February Announcements

Important information regarding autographs:

I am so thankful for all of my fans and followers for their kind words and autograph requests! I am starting to feel famous! I am now starting an autograph donation fund. Starting next week, 2-10-13, I will be asking for a $5.00 donation for any autographs.

Donations can be sent two ways: 1.) They can be sent through my paypal under "Team Robles" on this blog. Just leave a note with your name saying you are sending me something to sign
2.) With your letter and Self Addressed Stamped Envelope, you can enclose $5.00.

Thank you for your understanding with this.

p.s. If you want me to sign a picture of me, please make sure it actually is a picture of me...

Paypal: 

Just an FYI, if you donate any funds to the "Team Robles" they are going to me, Sarah Robles, not Jessica Gallagher. Any donations I have received on her behalf has been transferred to her. Just make sure you donate it to her directly in her paypal account. Thanks!

Of course if you still want to donate directly to me, that is welcome also.

Amazon Wishlist:

I created a Rio 2016 Wishlist
If you click on the link, you will be directed to the wishlist. This is a more tangible way to make a donation to me. You know exactly what I need, and how it's going to help me. This might be a more preferred way for you guys to help out, if you want. You may see "Quantity Desired" and the desired amount. You do not have to purchase all of the desired amount. I have items on my wish that are as low as $5.00 and as high as $139.00. Any little bit helps.

 

Love, Sarah!

Considering getting a new lifting bar?

Here is my expert opinion on some weightlifting bars you may be considering. My opinion is based on both personal experience and the experience of my peers.

I have them ranked in order from best to worst based on thesee qualities: Knurling, bar spin, bar flex, and durability. Take these notes in consideration before making an investment.

Sarah

Eleiko- The knurling on this bar is pretty sharp as a warning but when you're lifting heavy weights, it's a necessity. I actually like having a sharp knurling but, during a heavy volume cycle, it kinda beats up your hands. Bar spin is good. Bar flex is pretty good. Maintenance is required to keep the bar in good shape but, the bar has a really good warranty.
Eusaka- I would probably tie this bar at #1 with Eleiko. Knurling is good but chalk needs to be cleared off more frequently than the Eleiko bar. Flex is good. Bar spin is pretty good and by some miracle, does not need to be lubricated like an Eleiko bar. Lasts a long time. Bar is made in a small factory with less than ten employees so you know the attention to detail is there, which I appreciate.
Weksan- Werksan pretty much tries to copy Eleiko, in my opinion, which is one of the reasons why I am ranking them lower. I don't have too much experience lifting on their bars except competitions. They seem to be ok for the most part. Bar spin, knurling and flex is good. I have them ranked so low mostly because of what I witnessed at the 2010 World Championships in Turkiye, The small weights. 5 kgs and under, did not fit the bar properly. You had to jam the weights onto the bar and they were barely on. This made warm up for the competition particularly difficult. More importantly, it was a dangerous situation for the competitors on the competition platform. The loaders had little bowls of lubricant which they used to brush the bar with so the weights could be put on. One of the lifters had the weights start to slip off the bar and he ended up missing his 3rd attempt, dropping the weight onto one of the officials computers because of this error. He was allowed a 4th attempt but, missed that one as well. This was a gross lack of attention to detail. How do you not test the weights to make sure they fit the bar?
York- I think the knurling is good. The men's bar had pretty good spin but the women's, not so much. We had a couple of incidents where two of our men's bars broke clean off (said in a dirty harry voice) right at the sleeve with only 50 and 70 kgs. The customer service to deal with this situation was pretty terrible.
Rogue- For it's purpose, rogue does the job. I haven't really heard of actual big lifts being lifted on this bar, nor have I lifted on one but, it's a cheap bar. So for someone starting out, or a crossfit type situation where you can get a lot of bars to bang around, this is for you. If you want a bar that will probably last you your entire career and handle big lifts, this bar is not for you.
DHS- Bar spin is amazing. Knurling is not very good. I cannot recommend this bar at all based on the testimonials I have gotten on this product. It was used in Beijing for the Olympics and I heard after almost ever session, the bars had to be replaced because they were bent so bad. Most high quality bars are going to be tested with a pressure/flex type usually with at least 1,000 lbs to make sure it can handle the lifting. Last time I checked, no one has snatched or clean and jerked 1,000 lbs so there is no excuse for the bar to bend. I have also heard from a friend that when he was squatting 300 kgs, the bar literally snapped in half. Based on what I heard, this bar is pretty dangerous. Can't recommend it.

