and put his game face on to take the field in the same way I did before every game. But he never made it to the next one. I couldn’t help but make that connection when I heard about Kevin. The open is approaching and from what I hear about him, I know he must have had big plans to make a run at his region. Like the rest of us, he had to have been training hard for countless hours a week, dedicating his life to becoming stronger, faster, and better at our sport. He went out to compete this weekend as a “precursor to the season” to test himself against the best in the sport. The unthinkable then happened, life got put in perspective, and now goals have been significantly altered.

As a community of athletes, we could react to this in two ways. The first, we could live in fear every time we walk into a gym or touch a barbell. Understandable, but not productive, beneficial, or the way I would imagine Kevin would want us to react from his incident. To be as good as he is in the sport, one must carry a strong passion for it. I believe he would not want this incident to deter anyone else’s passion for the sport or for exercise in general. The second, would be with a fierce and grateful disposition every time we walk into a gym or touch a barbell. Personally, I woke up this morning looking forward to getting in the gym and snatching. I felt like I had a duty to uphold. I didn’t care that I didn’t know him, I needed to honor him. I knew, for a fact, that there was a great athlete out there that would probably do anything right now to be able to wake up this morning, head to the gym, and put a barbell above his head, to sit and analyze his lifts, then get back on the bar and make the next one better. He would probably do anything to jump on a bar and do a set of pull-ups, or grab some rings and do some muscle ups, throw himself on the floor and get back up over and over and over again, and then go out on a run. We cannot live in fear stemming from an incident like this, we need to become even more motivated. We need to be grateful for the ability to move in the amazing way we do. We are fortunate every day to be blessed with the gift of movement. Our sport honors this gift and we need to honor it back.

I want this post to serve as a reminder while everyone is training hard this preseason. When our muscles are real sore, when we are having a bad day, when conditions aren’t optimal, when we don’t do as well as we wanted to on a workout, when we just want to stop or we are just not in the mood – there’s someone out there that would fully appreciate every single second of it and would probably kill to be in your position. We are doing Kevin an injustice by succumbing to that negativity. Be grateful. Understand how lucky you are. Realize the gift your body has. Do not take it for granted, not even for a second. Go out and destroy whatever is in front of you. Leave nothing. We need to approach the gym and the sport everyday with a reverence for our abilities and a knowledge that we are blessed to be able to do what we do, and a strong desire to Move For Kevin.

Here is the fund that has been setup to donate to Kevin’s road to recovery. He is without health insurance and has a long road of medical treatment ahead of him. We can all do our part in his progress. Kevin Ogar’s Recovery Fund

*You can find this post and other posts by my peers and I at:

http://www.3sixtyathletics.com/360blog/

As the cliche New Year blog post would go, I am going to take a minute to reflect on the past 365 days and what it has provided.  In all honesty, this has been the most educational year of my life and ironically, I did not spend one day of it in a classroom.  This past year has provided me with experiences I never would have thought I’d face — both negative and positive equally.  It has made me smarter, stronger, and closer to my dreams.

About a year ago, I contacted Dan and told him I wanted to start training out of his gym – Crossfit Lindy in West Babylon, NY.  I had been exercising in a crossfit gym for a few months at that point and had this idea that I wanted to participate in the worldwide Crossfit Open.  I had been around some competitors, heard them talk about it, and thought it seemed pretty cool.  I also knew Dan was the best in my area and knew his coaching and guidance would put me in the right direction.  I was right, he has been nothing short of an amazing coach.

The first weekend of March 2013, the first weekend of the Open, I attended The Outlaw Way camp because one of my training partners was going and signed me up as well.  Coincidentally, Dan is an Outlaw athlete and was there working/coaching as well.  This is where I met Rudy Nielsen and was introduced to his “way”.  I was blown away that this crossfit thing was actually a sport and could be practiced, planned, and seasoned as any other sport.  I was then interested in this whole thing and I wanted to work hard to be good at the new sport that I found.  I faithfully stuck to following The Way, worked with Dan daily and saw huge improvements.  Months later I would join team Outlaw as one of about 20 athletes who are coached directly by Rudy and his staff.

