The 2024 Hudson Valley Winter Classic will be held at All Sport Health & Fitness on January 20, 2024. This is a premier location that will give athletes access to sauna & hot tub. Spectators can view on the main floor or on the second floor.
Registration will open soon. More info on our Events Page
Hotel Discount Link Here ($99) or call the Holiday Inn Poughkeepsie at 845-462-4600 and use code: HVW
For more info, go to the Events Page
We are kicking it up a notch! The 2022 Hudson Valley Regional Open will be a premier event, held at the Poughkeepsie Holiday Inn on Route 9. This is also a fundraiser for the Cancer Research Institute! A portion of the funds will go to them. We are also asking for everyone to donate on top of our promised amount.
$100 entry is good through 5/27. After that, late entry is $120
Register Here
Hotel Code CJW for reduced rate of $199 per night
Competition is open to ALL registered USAW athletes
Awards for top 3 in each weight division and, by Sinclair for top 3 Masters, Juniors, Youth (M/F) and Best Lifter (M/F) in the Open Category
A USAW sanctioned meet and official qualifier for all national events.
Novice, Master, and Youth friendly.
The Hudson Valley Regional Open is open to youth, junior, senior, and master ages, and novice lifters. It is an open competition, so weight classes for youth will be slotted in to senior weight classes, however, USAW will give proper credit for the youth’s actual weight for the purpose of qualifying totals.
This event is free for spectators. Please come and cheer on your friends, family, and peers. The preliminary schedule will be published closer to the event date based upon registrations
Clothing: A weightlifting singlet is mandatory, as per USAW/IWF rules. Please review the official guidelines
Refund Policy: There are no refunds allowed for this event. A valid USA Weightlifting membership is required to compete in this meet regardless of whether you’re competing in the Novice or Open category. You will need to present a digital or paper copy of your active USAW membership at the competition at weigh in.
Tentative Schedule
FEMALE: B session 6:00 AM 8:00 AM
FEMALE: A session 9:00 AM 11:00 AM
MALE: B session 12:00 PM 2:00 PM
MALE: A session 2:45 PM 4:45 PM
In Part I, I discussed the importance of investing in yourself by getting a good coach to guide you. Now, I’d like to expand on the topic with my personal experience. Let’s go back a bit for some perspective.
When I was a kid, I was active, but rarely trained in a gym. When I was about 18 years old, I hurt my back. Being young, I dealt with the pain until it went away about a month later. Four years after that, I was in a great deal of pain related to that injury. After six months of chiropractic care, I was on a better path. The big takeaway from the doctor was to exercise to strengthen my core to hold my spine in line and to stretch my notoriously tight hamstrings so that they wouldn’t pull my lower back out – everything affects everything else. Over those first few years, I worked out following what I would read in bodybuilding type books (The Poliquin Principles was priceless). Eventually, someone at work got me to try Powerlifting. By that point, I had taught myself decent form between what I read in magazines and some VHS tapes. Ken Leistner and Louie Simmons were early influences in my development as a powerlifter. Louie Simmons was a big proponent of variety in training. That’s what lead me to want to try Olympic Weightlifting.
I knew I stood a better chance at learning weightlifting properly if I had a coach. This was a far more technical sport. I was very lucky to be referred to National Coach, Jim Hanlon. From the beginning of my weightlifting journey, I had a great coach and soon to be friend. With Jim giving me a proper foundation, I excelled as a weightlifter. This same foundation has served me well as a coach. Now, all these years later, I still compete in the Master’s division. Although, we’re talking about an older crowd, don’t sell them short. There is some phenomenal talent in the Master’s that includes former Olympians and national team members from many countries. Your “A” game is required.
I had a break in the action around the time my son was born. After some years, I saw that my buddy, David Miller broke a couple of Master’s records. That friendly rivalry got me back in the action. So here I am years later. My coaching evolved to starting my own team and moving into a great gym as we’ve expanded (props to our extended family – Locomotive Fitness Co). As I’ve continued competing, I’ve coached myself. With nagging little injuries, I found myself in a place where I knew I needed help. I needed objectivity. My first step was to go to a great PT. Again, serendipity has smiled upon me as I’ve worked with Justin Feldman and Ashley Witson of Feldman Physical Therapy. Here they helped me to identify my weaknesses and gave me a path to taking care of that part of my problem. My next step was to get a coach again. I had to choose someone else who I could vibe with that I knew would be a remote coach. This was a really tough decision. I’m fortunate to know quite a few really good coaches. Without getting into all of my internal deliberations on the matter, I chose a friend and fellow NY Coach Steve Titus.
I am very happy with my decision. We have great communication and similar philosophies. When he points out something, I know deep down, he’s right. I might have made the same call in the past, or I might have ignored it and pushed forward, sliding backward. Now, this relationship has renewed my motivation and in a couple of months together, we’re seeing real progress. Sometimes, to get where you want to go, you must recognize that you shouldn’t do it alone. Get the right support, whether it be a coach, PT, chiropractor, nutritionist… whatever you need to move forward. Find the support team that works for YOU. Stop gambling and start investing.
