Making The Move

So the time has come for me to make the move from blogger over to the world of Tumblr. I have been blogging here since I started my coaching career six years ago. I have to admit, as I'm typing this I am a little sad. Blogger has been good to me and has been a way for me to introduce myself to the world. It has also been an avenue for me to get my thoughts and ideas about crossfit, Olympic Lifting, nutrition and everything in between out to who will ever read or watch.
I hope you all enjoy my new site and it officially being called ZutFit.com!

Mock Meet

This past week I put my Olympic Lifting athletes through a mock meet. I warmed them up as I would warm up in a meet and only allowed them three attempts at each of the lifts. It was fun to watch some of the athletes ask for a forth attempt and look surprised when I said they only get three. This shit ain't easy! People often ask me what went wrong at a meet I competed in where I only hit one lift on the snatch or completely bombed on my clean & jerk. When you compete in an Olympic meet, you are trying to be absolutely perfect at a high load. There is a minuet amount of error allowed in order for you to make the lift. So, if I'm not as close to perfect as I can be trying to lift a load that I don't regularly put over my head....well, you can see where I'm coming from. Like I said, this shit ain't easy.
Since most of the people that are in the Olympic classes are crossfiters, they are used to getting multiple chances at a lift with less than stellar technique. So I think the point of them coming to get trained up in a different atmosphere, where we are not crossfiting and technique is the main focus, it will bleed over into their crossfiting. Any who! It's fun to watch people beg for more opportunities at a lift and me get to say no.
And just FYI for those of you that didn't know, I did do the Open WOD 12.2 and hit 63 reps. This was my first WOD in just nearly a year, and I just nearly puked afterwords. It was my technique that allowed me to get as far as I did. I am certainly not in any metcon shape so the training that I do paid BIG dividends! Since the Olympic lifts are so prevalent in crossfit I would suggest adding the technique work to your training. And if you are doing it on your own, SLOW DOWN! and make it as perfect as possible. Now go lift some heavy shit!

Come take a look at my YouTube page and subscribe. Lot's of training videos.

Training Video

This was shot last night at my coaches gym. Training has been kicked into over drive and I am mightily inspired! After my last meet in Ft. Worth I am hungry for massive gains and new PR's. I have picked up my training volume and am planning on lifting at 85kg at my next meet in May. This is going to require some serious eating clean and stepping up my supplementation. I made an Advocare order today and have my eyes set on eating clean.
As far as the video below, I set a PR for a snatch triple at 95kg. My technique is getting better and more consistent. Lifts I would have usually missed forward are now being made, pulling hard has now become more consistent. I now need to shore up my jerks and have several exercises I am doing weekly to make that happen.
It has now been one year since I dedicated all my training solely to Olympic Lifting. Since that time I have put 11kg on my snatch max and the same amount on my clean & jerk. I have visions of being a legitimate lifter and being competitive in the lifting world.

Just wanted to also throw out that I did the 12.2 Crossfit Games Open WOD last week and lit my lungs on fire! First Crossfit WOD in a year and got 63 snatches. My goal was to get to sixty without dying and everything else on top of that was gravy. Just thought I would share.

Texas!!

Just want to say Happy Texas Independence Day to all my fellow Texans and those who wish they were. If you're not native Texan then you really can't and don't understand what it means to be from Texas. My families history in the state goes way back and I am damn proud of that fact.
We Texans are fiercely independent, love our gun's, and maybe BBQ even more! Football is our past time and beer drinking a close second. We are friendly, giving and polite.
But don't cross us! Oh....and Bless Your Hearts you poor Yankees!

