EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the athlete journal of Allison Moyer. Allison is a nationally ranked NPC Figure Athlete, nationally and internationally published fitness model, an avid CrossFit athlete, BSN, C.P.T, C.S.N, C.N.W.C, and owner of Alli-Fitness Systems and Predator-Diet. Read all about Allison’s unique approach to training and diet every other week.
I sat down to write this entry, and to be dead honest with you all (because hopefully, now that’s it’s my fifth entry, I can be honest), I had no idea what I was going to write about. The only thing on my mind was the fact that a woman who belongs to the same box as me broke into the 100+lb snatch club before I did.
The feeling I got when I heard about it was the same feeling I had when I went to the Arnold Classic for the very first time in 2005. I hadn’t been wandering around the expo for longer than ten minutes before I suddenly felt very, very, very out of shape – defeated, almost. I wasn’t out of shape, mind you, but looking around at all the physiques that were so much more advanced than my own made me feel like I was just way out of my league, like I had been wasting a lot of my time throwing around weight and trying to achieve a look I suddenly feared I’d never achieve.
In some form or another, almost every single day we’re presented with people who appear to have it made, so to speak – people who make more money or have more stuff. People who are breaking PRs faster than we are, losing weight faster, running further, placing higher. I think about women who step on stage for their first figure show and – BAM! – get their pro card, while I scratch and bite and claw myself senseless at the national level for years trying for that same success. You know – people who seem to just fart and it turns into a damn success.
And the inevitable question arises within your mind and your heart – “Why not me?” Hell, that’s the first thought that popped into my mind when I heard about the snatch PR today. Why not me? Why can’t I do that? Why can’t that be me?
There is truth to the statement, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” I’d argue comparison is also the thief of motivation. It can even be the thief of your potential, if you allow it to be. It’s easy to feel flat-out defeated watching others achieve with ease the same successes you are struggling and fighting for.
How often do you use others as a measuring stick to limit yourself? Because that’s what comparison does. It seems normal or innocent on the surface, but it’s not if you allow the success of others to hold you back or limit your own potential. It’s smart to use competition to improve yourself, but stupid to use competition to limit yourself. Figure out what you should do. And do it. Figure out who you want to be and be that person. What do you need to do to get where you want to be? Spend time and energy working, not envying. Don’t let comparisons to others scare you out of goals, or going after what you want and being who you want to be. That limits you. And who wants to live limitless?
The truth is, I have a 90lb snatch PR and that’s only 10lbs away from 100lbs. I guarantee it’s technical failing on my part, not the weight, that is holding me back. That puts me in a great spot to break into that 100lb snatch club. I may hate the place I’m at right now, but I’m only defeated if I stop trying. I only lose if I willingly decide to stay here. And you and I both know I won’t.
Fasted AM Training
- 21-15-12-9 medicine ball clean (20lb ball), burpees
- 2 mile run in a weighted vest (12.5 lbs)
Squat & Hamstring Accessory Work
- 10 minutes stepmill intervals (30:30) to warm up
- 3 Rounds: 50 walking lunges (no weight) 5 squat jumps
- Lying Glute Bridge: 3×8 @ 50lbs
- Lying Hamstring Curl: 3×8 (pause at peak contraction), then 1×15 partial reps out of the bottom
- Squat: 1×2 @ 80% (160) 1×2 @ 85% (170) 1×1 @ 90% (180) 1×1 @ 95% (190), then drop to 40% 1RM (85) and do 3×8 45-degree pause squat: 105-110-115-120-125-130 (previous PR)- 132 (failed first attempt)- 132 GOT SECOND ATTEMPT!
- Pendlay Death March: 3×25 steps
- Romanian Deadlift: 2×15 (85) – superset with Pendulum Deadlift: 2×8 (40)
- Calf Raises: 5×15
- Reverse Hyper: 3×12
- 10 minutes treadmill incline intervals (30:30)
- 5 minutes walk to cool down
Today’s Thought: “Most people striving for increased strength or increased lean mass will fail because of the discipline issues. There’s enough information out there to help you with either goal, the methods may vary, but the bottom line is higher up. It’s between your ears.” -Dan John
