This event took place weekend of July 18th 2014 in Las Vegas. I was super stoked to have qualified to compete at this level. The whole experience was not perfect or close to it for me. My coach was not able to travel at the last minute so it was just my training partner and I. We did, however, hook up with an excellent coach and fellow powerlifter named Matthew Barba from Brownsville TX. I couldn’t have pulled through some of the lifts without his coaching. Overall, I was not happy with my performance. My goal was qualify for Worlds but I was about 30# short. I’ll try again in September at the Capitol of Tx Open in Austin. I did place 2nd and brought home a nice big silver medal, not bad for my 3rd meet 🙂 These were the only pics I took from the event. Unfortunately, I did not get any video or pics of my lifts 😦
I had a great time at this competition! I felt more nervous but more confident going into my 2nd meet. I’d like to acknowledge my family & friends, my training gym & lifting team, Metroflex Austin & Raw Talent Athletics, and sponsors, The Silva Method & All CenTex, for their support in my journey to the 2014 USPA National Competition in Las Vegas on July 19th 2014!
Goal for this meet:
Squat 210#, 220# & 230# – I got the weight up on all 3 but I double dipped on my third lift so the lift was bad.
Bench Press 125#, 135# 150# – 2nd and 3rd lift failed. I don’t know what was with me on the bench because I’ve pressed 135#, 145# & 155# many times in the gym. Bad day to be “off”.
Deadlift 225#, 245# 260# – all 3 lifts were good!
Join Team Texas House of Strength in this years Spartan Sprint Race on Sunday May 18th 2014!!! We’re 4 weeks out so we’re turning up our training a few notches! Team THOS currently trains every Saturday morning at St. Edwards Park on Spicewood Springs Road, an entrance to a running trail we take around Bull Creek.
Currently, I’m the only one in the team who has experienced a Spartan Race in the past. The other registered members are runners, boot camp goers and brave sedentaries! Anyone can FINISH!!! We’re in it together!
Read about my past experience running the Spartan Sprint in 2013 & 2012 in a previous post here. I also list out race day tips and what to pack.
Message me with interest and I’ll email you an invite link!!! Then begin your training with us and/or at the Blockhouse Creek Boot Camp Classes!
I woke up this morning realizing that I was out of coffee…crap. Might as well brew up one of the ten or so tea blends I’ve been collecting and wanting to try someday. I experimented with an orange citrus green tea and sprinkled a chai blend over it.
Tasty but it just didn’t do it. I felt blah and had a foggy head all day today.
Since today was a rest day from strength training, I thought I’d go for a nice run to clear my cloudy head. My friend Stephanie was just telling me about her recent run where she added burpees and jump squats and other exercises at every mile or so that reminded me of what I use to do running my Blockhouse Creek loop.
I was only planning on a steady 4.5mi run but as soon add I hit the road I immediately felt an amazing energy that encouraged me to go breast mode!
I just got done running 5 miles with 10 burpees, 25 push ups, 25 plank jacks & 25 walking lunges at every mile! It was rough and I went to bitch stitch city, man my sides were cramping but I pushed through it!
EVERY TIME I do not feel like working out, I have THE BEST workouts!
Even though I didn’t perform as well as I had hoped, it’s pretty cool to see my name as the record holder for my weight class! Glad to get my first meet out of the way! Now I’ve got to make it look pretty and hang on to that spot!
Setting the new record in June at the Jill Mills Alamo Classic!!!
I went on my first run in almost a month this morning. It had been too long for various reasons but mostly because I badly twisted my right ankle.
I recently noticed stress creeping in over the last few days, maybe weeks. Running somehow allows my mind to clearly think. While running, I do listen to music or a podcast but I always wonder off.
I was able to think about my upcoming promotion, training for my next powerlifting meet, my new business and having lunch with my dad this afternoon. I was able to take deep breaths and ponder different paths with opposing directions to help guide me in making solid decisions for my life.
This is mediation. A breathing and visualisation process while at peace.
Ahhh….sigh…..what a day! I woke up refreshed after my second night in a row sleeping 8-9hrs. I had an excellent 2hour training session in my garage gym.
This is what I did:
Pin Presses – I warmed up up to my workset which were singles of 130 3 times, just 5lbs shy of my body weight. I hadn’t pressed that much weight before so that’s why I laughed after my first set. To me, the bar went up very, very, very slowly….LOL!
I moved onto bench presses working with 3 different hand placements. I worked with 75lbs and did 3 reps at 3 different hand grips for 3 sets. This was really cool, I’ll probably add a little more weight next time.
Next were Bent-Over Rows. I did 5 sets of 3 at 120#. Could probably do a little more weight next time or add more reps.
My fourth exercise was the Upright Rows. I had to play with my hand placement because I kept feeling a nerve get pinched during the movement. I need an adjustment, I miss my chiropractor! I did 5 sets of 3 at 75#, could add more reps next time, maybe do a 5×5.
Next I did Lat Pull Downs with a close grip, one of my favorite back exercises! Today I did 5 sets of 3 at 100#.
Lastly, I did a little core. I wanted to go heavy and do just a few reps but I was a little fired up so I kept going. I used a 25# plate on my first set of 25, actually the video showed me I did 24, then I dropped the weight to a 10# plate for the last 2 sets of 25. It was tough on my shoulders, it burned so good.
On another note, I had my time to speak during “citizen communication” time at the Owners Association meeting tonight about proposing they implement an affordable rate for Fitness Instructors to host boot camps in our neighborhood parks. I only got just a few minutes but I did well getting my points across. They at least did not say no, instead they want to have a follow up meeting after discussing this topic amongst themselves…..fingers are crossed!
