One Year Reflections

This is the time of the year when I always take a moment to sit back and think on the last year. With my birthday in the coming week, I take some time to reflect on the events of my past year; not just in terms of my training, but in my life in general. What made the past year great? What could I have done differently? What mistakes did I make? Have I grown as a person in the past year? Sometimes, it's hard for me to face those questions because frankly, I may or may not like the answer. This past year has certainly had its ups and downs, as will any year.

My year in terms of:

1. Training
Since this is primarily my training log, I'll start by reflecting on my training over the last year. This is the part of my life I would say I most definitely excelled. This year I was able to add over 50 pounds to my deadlift, completely rebuild my squat (and am on the brink of squatting over 200), and I also put up my first 135 bench (in training, not competition). I competed in three powerlifting meets, which really drug me a bit outside of my comfort zone, which is most definitely something I needed. It helped me gain way more confidence in my lifting than I had before and I was fortunate enough to meet many great people along the way. I remember in February 2013 I deadlifted 200 for the first time. Now, less than a year later, my opening attempt is far less than that; I'd say that's some decent progress. This year I've really learned to listen to my body from a training standpoint. Before, I was just go, go, go all the time. I had the "more is better" point of view. Now I realize that in some cases less really is more. Since I've started listening to how I feel and not pushing it when I know I shouldn't, I've seen great increases in my lifts as well as a pretty good decrease in my body weight.

2. Work
Work. This is where it gets just a little trickier. Overall, not a bad year in the work force by any means. My full time job has stayed the same while my part time job has changed. I do feel like I put forth really good effort in my full time job. Sure, there are days where motivation is lacking and the days where working in customer service tries my patience to the brink, but all in all that has just made me a more mentally tough person. I have my good days and not so good days at my full time job but my boss makes me feel very valued and that helps tremendously. As for my part time job, I no longer am a trainer at the YMCA. I just recently quit and it was a tough decision for me. I'm an easy person to get along with and yes, I'll admit that I let people take advantage of me. However, as I get older and wiser I can see more and more when people are taking advantage of me. That was the situation here so I stood up for myself and realized it was time to move on down the road. I found a new personal training job which is good overall. They expect me to learn a set of sales skills that I do not possess so it will be a challenge but I'm trying my best to overcome it.

3. Personal Life
I'm not really sure where to begin with this one. This is the part where those questions from the beginning become a little harder to answer. What mistakes did I make? Tons. What could I have done differently? Really, a lot of things. Have I grown as a person? By leaps and bounds. I've done a lot of growing up the last year. I've always been mature, but I've dealt with some things over the year that helped me learn and grow as a person. I learned that everyone really does make mistakes, sure, that's something we hear our whole lives but now it has true meaning to me. Not only do we all make mistakes, but everyone really does deserve a second chance. If they blow the second chance, then chances are they shouldn't get a third, there's a fine line between trying again and being naïve.  Even the strongest relationship is fragile. I don't just mean a boyfriend/girlfriend relationship, any relationship, whether it be friends, siblings, parents, whoever. They're fragile. Treat them with care.

As I think back over my 23rd year, I really can see all the changes that have occurred. It's just like the saying goes "day by day nothing seems to change but pretty soon everything is different." How true. Sure, the year wasn't always smooth sailing, but I do like where my life is heading. I'm so thankful for all that I have and for that one special person who is always there to help me with whatever it may be. I've learned that life isn't always what you plan for it to be; you just have to adjust your course and do your best. I truly believe as long as I am a good person and as long as I work my tail off I'll have good things coming my way. Now it's time to make 24 the best year yet!

My Video

Here is the video from all my lifts last weekend. Enjoy!

Post Meet Reflections

A successful meet is officially in the books! This past Saturday I competed in NASA Unequipped Open Nationals and I could not have asked for a better day. I felt like I made some excellent progress during this training cycle and I went into the meet with the mindset that I was going to get four PR's. The meet started on a great note when I had zero trouble making weight. I basically was just careful about what I ate all week and drank a lot of water and was able to weigh in at an easy 147. After weighing in Brandon and I hit a near by buffet and enjoyed a nice carb loaded supper.

Saturday morning I woke up and was ready to go! I felt good, strong, and well rested. The meet got underway about 10:00 with the curl and clean competitions; two events that I wasn't competing in. The meet started for me around 11:00 with squats. Brandon and I agreed beforehand that I would pick my opening weights but after that I wanted him to make all my calls. Knowing what is on the bar and having time to think about it juts psyches me out and kind of intimidates me, especially if I know I'm going for a PR. Since all the weights are measured in kilograms, I could have Brandon make my calls without me even knowing what the weight was since I always train in pounds.

