2012 USA Master's Weightlifting schedule

Nationals are in Georgia in spring. Click on table below to enlarge for legibility or go to www.mastersweightlifting.org

Oregon Crossfit

Was able to get in a snatch work out in Bend thanks to Oregon Crossfit. Co-owner Sean didn't even charge me a day fee, just had me fill out the liability form. It's a great-looking gym. The weather was September, Indian Summer gorgeous, so having the garage doors open to this warehouse gym was terrific.


It was loaded with all the Crossfit stuff I suppose a Crossfitter could want - rows of rings, stacks of bumper plates, loads of kettlebells, a big digital stopclock on the wall sounding out Sean's drill times as he trained.

The floor is wall-to-wall rubber, and for me, anyway, there's a noticeable difference between this and wooden platforms. It's okay, but when you always train on platforms, you work with the edge that slip gives you. And when you drop a rubber plate on rubber flooring, man, does it bounce.


I loved how the natural noonday light cut across my face and hit the floor in big angular patches. The chalk was kept in little socks in the standing stainless steel bowl. The bathrooms were small and simple. The logo and T-shirts were cool. There was a couch and even a grill, which Sean said was his; he'd brought it in for a cook out earlier in the week.

It was a very nice stop to make, and it's great to know there's a place to keep weightlifting on schedule in Central Oregon.


As I was finishing up, Sean started the pitch - "Have you ever tried Crossfit?" I smiled and said, "No. I have great respect for it, but I love what I do."

Juniper Swim & Fitness Center

Trained at Bend Park & Rec District's impressive Juniper Swim & Fitness Center. The fitness part of it was remodelled about three years ago, I was told. Everything seems shiny new. I had no competition for the squat rack at 1 p.m. on a Monday, unsurprisingly, while the treadmills were busy. It was a nice one, with retracting ends to the safety pins/bars, and black marker marking the level where the pins generally were used attested that the rack isn't gathering dust. The plates were rubber-coated with large holes for easy handling, the stuff of money in a fitness center.

All the general commercial gym essentials, nothing special to note. I wasn't sure where to deadlift and opted just to do it in front of the rack. Snatch grips with straps, since I sprained a finger in a meet the Saturday before. Got the feeling no one there had seen that kind of thing there before.

The facility is first and foremost about pools. If you're into water, don't miss it.

A decent use of $5.50 while on the road.

competing at Sept 2011 meet

Totaled 100 KG at the Sept. 17th Heavy Weight Athletics Championships at Ironworks Gym in Creswell, Oregon

I am a walking PR

I am a walking PR.

My strength is epic.

Gravity and fatigue

are brittle wood

smashed by my rising momentum.

The more weight I lift, the easier it comes.

You don’t know what I’m capable of.

I am a breakthrough.

The mountain runs through my spine.

Ocean swells in my breast.

Fire

Torrent

Boulder

My Power

Speed

Control

Stand back.

Part the seas.

The grass is on fire.

Everything has its season.

If you are only a voice now,

Stand back.

It is my time at the bar.

This is my bar.

This is my moment.

No one else has my body.

No one else has my muscles

and my strength.

These are mine alone.

These are me.

I am force.

I have arrived

and the strength of ages

thrums in my veins.

Bam!

Sleepless

Sleepless
because triumph
spurs the tiger in my soul
and its promise
drives me deeper
through this jungle

Tommy Kono weightlifting lecture

Just getting around to posting this last bit of Tommy Kono lecture - He talks about proper body angles on pulling through the snatch, knowing your goals, and his recommendation to always work from the floor. I recorded this at Bodytribe Fitness during the weekend of the Tommy Kono Open VI in Sacramento, California.