Latest Competition

This past weekend myself and my weightlifting team traveled up to Ft. Worth to compete in Black Box Gyms first Olympic Weightlifting competition. It was a great weekend and good to see all the competitors I have come to know traveling around and competing in local meets. Dutch Lowy, the owner and host of the competition did a great job with the organizing and accommodating of all the athletes, so to him much thanks.
Now for the meet! I was going for a new opener on the Snatch of 100kg and was hoping to PR with something along the lines of 107kg. As you can see in the video below I had a little trouble with the opener. But I will take what I got because 100kg is a new PR for a meet. And for the Clean and Jerk I also was going for an opener that I have hit during training at 125kg but yet hit in a meet. I was feeling confident Saturday so I was just going for it on both openers. My aspirations for the Clean and Jerk were to hit 135kg for a new PR. The first Clean and Jerk at 125kg was cake! And and as you can see fro the video my Jerk needs some attention.
All in all I am happy with the meet because I was going with some bigger than normal openers and taking a little risk. The 100kg Snatch and 125kg Clean and Jerk are both PR's for a meet so I am satisfied. Competing in these meets and training pretty much strictly the Olympic lifts is one of the most satisfying and fun things I have learned to do. After every meet successful or not I always leave ready to hit the gym wanting to get better. I feel like I have only begun to scratch the surface of my human potential when it comes to Olympic Lifting.
Next meet in May! Time to get stronger!

Meet This Weekend

This coming weekend while everyone is putting their lungs to the test for the CrossFit Games Open, Emily and I will be traveling to Ft. Worth, Tx. We are headed to our friendly neighbors to the north to compete in the Black Box Gym Olympic Weightlifting Championship. With the growth and popularity of Olympic Weightlifting (due to the growth and popularity of CrossFit) it seems there are more and more chances to compete in lifting meets. This suits me just fine since I spend the majority of my time training for the Olympic lifts.
Since my time training with Ursula Garza my lifts have gone from barely suitable to semi respectable. In August I was snatching 85kilos and not but two weeks ago while training I hit 100kilos twice. So I would say I am improving. This weekend I plan to open with 100kilos on the snatch and 125kilos on the clean and jerk. I see my self PRing on both lifts. (I'm getting a little nervous as I write this) So with all this said, here is to lifting HEAVY SHIT!
You can follow my lifts on twitter @ZUTFIT

My last meet above is from January at the State Meet. My snatch misses are at 100kilos and Clean and Jerk bombs are 125kilos. I've made some strides since then!

New Video

Sorry for the hiatus. I just go through periods of writers block or just straight laziness. Here is a new video from Red Black Olympic Weightlifting class. Seems my classes have become coaches training here of late. Nothing wrong with working specific weaknesses to get better at a sport that prides it's self on being general. Any who, enjoy the video and come subscribe to my YouTube page for all the videos I have.

A "Light Bulb" Moment

This past weekend Red Black Gym was privileged to host my lifting Coach Ursula Garza. If you didn't know, she is a USAW certification coach and a Crossfit Olympic Lifting Level One certification coach and all around bad ass! One thing I know as a lifter and coach is that it is good to bring in someone you trust and know knows their stuff to help other athletes. It's good to hear different cue's that might resonate with the athlete and help the "light bulb" go off. I actually had this conversation with a young lady I coach while attending the seminar. She then pointed me to an article that was posted on Catalyst Athletics site about this very thing.
So...I thought I would share the article with you all below.

Coach, I Totally Get It Now
Here's a weird phenomenon to think about, because it's something that works as a blessing for an athlete and an irritation for a coach. Continue reading.....

One other thing I want to add is that as a coach you can take this one of two ways, get offended or be happy your athlete saw the light. You may have been trying to say the same thing to your athlete, but as long as they get it, and improve, that's the most important thing.

Fasting to Lean Up

I was perusing through my book marks this lovely Sunday morning and came across this article and thought I would share with you all.
Ready Set Fast: How Strategic Meal-Skipping Can Help you Lose Fat, Gain Muscle, and Get Healthier
When we were kids, mom was always looking out for our health. Chew your food, Eat your vegetables. And always eat breakfast because it is the most important meal of the day. Continue reading....

