ETSU Open 2007

Yesterday, I participated in my second weightlifting meet. It was held at East Tennessee State University, about four hours from the Harrisonburg, VA area.

It was a very successful experience for several reasons:

1. Improved technique: When I attended my first meet in Hampton last March, I didn’t know that I wasn’t really doing Olympic lifts. I was power-snatching and power-cleaning, rather than doing the lifts authentically. The former involves pulling the bar for the catch in standing position (bad), while the latter involves pulling oneself under the bar for the catch in squatting position (good). At the earlier meet in Hampton, I power-snatched 60 kg. However, when I started training with Glen and Jeff in April and began learning the authentic lifts, I could hardly snatch the bar properly. Most of the time I spent training on O-lifts has been spent practicing the snatch and gradually working my way back up to 60 kg, meaning that I have made significant progress on the snatch.


2. Personal Record: In addition to improving on the snatch, I managed to apply my newly acquired technique to the clean & jerk and bump up my best C&J by 10 kg, resulting in a new PR. To see the difference between a real clean and a power clean, compare this C&J video with the one from Hampton (in my first blog entry…just scroll all the way down).


3. Higher Total: My total was higher than the previous meet. I was concerned that all the new technique was going to be too much to handle. Fortunately, not only did I not have to settle for anything less than my previous total, I exceeded it!

4. Mental Toughness: After years of stage fright as a trumpeter, I decided that I had had enough of performance anxiety. There’s a reason our minds and bodies respond to things chemically. When performance time comes, I’m going to be pumped full of adrenaline regardless of whether I choose to interpret it as excitement or fear. I might as well interpret it positively and ride it for all its worth!

One thing about this sport that I have noticed is that there is a lot of support from other people, even from those you have never met. It's wonderful to step onto the platform and have other people calling out words of encouragement. It doesn't matter that they don't really know you. They're just glad you're there and that you have the guts to try. They want to enable you. They want the best for you and you feel it. In case anyone thinks there is no teamwork in a sport as individual as weightlifting, the opposite is true.

Another positive thing that came out of this weekend is that I got to spend a lot of time with my buddy Dustin, who also came to see me lift at the Hampton meet. Not only did he operate the camera again, but he did a lot of the driving and dubbed himself my personal assistant, filled my water bottle, and brought me food. Not too many people would travel to another state with you for a weekend, let alone be so ready to serve. How lucky am I to have a friend like that?

Not only did I enjoy great personal success at the meet, I won third place in my weight category and was awarded an overwhelming cash prize of $3.00. I didn't go "downtown to the newspaper" for it, but I did travel to Tennessee. I told Dustin, "Wow! I'm practically a wealthy man, now!" He replied, "Yeah, if you lived in 1880!" Dustin says I should frame my $3.00. I think I will.

On the ride home, we put in some of our mileage on the Blue Ridge Parkway, which affords some incredible scenic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. The only catch is that almost all the overlooks that had been built by the side of the road were blocked by huge trees. I try to be environment friendly, so please don't think that I'm not, but someone ought to prune those down! We ended up parking at the overlook and then walking along the road until the view cleared a bit for pictures. Virginia is still here, still beautiful, and still open for guests! Fall colors are just around the corner!