Im not going to lie this picture of my really bothers me. There is more Tom in this picture than I would like. As proud of my growth in the sports of weightlifting over the past few years , I am significantly less proud of the growth of myself ...in my singlet . After USAW Nationals this year I knew something needed to change.
Recently I went to the doctor to get some testing done..In the last few years, I have accomplished a ton of things both personally and professionally . One area that I let slip was my health and body composition. I have put on 30-40lbs and I was convinced that there was something wrong with me. I had "tried everything" , super restrictive diets, abstaining from alcohol, intermittent fasting , RP templates , the list goes on. For the past 6 months or so I have prepped most of my meals, workout out consistently , and have eaten more mindfully than ever before.The problem was is that I continued to gain weight throughout the year as well. I was planning on competing at USAW Nationals in the 105kg (231lb) weight class. About a month out I was still about 8kg over and realized that if I did make weight , that my performance would suffer. At the recommendation of my coach I stayed in the 105+ Class. I had the best meet I have ever had , hitting competition PR's in all my lifts and increasing my total by 16kg in the process. I placed 7th place for the second year straight at nationals . I also hit another PR , I weighed in at over 116kg(255lbs) . The frustrating part for me was that in my normal weight class(105kg ) I would have had the opportunity to finish as high as 2nd if I would have just taken care of what I had to with my diet. When I got home I was angry. I thought I had done everything I could, but nothing worked. I decided there had to be something wrong with me . I went on WebMD and convinced myself that I had Hypothyriod that was causing my weight gain. It couldn't possibly be the combination of stress, life changes, lack of sleep, etc. This couldn't be my fault, I am a fitness professional , this is my job, and I couldn't possibly be to blame . So I went and got tested. I have never wanted to have a medical condition so bad in my life. This would vindicate me , alleviate me of any personal responsibility for making into my weight class, those feelings of guilt for my less than ideal body composition would go away. This was the reason , I was sure of it. Then the tests finally came back . I found out, I have a perfectly healthy thyroid. My situation was 100% my fault. What the heck was I going to do now?!? I decided to do what I should have done in the first place. I finally took some responsibility for my situation. The reality was that I need to be more disciplined, eat less, workout more , and recover like a champ. It is time to stop going through the motions and get to work . I've spent months feeling sorry for myself , now with my excuses gone I have no where to look buy inside. Time to be an example to my clients and athletes . One week down and I have lost a few pound and all of my excuses I've got about 10-15kg(22- 33 lbs ) to lose , it wont be fast, it wont be easy, and it wont be fun. Time to lead from the font in EVERY aspect of my training and lifestyle . About Coach Tom :
1 Comment
On Saturday, Aug. 18, 2018 (8:00 AM) - Sunday, Aug. 19, 2018 (2:00 PM)
PFP Barbell will be hosting the USAW L-1 course ! Mike Mckenna from http://www.mckennasgym.com/ will be teaching. SPORTS PERFORMANCE COACHING COURSE - This introduction to weightlifting training is open to anyone 17 years of age or older. The scope and sequence of this course includes the teaching progressions of the Snatch, Clean& Jerk, and all associated movements. Participants will gain knowledge and experience of programming of training for both competitive weightlifters and for athletes using the weightlifting movements for strength and power development as it applies their chosen sport. The course includes theoretical classroom, and practical hands-on portions. Course duration is over 2 days, typically Saturday and Sunday, and lasts approximately 13-14 hours. This course is applicable for Strength & Conditioning/Sports Performance, Health & Fitness and beginning level competitive Weightlifting Coaches. In compliance with our USOC accreditation, the free online Athlete Development Model training and exam is required to receive your Level 1 Sports Performance Coach Certification. 2 Day Course: Includes certification as USA Weightlifting Sport Performance Coach upon successful completion of online Sports Performance exam and Athlete Development Model exam
Click here to register: webpoint.usaweightlifting.org/wp15/Events2/Registrations/Register.wp?rgs_EventID=131071 Any questions email : tom@pittsburghfitnessproject.com 1.Name: Gerald Haynes 2.Weight Class: 77kg 3.Best Lifts a.Snatch: 86kg b.Clean and Jerk: 109kg 4.Favorite Lift: Snatch 5.Least Favorite lift: Overhead Squat 6.How did you get into Weightlifting? I could only make night classes at a crossfit box, which happened to be the olympic lifting class. There I realized crossfit had too much cardio and weightlifting was way more fun. 7.Goals a.1 year: i. Place in a meet ii. 100kg Snatch, 120kg Clean and Jerk and 230 total PRs iii.Become more involved in the weightlifting scene b.5 year: i. Masters Nationals ii. (Serious) Injury free iii.Have my own personal training space/gym 8.Favorite Food: Fresh Steelhead Trout 9.If you were a superhero who would you be? Nightcrawler from X-men 10.Interesting fact about you? I performed in Carnegie Hall with the Purdue Symphonic Band. *As part of East Coast Gold, PFP Barbell will be reposting some of the amazing content from eastcoastgold.org/ this article was originally posted here: eastcoastgold.org/2018/05/08/does-your-program-make-you-feel-weaker/ and