I was introduced to Intermittent Fasting (or IF) by Crystal Nelson when I did her Fuel 21 about eight months (read about results here) and saw some pretty good results. Since that time I had done some variations of it off and on but have not been as strict as I know I should be. I have also added raw milk to the mix and have seen some dramatic weight gains and strength gains as well. In the process of the weight gain I also got a little laxed on my diet and put a little fat on around what I call my trouble spots (my midsection and back). Since September when I added raw milk I had gained about fifteen pounds having tipped the scale to about 207 pounds. My pants hardly fit and I didn't feel comfortable in my own skin. Something had to change!
So in December I put myself on notice and started to clean things up. Then in January I Am Crossfit was kicking off and I decided to take on the challenge along with my team. In one of my previous post about I Am, I put my body comp up and was not pleased. I was in at 21% body fat and WOW! not good. Since that time I have done the IF and just completed a week long cleans of eating nothing but veggies. Not easy for a meat eater like me! And I did a 24 hour fast this past Saturday, and I am considering doing the 24 hour fast once a week. In the time I started the IF it is starting to pay off! My pants are starting to feel a little loser and one of my athletes even told me I looked leaner! Talk about motivation!
One thing that I find ironic thou is my weight hasn't come down. I am still hovering around 200lbs. To be perfectly honest with you I don't really care. If I can get my body fat under 15%, and still weight 200lbs I will be a beast on the platform! My strength has gone up and my sleep has improved so I am not scared about losing and strength or energy. I plan on keeping this as my life style for the foreseeable future and will experiment with it. Can't wait to see were it all leads. I'll keep everyone posted on the results.

The Two Sports Compliment Each Other

You all have read several other post I have asked Cindy to do and here is another. If you are new to Crossfit or an OG, you are very familiar with the fact that the Olympic lifts are all over Crossfit WODs. They range from cleans, power snatch, and everything in between. She was kind enough to share her experience with the combination of the two practiced separately and what they have done for Crossfiting.
Hope you enjoy the video and her view on things.

Olympic Lifting Reignited My Crossfit

When Coach Zachary Thiel asked me if and how Olympic Lifting has helped my Crossfit, I had to think about it for a while-not because there wasn't a benefit, but because the effects have been numerous and gradual. I've been Crossfitting for nearly three years, and I added Olympic Lifting to my schedule in the fall of 2011. Before starting Olympic Lifting, I was doing Crossfit-style workouts both at the gym and at home, but was frustrated because I felt like I was losing strength and burning out. I turned to my coach for help. Zach suggested I change up my routine. And when I told him I wanted to get stronger, he suggested I add Olympic Lifting. Olympic Lifting is focused and we practise variations of the same lifts with an eye on form, rather than speed. In the months since I added this repeated focus to my workout schedule, I have noticed some awesome changes.

Strength

The most awesome benefit is that I'm stronger. Overhead strength has always been tough for me, but I'm finding I can lift more than ever before. Just the other day I did a power jerk at 90lbs. I've never done that before. But the weight has edged up all-around. I've been able to increase the weight I use in many of the Crossfit WODs , because I'm stronger overall.

Efficiency and Speed

Olympic Lifting is not just about lifting heavy weight-it's about lifting it efficiently, and that requires excellent form. I had no idea how bad my form was before I started the class. I just didn't practice the lifts enough to improve. Olympic Lifting is all about consistently practicing the basics and tweaking the tiniest movements. Even though I still have a long way to go, I feel I've made significant improvements in my form. That definitely helps me perform better in the Crossfit WODs, because I move more quickly and efficiently at a higher weights.

Body Awareness

One thing I've also noticed is how I feel more confident and stronger with exercises we do in Crossfit that seemingly have nothing to with Olympic Lifting. Because Olympic Lifting requires that I know how my body is moving at all times. I feel more body aware. And I really believe that has helped me improve my pull ups, push ups, squats, and handstand.

