Personal Records...

Tonight at olympic lifting class it was the end of a 12 week training cycle and we were given the opportunity to max out on three lifts: the snatch, the clean and jerk, and the back squat.  When I found this out I was a little doubtful that tonight was going to be the night for me to do this.  I have been going pretty hard, I have been tired, and I am still adjusting to a new schedule/routine and box.  I had to put this out of my mind and attack the lifts. I grabbed my platform and it was on.  I was going to pick really heavy stuff up off the ground and put it over my head. 

The snatch was the first lift.  It is a very technical lift and is extremely difficult to do well.  I admit that my form is not perfect on these lifts but it is getting better.  I have a bad habit of letting the bar travel out and away from my body instead of straight up my body.  Despite this flaw I pushed through it.  I worked up to my previous PR of 185 lbs and caught it.  Next I put 195 lbs on the bar and snatched it.  The bar travel too far away from my body and I missed the lift.  I was FURIOUS!  I wanted to beat the 200lb mark.  I backed away from the bar, collected my thoughts and attempted again.  I CAUGHT IT!  I was floored I just caught 195 lbs.  Next I decided lets go past the 200 lb mark and try 205 lbs.  I caught it on the first try.  I CAUGHT IT!  Again I was floored.  I had been working towards this since the Wilkes Olympic Lifting seminar back in February.  I decided to try my next goal 215 lbs.  The snatch went up got it into the catch position but could not hold on to it.  It was a good place to stop.  215 lbs will come another day.

Next was the clean and jerk.  I warmed up going from 135 lbs to 225 lbs with relative ease.  I knew that my old PR of 245 lbs would be hard to hit but I was feeling confident and knew it was just mind over matter.  The next lift was 235 lbs and I nailed it.  Next was 245 lbs and that went easy.  I decided to jump another 10 lbs and attempt 255 lbs.  The first time the clean went easy and the snatch made it 90% of the way up and I lost it.  I did not drop deep enough into the snatch and was unable to lock it out.  I backed away from the platform, took some advice and encouragement from Coach Will and thought about the lift.  I stepped back on the platform and nailed it.  It went up easy.  I was excited and overjoyed.  255 lb clean and jerk...100lbs over my body weight.  The training has been paying off. 

The last lift of the night was the back squat.  My previous PR was 355 lbs and I was not sure what was going to happen with this lift.  I had already pushed beyond my previous limits on the 2 previous lifts and now I had to reset my mind and attack the back squat.  I warmed up through the weights from 135 lbs to 315 lbs.  For some reason 315 lbs seemed difficult and my confidence was wavering.  I dropped that bad attitude and got my head back in the game.  I threw 335 lbs on the bar...down and up no problem.  345 lbs and 355 lbs went the same way.  Okay time for a PR.  I put 365lbs on the bar.  I got underneath the bar, stepped back, and then down and up.  Right knee came in a bit but the lift went up.  I got my third PR for the night...365 lb back squat.  I was amped up but exhausted.  I could not wait to tell Kara what I had done.  She was very excited for me and told me that she and Mable needed to get me a cape.  I laughed and said I don't think so.  It is time to get back to work.

I would have not reached these PR's without a combination of hard work and great programming.  I was very fortunate to have a great strength bias at Crossfit Durham and to enter an amazing oly lifting box at Windy City Crossfit.  I am extremely pleased with these PR's but there are more desires and expectations on my horizon.  I want to train hard and push my limits even more.

Anything is possible if you put your mind, heart, and effort into it.  It is extremely important to have goals when it comes to crossfit.  You should have 2 types of goals: realistic goals and fantasy goals.  Realistic goals are goals that you can realistically achieve in the course of your immediate training and fantasy goals are goals that you can't imagine reaching but if you did it would be best thing in the world.

I wish you all the best of luck with the pursuit of your goals and conquering your weakness.  Never give up.  Every time you lift make every part of the movement count.  Every time you WOD push yourself to your breaking point.  Most of all never give up and never be satisfied, stay hungry and you will rise to levels you never before thought you could.

“Keep your dreams alive. Understand to achieve anything requires faith and belief in yourself, vision, hard work, determination, and dedication. Remember all things are possible for those who believe.”
- Gail Devers