was written by Coach Phil Sabatini The short answer- NO! In order for you to make the adaptations necessary for strength development, you must undergo performance suppression. Training is nothing more than: Performance Suppression (Feeling and Performing Poorly) + Recovery (Long Term and Short Term) = GAINZ ! (Translation of that Suppression into an Adaptation) So many times throughout a training cycle and leading up to a meet, I hear athletes say “I’m getting weaker” or “my program isn’t working, I need to try something different”. During those times, as a coach, it is so important to educate the athlete on WHY they are feeling and performing poorly. The biggest mistake an athlete can make is to abandon the current training program during these times. Very often, the athlete will confuse this Performance Suppression with the thought that they are actually getting weaker! Light weights feel heavy- those same weights that were once squatted for multiple reps have become nothing more than a heavy single. Technique has become inconsistent- there are more misses at submaximal weights. It’s a very difficult for athletes to accept this, as they have been busting their ass to get better! So, instead of seeing it through and allowing the adaptation to take place, they abandon the program and put emphasis where it doesn’t belong, resulting in an incomplete or inadequate stimulus. For example, an athlete’s clean and jerk is suffering during this time, so the athlete will stop squatting as much and cut back the volume to “save” their clean and jerk because it got weaker. The end result, clean and jerk stayed the same. The goal of a training cycle is elicit a compensatory effect from a stress- You suppress performance, there is recovery, and the result is an adaptation and supercompensation. Supercompensation is a heightened state of performance due to the body working so hard to recover from stress. When the stress is lifted, that same recovery effort is still active, resulting in a performance that is above the previous baseline.
Simply put, the longer the suppression, the longer the necessary recovery time in order to fully see the intended adaptation. In a long term training cycle (12+ Weeks), although there may be planned periods of rest (deload), performance still may stay in suppression for a longer period of time. This is both good and bad; The Bad – The athlete will feel and perform poorly for a longer period of time, which results in frustration, second guessing, and lack of motivation. The Good– The adaptation will be much greater once sufficient recovery is obtained. (MORE GAINZ!) Short-Term Supercompensation for Overeaching or Competition The same principles that are applied to a long term training program are used in the short term. Overreaching is a planned acute bout of overtraining within a training cycle. Personally, I like to start long-term training programs with a 2 week overreaching period. This is followed by a week of recovery which results in a short term supercompensation effect, which results in higher performance during the “grind” of training. The thought behind this is that an increased performance will result in a greater adaptation. Another short term use of the supercompensation effect is at the tail end of a peak for a competition. As the athlete recovers to prepare for competition, a typical week leading up to the meet may look like this: Day 1 – 85% Day 2 – 90% Day 3 – 75% Day 4 – 70% Day 5 – Competition The importance of the high intensities (85% and 90%) early in the week is to elicit a short-term effect, timed perfectly for the athlete to be in a state of supercompensation on meet day. The heavy lifts will slightly suppress performance one last time, just enough that 2-3 days of recovery leading up to the competition will result in a heightened state of performance. Want to show up on game day? Lift heavy early and recover! In closing, coaches should educate and encourage their athletes to continue to grind through the suppressed levels of performance. Assure them that there is light at the end of the tunnel and if they continue to push through it, the adaptation will be much better. Discourage the displacement of energy in order to overcome the thought that they’ve actually gotten weaker! Athletes should trust the coach and program, but not be afraid to ask questions to fully understand the training. This will make the tough times more manageable and keep the motivation and energy where it should be- on the focus of the program. If the focus is to increase your leg strength, don’t be too concerned with your snatch and clean and jerk feeling off. Stay the course and think long-term! -Phil Sabatini Come join PFP Barbell and the 2018 Men's and Women's National Champion , East Coast Gold Weightlifting Team! Email: Tom@pittsburghfitnessproject.com to get started!
With the growing popularity of the Sport of Weightlifting, there are more people new to the sport. One thing to keep yourself and others safe is to keep your platform clean. What do I mean by this?
It is an exciting time for the Sport of Olympic Weightlifting! Walk into any Weightlifting gym as a beginner or a full-time Instagram competitor; someone will always be there to help you in the right direction. Lift on! Gravity never takes a rest day. Until next time, on the pursuit for 6 for 6. Dom Gomez, USAW, SPT Social Media Director USA Weightlifting Level I Coach Physical Therapy Student, University of Pittsburgh Schedule your FREE Barbell Assessment with Dom: dom@pittsburghfitnessproject.com In Weightlifting we want to create as much consistency as possible. One way we can accomplish this is to start each lift the same every single time. We have developed a Pre-Lift checklist to run through before every lift. First is a checklist for your Snatch and Clean.
