First Olympic Weight Lifting Mock Meet

You won't be able to accomplish anything if your fear is bigger than your faith. 

Also if you let people who have never stepped outside of their comfort zone tell you what you’re capable of doing.

I come from the world of strength training and supplemental cardio.

I prioritize lifting heavy and getting some type of sweat in (for heart health).

My journey started with p90x and insanity.

It was my last month at college & limewire was one of my best friends.

I downloaded p90x, wrote down every exercise & how long each exercise should take.

That’s how obsessed I was with working out. I’m meticulous & like to get things done right the first time around.

Insanity was easier in terms of just doing what was on my screen but one of the toughest workouts I’ve ever done in my life… That was until I stepped into the world of CrossFit.

I remember googling how much CrossFit was back when I was just starting to get in shape.

Here’s one of those times where I believe everything happens for a reason.

The only thing I was proficient at was body weight exercises, beginner dumbbell routines, and finishing workouts with the sloppiest form.

I also didn’t have a job & the thought of spending $300+/month was ridiculous.

I was an ego lifter, I was a gym bro.

If I got what I wanted exactly when I wanted it, I might have suffered a lower back injury that would've changed the way I looked at fitness forever.

As time progressed I learned how to use the Barbell.

Trust me when I say everyone you look up to has had shitty form before.

I replicated what I saw people do on the Internet.

There’s too many times to remember when my lifting career should have ended early because I didn’t have the knowledge to know better.

I was more than fascinated at what the human body was capable of, I was obsessed.

Within two years at my corporate 9-5 job, I began studying to become a certified personal trainer. 

I needed an out & if there was one thing I’d rather be doing than crunch numbers & listening to negative people for hours on end was workout.

Honestly, I probably got into personal training for the wrong reasons but it has become something I couldn’t imagine not doing.

The gym saved my life and gave me the confidence I never knew I had.

This was until I started training/coaching people.

I believe that energy attracts energy.

Most of my clients were people that did not have confidence. 

Then I realized that everybody I came into contact with, had poor self image.

I felt a type of responsibility to help people never experience what I felt growing up…

To help them get past their own hurdles & self-imposed limitations.

I wanted to help people believe in themselves.

I wanted to teach people how to love themselves better.

I wanted people to realize how much stronger they are.

Honestly, I didn't want people to think about the ways they could kill themselves like I used to.

I wanted to show people the ways they mattered.

I became obsessed with figuring out how to keep people motivated and consistent.

Fast forward 2.5 years into personal training, I have the opportunity to take crossfit.

I took a body class at Solace New York, down the street from where I train at and instantly fell in love. 

This came at a time when I was struggling to keep up with my own workouts.

When I say “struggle” I mean have the enthusiasm to lfit, not one of those people who watch other people workout & comment on how I wish I could do what they do.

The only thing stopping you from becoming great is getting started.

I took my first class with Andrew Mariani & got my ass kicked.

That’s what CrossFit is right? Lol

I found out that there was an even tougher class Solace offered called CrossFit 20 but before you could join, you had to take foundations.

Foundations included push presses, kipping, and something I never dreamt would happen to me, olympic lifting.

To me, snatches and clean & jerks are the ultimate form of lifting.

These two exercises are very technical and combine the best of both worlds, strength & power.

I sucked at it & that was the catalyst for me becoming obsessed.

A lot of people shy away from things they don’t excel in.

Other people relish in the fact that there's an opportunity to get better.

Meet other people, me.

Solace has this amazing weight lifting cycle taught by the one and only Coach Nicholas Novak.

Coaches know good coaches.

I would call Novak the Alpha coach.

Not the coach who's going to make you feel better and coddle you.

Not the coach where you wonder if he knows what he's talking about.

Novak is the type of coach that has the ability to break you down but instead chooses to build you up stronger.

The type of coach I aspire to be like.

I have unsuccessfully completed two weight lifting cycles at Solace.

I'm well known for getting injured doing everything but working out.

Whether it's basketball or putting equipment back, I'm clumsy AF.

However, one thing that can’t be said about Abel is I don't quit. 

I can't give up. 

If I say I'm going to do something, it's going to get done.

So here we are, five months into weight lifting.

Very thankful for everything that has led up to this moment.

My first taste at olympic weight lifting...

I opened with a 135 lb Snatch

My second attempt was a 145 lb Snatch

I finished with a 160 lb PR Snatch

I opened my Clean & Jerk with 210 lbs

I missed my second & third attempt at 230 lbs

Thanks for reading this far.