Sarah 

Team Arizona has a new coach!

We are proud to announce that Performance One (Team Arizona Weightlifting) has hired 1999 World Champion and 2x Olympian Shahin Nasirinia to Coach our Olympic Weightlifting Team and work with our Strength and Conditioning Athletes. Coach Nasirinia will also be conducting Weightlifting and Strength & Conditioning Clinics in AZ and Nationally. For more information please contact us at joe@performanceone.net or 480-813-5477

 

Athlete of the Month: Erin Wallace

 Erin Elizabeth Wallace
Age -24
Weight Class-75kg

Other Sports Competed in

 I competed in gymnastics from 3rd to 7th grade, and then I played soccer from 8th grade until my junior year of college. I was a goalie, and I loved it! I threw javelin and shot put in high school, but I wasn’t very good at either one. I did prefer javelin though. I also did ballet for a bit as a kid if that counts.

The past two meets you had were the Pan American Championships and the National Championships. You went 6 for 6 and got personal records in both meets that were only two weeks apart. Awesome job! What do you contribute to those successes?

I would definitely have to give credit to my coach, Kyle Pierce, who is amazing to work with. I trust him not only because he has done the research to support the workouts, but also because he genuinely looks out for each lifter’s best interest. I also have wonderful teammates to train with; we feed off of each other’s energy.  I think that health plays a big part, and I have been blessed with a healthy body; I do my best when it comes to recovery and training smart.  After Pan Ams, I went back to a short 3’s phase and then tapered again right before Nationals. I think it was the right choice.

You have a very strong upper body. What are some of your feats of strength?

I do enjoy upper body work! I have done 12 pull-ups, benched 100kg, jerked 133/power jerked 122 ½ from the blocks, and push pressed 95 for a double.

Who are your favorite male and female weightlifters to watch?

I really love seeing my close friends/teammates make big lifts! I also like watching Evgeny Chigishev and Lidia Valentin.

What does your typical day look like?

A typical day…I wake up at 6:00 and get ready for work; I teach 6th grade English/Literature at Rusheon Middle School! I leave work between 3:00 and 3:30 and head to the gym. I train until 6:00 or 7:00 depending on the workout. Then I go home, cook dinner, finish up any work/grading, and go to bed around 9:30 so I can get up and do it all over again!

What would you say your greatest accomplishments are on and off the platform?

On the platform so far, I would say that the Pan American Championships has been my greatest accomplishment. I went 6 for 6, made personal records, and earned a spot on the World Team. I was so excited that I did well at my first big international meet.
Off the platform, I think that graduating from college and starting my career as a teacher was a big accomplishment. Education is very important to me.

You’re fast approaching Doreen Fulhart and Cara Heads’ American records. I think you’ll break them within the next couple of years. How do you feel about the possibility of breaking the American Records?

I do admire both Cara Heads and Doreen Fullhart for their success and hard work, but I would love to break the records! I want to push myself to be the absolute best lifter I can be, and I believe that I am capable of surpassing those records within the next two years. I do understand that being capable and actually doing it are two different things, but I have every intention of training hard in order to reach my full potential.

In a male dominated sport; how do you keep in touch with your feminine side?

I understand that when most people think of weightlifting, the male gender is what typically comes to mind. I think that it is quite possible to be feminine and compete in a male dominated sport. I love being a woman and doing girly things. I enjoy pedicures, shopping, and chick flicks, but I also like being strong and confident. I am very comfortable with myself, even if to some I look “too buff for a girl”.  I find that wearing my favorite earrings and a little makeup give my weightlifting ensemble a feminine touch!