I chose to open my squats at 170; my former PR from just three months ago. I knew my squat had progressed way more than my other two lifts and felt very confident in this; especially since I was able to squat 175 for a fairly easy triple towards the end of my training. I took my opener and got three white lights! First lift of the day and I already had a tied PR! I wasn't sure what B would pick for my second attempt but I knew he would be a bit riskier with attempts than I would be which is another reason why I wanted him to make my calls. I always play on the safe side with  my numbers, even when I know good and well I could do more. I did my second attempt having no idea what was on the bar and once again it was a good lift! When the third attempt rolled around, I knew that it had to be at least 200 pounds, since that was a goal I had in mind for this meet. I tried not to think about it and took my attempt. Sadly, it was my first (and only) miss of the day. I got out of the hole just fine but about halfway up I just couldn't go anymore. Looking back at the video it looks like I really just need a little more time to get a bit stronger; it will certainly be there in a few weeks with a little more work. After my third attempt I found out I had successfully done 187 for my second and missed 203 for my third. I was a little bummed for a second when I found out I missed 200 but hey, I just got a 17 pound PR, that's a huge accomplishment for a short amount of time!

Next up was bench press. I opened with 105, the same thing I always open with. Bench press is very hit or miss for me. Some days I'm on and feel like I could do 130 pounds with no trouble and other days 90 pounds feels like a ton. I took my first attempt and could tell it was going to be a good bench day. Attempts two and three were also good and I ended up with 121 pounds; a six pound PR!

After bench press we had a little down time so we ventured over to Subway where I was finally able to enjoy a sub for once! (I follow a gluten free lifestyle and typically only deviate from it on meet days) I was starting to get a little tired just from the day so Brandon ran and got me some coffee so I could get a little caffeine boost. I had originally planned to open deadlifts at 220 but after crunching some numbers we realized if I opened at 225 then I would have tied my old total and everything else would just be icing on the cake. I went ahead and changed my opener and hit 225 pretty easily. The second attempt was definitely harder and the third was a straight struggle, but I got it! I walked away with 253 pounds on deadlift, a five pound PR! My total for the day was 562, which was a 28 pound PR! For only three months I was beyond thrilled with that!

It was a fantastic day and I'm so happy with how things turned out. Not only did I reach  my lifting goals but it was really awesome to meet other female lifters! I don't plan to compete again until around March so until then I plan to train hard and stay focused. I have some big numbers in mind for my next competition and can't wait to take some recovery time this week and get going again!

I want to end this post by giving a huge thank you to Brandon, without whom I never would have come this far. He is the greatest coach I could ever ask for and always believes in me and has never once given up on me. I've always been a good self motivator but with his encouragement he gives me that extra little boost I need and I can't thank him enough for all the fantastic programming he does for me! All in all I'd say we're a pretty great team :)


B and I with my Junior Division champ trophy!

Thanks for always seeing the greatness, B!

Time for a Change

"If you want something different, you must DO something different."

Change is an inevitable part of life, and unfortunately, something that I have always had a hard time dealing with. I get settled into things and as much as I hate to say it, I guess I just like the routine (that sounds so boring, doesn't it?) I get into the swing of things and it feels comfortable. I like that feeling.

But the last few months, that feeling of comfort started to irritate me. I was discontent. I didn't enjoy my routine anymore. Ever been in that situation? On the one hand, you want to change because you know you're not as happy as you should be and you know you can do better but on the other hand you've had this same routine for well over a year and you like the comfort of it. You like knowing basically what each day is going to be like.

Let me back up a little bit.

I have had the same personal training job for about a year and a half now. Not a terribly long time, but I've only been out of school for about two years, so I've been there for the majority of my time in the "real world." When I first got offered this job I was thrilled! It was going to be perfect! I honestly could see myself staying there for many years and climbing the ladder into a higher position. I began as a personal trainer and also taught TRX classes a couple times a week. I loved it! I was building up a good amount of clients and I really felt like it was an excellent fit.

But then, ever so slowly, and really without even realizing it, things changed.

Funny how that happens, huh? One day you feel like you're on the right path and then the next day you wake up and think "wow, I'm really not living up to my full potential. What the heck am I doing?" I tried to turned a blind eye to these feelings and pretend like I was still happy and content like I had been for so long. Then, one night while mindlessly scrolling through Facebook I saw that quote that one of my friends had put as their status: "If you want something different, you must DO something different." For whatever reason, that hit me like a ton of bricks. I wasn't going to magically start loving where my life was going if I kept turning my head to my feelings of discontent. If I wanted something different in my life I had to make the change; no one is going to do it for me! Wow, talk about a wake up call.

So what did I do? I applied to grad school (and got accepted), found a new personal training job where I will actually be able to hold a conversation with someone about programming and why Bosu balls are useless, and put in my two weeks notice at the job I had once loved and thought I would have forever.

For someone that doesn't like change, that's a lot of change.

One of my biggest fears is not living up to my full potential. I would confidently say that I do very well for myself but I have specific goals in mind and while I do just fine supporting myself, I'll be disappointed if I do not reach those goals. It's very important to me to continuously grow as a personal trainer, coach, and just as a person in general. I felt that I was no longer growing and knew that it was time to change things and move on to something that would help me grow and better myself.

Change is a very scary thing for me. It always has been. I have a tough time transitioning into new things and I get scared that I'm going to make a wrong choice. But if you feel like you can do more then you have to make that change because if you're not happy and you stay where you are, isn't that kind of like failing? You may as well take a chance on something new, say a prayer, and hope for the best. At least then you can't say you didn't try. I have a lot of new, exciting opportunities coming my way and I've decided the journey will be a whole lot more enjoyable if I learn to embrace change rather tan fear it.