My first four open weeks were pretty mediocre.  I was sitting at 62nd in the region after week 4 when I got an awful stomach ache one day during training that just never went away – for about 30 hours.  I finally headed to the hospital and had my appendix removed.  Needless to say, week 5 never happened for me.  I managed to squeak out 1 rep simply for a score.  Fortunately, my intentions all along were to go to regionals on a team – specifically, the amazing team of athletes I had been training with at Lindy for the past months.  I am thankful that my appendix (and also the case of shingles I got the day before we left for regionals) didn’t prevent me from experiencing and competing at the 2013 regionals with my team.  It was for sure one of the coolest crossfit experiences I have had in my past year of doing this, and it made me hungry and motivated as ever to make a memorable impact in 2014.

Looking back, 2013 taught me 5 important lessons:

5. One will always be what one has always been.
Every time a new year approaches we hear the word “change” a sickening amount of times. For some reason, the date of 01/01 seems to signify a “time of change” for people. That is all well and good, however almost always people will revert back to their original form pretty quickly.  I am going out on a limb here and saying, yes – actual true CHANGE is very rare. People will always be what they have always been. Maybe they grow, maybe they learn some lessons, maybe they gain some insight on their actions or whatnot. But I have learned this year, that one will always be what one has always been. I experienced this directly in other people as well as in myself. At the beginning of 2013 I honestly thought my “career as an athlete” was over. At the beginning of 2014 I now see that it is basically just starting over. I have always been a high level competitive athlete, and I will always be.  Even when the day finally comes when I cannot physically do what I want anymore, my mind will never be able to snap out of it. My mentality and daily actions will always be that of an athlete. Those that can understand and identify with me in that way will be with me, and those that can’t will watch me from a distance.

4. You can never force the issue.
This was a big lesson to get a grasp on. One that I think I have been working on for years now and it probably is still a work in progress. The funny thing is that this is such a broad and inclusive lesson that it literally applies to EVERYTHING in life. I was a straight up scorer for my entire basketball career. My team always relied on me to put the ball in the basket.  That was my role. Sometimes, on good days, that came easy for me. However on those days when it wasn’t coming so easy, I can’t even put a number on the amount of times I was told “don’t force it” or “let the game come to you.”  Much easier said than done, however it is 100% applicable to everything in life. You cannot force something that is not meant to work, no matter how much you WANT it. Sometimes you just have to step away, relax, and let life come to you. Just like those days in the gym when the barbell does not want to go overhead – you cannot force the issue. Throwing 6 more attempts won’t help, in fact it will only make things worse.  This year I learned that it’s okay to walk away from something even if you felt you haven’t succeeded – because forcing the issue will never make things better.  Trust that it will happen when it is suppose to. That brings me right to my next lesson.

3. TRUST – in yourself, and the plan.
Trust is a funny thing. It’s a word that we LOVE to throw around. It sounds so noble and so easily attained, however it is one of the hardest things to get a grip on. We can talk about how we trust, or how we can be trusted, but the truth is that is not often the case. Most humans are creatures of doubt. I find this with myself sometimes. I say over and over again that I trust in a system or I trust what I am doing for myself is best or I trust myself that I actually am what I think I am. But then doubt finds it’s way in, and the trust bubble gets smaller. This year I feel I have learned how to ignore that doubt and just keep moving. I learned true trust in myself, the system I am following, and the life plan God has laid out for me. In the gym, I’ve learned to trust fully in my coaches and their advice – even when I see or hear of other coaches with different views. Finding a training system and trusting in it is a big deal amongst athletes, especially in this sport. However, I feel fully invested trust is the only way to give something a chance to work and the only way to achieve success. In life, I’ve learned to trust that the decisions I am making are good ones – even when they are confusing or unclear. And, in 2013 I have finally understood the meaning of everything happening for a reason. I just need to step back and trust in the reason.

2. Words are empty without action.
Yes, this is a cliche “lesson”, however it hit me like an 80mph baseball in the face this year.  Sometimes, words seem to be put together SO well that we actually start to believe them without seeing any action. In my sport we say “if it’s not on video, it didn’t happen” – precisely because of that. No, I’m not saying everyone is a liar. What I’m saying is that it is a lot easier to talk about what you did or are going to do or have done or want to do – than to actually do it. Words require breath, actions actually require effort. I have learned this year that that effort is sometimes a hard thing to come by. This year I visited a gym that had the common military phrase “DEEDS NOT WORDS” painted across their wall. I found that phrase painted across my brain ever since. There are about a million cliche phrases I can insert in here that mean the same thing. But this year I have fully learned and understood the phrase. I no longer want to speak about what I feel I can accomplish – I just want to show people. I no longer want to hear what people have to tell me – I just want them to show me. Unfortunately, (and fortunately) words have lost a lot of their value in my life this year. I now need actions.

