Central Champs Open 2013

Hey Competition Cats

So I put my advice in the last blog into practice last weekend and won the 63kg class and came 3rd overall on Sinclair formula at the Central Champs Open at Lilleshall sports centre. It was a fantastic day and my first comp with my team mate Kermit. It was the first time I had no nerves to walk out on stage - it was liberating. I could focus all my panic and fear on my lifts ;)

I wore my new suit too for the first time and it felt good.

Here's the video of my lifts:

BRING ON THE SOUTHWESTS

Into a volume phase now so my legs are sore (:3 

Power on pumas x 

The week before a competition...

Hey Bar Buddies (:3

As I have a competition coming up I thought now is a good time to talk about competition preparation so here's how the Bear prepares:

1) making weight: let's address this straight away because it'll be on your mind. There are ways to balance your body water levels and all sorts of fasting and weird and dramatic methods you can find out of but ultimately I use the following adjustments a couple of weeks ahead to ensure I'm lean but not lacking:
- cut unnecessary sugars: processed and fructose
- increase marginally animal and fish protein and vegetables (varied sources)
- drink lots of water (until 7pm of the night before then none until weigh in)
- IF 14 hours (or 2 meals a day)
- main meal during lunchtime and light meal on a night (easier digestion)
- assisting recovery: vitamin C
I have to add the disclaimer: I'm not qualified to advise on diet (I'm just a bear) and this is just what I do. If it is close on the last few days, ill reduce the portion size down but I try not to leave myself hungry.

2) training: this is really coach's area but from observation I'd say this is a very light week with 1 session going to my openers and lots of sessions of foam rolling and mobilisation. The hardest thing at this time is relaxing and not over training. If you've done your training right, you'll leak at the competition and be bright and fresh as well as full of adrenalin. Get it wrong, overtrain and be impatient and you'll step onto the platform utterly drained.

3) get your shit together. Find your BWLA membership book, passport, spare pen to sign drugs tests forms (no one ever has a pen!) print out your google directions, fill your car with petrol, fill your tyres with air, decide what light meal you'll have after weigh in (stuffing your face will just make you sluggish and heavy; resist the urge to gorge - chew and eat slowly, plenty of water) in short: get organised. I like to write a list. And always, always arrange someone to look after the dog because you'll be out all day.

4) get as ,ugh sleep as you can cram in. Sleep sleep sleep. With an hour a day less than usual, my training suffers. So don't let the tension and nerves get in the way of sleep. Make time.

Speaking of which, time for me to get to bed early (:3

If you've a competition soon, good luck!
STAY STRONG X

Update from the Bear (:3

Hey platform pumas 

As always, lots has been happening. When I last penned this blog my PBs were 47/60. We are now at 50/65 and still climbing. I put this down entirely to our coach and his programming. 

I don't know how he programmes - I hear words like super compensation and peaking and see the weekly programme sent through with a seemingly random pattern of numbers and exercises and I just switch off. As an athlete, I like to be completely ignorant of my session before I start; I don't know anything but the exercise I'm doing. I find it helps me put 100% in the whole time. If I know I have heavy squats at the end of the session, I am going to hold back.
I am excited today as its my 30th birthday and next week we have a competition. I now have new romaleos and a new competition suit so I am feeling armed and ready.
The goal for 2014 is to qualify for the British champs and I am on target with my weights so its looking good.
Hopefully see you there...

How long has it been?

Afternoon Bear Fans (:3

First of all, I am full of apologies to you for the long time it has been since I last posted. I have a number of excuses & no good reasons. However, I have been training hard & making great progress and have a lot to share with you guys (:3 I hope you have all been training too!

To catch you up:

1) I have a training partner now, Kermit - she is absolutely brilliant to train with and we have great fun. Having the right training partner can be a huge boost and really good for your motivation and training. I feel very lucky to have her there :) There is also a new lifter joining our team recently, the magpie, who is also great fun to have on the team :) more on those guys in the future (:3

2) Training has been going really well and my current PB's are:
Snatch - 47
C&J    - 60

3) This weekend I went to the Devon Open at Bournemouth Barbell (thank you Paul Rees for a great day) just me and Coach and we did really well. I have had some medical problems which meant I had to be very careful with my weight and I was 63.3kg so I went into the 69kg class this once, and came 3rd of 5 lifters (I'd have won 63's) & also actually lifted at 63, which is enough for me. A competition PB on each lift - what more can you ask?

