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.

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.

Fantastic Exercise

Wanted to share a great exercise that I do, snatch grip shoulder press. It is a fantastic way to strengthen the shoulders and help with the lock-out of the snatch. I actually did this exercise yesterday and just happen to see it this morning on California Strength. While your at it you should also go and check out their YouTube channel for great exercises and sic training sessions. Thought I would post it so that you could given it a try and add it to your training regimen.

My Journey

This week I want to feature Stephanie. She has been with me for over a year and doesn't look to be going anywhere any time soon. I have to be honest with you tough,. When Stephanie first started at my 5:30am CrossFit Central class I was not a big fan of her. She whined and her attitude was not the greatest. Needless to say I wanted her in another class so I wouldn't have to deal with her.
I year later she is still in my Central class and is Olympic Lifting twice a week with me at Red Black Gym. She has made great strides and continues to grow as a CrossFitter and an Olympic Lifter as well. I absolutely love having her around and consider a friend.

I joined Crossfit Central in November of 2010. It quickly became very apparent to me that I would need A LOT of extra attention if I ever hoped to learn any of the Olympic lifts, let alone be able to perform them fast with some sort of technique. In April of 2011, I decided to add on Zach’s Olympic Lifting class to my normal schedule. My thinking was, I’ll take this class for three months, figure the lifts out and then I can go back to just crossfitting.

I can remember my first few classes; everything seemed very foreign and really difficult. When I started, I was secretly afraid of snatching. After all, my idea of the lift was to take a weighted bar and throw it at my head, how can you not be afraid of that? So, in the beginning I could only lift with the bar which weighs a whopping 35lbs; hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Even with the bar, I could somehow manage to lose my balance and fall or hit myself with the bar in some other way (I’m embarrassed to even imagine what that looked like.) NOTE: Learning something new is not for the proud; you have to be vulnerable and willing. I would wake up almost every morning with new bruises but all I could think about was how/what I could improve in the next class. It was physically difficult, but more mentally exhausting and at times I felt like a small child trying to learn how to tie my shoe and then immediately jump up and throw a ball. I say mentally exhausting because I would spend a few minutes in front of the bar running through a checklist in my head of things I had learned and was trying to make a habit for my body. It would go something like; feet even and toes pointed slightly out, shins lined up with the bar, bar against the body, hands in the same place each time, hook grip, eyes forward, chest up, shoulders back, knees out, back tight, weight in middle of the foot, deep breath in, hold it, small prayer to God that I would complete the lift, and this is all just to get set up. I could probably spend an hour on the platform just preparing for a lift, but then that’s where the mental part kicks in. I could talk myself out of a lift in equally the same amount of time. Now, imagine doing all of that and your body still only does half of what you told it to do.
Like I said, mentally exhausting. ..

I have had several small achievements, and some big achievements, but they all make huge impressions on my attitude. The first time I received a clean in the proper position and stood it up, I was so happy and it felt so easy, I couldn’t wait to try it again. The first time I snatched and pulled myself under the bar, I realized I would never hit myself in the head with the bar! No longer being afraid of something is incredibly liberating. That’s how it goes; you get something right, then you go back to being inept, then you get something right again. It’s a cycle and somehow along the way you learn and hopefully reinforce only the good. That’s where Zach comes in, he’s always watching.

Zach sees a lift and Boom!, you have immediate feedback on what went wrong and what you were supposed to do instead. Now get back on the platform and try again! Zach’s passion for Olympic lifting is obvious to anyone that he meets and his commitment to the sport pushes me to work harder than I thought I could. He also breaks the lift’s down so we practice progressions. Now instead of feeling like that “small child trying to learn how to tie my shoe and then immediately jump up and throw a ball,” I’m just focused on getting the loop on the laces right. Then rest will come, but it’s all in the details and you build on the technique.

I knew lifting was going to be hard when I started, but I never expected that that I would love it and would become addicted to it. I have gotten so much stronger and never fear Crossfit WOD’s with Olympic lifts in them because I always know how much weight I can handle. The initial three months I signed up for came and went; I’ve been in the class for almost eight months now and have no plans of leaving. Instead, I have huge goals for next year…like snatching my body
weight!

-steph

Olympic Weightlifting and Me

This week I asked Cindy to share with you whatever was on her mind. She is fairly new to Red Black Gym but not to CrossFit Central. Hope everyone enjoys.

