“The biggest enemy of a person is himself.”

“The biggest enemy of a person is himself.”
Huo Yuanji, Fearless

I write this post the eve before the biggest meet of my career.  Tomorrow I will step out on to the platform for my last chance to post the highest total of my career and move on to the 2013 Collegiate National Weightlifting Championships in Johnson City, Tennessee.  This is my last shot to do something that I have wanted to do for over an entire year.  It’s fitting that the one place I want to get to; is the first place that I started.  In February of 2012 my coach Michael “Mike” Bledsoe and fellow teammates Alex Maclin, and Michael “Little Mike” Lexnar all traveled to Johnson City to compete in our first ever weightlifting meet.  I was nervous, excited, and scared all rolled into one. These were unknown feelings to me. I had played football for over twelve years prior to coming into Olympic Weightlifting; however, at the moment my stomach and heart would tell you otherwise. I was lucky to have my girlfriend (now my wife) there for support.  She was amazing; she looked on with a smile and cheered louder than anyone else that was there. This is something that hasn't changed yet even today.

The meet went by with minor hiccups; I opened up at sixty kilograms on Snatch, and ninety kilograms on Clean and Jerk. I made all of my Snatch attempts and missed my first opening Clean and Jerk but made it up on my second attempt ending with one hundred kilograms for my third. My final total of the meet ended up around 170 kilograms. This placed me in second place overall in my weight class. My teammates did a little bit better than me; both Alex and Little Mike had placed first in their weight classes and both had qualified for their respective Nationals. However, a sense of accomplishment rushed over me.  I had never felt this happy about myself in a really long time. No amount of bowl games trophies or in state rivalry wins could match this feeling. I had put in the work, I had performed, and I had won. Of course, great coaching was paramount throughout all this.

From that meet on my number one goal was to get better at Olympic Weightlifting. I began to follow Mike’s programming and coaching more. I dropped weight to leave the ninety four kilogram weight division and got into the eighty five kilogram weight division.  I increased my training frequency from three days a week to five days a week. The months following my visit to Johnson City got hard.  My second meet didn’t go very well for me. I was barely able to post a total at it. Work was getting rougher and rougher as it grew closer and closer to the end of the school year.  I knew that teaching was not what I wanted to do in life so trying to find a new job was frustrating. On top of that I got engaged to my girlfriend, worked full time as an intern to The University of Memphis Strength and Conditioning staff, began my graduate school online with Georgia Southern University and was still training five days a week. I fought the demon headed dragon called injury multiple times throughout the summer months. I found a new job, got laid off, and found another in under a month.  However, the whole time this happened. The whole time I was in pain; both mental and physical. I always had family, teammates, and weightlifting.

In the fall we started introducing more lifts that would fix our weak points; we also received a new but old teammate as well; Amber Strain returned to our team. The team began to grow bigger and bigger, people began to ask us for advice and coaching.  Even our coach came back to lifting and started posting totals again. Things were going well life was going well.  I got married on October 6^th 2012 to my lovely wife Dorothy M. Stuart.

As is life however, things did start to slow down in training. Personal records began to slip; loss of body weight  lack of sleep, and juggling too many things began to affect me.  In one month, my Snatch max had gone up ten kilograms and had dropped fifteen kilograms. In one month, my Clean max had dropped ten kilograms and had gone up fifteen kilograms. My Jerk and Squats were a whole different story.

My third meet go as well for me as I would have liked. I had issue at the start of the meet with my Snatching technique; which carried over to my attempts.  I did however; post a new personal record on my Clean and Jerk with one hundred and ten kilograms. Christmas came and went my chances to qualify for Collegiate Nationals were coming to an end. Frustrations were cast aside by new Personal records in the gym (ninety kilogram Snatch twice in a week).  

In January, we tried an in-house meet to qualify our team members; my mind got the best of me. I went one for three on Snatch and Clean and Jerk. I posted the lowest total I had since my first meet in Johnson City. Amber, Alex, and one of our newest members Austin Moncivaez all were qualified. We focused our minds and hearts for one last time on one last meet at The Arnold Weightlifting Championships. My goal had now become a team goal Alex, Amber, and myself had all finally decide that this year was the year we all would go together to the Collegiate Nationals. Every day we helped remind each other of our goal. Through bad workouts and missed lifts to personal records the team was together. The Arnold came and went, we all posted individual personal records (including myself). However, I did not post what I needed to qualify. Tomorrow will be my last and final chance.

To come full circle and put things in perspective I will open up tomorrow at or around eighty five kilograms on Snatch, and one hundred and five kilograms on Clean and Jerk.  That is thirty five kilograms more on Snatch, and fifteen kilograms more on Clean and Jerk than what I opened with in Johnson City. I will also weigh in around one hundred and eight five pounds which is twenty two pounds less than what I was a year ago.

Throughout all of this year I have always had family, teammates, and weightlifting. It is because of them I lift tomorrow as fast, strong, and powerful as I can. This goal is no longer my goal.  This goal is for everyone; everyone who ever doubted me; everyone who ever believed in me; for everyone who ever helped me.