Olympic Lifting has been an incredible compliment to Crossfit in many ways. The best thing of all is that I’m finally back to making gains again in the gym, rather than struggling to keep up.

Latest Competition

This past weekend I competed in the Texas State Weightlifting Championship in Alvin, Tx. It was my fourth meet, and while not the best one I've competed in, I am making strides. My opening weight for snatch has worked itself up to 95kg. That was once a PR not to long ago and has now become an easy opener. I missed my second snatch attempt at 100kg, which was not caught on video, and also my third attempt which was the 101kg. I have to sit in it more! While I am making progress with the snatch, I have a lot more work to do.
You will also notice I missed all my clean & jerk attempts. That really frustrates me! The clean was once upon a time my bread and butter and has now become something that I struggle with. Ursula, my coach as pointed out to me that we are going to make some changes to my hand position on the bar and work on my pull off the blocks. I feel confident this will get me to were I should be on my cleans and punch me through a ceiling that I seem to have reached.
Every meet that I have competed in has taught me something new about myself, and showed me that I am making progress every time I step out on the platform. It has taught me patience and that being competitive in Olympic Weightlifting is incredibly hard. You have to be on your game that day and be just nearly perfect to hit your lifts. Unlike crossfit where you might have five minutes to find a PR, in a meet it is sixty seconds. It's nuts! I've also learned that I love this sport and have a desire to become the best that I can at it, and become a legit competitor in the sport.
My next meet is in February at Black Box Gym and I my opening snatch will be 100kg, and clean & jerk to be 125kg.
Time to #Assassinate the platform!

I Am Crossfit Is Back

It's that time of year again! I Am Crossfit is in its third year and is pitting the gyms against each other in the I Am Crossfit Civil War. We really aren't going against each other, but the success of Crossfit Central and the expansion that has happened has allowed each of the gyms to have their own teams. I Am is an awesome challenge and is prefect for the first of the year.
We always go strong at Crossfit Central so it being the first of the year really doesn't matter to most of us. BUT, it is still a great time to kick off a challenge because most everyone does recognize the first of the new year can be a time to refocus and start anew.

For the first time while coaching our I Am team, I will actually participate with the team. I am having my body comp done and will food log and post for everyone on the team to see. I will also be posting my goals for everyone to see here in the near future. I am pretty juiced about this and know I will find great success just like the rest of the athletes on our team.
Just so everyone knows, the athletes on the team are participating in an eight week challenge. They are required to food log, do extra workouts along with their regular CrossFit classes and have goals for the challenge. I Am is a great way to kick off the new year and I have seen it change people's lives! I am going to be posting every ones victories here throughout the challenge so be looking for that.
The pic below is of the team after our goal setting meeting at Central which got every one excited for the next eight weeks.

Update:

Ok ladies and gentleman I have my body comp results and I am not surprised.
First the results:
Weight: 200
Body Fat: 21%....ouch!
Neck 16, Shoulders 45.5, Chest 39, Bicep-right 13.9 Left 13.9, Waist 36.25, Hips 38, Mid thigh-right 24.25 Left 23.5, Calf-right 15 Left 14.75
So, about three months ago, I added Raw Milk to my diet. I take it post workout with my protein shake. Since that time I put on close to 15 pounds and my butt and thighs have grown...well a lot!
But, to be fair to myself, my strength has gone way up! Snatch has jumped 25lbs and clean and jerk by 15lbs. I back squat 380lbs for reps and rounds. 400lbs for reps and rounds is right around the corner. I have to admit I like the strength gains and the flab around the waist has got to go! I have already started logging my food with my I Am group and since last week dropped a legit 5lbs. I have cut my raw milk with protein intake to three time's a week and have bumped up my veggie intake quit a bit. I have also cut my protein portions almost in half and practice intermediate fasting four days a week. I don't necessarily want to cut weight and I say it again, my body fat must come down! I am fine tuning my goals and will post them just as soon as they are done.