I think coming up perhaps some blogs on competition preparation/nerves in the future (:3

Until then, here's a video of my lifts at the Devon Open...
Here comes ELLIE!

PB

Hey Weight Watchers

How was your Christmas & New Year? Mine was spent mostly on the platform and asleep. It was HEAVEN! I hope you're all training hard and feeling motivated. Don't just want; do.

I have a NYR which so far, so good, I have managed to keep to! I have absolutely no self control when it comes to sugar even though I am more than aware of how rubbish it is for me. So I made a NYR to have no processed sugar in 2013. I am so excited for 2014 new year's day for my next cup of M&M tea :) mmm M&M tea.

So anyway, another great thing happening in 2013 is that so far, I have somehow managed to get a PB of an exercise or lift EVERY SESSION. This hasn't been a conscious effort, but a side effect of the, let's face it, brilliant coaching and planning on the part of my coach (quite frankly, I haven't a clue in terms of programming).

Also exciting, I have a training partner in Hannah. AKA Kermit. She is pretty strong and keen on technique so even though she is starting out, she is getting crazy good fast :) I am trying to help coach her too :)

A very brilliant man often jokes "you don't want to get too strong too fast" - which, in terms of technique keeping up and injury, isn't bad advice, but those aside, I intend on giving it my best shot.

In the back of my mind, and the pit of my stomach, the English Championships are approaching fast. I need to keep my head and stay focussed.

Oh! Dinner's ready; later lifters,
x

P.S. A PB for you all to see: I wasn't focussed and halfway through the 2nd pull, was calculating what was on the bar. Never do this: it will throw you off your A-game ;)
Cleaning up, Again

Revolutionising Weightlifting

High Five Hulks :)

I am back! After a slog after the competition, I have had a good and heavy week. After training today, I foam rolled my legs for about an hour, and they really needed it. I am hoping a really long sleep tonight and I'll recover :)

Until the new week, here is a video of me doing something I have been wanting to do since before the competition but haven't been allowed to (incase of injury...again!) and then I had to wait for the gym to be clear of anyone who might judge my tomfoolery haha

For utter comedy lifting gold, click here

As things move up a notch in training, remember rest and recovery become even more important. Fuel yourself, don't fool yourself
KB x

The week after the weekend before...

 After all the excitement, adrenalin and success of the weekend, I started this week excited, driven and raring to go!

Unfortunately, my body had other ideas. On Monday night, it crashed. Straight to bed after work. Then Tuesday we had a little session planned - nothing heavy, just preparing for the new training programme coach is cooking up. Well, I have never had a competition before and even though I was warned repeatedly, I somehow thought my overwhelming excitement and sudden major aspirations would mean that my training would take on new heights of awesome...how wrong I was. It felt like lifting lead. Everything was hard work. 5 squats at 40kg felt like I'd never make it.

I did an interval workout later in the week and had a riding lesson too - I'd not done either for a few weeks on the run up to the competition due to the back injury and needing to train. I thought these would be like active rest, but by Friday's session I was so ruined. I am writing this from Saturday afternoon - rest day - on the sofa with a hot water bottle and a sleeping puppy on my lap. I feel like I need a week of this before I'll feel normal again.

I think it's times like these, when everything is a slog - work is hard, post grad studies are building up, exams looming, cash flow is bad, the days are short, your body is knackered, the house needs cleaning and repairs, there's never enough time, the puppy gets ill, every training session fails to meet the weights that seem obtainable from the comfort of your office chair, is when you put in the hours that let you have times like last weekend.

I don't often get very long spells where everything goes right. But no matter how hard it gets, I will push on and push hard through because I want days like last weekend again.

And they'll be all the sweeter because of what I had to push through to get there.

Ad astra per aspera
KB x

SW & Central Championships 2012

SOUTHWEST & CENTRAL CHAMPIONSHIPS 2012

 

 

Hey Leo Lions

So it's been some time since my last blog but as ever, I have been working hard and I hope you have too. The run up to the SW & Central Champs has been one giant rollercoaster.

 

3 weeks before, I put my back out on a light clean warming up. It was an A&E trip where all I could say was "you're kidding me" - I couldn't walk. They gave me the greatest drug of all time - valium. I was out of training for over a week and had to see my physiotherapist, but then slowly, in the final week and a bit we started with a broom handle, and worked up again - this week and a half was the most frustrating agonising nightmare ever.

