athlete journals

Think about your training goals (and more specifically, the process you’re using to attain them) as a system composed of several interrelated components. I’ll use myself as an example, as I believe ... Continue Reading

I’m thankful for how well my training has been going lately. In the beginning of 2014 I was getting so frustrated due to poor performances in competitions, dealing with injuries, and not being able train ... Continue Reading

I had a pretty solid week of training. In class, we drilled leg locks and leg lock defenses. We got to visit Balance Studios in Center City and train for a day. And I even took what I like to call a “hyper ... Continue Reading

This was another productive week of training for me, and I seem to be hitting the sweet spot between consistency and intensity as of late. My orthopedic health is holding up great, despite many straight ... Continue Reading

After taking silver in the New York Summer Open, I got right back into training on Monday. I was still pretty sore, but I knew that I definitely wanted to get back to the grind as soon as ... Continue Reading

The weeks speed by quickly when you’re getting ready for a big meet. As of tomorrow I’ll be eleven weeks out, and I gotta say, I’m feeling very focused and ready. My goal for this week is a 1,200lb total, ... Continue Reading

After I competed last week, I took some time off for recovery and self-evaluation. It felt good to get some time off and eat a little looser than I have been the last few weeks. I normally eat clean, but ... Continue Reading

Whenever there is a tournament in New York City, my teammates and I always stay at the same hotel. It’s nice having a familiar place to sleep the night before competing. It’s also nice knowing exactly how ... Continue Reading

The title of this week’s blog comes from a former coach of mine. He’d always bring it up whenever I referenced a relatively old personal record (PR), and his point was, in essence, that you’re only as good ... Continue Reading

Thirteen weeks of traveling, rolling, drilling, dieting, and killing my strength and conditioning program all came together on Saturday. I went 3-0 and won the New York Summer Open Masters Purple Belt, ... Continue Reading

“Satisfaction lies in the effort, not in the attainment. Full effort is full victory.” - Gandhi This journal entry will be a bit of a deviation from the norm. I recently swapped my barbell ... Continue Reading

It is my final week of training before the New York Summer Open. Unfortunately, I’m chugging through this week with an injury. At the end of last week I felt a tweak in my back. I was fine all weekend, but ... Continue Reading

Many lifters would argue for the idea that intensity is the name of the game when it comes to lifting success. I would agree, with one slight qualification: lifting success is highly correlated to the ... Continue Reading

Chris Duffin is the general manager of an aerospace manufacturing company. He also happens to be the world record holder for the raw squat in the 220lb class. And lest we forget, he also holds a Guinness ... Continue Reading

Saturday Speed snatch: 50kg for 2 sets of 5 70 for 1 set of 5 80 for 1 set of 5 The weights were starting to feel comfortable, but my right elbow was sore as hell again. I decided to ... Continue Reading

Training this week was pretty much the same as last week. I got in a lot of good drilling and rounds. My cardio felt good during hard rounds. The only thing I regret is eating so much on Fourth of July ... Continue Reading

One of my key operating principles is that two successive workouts should be as dissimilar as possible, given whatever constraints you happen to have. The negative effects of fatigue that accumulate from a ... Continue Reading

There’s a saying that I have heard a few times (and even read on this very website) that goes something like this: “Everything you eat will either put you one step closer or one step farther from achieving ... Continue Reading

Lots of great stuff happened this week. Training went really well and I got a lot of good rolls in. Eating healthy was a success. And, finally, the seminar we had with Phil Migliarese was ... Continue Reading

Recently I was asked what types of things that I do that I attribute to my lifting success as a “natural,” older athlete. What supplements do I take, do I get bodywork, and so on. After a bit of ... Continue Reading