On June 11th, a group of 11 CrossFitters walked
into our gym for day 1 of Next Level Lifting, my Olympic weightlifting program
at CrossFit 979. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, they listened as I talked them
through the visualization of a lift, the importance of self-belief, and the
dangers of setting easily attainable goals (some may call this “being
realistic”). The tone was set with a quote from Robert Collier, who said, “Your
chances of success in any undertaking can always be measured by your belief in
yourself.”
6 weeks later on July 19th, the same group of 11
CrossFitters walked out of our gym as different athletes. They were stronger,
more kinesthetically aware, quicker, more developed, and just flat-out better,
and they proved this with 19 PR’s in 19 attempts.
Between these two days: some serious sweat equity.
Without further ado, I proudly present to you the 11 Next Level Lifters and their incredible gains.
Bonnie
Bonnie's no stranger to Next Level Lifting, and has been
steadily chalking up gains with a resilient attitude. Bonnie has been
developing her confidence under the bar, and we’ve worked a lot on finishing
her pulls and jerks at the proper depth. She reached both of her goals for the
program and has another Clean and Jerk PR awaiting her in the very near future.
I’m excited to see her continue stacking on weight as she further develops her
lifts.
Snatch: 75 à
80
Clean and Jerk: 95 à
103
Total Pounds Added: 13
Carol
Carol is a champ with a great work ethic, always coming in
ready to throw some weights around. She is very strong, but we first needed to
smooth out her transition from the first to second pull in order to let her
express that strength in her Olympic lifts. Though I still have some work I
want to do with her, Carol met her snatch goal and is extremely close to
reaching her Clean and Jerk goal. I always enjoy Carol’s fun demeanor and hope
to have her back in NLL soon!
Snatch: 80 à
90
Clean and Jerk: 130 à
135
Total Pounds Added: 15
Danny
Danny’s had some PR’s waiting on deck for a while now, so I
was thrilled when he signed up for NLL this summer. Throughout the 6 weeks, we
were able to iron out a few details in his lifts that allowed him to nail a 20#
PR on his clean and jerk only 4 weeks in. His snatches have come a long way as well,
but due to an injury, he was unable to finish up and hit the
numbers he wanted. I know he’s strong enough to reach his goals, and I know that once he recovers, his weights will continue climbing as long as he sticks
with them.
Snatch: 170 à
175
Clean and Jerk: 215 à
235
Total Pounds Added: 25
Farah
Farah is an incredibly kind woman whom I’m so glad I was
given the chance to work with. At the beginning of NLL, she told me in her
“Goals” email that she “need[s] to overcome the fear of breaking!” I truly
believe Farah did just that, as she was one of the very few to not just meet
her goals, but surpass them. Farah made incredible gains in the 6 weeks and
gave me nothing but her best every single day. Thanks for all the hard work,
Farah!
Snatch: 65 à
73
Clean and Jerk: 53 à
88
Total Pounds Added: 33
Grant
I’m going to be completely honest here and say that I
legitimately envy Grant’s perfectly vertical dip and drive in the jerk, and it
was this technical proficiency that lead him to a 20# Clean and Jerk PR during
week 4 (he narrowly missed a 30# PR). His snatches have improved greatly as well, however due to some travelling, he was unable to make it
to the final PR day. After watching his hard work, however, I can guarantee
that his numbers have improved. Can’t wait to hear from him the next time he
attempts his 1-rep snatch!
Snatch: 165 à
Clean and Jerk: 205 à
225
Total Pounds Added: 20
Greg
Greg is one of our coaches here at 979, but didn’t want to
miss out on this party as he saw great improvements from it last year. This
year certainly didn’t disappoint. Greg’s snatches have come a long way (aside
from PR attempts, he only missed 1 snatch the entire 6 weeks!), and he has one
of the most consistent jerks I have seen. We’re working to strengthen his front
squat as that’s the current chink in his armor, but he made impressive gains
nonetheless. Even with the numbers he hit, Greg has another 5# waiting on deck for both
lifts.
Snatch: 200 à
215
Clean and Jerk: 235 à
250
Total Pounds Added: 30
Hannah
Between this NLL and the previous, I have to say that Hannah
has made some inspiring progress. Her biggest weakness last year was keeping a
flat back in her pulls, but she’s since taken that weakness and turned it into one of her
strengths. It’s no surprise then that Hannah finished out the 6 weeks by
snatching the weight she clean and jerked last year, and added even more weight
to her clean and jerk. I’m looking to see even greater numbers from her soon as
she strengthens her front squat and develops her consistency in the snatch.
Snatch: 105 à
120
Clean and Jerk: 140 à
155
Total Pounds Added: 30
Isaac
Isaac came into NLL as one of the most technically
proficient lifters I have coached, so it took some nitpicking to further his
already-impressive lifts. After achieving a more vertical bar path in the
snatch and working his patience in the pulls, Isaac’s lifts looked really
solid. I expected great numbers from him with those details cleaned up, however
his horse had different plans. After having surgery on his broken nose and
resting for a couple weeks, Isaac nearly hit a 215 snatch in his garage gym but
left the bar out in front of him a bit. I wish him a speedy recovery, and I know
he’ll be posting some serious numbers in the near future.
Snatch: 200 à
Clean and Jerk: 255 à
Total Pounds Added:
Natalie
At the conclusion of NLL, I told Natalie I was awarding her
the title of “Most Improved,” as she added an incredible 36 pounds to her
lifts. What’s even more incredible is that she did this in spite of missing a number
of sessions due to conflicts with school.
On the days that Natalie could come in, she was determined and always
ready to go. She gained more and more confidence under the bar, and was another
one of those few to have exceeded the goals she set for herself 6 weeks
prior. Congratulations, Natalie, and keep throwing that weight overhead!
Snatch: 75 à
88
Clean and Jerk: 95 à
118
Total Pounds Added: 36
Rachel
Of all of my lifters this summer, Rachel made the most
notable increase on her clean and jerk weight, adding 25# to that lift alone. Rachel is very strong in her overhead squat, and nearly stuck a 15# snatch PR,
but couldn’t quite hang onto it. I know she has it in her, and can’t wait to
hear that she’s nailed it. Rachel came a long way in a short 6 weeks, and I
know (whether or not she does) that she has even more in her. I’m expecting to
see 125 and 160 from her before the end of the year.
Snatch: 100 à
103
Clean and Jerk: 120 à
145
Total Pounds Added: 28
Victor
Even while working full time (plus some) as a restaurant
manager as well as being a father and a husband, Victor regularly made time to
come in to work his lifts. Coming off of a recent injury, Victor and I weren’t
sure where exactly he would be, but his improvements told me he was feeling
great. After working some technique issues and re-developing his strength,
Victor posted some numbers that were nothing short of impressive. I’m bummed to
know that he’ll be leaving us soon, but I’m honored to have gotten to work with
him on his lifts before he goes.
Snatch: 115 à
145
Clean and Jerk: ? à
225
Total Pounds Added: 30+
And finally, the numbers for the whole NLL Crew:
Snatch: 985 à
1089, a 10.56% improvement as a whole, with each person averaging an 11.5 pound
increase!
Clean and Jerk: 1288 à
1454, a 12.89% improvement as a whole, with each person averaging about an 18.5
pound increase!
Total Pounds Added: 270.
Absolutely incredible work, gang. I’m speechless. You all
did an awesome job, and you owe that to yourselves as you’re the ones who put
the work in every session! It’s these improvements and these results that get
me so fired up as a coach, and I can’t wait for NLL to come around again in the
fall.
Again, excellent work to you all.
Until next time, keep slinging weight and being
awesome.
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