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.