 

Well, until we arrived at the Championships. We had been training in the week leading up with power jerks to protect my lower back and my best power jerk so far had been 48kg.

 

The snatch started and it was a relief to start warming up. Watching the class before was just absolute agony as I was so nervous and had nowhere to put my energy. Luckily I weighed in at 62.1kg so I was comfortably in my class (63kg).

 

I was so focussed on the first lift that on coming off my coach said "that was good, but can you try not to look as if you're hating life" - I went back into the warm up room and laughed my head off - just the tension release I needed! I went up to 36kg on the snatch because of the POTS (and also why I am power snatching). Before my injury, the goal had been to reach a 90kg total and qualify for the English Championships, but this was dashed. I needed a 37kg snatch for that to be plausable, especially with the back injury and PB power jerk needed. I was so frustrated at my coach. Then we went into the C&J and then on my last lift, we just went for it. 54kg. That was a 2kg C&J PB and a huge 6kg power jerk PB. I nailed it - the best clean I've ever done (thank you knee-knocking terror and adrenalin) and a shakey but there jerk. I QUALIFIED!

 

On top of that, the girl in my weight class bombed out on her snatch and so had no total, but major props to her because she still did her C&J - major mental strength.

 

Here's the video:

 



At the end of the day, I had the best coach in the world who timed my warm up fantastically and controlled me in the face of my impatience as well as had iron-clad certainty when I had tears in my eyes with frustration at my snatch weight. I always argue, I'm not a fun lifter to train sometimes, but I will always trust my coach now.

I hope you've enjoyed reading about this journey and here's to the English Champs in February.

Southwest & Central Champion, 2012

Liftspiration

Hey Guys

I know I haven't been writing blogs too often recently but rest assured I have been training!

I just wanted to write a brief blog on some challenges I've been faced with recently. I hope that reading this you might feel a little more empowered, a little more inspired, and maybe a little more motivated.

I recently attended the UCL in London to see the EDS specialist (Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome) and the letter came through afterwards with a few surprises.

Firstly, there's an indication from their investigations that I might have a condition my sister shares, along with the delightful superpower that is EDS, which we had suspected recently in training. It's called POTS, or Postural Othostatic Tachychardia - it's an autoimmune issue whereby when you stand the blood pools in your legs, away from your main organs and brain. Some people black out completely, and there's loads of other bits to it. The only real bit I am concerned with is that when I am lifting and it's hot/humid, I am almost blacking out between lifts. It's no fun going for a snatch when you're light-headed. Until I can see the cardiologist, I have developed 4 techniques for keeping me conscious!:

1. Open the door and windows in the training room and nab the coolest platform
2. Drink rehydrating sachets
3. Drink a lot of water
4. Take off my top and train in my sports bra (haha)

The other bit of news the letter had was a bit of a relief and again, suspected but not really believed: my thyroid has slowed again and so I am back on meds for life (although it's really just replacing a hormone). This explains weight gain I've had that was depressing and upsetting me :)

There's a silver lining to everything (the thyroid means free prescriptions for life too; the POTS means the men get to train with my abs) and the EDS clinic said whatever I do don't stop weightlifting
You have no idea how much I've fought - fought the people I love, the Dr's I've seen, friends, family, coaches - to convince them that weightlifting is good for my body. That EDS isn't a death sentence. That it doesn't mean you should wrap me in cotton wool. I meet beautiful souls with EDS all the time and there's something I recognise in all of their faces - fear. They're afraid of their own bodies - they're afraid of what they think they can't do. I don't want them to be scared, I want them to be empowered. And the greatest thing that has happened to me was something that came from all this - my sister has started to own her body again and build up strength and power and I hear it in her voice. She doesn't sound scared anymore. This isn't just hopeful thinking - the EDS specialist said the muscle in my body is HOLDING IT TOGETHER. The muscles around my knee caps, which are alarmingly hypermobile, hold the caps in place. They can't move. The muscle under the arches of my feet are pulling the arch back up. The muscle in my back is PUSHING MY SPINE BACK INTO PLACE (sciliosis).

Don't get me wrong - I am lucky. I don't get much pain most EDSers suffer. But what all sportspeople will tell you is pain is their constant companion. Welcome to sport, EDS. You've met your match.

Don't let anything stop you. Not even your fears.

Head up; Bar up
xoxo 

PB Puppies

 

Hey Eleiko Elves

 

We had a PB night on Friday at Empire - my second ever. PB nights are a chance to get a little bit adrenalin filled and try to do your best lifts in front of everyone (so basically a practice competition) :)

 

I did OK - our aims were:

1. To stay focussed
2. To get good technique
3. To handle nerves and pressure

The coach was a little more nervous than me and so only managed to video my last Clean & Jerk, which didn't have the great jerk technique the lift before did (haha):

 

 



 

I had a great time though and didn't feel half as sick as last time. I managed to stay completely focussed on the lifts and not get distracted. It was good practice :D

 

It won't seem much, but here are my PB totals from the PB night:

• Snatch: 35kg (in training: 37kg)
• Clean & Jerk: 47kg (in training: 51kg)

 

My all-time PB's are:

• Snatch: 39kg
• Clean & Jerk: 51kg

but this was back before I learned the technique. Now I have the technique, I can push further and these won't be a limit :)

 

Just to prove that I am not at my limit, I managed to Clean 51kg today with great technique and would've got 54kg if it weren't for a beetle running between my feet ;)

 

I am going to write another blog now on some personal challenges I have had recently

 

 

PEACE OUT PLATFORM PUPPIES x

TECHNIQUE

HEY POWER POUNDERS!

It has been some time - I am so sorry. I have had quite a few changes going on behind the scenes but I was reminded today about this little blog and I realised you folk must be hanging on waiting to find out how the KBear is doing - am I right or am I right? hadn't noticed you'd gone actually...

RIGHT let's get down to business. All the technique work is finally paying off and with a little carrot called 2016 dangled, I have been super motivated and focussed.

The Coach has been dealing with my difficult ways, still, and getting my technique right. There's one thing about weightlifting - if you're having a really bad time of it, you can get on that platform and all your problems are...right there with you. That's right, there's no escape. You cry your tears between sets and you carry the weight because this isn't fairyland and the platform isn't a safe, happy, fluffy place - it's where you go to put yourself against it. If you only step up when you're feeling strong you'll never know what you can do.

I can't get through this blog without mentioning a certain international sporting event which occurs quadually - mega disappointed for Mr. Klokov that he didn't lift. I wish him a speedy recovery and if he needs any entertainment/cheering up, he need look no further than this week's training:

I clean better than your girlfriend, I'm happy to jerk, and I have a great snatch

Those snatches were sponsored by Ilya Ilin.

In other news, if you'd now like to follow me on Twitter, you can find me at @tinylittlepaws (I buckled)

GET YO' TECHNIQUE DOWN BRO'

KBear x

Snatch Outtakes...

Here's my coach...

That's a clean clean and jerk, jerk

Evening Power Puppies!

I am in a really good mood from training tonight Kbear fans :) I did C+J and Back Squats - nice and short but it all came together right :D

Not much else to say apart from watch the video:

BOOM!

And yes, that's me getting told off on the last rep for talking whilst I had the bar off the ground...again hahaha

My operation is this Monday - frustrating because we've come so far, but you can't do anything about things outside your control. You can only do the most you can and work around what life throws at you. If anything, this time period has taught me to use every moment to the max and do as much as you can - don't take a day for granted.

In other news I passed my 1st year of my Post Grad whilst working full time and holding down a weekend job and training! This year it's back to just 1 job, the 2nd and final year of study and even more training, hopefully :)

FILL EVERY DAY
KBear x

when a snatch looks better than it feels

Hey Pull Pilots

I had a short but good session on Sunday at Empire doing a sequence of:

hang clean > front squat > power clean

It was tiring work, as you can see from this video where Coach W managed to accidentally catch me in the background (thanks coach). I really enjoyed it though and I feel like working to fatigue works quite well for me as it makes the last few lifts feel a lot heavier and lets me correct errors which normally come as you start pushing the weight up. I feel like if I'm tired I can force good technique when it's still light.


I am quite enjoying the sequences so today we did snatch from the floor for the first time only in drills so here were the sequences:

3 consecutive snatches
snatch > OHS

I had a really pap day today at work and felt really tense and stressed so I was really pleased I had a nice session and managed some good lifting. The snatch almost looks like it should do :)

I hope you enjoy watching that as much as I enjoyed doing it - this was the first full snatch I've done since before all the operations :)

Keep at it - eventually a day will come when you see a little progress :)

KBear x

getting your snatch together

Hey snatch snipers

A short session today because I was feeling rough, but we managed to get my snatch together, which is really exciting:
rockin' a snatch

I'll keep this short because I need a lot of sleep tonight, enjoy!