1. STRENGTH.
I have gotten stronger. I took a few minutes the other day to go back through my workout log and look at where I had started a year ago. It was actually incredible to see – so much that it brought a smile to my face. I’ve added 35 and 45 pounds to my clean and jerk and snatch respectively, 50 pounds to my squat, 30 pounds to my push press. I’ve cut almost 7 minutes from my Diane time, and almost 4 from my Fran time. I’ve gained movements that were nearly impossible for me simply because I put the time in to get stronger. That is all just the physical aspect of the strength I gained in 2013. My college coach spent four years of her life trying to get me to be “mentally stronger” and I wish she could see me now. 2013 left me no choice. It shook me around like a rag doll a bit, in a violent mix of amazing and awful. However, through each event I became stronger. Looking back, my increase in both physical and mental strength combined is something I will never take for granted. I am not who I was 12 months ago (actually that would be contradicting my first lesson of 2013 so let me rephrase that). I am exactly who I was 12 months ago, however, I have learned 5 invaluable life lessons that have now made me incredibly stronger both physically and mentally. I cannot wait for this upcoming year and everything I will have the ability to look in the eye and conquer.

*You can find this post and other posts by my peers and I at:

http://www.3sixtyathletics.com/360blog/

This past weekend was hands down the coolest sporting experience I have had since hanging up my basketball jersey. The 2013 American Open was a weekend filled with amazing, actually shocking athletes in a sport that was so incredibly different from what I am use to that it blew my mind. The idea that I was even a part of it and actually competed and held my own is still something that I am getting use to. I went into the weekend knowing it was going to be a great event, however I severely underestimated it. I am going to break this post into sections so I can talk about aspects of the weekend in some kind of order. My brain is still on overload trying to process it all that if I don’t do this, the post will be like a mishmosh of my thoughts.

1) Cutting Weight
This is an aspect of weightlifting that needs to be spoken about, especially if you have never had experience with a weight cutting sport (like me). When I qualified for the AO I did it from the 69kg (152lb) weight class. About 9 weeks prior to the AO we decided I would compete in the 63kg class (138lb). Since then I have been walking around at about 145lbs, so cutting to 138 was going to be just fine. Luckily, one of my coaches, Spencer Arnold, is one of the best weight lifters in the country and basically mirrors my weight cut exactly. So, he had been an amazing point of reference the entire time. I cut weight by basically eating a very strict paleo diet and drinking tons of water. About a week out I took out all carbs except for right around my workouts and I also took all my meals, split them in half, and put about 2 hours between meals. I didn’t eat after 7pm if I could help it. A home this is was no problem. However, I left for Dallas on Thursday and didn’t weigh in until 5pm on Saturday night. The discipline involved in this aspect of the sport is insane. I continued my strict regiment and also got on the scale religiously at the hotel to understand where my body was at constantly. I was basically a robot, following exactly what Spencer said to do. My biggest fear was getting on the scale and weighing above 63k and not even having a shot at lifting. Spencer was so good at coaching me on this that I actually was able to eat two full meals AND stay hydrated all day Saturday before getting on that scale. I weighed in officially at 62.2kg. Immediately after, I finished a bottle of Pedialyte, a plate of chicken fingers and fries, and two bags of M&Ms. I was feeling perfect and ready to go.

2) My Team
One of the coolest things about this weekend was that I went into a big time individual sport with some of the best people as my “teammates”. Many of them I have never met before, but it felt like we had been teammates for years. Although we were all alone out there on that platform when it was our time, the entire weekend I felt like I had a constant support system in exactly the same way I always felt on the road with my basketball teams. We all lifted at various times, and for the most part we were all there together watching and helping each other. The sense of pride that came from that was amazing and made such a positive impact on the weekend. Team Outlaw had an awesome showing at the AO and promises to have an even better future.

