“Everyone needs to have one…”

Rhi Reynolds

“Everyone needs to have one.” These words have been bouncing back and forth in my head since I heard them from another competitor that had the same outcome as I had. Although mere words, they still sting because the wound is still fresh. But alas, I have to admit that I’m happy I had the experience. To all of you that are wondering, I bombed out at the Hookgrip Open.  In weightlifting, to finish with a total, you need to make at least 1 of your attempts in each of the two lifts(snatch and Clean/Jerk). I ‘bombed out’ because I missed all three of my Clean and Jerks.  On a side note, the event was put on by Crossfit Center City and Hookgrip.   The facility was awesome and the event was the best run weightlifting meet I have done so far.   I was able to talk to Nat of Hookgrip for a little while after the meet.  He does great things for the sport, and is the nicest guy ever.  Make sure you stop by his site and spend some time there.  www.hookgrip.com From what he is saying, he has BIG plans for the future.  I can’t wait to see what he has in store for us.

My performance came as a surprise. Since I was trying to qualify to get into the A group for the American Open, the pressure was greater. This was the time to put up numbers. My planned attempts were higher than the last meet, in hopes of achieving a total of 140kg or more. The funny thing is (or not so funny), I’m comfortable hitting these numbers without a problem in training. But what does “in training” even matter when you’re out there in front of the judges? Excuse the language, but it means jack shit. If you can’t put the weight up while everyone is watching, who cares!

It became a bit humbling when I missed my opening snatch. I felt great warming up. I felt like I was getting under the bar as fast as lightning. All my pulls felt smooth and technique was dialed in. I stepped out to take my first attempt at 57kg. As I grabbed the bar, I felt nervous. Not too nervous, but still just enough to use the adrenaline to my advantage. But as I pulled the bar from the floor my mind went blank. “Blank” meaning that I totally disconnected from what I was doing. And that’s when it all started: the downward spiral. I let this “blank” feeling creep into me before each of my next 5 lifts.  I ended up hitting 57 my second attempt and then went for 60. And missed.

I was irked even before I began to warm up for the clean and jerk. I realize now that was a huge mistake. There’s nothing I could have changed about what happened in the past, so I just should have shrugged it off (weightlifting joke). “Next Lift.”  The clean and jerk warm ups felt a little heavier than normal, but nothing that wasn’t manageable. They got better as I increased the weight, and I ended up nailing 75kg before I took my opener at 77. I felt pretty confident I was going to hit my opening lift with no hesitation. I marched out, ended up power cleaning the weight, and missed the jerk…behind me! What the hell happened?!  I didn’t intentionally power clean the weight, and I never miss jerks behind me.  What?!  There is that “blank” feeling again.  I did things on the platform that I NEVER do in training.

Here’s my quick analysis: if you let a missed lift affect you, you’re going to miss your other lifts. It’s that simple. I went on to miss 77kg two more times. The second attempt I missed the jerk behind me again. The third attempt, I didn’t move my head back as far as normal and cracked myself in the chin with the bar as I drove the jerk up. That’s it in a nutshell. I will spare you all from how I felt emotionally during all of this. I’m sure you all can empathize and have a good imagination.

Now it’s time to face the truth, no matter how much the truth hurts. This situation could have totally been avoided. As an athlete, competitor, and just as a person in general: you will always be faced with failure. The mistake is letting that failure overcome you. That’s what I did at the Hookgrip Open. I let the missed lifts take my mind off of the other attempts I could have easily made. I didn’t allow my nice technique to carry over to the platform. I allowed myself to be intimidated, and that’s not ok. Your performance starts off in your mind. If you don’t have a good attitude going in, then you’re not going to get the best results.  When you are hit with adversity, you’ve got to “display adaptability,” immediately.

I stumbled across a quote that I feel explains this situation appropriately: “Persistence can change failure into extraordinary achievement.” by Marv Levy.  That’s exactly what I learned on Sunday. The end result makes me want to work even harder to perfect my craft. It lit a fire inside me that won’t be extinguished until I succeed. I still have a chance to get that 140 before the American Open. But if I don’t, I’m going to go out during the B session confident and hit the numbers there, on the biggest stage.  And prove to myself that I can perform no matter how many people are watching. I’ll get there. All I have is time. And the time I have is going to be spent training….hard. See you all next week!

Editors Note: At the time of publishing, Rhi has already taken down her first workout since the Hookgrip Open, and is showing that adaptability.   She was focused, calm, and poised.  Hitting lifts, looking sharp.  Adversity causes some people to break, it causes others to break records.  We can’t wait to see what she has in store for us in the future.