I joined the Olympic Lifting class at Red Black Gym with a single goal in mind. I wanted to be stronger. What I did not realize is that I would also find a sport to challenge me both physically and mentally -- something for which I have been searching for a long time.
I started Olympic Lifting in October 2011 with Coach Zachary Thiel, who also happens to be my Crossfit coach.
I had already been Crossfitting for 2 ½ years, but the Olympic Lifting class is even more demanding. It steps it up to a new level for me. We do a lot of work in a short amount of time. The warm up feels like a workout in and of itself, but it does the job to get you loose so you can move some serious weight.
I thought I knew something about the Olympic Lifts because I’ve done them in many WODs at Crossfit Central over the years. But it turns out I have a lot to learn. There’s more to it than just where you place your hands and feet. Details matter. Timing matters.
When you lift a bar overhead, a number of things have to happen in just a spilt second. It’s not enough for me to do a lift once and “get” it. I need to drill the movements over and over again, and that’s what we do.
The level of focus required leaves me just as exhausted mentally as physically.
I’ve already noticed slight improvements, and it’s only been 6 weeks.I’m building up my strength through Olympic lifting -- I can see the results in Crossfit. But really, it’s a side benefit to the challenge of a sport that tests my mind and body.

In Transition

Transition is good right? I know the answer to that and I'm sure most of you do too. I am working on a new blog and some other shameless self promotion stuff so I haven't blogged in a few weeks. Kind of weak and not what I promised all of you.
Just want to give an update from my last post on how I did at my first sanctioned Olympic Lifting meet. Not well. Actually, you could consider it a choke. I started my snatch with 85 kilos (#185) which is something I usually workout with and is a fairly easy weight for me. Scratch! Second attempt I bumped up to 87 kilos (#187). I was angry with the first lift and was bound and determined to not get a scratch. Well I was aggressive and let the bar swing way out in front of me and let the bar go behind my head. Something that is VERY out of the ordinary for me. The last attempt was the same weight and with a little more control and patience I failed to fully pull myself under the bar. Done with the competition.
The truth of the matter is I could have continued on with the clean and jerk and not have any of it count. But I did something I normally don't do and let the misses get the best of me. I had already checked out mentally from the competition and pulled my card. Not one of my finest moments. One thing I can say is that my first meet was a humbling and a great learning experience. I realized that I need some help if I was going to dedicate my full time and attention to training and competing in the Olympic Lifts.
So...I solicited a coach, a top notch one at that and have proceeded to have my lifts broken down and rebuilt. I can already see the changes and can only imagine where I can take this. I'm starting a little old to have any grandeur expectations but I could do well enough to surprise some people.
I'll keep you all posted on the training and look for a lot of new and exciting stuff coming from me in the near future.

First Video

Here is the first video from the Red Black Olympic Lifting Club. I am just learning to film anything worth a darn so bear with me on the angles.

I know that I learn quite a bit by watching videos of people lifting. Some of it is do's and don'ts, but all in all it's good to watch other people lift. I hope you all get some good training ideas that you maybe hadn't thought of before and add it to your training. I know that as my athletes get better at the lifts and I get better at filming and coaching, you will gain more and more from the videos. I will try to have a new video up at least once a week from the Oly classes and my own training so I hope you follow this blog and my YouTube page.

The NEW Red Black Gym

So many of you know and some of you don't know SicFit Austin has transformed it's self into Red Black Gym. Along with the new name has come with new programs. The School of Strength featuring Strictly Strength, Lean Lifting and my personal favorite and simply put Olympic Weightlifting are designed to help get you strong, lean and technical.

I want to give you a quick description of what it is I do in the Oly classes at Red and Black Gym. You may assume that we only Olympic lift and that is it. While we do mainly focus on the Clean and Jerk and Snatch, I also incorporate power training. Having incorporated Crossfit Football WOD's and receiving my Football Cert. I have seen great strides in speed and strength with my Oly lifts. So, you could say that the Olympic class is a hybrid style of training. The class uses mainly dumbbells and kettelbells along with prowlers to do a 10 to 15 minute AMRAP. The short explosive workouts promotes power and speed which directly translates into better and more explosive Olympic weightlifting.

Being more efficient and educated in the Olympic lifts will directly translate into being a better crossfiter. It takes focus, discipline, and consistent practice to be a good Olympic lifter and the same applies to being a good crossfiter.
If you have any questions about the program please email zacharythiel@crossfitcentral.com