3) My Coaches
I can officially say, the coaches I have are among the best in the business. I have now witnessed them up against the best in the country and am so honored and grateful to be their athlete. As an athlete, I literally had to worry about NOTHNG else but performing. For 3 days, they did not stop. They handled all 15 of us, sometimes up to 3 of us at a time, with such ease that it was incredible. As a division 1 athlete, I understand what it is like to be “spoiled”, these guys duplicated that feeling. I was relaxed and confident, knowing that they had me prepared and I could trust what they were asking of me. Rudy Nielsen, Spencer Arnold, Colm O’Reily, and Jared Fleming are probably the biggest reason I had any success this weekend.

4) The Atmosphere
The entire weekend the atmosphere was unbelievable. The event kicked off on Friday morning with the youth division. One of my teammates, 13 year old Harrison Maurus, lifted in that session at 8am. Even at 8am on the first day, the atmosphere and energy was so cool. I lifted in the night session on Saturday. At this point there was two platforms running next to each other – 77kgA males on one and my 63kgA female session on the other. James Tatum, a crowd favorite and one of the best in the sport was lifting on one platform next to Geralee Vega, the overall winner in my weight class and competitor in the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Needless to say, the atmosphere in the room was the most insane it had been all weekend. It was packed, standing room only. When I was on deck ready to lift I actually had lean in close to hear my coach standing right in front of me. Luckily, I love a crowd. The more people the better, the louder the noise the more I want to get out there, my smile gets bigger, I start having more fun. I told one of my coaches that competing in that atmosphere actually made me wish I was better at weightlifting. Unlike in basketball, where I had perfected the game, my technique and the understanding of the sport for years – I’m still just a weightlifting rookie with a lot of room for improvement in my technique and familiarity with the sport. Nonetheless, stepping up to the bar in front of that crowd was one of the coolest things I have ever done in sports. It gave me a new inspiration to keep perfecting my lifts and I cannot wait to get back there.

5) My Actual Lifts
I know this is the part that most of you are all waiting for. I finished my first ever national weightlifting meet in 16th among the 34 lifters in the 63kg weight class. My recorded total was 160kg (352lbs) which was 2kg short of a meet PR for me. I opened up my snatches at 68kg (149.6lbs) and hit it. I then jumped to 72kg (158.4lb) and missed. On my final snatch attempt I hit 73kg (160.6lbs), but received 3 red flags on my lift – my first “No Lift” ever. These were questionable red flags, my coaches and I are still unclear on the reasoning but it is what it is, bad calls happen and there is nothing we could do about it. So, my highest recorded snatch was 68kg. I then opened my clean and jerks at 92kg (202.4lbs) and successfully completed the lift. That was a meet PR. My next jump was to 96kg (211.2lbs). My coach and I have been working on a certain part of my clean technique that I need to adjust in order to become a better cleaner. I stepped up to 96kg and successfully made that technique change but was not ready to receive the bar where I did (because I have been use to doing it wrong for so long now) that the bar actually knocked me back on my butt – something that has never happened before. Although I wish I could have received the bar cleanly, I was confident in the pull and the technique change I had made. My original plan was to have my next attempt be at 98kg (215.6lbs), however, coach and I had spoke about the idea of attempting 100kg (220lbs) at the AO. We knew I could hit the lift, but everything would have to be near perfect. So we called 100kg. My coaches came back over to me a little bit later and told me that if we pushed to 101kg (222.2lbs) and hit it I would medal in the clean and jerk. Being the athlete I am, I’m never going to say ‘no’ to something like that. Honestly, I wouldn’t tell these guys no very often anyway – they’re great coaches. So I stepped out to the 101kg bar. I had already successfully made the lift in my head about 3 times. However, in real life my pull was off, I let the bar get away from me and could not secure myself underneath it. No lift. I ended my clean and jerk with a successful 92kg lift.

The Weekend Takeaway:
This weekend made me realize how blessed I really am. When I walked away from competitive basketball, I never imagined I would have the opportunity to continue be the athlete I always was – to travel around the world, to be a part of a great team, to have great coaches looking after me, to be competing in great atmospheres, to have something to work hard for everyday. Not a day goes by where I don’t thank God for bringing be to this and giving me another chance at doing the things I love to do.

