Introduction
What would have happened in that key moment your youth if only you had the wisdom, knowledge, and perspective that you have now? How would your athletic experience have been different?
This Is for the Win!
You get one chance in the competition to pull for the win. This is what it feels like to confront that moment head on.
Nutrition After Nationals
Holding myself to a caloric deficit is challenging, but if I’m committed to it and a lifestyle that supports it, I’m fine. What I discovered after Nationals is that I find not cutting extremely difficult.
The Joy of Competing
Competition creates all sorts of feelings — excitement, fear, aggression — and where you are in life can change how you channel this energy and whether you can stay in the moment.
What Started as Ambivalence
Became a Love Letter
After Nationals I knew I needed to make a change in my programming. There was one problem: The coach I wanted was my husband.
Taking on Coaching
Joah wanted a local coach whom she trusted, who would listen to her needs, and who could respond immediately if an issue arose in training. Guess who's been watching her train the longest? Who loves playing with spreadsheets?
Change of Plans:
Friendship, Disappointment, and Resiliency
My very dear friend and fellow lifter, code name Rampage, had chosen to deliver some crushing news to me.
Being on the Bench
One of the hard things in sports is losing your starting position. Learning how to accept not only being on the bench but gaining the opportunity to root for and support one’s teammates is important. Perhaps more important, however, is becoming comfortable with one’s role on a team being in flux.
Another Week!
I really do break after three weeks. I don’t want to. I want to keep going, but I break. This is why observational coaching is so important to me. It’s what helps me to stay health.
Defeating Negative Self-Talk
In college, my track teammates and I used negative self-talk as a motivator. A sport psychologist taught us a better way, one that helps me today both as a powerlifter and as a professional.
Why Do I Lift?
Everyone has good and bad training days. When the bad days begin to outnumber the good, I can’t help but ask why I do this to myself.
So, What Male Sports Do You Like?
It was a busy flight delivering a snappy comeback to an awkward misogynist, reminiscing on misogynists past, and reflecting on recent experiences suggesting that things have improved for women in weight training.
Parsing Motivation, Part 1:
Team Matters to Me
I’ve been thinking a lot lately about what motivates me in powerlifting, both because of Sam’s recent reflections and because I’ve been struggling with a mid-season motivational slump. One of the first elements that came to mind is having a sense of team.
The Original Iron Empress
My mom supported my family with her catering business, ran marathons, and fought cancer. Learning from her adaptability, flexibility, determination, and optimism made me the woman I am. Happy Mother’s Day to the original Iron Empress!
Parsing Motivation, Part 2:
The Quest for New Mental Strength
External goals can provide concrete things to strive for, but they also generate pressure. Rather than avoid them, I’m motivated to seek out opportunities to develop the mental strength necessary to overcome emotional discomfort and still achieve peak performance.
Change of Plans . . . Again
A mysterious email arrived one morning before I’d had enough coffee to process it, and it forced me to contend with deep-seated self-doubt as well as yet again changing my competition plans.
Learning to Compete:
A Tale of Blood, Caffeine, and Tunes
My training is getting me stronger, but along the way I’m also gaining the mental strength needed to compete well, which recently resulted in an unexpected opportunity.
You Can’t Be Normal Right Now
I recently called my nutritionist for a pep talk, and she gave me exactly the reminder I needed: To achieve my goals, I can’t be normal right now. Here’s the story behind how bucking social norms is sometimes key to achieving athletic goals.
Building a Monster, Part 1:
The Structure of Joah’s Programming
Accommodating Joah’s schedule, work stress, and injury history, as well as her preferences, has been a fun challenge. Ultimately, I’m trying to balance what’s optimal with what’s possible.
Parsing Motivation, Part 3:
Diet, Sleep, and Self-Knowledge
Learning is one of the key things that keeps me engaged at work and in my hobbies. With about four weeks until the NAPF competition, I've been thinking about how much I've had to learn about maintaining my weight and getting enough sleep.
Stage Fright
Testing for performance-enhancing drugs is serious business in USA Powerlifting, but there’s no avoiding how awkward it can be.
Meet Peak
Joah and Sam reflect on the final weeks of training before they compete at the NAPF championship in Costa Rica.
NAPF Meet Report, Part 1:
Sometimes You Just Need Gummy Bears
This was probably the worst my mental state has been during a meet peak, but I hope sharing it will help new lifters maintain the perspective needed to tolerate the experience and themselves while peaking.
NAPF Meet Report, Part 2:
The Value of Optimistic Indifference
Sam recounts his undramatic but very successful debut to international competition and finds an excuse to complain about Christmas music.
NAPF Meet Report, Part 3:
Competition Day
My focus for NAPF was technical proficiency, but I also learned some things about myself.
When 2 for 3 is Perfect
A flawed performance at Bench Nationals reminded me that imperfection is not to be feared. Failure offers opportunities for learning, continued growth, and — in my case — an even larger bench press.
Parsing Motivation, Part 4:
Extrinsic Motivation Matters!
Women continue to break glass ceilings, but we’re often told to enjoy the process rather than focus on outcomes. Screw that. Heading into USAPL Nationals as the defending champion, I want to win, and I'm excited to again have the opportunity to test myself against the best lifters on the biggest stage.
Nationals Without Goals
Nationals is around the corner, but thanks to a messy training cycle and the limits of what Sam can control, finding realistic goals is a challenge.
The Joy of Uncertainty
I’m sharing some final thoughts on getting ready for Nationals and the role of uncertainty in the experience of competition.