This pandemic has thrown everyone into a bizarro world. There are real concerns on every side with understandable anxiety and fear for our welfare – physically, mentally, financially and for our friends and families. One thing weightlifting has taught me is that through stress, we can come out of a situation stronger. We may take a beating for a time, but we usually come out of it in a better place mentally and physically.
For a time, we were scared of losing the gym – our sanctuary. Thankfully, we’re still there. In fact, after some tough losses, we’re starting to grow again. There is real excitement and a great communal vibe in the air. With reduced capacity, masks, etc., we are not only managing, we are starting to thrive again and it feels great. I am very excited about our new members and our vets that continue to put in the work and improve regularly.
Many pundits were writing off gyms after they were closed for so long and people set up home gyms to keep lifting. The fact is a home gym is great, but it doesn’t give you the communal vibe that training together does. We are communal by nature and do better when we’re around others who support us, push us to be better than we sometimes allow ourselves to be. There is an undeniable energy that’s shared in a good gym. It’s a great feeling to be training and coaching in a great gym. We’re not only blessed with our team’s synergy, we also vibe off our extended family – Locomotive Fitness Co. Come on down and join us. Be part of our renaissance.
We are proud to Host the Hudson Valley Open again. It will be on Saturday, 6/13/20. Come on down and join in the fun!
The Hudson Valley Open
Register through Eventbrite here
Go to our Event page for more info.
Lift with intent!
You may have heard this before. Approach your current lift with a commitment and an express decision to successfully complete the lift. This little nugget of wise advice goes far beyond your current rep. As an athlete, that intent needs to go beyond that immediate rep for long term success. You need that same level of commitment for the training session, training block, and so on. But it goes further than that. Are you intentionally preparing yourself for success as an athlete when you’re not in the gym? Are you prioritizing getting enough sleep, proper nutrition, doing what’s necessary for optimal recovery? Persistence is the necessary ingredient here. This is how we build great habits that pave the way to success.
COACH WITH INTENT!
Coaches program using immediate, short term & long term goals. I’ve found that coaching to the individual athlete yields far better results than a “cookie cutter” approach. So, from a coach’s perspective, I do my best to focus on what the individual athlete needs to successfully reach their goals. To truly optimize my approach and do the best I can for my athletes, it’s important to also continually educate myself to be a better coach. You can say that I coach with intent. I need to focus on what my athletes need right now with an eye on what seeds I need to plant for future growth.
LIVE WITH INTENT!
These same principles apply to life in general. Think about what matters and don’t let yourself be distracted by negativity. Intentionally seek out positive, supportive people and focus your efforts on what’s important. Avoid distractions that take you off track and bring the focus back on what matters to you. Educate yourself – never stop learning. Always seek to improve. Re-evaluate where you’re at periodically & redirect yourself as necessary.
Weightlifting is a process. Life is a journey. Live it with purpose. Live it with intent.
Come down to Technique Sunday/Try Weightlifting
Sunday
11/10/19
12:30pm
Locomotive CrossFit
115 Old Route 9
Fishkill, NY 12524
Come on down and hone your technique on the classic lifts or give weightlifting a try. Novices are welcome!
This will be a short clinic (1 ½ hours)
We’ll be going over some Theory,
Accessory work, Practical application, and Stretching.
FREE for Locomotive/Cuppa Joe Members!
Only $20 for non members!
Come on down and join us. Up your game!
Flyer: TechniqueSunday111019
On January 18, 2020, we will be hosting the Hudson Valley Winter Classic at Locomotive Crossfit.
It turns out that this will be your last chance to qualify for the American Open 1 at the Arnold’s in Ohio, March 5-8, 2020.
Many lifts are lost before they’ve barely begun. A successful lift starts at the beginning. You can’t have a solid finish with a bad start. Lifts are taught from the hang because as the lifter starts with the bar lower and eventually from the floor, the rate of difficulty increases. Each phase of the lift needs proper technique to maximize efficiency, getting the most out of your strength. Right now, we’ll focus on starting from the bottom position.
The start position is very important. A lifter should first learn a static start, meaning, get into a ready position, locked in, with no movement of the bar or body before beginning the lift. A dynamic start is when a lifter is moving just before starting the lift. For example, when a lifter ratchets their hips up and then down into their ready position just before lift off. A static start should be learned before getting into a dynamic start because you want to be consistent in your start position. If your body isn’t accustomed to starting from the same place and you jump right into a dynamic start, you’re more likely to be starting from different points and being inconsistent with your technique.
There are many different cues a coach will use to reinforce good positions and where the focus on the lift should be. Depending on what the issues are with a given lifter, the cues are meant to direct the lifter’s attention to something specific that will help the lifter complete a successful lift. Here are some cues for the start:
Use specific exercises to build strength from the floor. Don’t neglect core work – that may be the weak link that doesn’t allow you to keep your form as you transition into the second pull. There are many options, including unilateral work, to address any weaknesses or imbalances. Here’s a few:
This is only a quick list of good exercises that should be in your repertoire. Complexes are also good to work the transitions from the start, to the second pull, into the completion of the lift. The start of the jerk is also very important. In the same way, it requires flat feet and a tight core to properly drive the bar up, not forward. The lifts start and end with the feet. Like roots to a tree, they need to be planted and balanced.