This weekend also inspired me to want to be great even more. Being around such positive, hard working, driven and focused people made me realize there is an entire breed like me out there – a breed that I need to be around for both my continued success and mental well being. No matter how hard I think I am working daily, this weekend I saw there are hundreds of women working just as hard – and harder. That’s inspiring in itself – I don’t ever want to be out worked.

Lastly, this weekend reminded me that everything needs to be rooted in fun. The minute something starts becoming stressful, or a burden, or a negative experience, it needs to stop immediately. Sports is about fun, and recreation, easing your mind, and bettering your character. All the greats are out there just having fun, appreciating the moment and the opportunity they have worked so hard for, and simply living the dream.

http://vimeo.com/81448105

If you don’t believe me about that, here is a little 2013AO, off-stage, behind the scenes, epicness. Yes, this is an exercise race at 3am in a hotel lobby. Yes, those are some of the biggest names in the sports of both weightlifting and crossfit. Yes, that is Paul Estrada winning a handstand race in space dolphin tights about 24 hours after easily snatching 146kg (321.2lbs). Crossfitters win.

*You can find this post and other posts by my peers and I at:

Almost everyday I catch myself trying to “measure my success” in some form. Whether it is trying to match or best a PR lift, comparing my conditioning pieces with my teammates or other athletes, or correcting technical mistakes in movements that need to be precisely efficient – I “measure success” numerous times a day.  Although all that stuff is all well and good, and it feels amazing when I realize I gain some small successes daily, I have recently been reflecting more on what success actually means to me in my life. Due to the nature of my job I am in close contact with so many different people on a daily basis. This is one of my favorite aspects of what I do. I love being able to make a difference in people’s lives. This week – while one of my clients was overhead squatting a PVC pipe – it hit me. The biggest success I could ever measure in my life, is my ability to make a difference in the life of someone else.  Don’t get me wrong, my personal exercise successes are very important to me. But there is no better feeling of success than looking at someone and knowing you have made a difference in their lives. The following 3 examples are some of my greatest “successes” – because I don’t want to make this post 10 pages long, I am limiting it to 3. However, the list can go on and on.

The first is one of my clients at Equinox. He is in his late 60s and was a former collegiate basketball player, active all his life. In good health, aside from some aches and pains that come from being active. When I first got a hold of him he was exercising regularly and was excited about it. However I realized quickly that he was often uncomfortable and in pain because he had some issues that needed to be addressed. He was severely inflexible in both his thoracic spine and hips.  One of my favorite measures of flexibility for both of these areas is the overhead squat. His OHS had became my little project. I knew if I could correct his OHS, that would mean that his underlying issues would be corrected as well – making his movement patterns, and life, easier and more comfortable.  I’ve been training him almost a year now. A year of implementing many repetitive, boring, yet very essential drills and exercises into his weekly program.  Month by month, I’ve watched him get more mobile, and be able to get stronger because he was getting more mobile. He’s completed a mini triathlon in this year, has regained confidence in his ability to move comfortably, has explained how much better he feels while being recreationally active in areas like shooting a basketball and swimming laps. One of my biggest lightbulb moments with him was when he explained to me one day “It was raining last night, and the dumpster to my house is about 40 yards away. I had to throw three bags of garbage out and without hesitation I threw my coat on, grabbed the bags, jogged to the dumpster, discarded them, and then jogged back. Only when I got back inside did I realize how awesome it felt to be able to do that.” The funny thing is that only after that statement did I realize the difference I was making in his life. Oh, and this week, for the first time in the year we have been working together – his OHS looked like this.

Pretty damn awesome.

The second success was completely a team effort. This man is a member at the CrossFit gym that I coach at. He came into the first day of “foundations” which is our introductory classes and – no exaggeration – could not do a sit-up. He was incredibly overweight and out of shape and was almost in shock that he let himself get that way. In fact the only way to get him to perform a sit-up was for me to  keep a 45lb plate on his feet while he attempted one. However, he bought into what we were doing 100% – from the day he walked in. He came religiously, and started to eat the way we were encouraging him too.  In his first month in the gym, he had lost 30lbs. I’m not sure if you have ever done a workout with a weight vest on? But 30lbs is ALOT of extra weight to be moving around. Currently, he has lost close to 80lbs. He can do sit-ups with ease, he can do pull-ups, running and box jumps are no problem for him. I was there this weekend as he competed in a small local CrossFit competition alongside his college-aged daughter who also has a similar story to his.  This man is special, and when I watch him I know his success has little to do with me and everything to do with himself. However, there is that old saying “you can lead a horse to water but you can’t force them to drink”.  That saying directly applies to this situation for me. I understand that I have the ability to lead my horses to water – to show them a better life for themselves when they are unsure if it is possible. I am proud to watch him in the gym everyday with a smile on his face because I know it represents a greater, new-found happiness in his life and in himself. He feels great about himself and in turn has caused me to feel successful to have the ability to make a difference in his life.

