Improving One Sport To Get Better At Another

I'm going to start having guest writers come to my blog and share there experiences about training and what ever else is on there mind concerning their sport.
The first guest writer is Jessica Estrada. She is a CrossFitter, CrossFit Central coach and an Olympic lifter at Red Black Gym. Big things do come in small packages!

I started Oly Lifting with Zack in May of 2011. Out of all the CrossFit movements, Oly lifting was definitely my weakest. I knew that If I wanted to be a competitive crossfitter, I was going to have to spend a little extra time working the lifts. For awhile I walked around with the mentalality that It was going to be impossible to lift as much weight as most of the girls in CrossFit because of my size. After a weekend at the CrossFit Level 1 Cert, I realized that was just an excuse. All I needed was the right technique and my size would never be an issue. That's when I turned to Zack for coaching.

Before I started Oly lifting I had never done a clean and jerk and my snatch was an inconsistent 95#. Now, my clean and jerk max is 145# and my snatch is 120#....and this is only the beginning. It hasn't been until recently that things have really started to click. I feel that I am more comfortable and more confident with the lifts. I am making daily improvements in the gym. And even though technique still needs some work, I can honestly say that I understand the lifts. I no longer look at my size as a barrier. I've actually dropped weight (not intentionally) since starting Oly, but lifting much heavier. It's all about technique.

Side Note: Oly Lifting was a deciding factor for me when I was considering coaching CrossFit. I told myself I wouldn't be a coach until I understood the movements and could successfully teach them.