Pennsylvania State Weightlifting Championships

[NorwichGrad]

I signed up for this event 4 months ago. My goal was to lift in the 85-kg class.

Last week I went on family vacation at Broadkill Beach in Delaware.. You bros know what happens when you take a vacation.. Yup.. My weight went up a bit. Last Sunday, after returning from vacation, I weighed at 201-lbs.. I had to be at 187-lbs (85 kilos by this morning).. 201-lbs a week before a meet was the heaviest I've ever been. But I figured it was worth the experiment and risk.

I thought to myself, "I'm gonna go for it.." So I attempted.

Basically, my diet this week was as follows:

Breakfast - 2 eggs and toast

Lunch - Chicken breast and rice

Dinner - salad with homemade dressing

The goal was low sodium

The key was the water intake thingy:

Monday - 6 bottles
Tuesday - 8 bottles
Wednesday - 10 bottles
Thursday - 12 bottles
Friday - 4 bottles til noon, then sip throughout the day a bottle with lemon.

Also on Friday night, I did the hottub thingy. I submerged myself in the tub with hot water for ten minutes.. Then wrapped myself with towel for another 10 minutes.. I easily lost 1-lb

This morning when I got up I weighed in after going to the bathroom. The best I could do was 191-lbs.. I lost 10-lbs in one week.. Not enough, obviously, to make weight at 187-lbs.. But I definitely learned something - that I could easily lose 10-lbs in one week.

I didn't want to do the hot tub thingy again four times because it was too much of a risk.. Not good for the heart..

I said to myself, "No biggie.. I will compete at 94-kg and have fun."

On the way to the meet, I got me some coffee and a big azz breakfast sandwich.. I figured no sense hoping to make weight. Might as well eat now so I can have the strength for the meet.

SIDELINE STORY

Not to get off the subject, but I want to share a story.. It will make sense at the end..

3 years ago, I got a phone call from a former CrossFitter.. He said he wanted to be a competitive weightlifter. I took him under my wings.. I trained him for several months..

Then he decided to become a coach himself.. A full time weightlifting coach.. We maintained our friendship.

He was a hungry student.. And had lots of talent. And he had a heart of gold. He worked for a gym as a coach.. Then they fired him. As a result, he was motivated to open his own gym. And because of his hunger and willingness to learn, he trained with some of the best international coaches in the US. He even went to the Olympic training center in Colorado to train with the national coach..

He is succeeding in his gym as a business owner and a coach.. The last time I saw him in person was May 2014. But we always kept in touch via ********. His name is Harrison.


Back to the story

So after I weighed in this AM, I was officially in the 94-kg master class.

Two great things happened:

a) I saw a friend and fellow coach. He was gonna compete in the 85-kg master. He was also there to coach some of his lifters in the later session. His name is Bob.

b) I saw Harrison. He was there to coach some of his lifters. It was great to see him in person.. He asked me if I needed coaching.. I took him up on his offer with great humility and honor. I mean, here is Harrison. I used to coach him.. He obviously surpassed my knowledge with his hunger and desire to be a great coach.. Of course I was gonna take his offer of help.. And I was glad he was there.

c) One of my lifters entered the meet. He's Buddy.


SHOWTIME, BABY

My plan was to open with a 65-kg in the snatch.. My old competition PR was 75-kg in the 85-kg weightclass.

Harrison had me do warm ups.. I listened to him like a student. Instead of opening with 65, we opened with 68..

Then second attempt was 72.. Then third attempt was 76-kg.. One kilo more than my old competition PR..

Harrison coached me on how to tackle 76.. I listened, and I did it..

I set a competition PR of 76-kg in the snatch..



Then clean and jerk. I was gonna open with 95.. Harrison assured me I could easily do 100 based on how I warmed up. Again, I listed..

I did 100, then 104..

He told me how to attack 109, I listened, and I set a competition PR of 109..

I did 6 for 6..

I set competition PRs in both snatch and clean and jerk.. I was happy. Really happy..

The funny thing is that I was glad that I got bumped up to 94-kg because my friend Bob broke the state record in the 85-kg weightclass as a master lifter.. He obviously took first place.. I tried to break the state record TWICE in the past, and failed.. But to see my friend Bob break the record was an awesome feeling.. His opener of 120-kg broke the state record by 7-kg.. Then he lifted his second attempt, and his third PR attempt at 130-kg. Wow.. Just wow. The master state record that stood for at least 15 years was smashed by at least 17-kg by my friend, right before my eyes.. You can't beat that, bros..

And, oh, I also took first place in the 94-kg weightclass masters. Good thing I got bumped up because I would have taken second before Bob.. LOL..

MY LIFTER

After I lifted, the next session was the heavier weight class. Buddy was in that class as a 105-kg.

He set an all time PR in the snatch at 76-kg..

He set a competition PR in the clean and jerk at 95-kg..

He won first in his class as a youth lifter..

The best part was when the announcer said to the audience how Buddy was only 16 and that he had a bright future.. That made my day as Buddy's coach.. What's really nice is that the announcer is an international coach who produced a bronze medalist in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.. The even more interesting thing is that he is the same gentleman who instructed the course when I got my USAW Coach certification two years ago..




It was a great day, bros.. A great day.

[MissHolly]

Great stuff, NG! As always an interesting an thorough write up. Congrats!

[DocHoss]

That's so awesome!

Congratulations all around - to you, to Bob, and to Buddy. Sounds just about perfect

[anonymous]

how is the competition usually in the 85kg class? Is it usually where the strongest lifters compete?

Congrats for competing and coming first!

[Tmax55]

Nice, I'm happy for you!

[NorwichGrad]

Thanks guys and gal. It was my fifth meet. My goal is to expand my team so more newbies will compete. This means I will have to back off on competing myself.

Lifting at York is a great experience because of its historic significance and its contributions to the fitness industry and iron arena.

The warm up area is basically a huge azz gym. Then they have the museum and a store within the competition hall.

The manufacturing plant is a 100 yards away in a separate building where they manufacture York products.

Halfway. To answer your question, strictly from a numbers standpoint the heavier weight class, 105kg and above, usually have the largest numbers. But we use the Sinclair formula to determine whom to give the Best Lifter Award.

And it is usually in the middle weight classes from my experience. The 77kg and 85kg weigh classes usually get the best lifter.

[D2rmind]

I signed up for this event 4 months ago. My goal was to lift in the 85-kg class.

Last week I went on family vacation at Broadkill Beach in Delaware.. You bros know what happens when you take a vacation.. Yup.. My weight went up a bit. Last Sunday, after returning from vacation, I weighed at 201-lbs.. I had to be at 187-lbs (85 kilos by this morning).. 201-lbs a week before a meet was the heaviest I've ever been. But I figured it was worth the experiment and risk.

I thought to myself, "I'm gonna go for it.." So I attempted.

Basically, my diet this week was as follows:

Breakfast - 2 eggs and toast

Lunch - Chicken breast and rice

Dinner - salad with homemade dressing

The goal was low sodium

The key was the water intake thingy:

Monday - 6 bottles
Tuesday - 8 bottles
Wednesday - 10 bottles
Thursday - 12 bottles
Friday - 4 bottles til noon, then sip throughout the day a bottle with lemon.

Also on Friday night, I did the hottub thingy. I submerged myself in the tub with hot water for ten minutes.. Then wrapped myself with towel for another 10 minutes.. I easily lost 1-lb

This morning when I got up I weighed in after going to the bathroom. The best I could do was 191-lbs.. I lost 10-lbs in one week.. Not enough, obviously, to make weight at 187-lbs.. But I definitely learned something - that I could easily lose 10-lbs in one week.

I didn't want to do the hot tub thingy again four times because it was too much of a risk.. Not good for the heart..

I said to myself, "No biggie.. I will compete at 94-kg and have fun."

On the way to the meet, I got me some coffee and a big azz breakfast sandwich.. I figured no sense hoping to make weight. Might as well eat now so I can have the strength for the meet.

SIDELINE STORY

Not to get off the subject, but I want to share a story.. It will make sense at the end..

3 years ago, I got a phone call from a former CrossFitter.. He said he wanted to be a competitive weightlifter. I took him under my wings.. I trained him for several months..

Then he decided to become a coach himself.. A full time weightlifting coach.. We maintained our friendship.

He was a hungry student.. And had lots of talent. And he had a heart of gold. He worked for a gym as a coach.. Then they fired him. As a result, he was motivated to open his own gym. And because of his hunger and willingness to learn, he trained with some of the best international coaches in the US. He even went to the Olympic training center in Colorado to train with the national coach..

He is succeeding in his gym as a business owner and a coach.. The last time I saw him in person was May 2014. But we always kept in touch via ********. His name is Harrison.


Back to the story

So after I weighed in this AM, I was officially in the 94-kg master class.

Two great things happened:

a) I saw a friend and fellow coach. He was gonna compete in the 85-kg master. He was also there to coach some of his lifters in the later session. His name is Bob.

b) I saw Harrison. He was there to coach some of his lifters. It was great to see him in person.. He asked me if I needed coaching.. I took him up on his offer with great humility and honor. I mean, here is Harrison. I used to coach him.. He obviously surpassed my knowledge with his hunger and desire to be a great coach.. Of course I was gonna take his offer of help.. And I was glad he was there.

c) One of my lifters entered the meet. He's Buddy.


SHOWTIME, BABY

My plan was to open with a 65-kg in the snatch.. My old competition PR was 75-kg in the 85-kg weightclass.

Harrison had me do warm ups.. I listened to him like a student. Instead of opening with 65, we opened with 68..

Then second attempt was 72.. Then third attempt was 76-kg.. One kilo more than my old competition PR..

Harrison coached me on how to tackle 76.. I listened, and I did it..

I set a competition PR of 76-kg in the snatch..



Then clean and jerk. I was gonna open with 95.. Harrison assured me I could easily do 100 based on how I warmed up. Again, I listed..

I did 100, then 104..

He told me how to attack 109, I listened, and I set a competition PR of 109..

I did 6 for 6..

I set competition PRs in both snatch and clean and jerk.. I was happy. Really happy..

The funny thing is that I was glad that I got bumped up to 94-kg because my friend Bob broke the state record in the 85-kg weightclass as a master lifter.. He obviously took first place.. I tried to break the state record TWICE in the past, and failed.. But to see my friend Bob break the record was an awesome feeling.. His opener of 120-kg broke the state record by 7-kg.. Then he lifted his second attempt, and his third PR attempt at 130-kg. Wow.. Just wow. The master state record that stood for at least 15 years was smashed by at least 17-kg by my friend, right before my eyes.. You can't beat that, bros..

And, oh, I also took first place in the 94-kg weightclass masters. Good thing I got bumped up because I would have taken second before Bob.. LOL..

MY LIFTER

After I lifted, the next session was the heavier weight class. Buddy was in that class as a 105-kg.

He set an all time PR in the snatch at 76-kg..

He set a competition PR in the clean and jerk at 95-kg..

He won first in his class as a youth lifter..

The best part was when the announcer said to the audience how Buddy was only 16 and that he had a bright future.. That made my day as Buddy's coach.. What's really nice is that the announcer is an international coach who produced a bronze medalist in the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.. The even more interesting thing is that he is the same gentleman who instructed the course when I got my USAW Coach certification two years ago..




It was a great day, bros.. A great day.

Congrats and Great video as well!

[olyw8lifter]

Joel, nice lifting and congrats on the PR's!!

Good luck with your coaching and lifting!!

[NorwichGrad]

Congrats and Great video as well!

thanks, bro!

Joel, nice lifting and congrats on the PR's!!

Good luck with your coaching and lifting!!

Thanks, Keith! And thanks for encouraging me to lift there two years ago..


This vid was taken by a friend of a friend of a friend... or sumtin like that.. No snatch vids.. But this one shows my second and third attempt.

Second attempt was 104-kg.. Third attempt was competition PR of 109-kg (240-lbs). You could hear Harrison's voice in the background..

[mirroroferised]

Great write up, thanks for sharing. Sounds like a fun day. Love the vid.

[NorwichGrad]

Great write up, thanks for sharing. Sounds like a fun day. Love the vid.

Thanks, brother..

One of the reasons I put it together was to hopefully encourage Jason to enter a PL meet at York.. He is only an hour away..

[Jbizzlechizzle]

Thanks, brother..

One of the reasons I put it together was to hopefully encourage Jason to enter a PL meet at York.. He is only an hour away..

Well, NG, you've got my attention. Congrats on the meet and I'm looking forward to meeting you in York one day soon. This post is another wealth of information... losing 10lbs in a hurry FTW!

[MissHolly]

One of the reasons I put it together was to hopefully encourage Jason to enter a PL meet at York.. He is only an hour away..

Well, NG, you've got my attention. Congrats on the meet and I'm looking forward to meeting you in York one day soon.

[Mark1T]

Congratulations, NG. Great story and great lifting.

[raynerd]

Congrats on the personal PR's, the win, and the rest of the day! Sounds amazing. Great video Joel, and awesome write up!

[pryme]

Congrats NG and nice write up!!

[jdtemple]

I love the Olympic lifts. So basic and functional, but so technically difficult at the same time.

My mobility stucks so badly, I'm afraid to even try, for fear of disappointment.

[Plateauplower]

Awesome write up. And congrats on a great day and setting new goals. Very nice work with your own development and your efforts with the future generations of lifters.

[Big_Sky_Guy]

Yes!

[NorwichGrad]

Thanks for the comments, guys. Much appreciated.

Buddy also wants to be a competitive powerlifter. So my next plan is to train him for that event whenever.

He's already squatting 405 lbs for reps (high bar) and his max DL is 475-lbs (clean grip).

[NorwichGrad]

EXTRA FOOTAGE

I wanted to share this before deleting the files in my I-phone from this weekend's meet.

I'm not sharing this as form of 'entertainment.' It's my hope that these missed lifts will serve a purpose. And that purpose is to hopefully remind all of us (including me) that behind each PR are dozens of missed attempts.. The PR vids we often see on YouTube are usually made to look 'easy.' But sometimes we forget that hours and hours of training and hard work and failed attempts led to those 'easy' lifts.

What is the opposite of success?

The typical answer is failure..

Failure is NECESSARY to succeed.

The opposite of success is quitting.

[vakrka]

Train me.
I'm only 3 hours from York (altoona)

[Jbizzlechizzle]

Train me.
I'm only 3 hours from York (altoona)

Take a number. Joel agreed to be my coach and mentor first... lol

[NorwichGrad]

Train me.
I'm only 3 hours from York (altoona)

I'll even give you a PA discount. We Pennsyltuckians gotta stick together like rice.

[NorwichGrad]

Take a number. Joel agreed to be my coach and mentor first... lol

My friend,


You're a nutbag in a courageous and brave way by wanting to listen to someone on the Internet and someone from a different sport.

[Jbizzlechizzle]

My friend,


You're a nutbag in a courageous and brave way by wanting to listen to someone on the Internet and someone from a different sport.

Lmao, I may be a nutjob, but you're a winner and I want to win someday. You are the company you keep lol

[stobco]

Awesome! Sounds like a great day you'll never forget. Those are golden.

[NorwichGrad]

@Jbizzle – thanks, bro.. You’re already a winner in the eyes of your family and loved ones, man.. That’s what counts the most.

@stobco – thanks, man. It was a great day..



--------------------------------------------

Bumping this thread to proudly share this.. I will always be proud of this kid, no matter what.. He’s a great kid from a great family.


So Buddy missed his last lift at 100-kg attempt at the meet. But he was very close..

After the meet, I told the kid to take this week off.


Did he listen to me? Of course not.. He’s a kid and a young meathead, and a dedicated one at that..


On Tuesday morning my I-phone buzzes.. He sent me a text: I DID IT!!!

I’m thinking “He did what?”

So I opened the attachment..

He went to the gym in the morning and lifted 100-kg (220-lbs) into the overhead position….from the ground…. at 16.. The missed lift at the meet bothered him enough that he kept the fire burning hot, and kept going til he made it.



There was a small part of me that said, “I’m gonna freakin’ choke you, kid.. I told you to rest and take the week off.”

But there was a HUGE part of me that raised my level of respect for this young athlete.. He is a coach’s dream athlete for sure..

[MissHolly]

^^^That is awesome, NG!! I felt his excitement come thru the vid and wanted to cheer along with him, "Hell Yeah!!" But alas, I am in my quiet living room having a glorious cup of coffee, with the kids still in their angelic slumber. So instead I'll just say to you, that is one hell of an athlete you got there! And LOL @ your reaction to his confession he didn't rest after all.

[ajdahlheimer]

Great story and video, brah!

Oly lifts are what got me interested in lifting way back 20 years ago....