My third “success” is probably my biggest, constant, work in progress.  When I first started training this woman she was literally the weakest person I have ever trained. We started with half hour sessions because she could not physically take an hour. The interesting thing was this woman was a busy, strong, mother of two. One of the children, a 4 year old on the Asbergers/autism spectrum, requires 100% of her effort and attention. She is one of the most amazing mothers I have been in contact with – spending countless hours making sure her son gets the help and assistance he needs at this crucial time in his development. When we first started training together she was wildly distracted, would get nervous to exercise, would present soreness and pain very easily because of her lack of strength, and just didn’t feel good about herself in general.  She would cancel very often and had a clear anxiety about being in the gym, because she had so much going on in her life. It was hard for her to put everything on hold to spend time on herself.  In a matter of about a year I have seen a massive change in her. We still have a long way to go but she is actually at the point where she enjoys exercising, she has gotten stronger both physically and mentally because of it. On numerous occasions she has expressed how she can now handle all the stresses in her life because of her ability to release stress in the gym. She feels her life is easier simply because she is on an exercise schedule which provides a little bit of “me time” for her each week.  She now realizes the importance and necessity of taking care of yourself before you can ever take care of others.  She is in no way spectacularly fit or strong, however I look at her as one of my biggest measures of success because of the progress she has had. I know the difference that exercise has made in her life and when I look at her, I am constantly reminded of my ability to make some kind of a difference in the lives of others.

Exercise Update:
I am two weeks out of the American Open and could not be more excited. My training has been still following a CrossFit style template, however as usual, there has been some extra weightlifting thrown in there to keep me moving well before the AO. I am spending some time at my coaches gym this week getting some last minute fixes and adjustments in before the big meet. I found out last week that it seems I will compete in the A session as a 63k lifter meaning I will lift on Sunday on the single platform (this was the goal all along). I PR’d my clean and jerk this past week as well as hit 90% of my max snatch twice – two things I feel real good about weeks out from the biggest weightlifting meet of my life. I’m stoked and ready. This is the first big showing of my rookie year as an exerciser.

Oh, coach and I were able to get some snatching in with the boys from the Georgetown Strength & Conditioning staff this week. They were awesome and it was a ton of fun. Hopefully I will be hanging around, coaching and lifting with them more often.

My second stop in two days on my DC college tour was to hang with one of my all time favorite coaches and greatest people out there – my former assistant coach at Hofstra, Bill Ferrara.  This is Megan Nipe (his current #22 lights out shooter), Bill throwing the deuces up, and I (his former #22 lights out shooter) all hanging after their practice.  Shout out to him for letting me post my blog on his office computer (apologies for the lateness of it!)

*You can find this post and other posts by my peers and I at:

“With the new day, comes new strength and new thoughts.”  – Eleanor Roosevelt

This week seemingly flew by for me in a whirlwind of events – for many different reasons.  These reasons have occurred in both my personal life as well as my athletic life (included in detail later in this post) that have unsettled me slightly.  However, through it all I have found this amazing, almost breathtaking motivation to get up every day and go after what I want even harder and stronger than the day before. Motivation is a funny thing.  It can come from amazing, inspirational avenues like great people or incredible events.  However, sometimes the best motivation is the kind that comes in the midst of insecurity and uneasiness. I’ve found this is a pattern in my life.  When stress introduces itself, I have about three bones in my body that want to run for cover.  The rest want to go out there and do the best work they have ever done.  I find when things get confusing and rough patches make their way onto my path, the easiest way for me to handle it is to get lost in myself and lost in my craft.  The motivation to latch on to what you love and what you trust fully – yourself – and succeed because you know you deserve to.  Originally, it had been basketball.  I became the player and shooter I was only after I tore my ACL.  My best games and practices would come smack in the middle of some sort of chaos going on in my life.  Whenever I felt uncomfortable, upset, uneasy, or scared, all I wanted was to be on some empty court with the ball in my hands getting shots up methodically.  Since I have been competing in exercise, it has served as that outlet.  When I start to experience those feelings because of life’s ride, I want to camp out in the gym.  I want to keep my hands on a barbell and keep moving until I can’t breathe.  I use the negativity as motivation and take refuge in the things I trust will always be there for me.  This week I have felt so driven and focused in the gym.  My new found strength and new found motivation have almost taken me by surprise.  I’ve trained with a chip on my shoulder like I just lost a game by 30 points on my home court.  Where some people would use the word “distraction” to describe unsettling events, I like motivation.  I have dealt with some sudden changes that probably should have knocked me off my feet, but instead have sent me sprinting like a lion –  hungry as ever, focused beyond measure.  In the end, I always turn to what makes me comfortable.  I find comfort in the motivation to make myself better every day, both as a person and an athlete.

WEEKEND RECAP:

Last weekend I experienced my first weightlifting debacle in the short career I have started here.  Of course I was highly disappointed in myself, so much so that I actually thought about not even writing about it.  I realized however, that would mean I wasn’t actually facing it and was almost trying to pretend like it never happened.  That would be detrimental to my ability to learn and grow from the mishap.  It would take away from the entire experience.

Two weeks ago, my coaches and I made a decision to have me lift as a 63kg lifter at the American Open in December.  Remember, I have already qualified for the AO as a 69kg lifter.  However, looking at the numbers, we made the assessment that I would probably have better success as a 63kg and would be able to get there if I was diligent about it.  At the time, I was at a body weight of about 67-68kg.  There was a last chance meet on Nov. 10^th that I decided I would cut to 63kg for, lift at, qualify for the AO again in another weight class, and then register for the AO as a 63kg lifter.  Plans are only plans until they are executed.

I spent most of my energy in the two weeks leading up to the meet trying to understand how to cut weight and getting more in tune with how my body functions in that regard.  I had never done anything like this before.  I never get on a scale unless I’m at a doctor’s office.  Although I eat relatively well, I don’t monitor portions or time of day in which I eat – when I am hungry, I eat.  That all changed.  I became a consumption machine, eating specific portions of specific foods at specific times.  Drinking water on a schedule.  I spent most of the two weeks uncomfortable, just because my eating routine had changed and my body was a little thrown off.  I have to be honest, I doubted my coaches a few times during those two weeks.  I really didn’t think the weight loss was going to be possible.  However, I did what they said and I was very slowly cutting weight and I felt like I was still lifting normally.  The only physical difference I could feel was the fact that a couple minutes into my met cons I was getting easily fatigued.  Most likely from the cut in high energy food consumption.  Other than that I was staying positive and on track.  I hit my openers with no problems the week before the meet as I usually do.  Things were going according to plan.

After all the worrying I end up weighing in at 62.8kg, exactly where I wanted to be.  No, I didn’t feel 100%, but I was excited to lift and finish through with the game plan we had put in place.  I was opening with a 69k (151.8lb) snatch – this is usually money for me.  However, a little technical mishap went down during my first pull and I ended up leaving the bar out in front of me a little too much.  I hit 70k (154lbs) next, but missed 73k (160lbs), which was heavy – but something I could have stuck easily.  Good news was that all I had to do was hit my first clean and jerk and I would successfully qualify for the AO – again.  Bad news is that the same technical issue that happened in the first pull of my first snatch happened on my 91k (200.2lbs) clean opener, and then again at 92k (202.4lbs).  I fixed it nicely on my third and final attempt at 95k (209lbs) – all I had to do was stick the jerk.  I didn’t.  I went 0 for 3 on my clean & jerks for the day, leaving me with no total to qualify for the Open as a 63k lifter.  Although the plan was in place and perfectly set for me, my execution that day was off and so the plan could not unfold.  Yes, not ideal – but I will work with it.  I will switch weight classes down to 63kg when I arrive at the American Open in a few weeks.  It is possible that my current total may qualify for an A session, however it is very unlikely.  A or B really does not matter at this point.  It is what it is.  I just need to hunt the podium down from wherever I stand that day.

*You can find this post and other posts by my peers and I at: