Competition Recap - Hybrid Open

Guelph Barbell Club's youngest member just completed her first ever weightlifting competition!  Tiffany comes to us from Barbados where she was a member of the national swim team. While not a stranger to competition,  Tiffany is relatively new to the sport of weightlifting.

Tiffany trained hard all summer via remote coaching, while she was completing her internship in Windsor. Upon her return to Guelph, she had just 6 weeks to get ready to compete at the Hybrid Open.

Following our arrival at the competition venue, Tiffany jumped on the scale and easily made weight for the 69 kg division. She then got down to business - and by business,  I mean she finished an engineering assignment! 

When it came time, Tiffany began her warmup. I think that she was trying to put her game face on, but it came across as more like "OMG! I have to get on a platform and lift in front of judges!?" As Tiffany warmed up, coach decided to set her opening snatch at 43 kg, which is well below her training PR of 54.5 kg. But the goal was to have her hit an easy opening lift to get some confidence on the lifting platform. The plan worked, and after Tiffany easily hit a 43 kg snatch, she REALLY put her game face on! Tiff followed that lift with successful snatches at 47 and 50 kg.

Up next, Tiffany rocked her opening C&J at 64 kg. She looked so confident on the platform that coach uped her next lift to 70 kg. For her third and final C&J, Tiffany attempted 77 kg, which was just slightly shy of her training PR. She missed the lift, but hit 5/6 lifts overall and finished with an official competition total of 120kg.

An excellent first competition for our Junior member,  Tiffany Hinds!

Competition Recap - Toronto Weightlifting Championships

One year has passed since Guelph Barbell Club’s first appearance at a weightlifting event sanctioned by the Ontario Weightlifting Association (OWA), and what a year it has been.

GBC’s first competition experience was at the 2014 Toronto Pro Show, competing at the Toronto Weightlifting Championships (TWC). Although still relatively inexperienced in this sport, we knew even less in 2014! Both GCB competitors, Jadon & Marcy completely bombed out at the 2014 TWC.  Neither athlete managed to post a total score at this event as both completely missed all of their attempts at the clean & jerk.

Wide variety of strength events at the 2015 Toronto Pro Show

One year later, they both decided to register for the 2015 TWC, even though only 6 weeks separated the TWC & Masters Nationals (April 2015). For the Nationals, Coach Adrian prepared them well and programmed a long cycle to help them peak for the event. The approach was golden as both GBC members set new personal records and won national titles in the Masters division. After Nationals, there was rest, recovery and not enough time to peak for another event. Regardless, both felt like they had something to prove and wanted to put up a total at the Pro Show, one of the most interesting fitness events that Toronto has to offer.

The Toronto Pro show is a unique event which brings together all manner of strength sports (weightlifting, powerlifting, strong man) with endurance activities like CrossFit and boxing, and “showy” events like bikini, figure, and bodybuilding competitions. Of course, the venue is rounded out by a wide variety of people trying to sell stuff, like equipment, clothing and supplements. This year, the weightlifting event was directly next door to the powerlifting booth and directly across from some sort of jail-inspired iron cage (seriously, WTF?). Not only were we competing with these 2 booths in terms of the noise level, but the bikini models on stage were posing to their favorite pop-chick music from the 90’s. It was a bit of a cluster fuck to say the least.

I had to weigh in at 8:00 am as my session began competition at 10:00 am. After making weight easily, there was an immediate need for refueling and caffeine. Once those basic needs were satisfied, it was time to get ready to lift all the things. Coach had planned that I would open with a weight that I could hit comfortably, the second attempt would be close to my current PR and the final attempt would be just above my PR. Following in this progression, I started with a 59 kg opening snatch, followed by a 62 kg snatch. At nationals in April, I had hit a 64 kg snatch, which was a new record for me. So coach decided to bump me up to 65 kg. The pull felt great, I got under the bar and caught it. However, on my attempt to rise up out of the bottom of the catch, my weight shifted forward slightly and I lost control, resulting in a missed lift.

Although I completed my opening C&J at 77 kg, the judges called it a missed lift because of a slight elbow bend on the left side. Coach said that it looked easy and asked if I wanted to go up – so I said sure. Without having completed a C&J, we bumped up the weight to 80 kg (just 1 kg off my PR!) and I hit it easily. For my final lift, I attempted an 82 kg C&J. Similar to the snatch, the pull felt great. I caught the bar at the bottom of the clean with an upright and locked torso. But try as I might, I just couldn’t get up out of the hole. Another missed PR attempt. I finished with a total of 143 kg which is only 3 kg off of my personal best. In all, I was very happy with the performance. Never have I caught a 65 kg snatch or an 82 kg C&J so even though the lifts were not completed, it is still progress in the right direction. Although, after getting stuck in the hole, Coach Adrian threatened me with a future full of heavy front squats with a 5 second hold in the bottom position!

Jadon weighed in at 10:30 and his competition began at 12:30. For the first time ever, Jadon actually had to cut weight. Lucky for him, he was fully hydrated. After an hour in the sauna, he easily made weight. Jadon got off to a shaky start and missed his opening snatch at 87 kg. After pulling his head out of his ass, he walked out on the platform and made his second attempt at 87 kg look easy.  For his third snatch, he easily hit a new competition PR at 90 kg.

After a short break, Jadon opened the C&J with an easy 105 kg lift, which tied his current PR. Coach increased the weight on the bar to 108 kg. The clean portion of the lift was easy, but the judges called a no lift on the jerk. Jadon tried again and although he was close, he just couldn’t nail the jerk. He finished the competition with a 195 kg total and finished the day with a 3 kg competition PR.   

2015 Masters Weightlifting Championships - Competition Recap

The 2015 Masters Weightlifting National Championships - until this year, I didn't even know such a thing existed. Coming into this sport as a rather mature (in age, not personality) athlete, I expected that the only person that I would be competing with would be myself. The high-caliber Canadian athletes who compete on national and international platforms are often under the age of thirty and have significantly more time under a barbell than I. In fact, I was completely amazed by a junior competition (under 18) in 69 kg weight class who out lifted me by approximately 30 kg last year. She was lucky enough to be born with a barbell in her hand.

However, my teammates and I have come to discover that it's not all over once you become "over the hill".

Guelph Barbell Club set out on the road for Rouyn-Noranda, in north western Quebec. After nearly a six hour drive, we arrived in the home-town of Canadian weightlifting champion Christine Girard. A relatively small town with a strong history of weightlifting. We checked into the hotel, jumped on the scale to ensure our weight was good and settled in to prepare for competition.

Saturday morning, we headed out to the venue. Dawn was up first and made weight for the 69 kg weight class with ease. She was a little rattled as coach Adrian tried to get her warmed up and focused for the competition. Dawn had a little bit of humming bird in her that day, she couldn't stop moving. At one point, coach actually had to make her sit in a chair to keep her in one place. It was the funniest thing I have seen yet at a competition. Dawn opened with a 22 kg snatch. Her goal was to hit 27 kg on her final lift, but unfortunately, she missed both snatch #2 & #3. Dawn had a rough start to the day but coach was able to get her settled and refocused for clean & jerk. After a quick break, Dawn came back out on the platform for the C&J. She was able to hit both her opening lift and C&J #2, tying her previous PR. Although she wasn't completely happy with her performance, Dawn earned a national gold medal!

Marcy (also known as ass. coach) was up next. I have never been able to match my training PRs in competition and I have never been able to hit 6 out of 6 lifts. The goal at this competition was to do both. Making the 75 kg weight class for this competition was easy. I opened the competition with a 59 kg snatch and then moved up to 62 kg (to avoid my goat!). For my final lift, I hit 64 kg which is both a competition PR and an all-time PR. After a quick break, I got ready for the C&J and opened at 77 kg. Coach Adrian decided to jump up to 81 kg, and I successfully completed my second lift. Pumped, I told coach that he could decide the weight of my final lift. When I heard the words "84 kilograms on the bar", I'm not going to lie, I might have shit my pants a little. I walked out on the platform, took a deep breath and ripped the bar off the floor. Unfortunately, I didn't finish my pull and missed my attempt at 84 kg. In all, hit 5 out of 6 lifts, hit a new snatch PR, tied my previous C&J PR and finished with a 145 kg total.

Competing in the final session of the day was Jadon in the 105 kg division. At a recent lifting seminar, Jadon hit a number of PRs which he had not yet tested out in competition. Jason hit a 80 kg snatch on his opening lift - and made it look EASY. So coach decided to bump it up to 87 kg for snatch #2. Lifting like an animal, Jadon hit 92 kg for his final snatch - hitting a new competition PR. Heading into the C&J, Jadon opened with a 100 kg lift. He jumped up to 105 kg for C&J #2, which he just missed because of his night-time career as a stripper. He came back for a third attempt, and hit 105 kg. Jason hit 2 competition PRs, and set a new total of 197 kg.

By the end of the competition, Adrian was exhausted from coaching all day and Guelph Barbell Club finished with 3 National titles! After a celebratory dinner, a bottle of scotch and some Quebec poutine, we were ready to head home. Until next time, we will continue to lift all the things!      

How to Fight a Goat, and Win!

http://crossfitlondonuk.com

The Goat, we all have one. In case you are confused, I'm referring to that hurdle you have in the gym. In CrossFit, it's that one thing that you really suck at. For some, it's thrusters, for others ... it's burpees.

In the weightlifting room, our goats are often a particular weight on the bar. When Coach and I first started training for weightlifting, the snatch was my goat. At that time, my technique really needed a lot of work. But my goat was 95 lbs, because of the mental barrier I had about getting into the triple digits. Coach, on the other hand, his goat was 185 lbs.

I worked on my technique and thanks to squats, squats and more squats, I became strong enough to overcome that triple digit mental barrier. For the record, so did coach. But when you beat down one goat, there is always another one just around the corner.

That bastard goat is back, and this time it's a weight that I want to hit in competition. My snatch PR at the time of writing is 140 lbs, or in competitive speak - 63.6 kg. In the practice room, I haven't missed this weight in months. But do you know what weight I do miss consistently? 60 kg. I know that I can hit 60 kg, I HAVE hit 60 kg, but for some reason - this is my goat.

Why is this goat important to me? Well, it's because I want to be a competitive lifter now. In the practice room, you can take as many attempts to make a lift as you like. But in competition, you can only take 3 attempts. Your first attempt should be a weight that you know you can lift easily, but that is not terribly far away from your max. This is where my goat comes in. Your second attempt should be a weight just shy of your target. Your final lift, should be your target and hopefully a new PR!

In my first competition, the 2014 Toronto Pro Show, I wanted to open at 60 kg. I missed both my first and second attempts. Thankfully, I did make my final attempt, but missing what I thought should be an easy lift (twice) messed with my head. 60 kg became my goat.

So how do we beat this goat? Coach came up with the perfect plan. At my last competition, Coach planned my opening weight at 58 kg, which I hit with ease. He then planned to skip over my goat entirely and make my second attempt at 61 kg. And you know what? IT WORKED! I didn't think twice about the weight on the bar as I went out to the platform. I kicked that goat square in the face! But of course, there is always another goat around the corner..... waiting patiently to mess with your head. I will have to wait and see what surprises lay ahead as we train for the masters nationals at the end of April.  

Vaughn Strength and Conditioning - Competition Recap

Recently, Vaughn Strength & Conditioning decided to host a non-OWA sanctioned Olympic weightlifting competition. The event was very well attended and was a lot of fun. Ryan was there competing at his first official lifting meet, representing Guelph Barbell Club.

Ryan is relatively new to lifting and has been making some serious gains since he began training. Since he easily hit his current snatch PR 3x before the competition, coach Adrian decided that he should open at his max. I'm not sure exactly what was going through his head as he walked out onto the platform for the first time.... but Ryan did look a little bit like a deer caught in headlights. I should note that this is completely expected for first time competitors, and it still happens to even experienced athletes!

At any rate, Ryan attempted his opening lift at 84 kg..... and missed. He took a quick break, walked out to the bar, and tried agin. No lift. On his third attempt, Ryan hit that snatch and made it look easy. I'm going to guess that he was ridiculously nervous to be competing and just needed to shake the nerves off.

Up next, was the clean and jerk. For Ryan's first attempt, the confidence was clearly there as he just walked out onto the platform and ripped that bar off the ground. There was audible shock amongst the crowd as the bar came up so quickly and easily. In the snatch, Ryan took a lot of time getting set up and focusing at the bar before he began the lift. Clearly, this was not required for the C&J.

While he failed his 2nd C&J attempt due to a disqualification by the judges (elbows softer than Charmin!!), the clean had been easy. Coach decided that Ryan was ready to hit a huge PR and asked for 121 kg to be loaded on the bar for his final attempt. Similar to his other lifts, there was no hesitation, Ryan walked out and ripped the bar easily off the ground. After a slight pause to prepare for the jerk, Ryan punched that bar up and got under it easily, winning him first place in the C&J! Those of us sitting close to the platform heard a celebratory "MOTHER FUCKER!!" escape his lips when he saw the 3 white flags go up, indicating a complete lift. This was a huge PR for Ryan, who had previously hit 116 kg in practice.  

After a successful first time on the platform, we look forward to Ryan joining us as a competitive member of Guelph Barbell Club for future competitions!

Blame that one on Coach!

Your Coach ... They are always there for you. Coach plans your training, gets you to the competition, and calms you down when you are nervous. They tell you to slow down, sit down, and get you out to the platform on time. But every now and then, Coach can be a bonehead. 

At the Ontario Masters, Dawn had the luck of lifting first for both lifts. After we completed the the snatch, there was a 5 minute break as they set up for the clean and jerk and during this time, they set the clock to count down until the start of the next lift. 

The venue wasn't exactly a great set up and we couldn't hear the announcer or see the clock from the warm up area. The next thing I know, I hear a muffled "Dawn Larson" coming from the announcer. Suddenly, coach looks at Dawn and says: "They are calling, you better get out there!"

Dawn has a slight moment of panic to which coach tells her to suck it up and get out there and lift. So, Dawn pauses, gathers herself and runs out onto the platform (running is a warm up, right??). She looks at the clock and it is counting with less than 20 seconds to go. With very little time remaining, Dawn grabs the bar and rips it off the platform. In her haste, her hips come up faster than her shoulders which results in her rowing the bar. No matter, she is able to get the bar up to the front rack position anyway and completes the lift. As she looks around for the judge to give her the "OK" to put the bar down, Dawn notices that there are no judges at the tables! 

And the realization set in, Dawn had not been called to the platform. The clock had not been counting down her lift. Rather, the announcer had stated that Dawn would lift first and the clock had been counting down to the end of the break period. Everyone had a good laugh as Dawn walked off the platform from a "warm up" lift. She then proceeded to trash talk Coach while she waited for the C&J session to begin. 

Thanks Coach, you're normally always there for us ;)   

Competition Recap - Ontario Masters Championships

Guelph Barbell Club attended our first Ontario Masters Championships.  Our Masters team consisted of Jadon, Dawn, myself and of course, coach Adrian. What makes a Master, you ask? In weightlifting, you must turn 30 during the calendar year of the competition. The weight categories are divided into age groups at 5 year intervals, all the way up to 80 years of age. So instead of being the Golden Oldies, we were the #GoldenOlys !

Both Jadon & Dawn have the challenge of a body weight which lies exactly in between 2 weight classes. As a result, both decided to compete at the upper weight class. Myself, on the other hand, preparing for this competition may have been the most challenging weight-cut yet. Apparently, I enjoyed myself way too much during the month of December and it really kicked my ass. Cutting weight is not foreign to me, but it's certainly not easy.

To get down to 75 kg, I had to spend about 2 hours in the sauna the night before the competition. When I got up on Saturday morning, my home scale said 75.0 kg precisely. You never know how close your home scale will be to that of the competition scale, so I opted for not eating or drinking anything until after weigh-ins. Normally, I weigh in in my singlet, but because I knew that I was going to be close to not making weight, I jumped on the scale in my sports bra and underwear. Much to my disappointment, I was over weight! So to make weight, I actually had to strip down and weigh in naked - this was definitely a first for me.

Up first, was Dawn "the Lorax" Larson! Dawn hit her 22 kg opening snatch easily, followed by a 25 kg 2nd attempt. Her final attempt was 28 kg - which is equivalent to the current national record for her age & weight class. Dawn just barely missed her final attempt, but she was so close! 28 kg is not far away for this lifter!
In the clean and jerk, Dawn hit a set a new PR at 33 kg on her second attempt and finished with a 58 kg total.

I was up next, trying to chase my goat, the 60 kg snatch. I hit my opening lift at 58 kg, and instead of attempting the goat for my second lift - coach jumped me up to 61 kg. This was a competition PR lift for me. I missed my final snatch attempt at 63 kg. Coach and I decided to open at 77 kg for the C&J. Although I completed my first lift, unfortunately, I felt my left elbow graze my knee in the catch position - which is an immediate foul. So I had to repeat 77 kg for my second lift.  My second lift was successful, and coach decided to go for 80 kg for lift #3. I had a great  pull but rocked slightly forward in my catch and dropped the weight forward. I finished with a 138 kg total.

Jadon lifted in the last session of the day. He missed his opening lift, but hit 80 kg on his second snatch and hit 83 kg on his final lift. With a slight press out on his first C&J attempt, Jadon reattempted 100 kg on his second attempt. He finished the competition with a 180 kg total and competition PRs for both lifts. Not a bad day at all.

After the competition, we headed out for some well deserved beers and carbs! We were also invited to participate in the Canadian Masters National Championships coming up in April. Two more months of training and Guelph Barbell will be at it again!
                   

Competition Recap - Guelph Barbell Club

In December, the Guelph Barbell Club hosted it's first (non-sanctioned) weightlifting competition at Royal City CrossFit. As the sport of weightlifting becomes more popular (thank you CrossFit!!), it is becoming increasingly difficult to get into competitions in Ontario. As a result, we are seeing more of these non-sanctioned events as well as hybrid events, to give lifters the opportunity to get some experience on the platform.

Our friends from Forever Strong Fitness in Uxbridge had planned to host a weightlifting competition in December. A number of Guelph Barbell athletes had registered for this event but unfortunately it was cancelled due to issues with the planned venue. 

Coach Adrian swooped in and saved the day by offering to host the competition in Guelph instead. This event was not sanctioned as we did not have an official judge or competition plates. But it was a great opportunity, especially for the novice lifters, to have a chance to practice lifts in a competitive environment.

So we built a sturdy platform and got to work! Four novice female lifters from Guelph Barbell participated in addition to a novice male from Forever Strong Fitness and coaches Adrian & Tyler. The day was full of new PRs, especially from Emily who rocked the platform! And who can forget coach Adrian lifting in a "nut-hugger" singlet? We have got to get that man a proper singlet!

Thanks to all the Royal City CrossFitters came out in record numbers to cheer on the competitors. 

Weightlifting Etiquette

A new year always comes with new people joining your favorite gym. This is a good thing - new training partners, new skill sets and diversity is great. I’m always open to new people joining our little club.

HOWEVER – there is something that all newbies to the weightlifting club should learn. And that is a thing called Weightlifting Etiquette! A little bit of etiquette can go a long way in preventing your grizzled and seasoned teammates from handing out a throat punch.

(1)  Please don’t walk across my platform while I am lifting or setting up for a lift. Seriously, it’s plain rude. Please be aware that weightlifters need space. Space to set up for a lift without someone walking through my field of vision. Space to complete my lift without fear of you walking into my bar. And perhaps, most importantly, space so that if I need to bail out of a lift, I won’t kill you.

(2)  There are good weightlifting barbells …. And some that are not so great. CrossFitters, I love you. You know that I do. But if you are going to come play in my arena, don’t take the good bars for your deadlifts and leave me with the shitty bar that does not spin. Especially when I am less than 2 weeks out from competition.

(3)  Speaking of bars, please allow the women to use the slimmer bars. I realize that some of you males out there prefer the 25 mm bars rather the 28 mm bars, but in most gyms the slim bars are few in number. The narrow bars are for those of us with small hands so as a male, please don’t take the 25 mm bars when the platforms are dominated by female lifters.

(4)  High density rubber weightlifting plates are in short supply. As such, don’t be a donkey. If you are increasing the weight on your bar by 20 lbs each lift, please don’t be a lazy ass and add 10 lb plates each lift. Take some of those 10s off and use a couple of 25s already!

(5)  And this brings me to my final point. DO NOT STEAL PLATES! Some of my teammates like to joke that am like a raven and collect shiny objects (plates) to surround my platform. I’m not being an asshole, I do this for a reason. In preparation for competition, I take specific breaks between sets. I surround myself with plates so that I don’t have to go far for what I need next. I like to be prepared and I don’t want to have to go on a lengthy search for my next working set. I will share, I promise to share my shiny plate stash with teammates. But please ask for them. SO - Don’t be a plate-stealing-ninja. Do not wait until a lifter to turns their back and then steal their plates.  And when that lifter calls you out on your bullshit – own up to it.

So please feel welcome to come visit our weightlifting club. If you keep my top 5 weightlifting etiquette tips in mind, then you might just be invited to stay while avoiding the dreaded throat punch.