Rebuilding: One Rep at a Time

Getting involved in strongman competition was one of the best things I ever did. I love every minute of it, from simply getting stronger, to learning techniques, and even starting from scratch with a simple movement. For me, it is the drive to overcome and the desire to be better at this sport.

I can't say that I haven't hit a level of frustration in having to re-learn the simple things. I mean who wouldn't at times. But I have hit a point where I know it is going to happen...having to retrain my body and mind to a more efficient and effective technique in order to keep moving up in weight.

When I competed in CrossFit, I taught myself a ton of bad habits. I was big for a CrossFit athlete and the weights back then were typically light, so I muscled through WODs with little to no technique at all. Gymnastics movements, such as handstand push-ups and muscle-ups, were just starting to become a part of competition and Olympic lifting was still a year or so away from making its grand entrance.  If you don't believe me, check out the results from the 2009 Games, where female athletes failed on the handstand push-up WOD, future Games champ Iceland Annie had not yet learned how to do muscle-ups and in fact, hit her first one at that competition, and the average snatch was only 95lbs.

In comparison, I am fairly average in size for a strongwoman competitor and I am sure as hell not able to muscle through heavy events without technique.  My coach and I have spent hours of gym time rebuilding my squat, which was without question my weakest movement, and yet so essential for strongman...and obviously powerlifting.  So now with a stronger base, and one that still needs to get stronger, I begin to tackle the power jerk.  It is something I am in desperate need of for my October competition, and overwhelmingly proved to be a weak spot for me out in California.  I spent so many years doing a push press off my toes that now I am having to rebuild this movement from the ground up, literally. 

And it is kind of funny, even when I workout alone in my garage, I can hear my coach, Jill, in my head saying "that one was better" and on the very next rep "not that one".  One day down the road, I swear I will get her to say those were both good reps.  It may only happen once, but it will happen.