7.TIME TO LIFT! For help with your lifts Email: tom@pittsburghfitnessproject.com Fail, Fail often, Fail Forward: How to overcome your fear of failure to reach your potential .5/15/2018 "The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark. "
Michelangelo 9 years ago , I had experienced one of the worst days of my entire life. After our spring game at WCUPA , I was called into exit meetings with my coaches. When I walked into the coaching offices I noticed the coaches were having an intense discussion about something , I wasn't sure what, but when I walked in all the talking stopped. I sat down and was informed that I was not needed on the 2010 WCUPA Football team. My 12 year football career was over. I was a good football player, but I didn't make enough big plays, and they felt the young linebackers could do as good as a job and needed the experience (I didn't disagree) . One things I have always been is a hard worker, I watched hours and hours of film, stayed on campus all summer to train, practiced hard, I took my shots, but just came up short. I didn't realize it at the time , but this become a character defining moment for me . I worked butt off my entire life to play football at that level. Football was the most constant thing in my entire life. It had defined me. I tried my best and came up short. It took me years and years for the lesson to set in . But I realized failing this big , at something this important , that I worked so hard for , had made me a little fearless. The scariest thing I could think of (in regards to the pursuit of my goals) , had happened to me , and I was OK. It was freeing to realize that the beauty is in the pursuit and reaching your goal is just the icing on the cake . Aim high , work your butt off, keep pushing until you succeed. Many people are afraid to go "all in" on goals for one simple reason. This is the fear of failure. What happens if I give my all and I still fail? Does that me a failure ? Then what? Often times after we fail , then decide to pick ourselves up , thats where the magic happens. People who achieve great things are all to familiar with this. Most of them are constantly trying things and failing . Heck, thats pretty much what the scientific method is! Repeated failure until we prove or disprove our hypothesis . So how to we stop being afraid to fail and start using failures to help us grow and reach our goals? 1.) Get knocked on your ass: This one is simple , not super fun, and a little terrifying . We need to experience trying our best and coming up short. In weightlifting , this can be relatively easy, it can even happen by accident. My first meet , I went 1 for 6 only made my very last Clean and Jerk. I was bummed, a little embarrassed, and completely hooked on weightlifting . It is infinitely worse to aim low and hit , then to aim high and miss. 2.) Don't get Bitter...Get Better: Every loss is a lesson. If we can remain cool headed and reflect, we can find a way to turn any set back into a springboard towards your next success. Remember you are not your outcomes. When we come up short, it is just another growth opportunity . 3.) Apply What you've Learned and Try Again: This is where the magic happens. Once you've dusted yourself off and reflected on your experiences its time to ACT. Every time you approach your goals you should EXPECT to be successful . However IF you come up short again repeat the process until you have arrived at your goal . 4.) Enjoy the Process: Big goals require long hours, hard work, a game plan , and a certain level of stubbornness. Along the way every day will NOT be all sunshine and rainbows, you will be frustrated, want to quit , and doubt yourself... DON'T You may never actually reach your goal , but understand the magic is in the process. When we reflect back on when we have achieved our biggest victories most of the time we come to realize the prize is in the process. Do not allow fear to stop you from chasing your dreams. Fail often and fail forward. Find a mentor, build a team around you , and never lose sight of why you started. Failure is never permanent until you quit . Come join our team at PFP Barbell my emailing tom@pittsburghfitnessproject.com to set up a Barbell Assessment This week Coach Tom was a guest on Everyday Weightlifter . During the Podcast they discussed:
Head over to itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-everyday-weightlifter/id1274198138?mt=2 to download the episode ! Make sure to leave a like and review! If you want to join the Winningest Weightlifting Team in the Country Email:tom@pittsburghfitnessproject.com To set up a Weightlifting Assessment About Coach Tom :
Recently we have had some requests for more information about our team programming. The primary goal of our programming is to help build great technique while creating a great foundation of strength for our athletes. Right now we are finishing a long volume block before we peak most of our team for the American Open Series 2 in July. As most of our team is relatively new to the sport we want to get LOTS of quality reps and position work in to set our athletes up for many years of long term success! I have included a same week from earlier in the year to check out how we do things at PFP Barbell! If you have any questions please comment below or email me at Tom@pittsburghfitnessproject.com
Sample Week Day 1 No Contact Snatch 1x3 @ 50% 1x3 @60% 3x3 @65% Snatch Pull+ Snatch 1x3 @ 50% 1x3 @60% 3x3 @65% Back Squat 4x6 65%x6 70%x6 75%x6 75%x6 Day 2 Front Squat + Jerks 1x3 @ 50% 1x3 @60% 3x3 @65% Clean DL+ No Contact Clean 1x3 @ 60% 1x3 @ 65% 3x3 @ 70% Clean Pulls 4x6 75%x6 80%x6 85%x6 90%x6 Day 3 No Contact Hang Power Snatch 1x3 @ 50% 1x3 @ 55% 3x3 @ 60% Front Squat 65%x6 70%x6 75%x6 75%x6 Strict Press 50%x5 60%x5 65%3x5 Day 4 OFF Day 5 Plyos Power Skips Bounders Single Leg RDL 3x12 Max Pull Ups 3 rounds Upright Row 3x15 Day 6 Snatch 1x3 @ 50% 1x3 @ 55% 1x3 @65% 3x3 @70% Clean +Jerk 1x3 @ 50% 1x3 @ 55% 1x3 @65% 3x3 @70% |
PFP BArbellCoaches and Athletes will be contributing to this blog. We will be discussing lifting tips, smashing goals, and much more. Archives
November 2023
Categories |