What would you say to girls out there who are thinking about trying weightlifting for the first time?

I would tell them to try it!  Don’t be afraid of the stereotypes or of trying something new. I would encourage them by stating that it is good for strength gains for other sports.

Team Arizona in the news again!

An article for ASU featuring my Coach, Joe Micela, Alex Lee, and me.


Here's the link to the article
http://www.statepress.com/2010/09/13/weightlifters-to-represent-u-s-asu-at-worlds/

Be sure to "stay tuned" at the end of the month.

We'll be starting an "Athlete of the Month" feature

Sarah Robles is in the news!

Digg this.Sarah Robles, Alex Lee on road to becoming first Arizona Olympic weightlifters
by Jeff Metcalfe - Sept. 11, 2010 07:40 PM

The Arizona Republic

Weightlifting has been an Olympic event since 1920, and Arizona finally is producing Olympic-caliber lifters.

Training at a utilitarian gym in a Mesa warehouse, Sarah Robles and Alex Lee are not only going to the World Weightlifting Championships (Friday-Sept. 26 in Antalya, Turkey), they are pushing for hard-to-earn berths at the 2012 London Olympics.

Robles, top-ranked among American women in all weight classes, has supplanted three-time Olympian Cheryl Haworth as the "strongest woman in America," as her coach, Joe Micela, put it. She is aiming for a top-seven finish at Worlds with a lifting total close to 260 kilograms (572 pounds) that would be second-best in U.S. history behind Haworth's 287 (631.4) at the 2005 Pan American Games.

Lee, making his major international debut, is No. 1 nationally in the 62kg and 69kg weight classes and No. 8 overall among U.S. men. That puts him in the mix for London, although the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro could be more realistic because Olympic berths are filled based on best overall lifters and not one person per division.

Performances by the top six men and top four women at Worlds this year and next year will determine Olympic slots per country.

"He basically has to be the all-time best in his weight class to make this (2012) Olympic team," said Micela, who coaches Lee and Robles at Performance One Advanced Sports Training and will be the U.S. team leader at Worlds. "It's a lot to ask, but because he is still so light in his weight class, he has room to grow."

Lee hopes to compete at 69kg in Turkey but was competing at the lighter weight in early July when he won gold and set two American college records at the World University Games.

"It's just about getting that experience right now," said Lee, 21, a Gilbert High grad who is taking this semester off from Arizona State. "Hopefully by the next couple of years I'll be in that position where I can medal."

Robles, 22, is from California and was redshirting in track at Arizona State in 2008 when she decided that weightlifting was a more-realistic path to the Olympics.

But that meant giving up a scholarship and transferring to Northern Michigan, where she could live and train with financial support through the U.S. Olympic Education Center. She then moved to the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Robles almost immediately excelled at super heavyweight (75kg plus), winning national championships in 2009 and 2010, finishing 11th at the '09 Worlds and taking a silver medal at the '10 Pan American Championships.

She returned to Arizona in July seeking coaching stability with Micela and said she believes staying here to train toward London probably is the best plan.

"I don't want to jeopardize the success I'm having with another change, another move, another coach," she said. "Each competition we're going to is even more important than the last. There's more pressure, more gravity, more everything. I don't really want to shake things up."

Arizonan Gea Johnson, between competing in heptathlon and bobsled, had some weightlifting success in the late 1990s. But one of her major surgeries, for a nerve problem in her foot, ended Johnson's quest to be among the first Olympic women's weightlifters in 2000.

Robles embraces the idea of "Olympians coming out of our little old Gilbert, Arizona" especially because she is up against the legacy of Haworth, who won an Olympic bronze in 2000 and if healthy still could make a run at a fourth Olympics.

"Sometimes it's hard to feel like you're being a trail blazer because you're doing the same thing other people have done," Robles said. "Being in a place where nobody else has done something, now we have a chance to be the trail blazers, then other people can look up to us and strive for higher things."