KBear x

Stats

Hey Platform Pundits

So we did a little workout yesterday - just a few squats and a couple of hang snatches then I went into a 10 minute interval workout. We topped it off with a 45 minute hilly dog walk, which was plenty for 1 day!

These backsquats were only 35kg (men's bar) but I am not bothering wasting too much gym time building on strength specifically because I have 2 weeks until my ear surgery, so we're using this time to get the technique right. Squats are still in there to make sure I activate both glutes and hamstrings equally, which I don't - when it gets heavy I will skip my right hip up and push the weight on to my left leg. Absolutely everyone has imbalances in their body, but it's important to know yours and work on them to minimise them as much as possible. It's easier for me to drill and build up the strength on my right leg like this than with my max.

I did a couple of nice hang snatches with the men's bar - I always find it feels really wobbly without plates, but the technique was good. I am starting to feel like it's becoming automatic, which is really my top goal at the moment.

After the surgery, all going well, there is an Open at Empire I'd like to throw myself into completely unprepared. It won't be my best weights but I think it's about time I got myself into the competition circuit to get me hungry for it :)

As a final note, I have a little prodigy - here's me teaching her the hook grip (with claws)



Keep lifting; Keep battling; KBear

Tekkers

HELLO HEAVIES

How's your training going? We kick started our Bank Holiday weekend with a session :) It was nice to be back at Empire. It can be hard not to look at everyone else whilst you're training there but I think I am getting better at just worrying about my own training :)

Today we did both lifts from the knee to develop that position - I feel like it's going quite well and it feels quite consistent.

Today's Training

Apparently there's a comp at Empire about 3 weeks after my operation recovery so, if all goes well, I might enter just for experience :) I won't be competition for anyone but it'll be good practice and something to make me hungry for the heavy weights. I have to be the least keen lifter at going for heavy weight haha

After training I came home, ate lunch and then went for an hour nap. I love Bank Holidays!

Laters lifting lovers,
KBear

SHE'S BACK!

I'M BACK!

That's right - I know what you're thinking, who are you again? this is a bit tardy, isn't it? Sorry guys - I had my ear surgery and then in the time it took to recover, I had a bit of a dodgy appendix problem where they had to operate twice - Now I am waiting for a second ear operation (1st one failed) but have been working on technique in the meantime :) It's been really rough not training at all (in both weightlifting and normal workouts and not being allowed to ride) but I have surprised myself with how I have accepted it and handled the situation.

We've been working on my first pull (ignore the 3rd one...where I resort back to my old style i.e. wrong):

pull me right

If you don't know much about weightlifting like me then have a look at the knees moving back as the bar moves up to where they were (on the first two, anyway...) - apparently that's good! It's the very first part of the S curve :) (the curve of the bar during the lift)

I am so happy to be back - 3 weeks of training on technical stuff, another operation (REALLY hoping it is the last) and then I will be ON IT with the strength training and bringing the strength and technique together :)

ouch!

ouch

Hey platform pixies :)

So I have been a tad quiet the past week or so - you will notice the photo here of my much bruised and cut up abdomen - unfortunately my appendix wasn't very well and I was unfortunate enough to need two surgeries to sort it out. I have lost count of how many needles I've had stuck in me :(

Anyway! I have also heard my ear operation needs to be re-done too. These two things combined mean another very frustrating interruption into my training. The only thing keeping me going at the moment is my favourite Russian man ever has sent me a training programme <3 which I cannot wait to start on! I am still mega confident that my technique is improving and I can pick up where I left off from and I will be even better in 2012! It's early days and I will be something really special very soon :)

Coach Weasel

It definitely helps having people like my coach behind me :)

I think when all is said and done,by this summer I will be riding and lifting and running and working out and that's something to really look forward to :)

Training Today

Hey Hang Hounds

Today's session was really good, which was a surprise as I was really tired from not enough sleep and I was feeling a bit rough with ear ache...blah blah blah

Anyway! as it turned out, I had my A game on! Squats were agony (2 brutal interval workouts in days up to today, including one leg squats...my poor cheeks) and then into snatches.

Today was the first time in MONTHS I have snatched from the floor so it was a nice feeling of things coming together (:3

I did a fun little video with my training from tonight and it even has some slow-mo action - that's right, I know how to treat you guys...

link to my hang snatch into snatch

Right, early night for me!

Get onto the platform - even when you feel a bit ropey/off, you might have a great session. You'll never know unless you try

KBEAR KBOOM x