No Dessert Challenge- Day 21

Ok so I started my "No Desserts Challenge" on the Wednesday before February started so I'm technically at 21 days here (saving I did my math correctly. :) ) Got a head start, sucka fishes!

No soda was pretty easy for me. I knew desserts would be hard, which is mostly why I need this challenge.  I need to learn better eating habits and self discipline which are skills that will transfer over into weightlifting.

I went to my friend's house that first Saturday on "Cold Stone" night. They were looking forward to it all day and got the kids all excited about it. I felt "rude" not to have dessert... not a good way to start.

I have also had two chocolate cookies and a package of mini bundt cakes. With the bundt cakes, I had two of them and put the rest in the freezer so I wouldn't eat them. "Frozen cake is terrible. No one eats frozen cake" I thought to myself. Then, I eventually tried another one. I thought, "Um. I was wrong. I think frozen cake might be even better!" Then I eventually finished off the mini cakes. All gone.


My name is Sarah and I'm a dessert addict.

I can't be too upset with myself only because...usually in 22 days, I would have probably consumed 22 desserts. Instead, I have had about a handful. So, it has been really moderated.

Still, all the time, I want dessert. I am trying to give myself better alternatives. Using fruit as my main source of "sugar" when I want a sweet snack. I looked at a cupcake cookbook tonight and everything looked so good. Even the caramel ones... and I hate caramel (stupid caramel jerks.)

So I'm thinking I will give myself an additional two days at the end of my sentence to help make up for my eating of desserts.

This is what I feel like without eating desserts.

Although I am not dieting, Ms. Jenna Marbles here explains what we go through when "dieting."
There are cuss words, be forewarned.

 

Ok. Just thought I'd share how much I'm struggling.


Good night!
Sarah

Colors of the Gym- Pocahontas remix

What are a few things I love?
1. Weightlifting
2. Singing Disney Songs (Pandora helps me feel like a Disney Princess while I'm doing my dishes.)
3. Making up ridiculous words to songs. A skill which my team mate Craig is flawless at (jealous much.)

Here is the song "Colors of the Wind" from "Pocahontas." Then enjoy my new lyrics.

You think I'm just an newbie lifter
And you've been so many places; I guess it must be so
But still I cannot see, if the newbie one is me
How can there be so much that you don't know?
You don't know...

You think you own whatever bar you lift on
The bar is just a dead thing you can claim
But I know every chalk and plate and lifter
Has a life, has a spirit, has a name.

You think the only lifters who are lifters
Are the people who clean and jerk like you
But if you walk the platform of a stranger
You'll learn things you never knew you never knew

Have you ever heard the man cry with the weight on his back?
Or asked the coach how you can be more like him?
Can you lift with all the voices of those cheering?
Can you lift with all the colors of the gym?
Can you lift with all the colors of the gym?

Come use the hidden chalk bucket in the gym
Come taste the best pre-workout drink
Come roll that bar away from you
And for once never wonder what it weighs

The wrist wraps and the tape are my brothers
The knee sleeves and the belt are my friends
And we are all connected to each other
In a program in a practice that never ends

How big will your legs grow?
If you quit now then you may never know
And you'll never hear the me cry to my coach in the afternoon
For whether we are tired or broken down
We need to lift with all our courage in a singlet
We need to lift with all the colors of the gym

  You can be quiet and still
'Til you take you caffeine pill
Then you'll lift with all the colors of the gym

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!

January's No Soda Challenge

For January, I challenged my friends, fans, and followers to a "No Soda Challenge." This was just one month of no drinking soda. What brought this about?

Well, something personal came up in my life, and I emotionally ate. Growing up, I used to closet eat pretty bad and we used to go to restaurants to celebrate happy occasions or gather after sad ones. Could this have led to bad eating habits? Maybe. But, I can in no way blame anyone else for the bad habits I have as an adult. I consciously make decisions everyday on my own. Good and bad.

We all have skeletons in our closet and this is one that I had to face. Yes, I encourage and healthy active lifestyle. Yes, I practice what I preach. There are times however, when something triggers that bad instinct to have something to eat to what seems like "get my mind off of things." More so than a need to satisfy a nutritional  or hunger need. Most people that are overweight/obese and even on the other side of the spectrum with eating disorders can relate to eating or not eating because of emotions. I do not claim to be an authority on mental eating habits so please correct me if I say anything incorrect.

On this day I had the revelation that I emotionally ate, I was particularly upset about something so I went to the grocery store and within a day, I had easily put away a 20 pack of cookies. I sat there at the end of the day like, "Whoah. What just happened?" I had other stuff too but, it's too nuts to want to admit. The next day did I still felt emotionally horrible and my body felt bad too. As both an athlete and as a person, I can't treat my body this way.

Obviously, when I have these "episodes" or whatever, I overeat, eat badly, or a combination of the two. So I thought to myself, what should I do? Clearly, I can't moderate what I was eating so I decided to eliminate it.

I started with soda. Mostly because it's really cheap, easy to access, and really easy to over consume. I wanted to see how my body felt after not having it for a month. I gave up soda for a year in high school but, I ended up replacing it with juice, punch, lemonade, tea, etc. Stuff with tons of sugar and no useful ingredients. I wanted to do better this time. I also have PCOS so I can't really process sugars the way a normal person could anyway. As a weightlifter, we get knee pains. I know that the carbonation is bad for your bones and teeth so I also wanted to see how my joint health felt too.

Because of how busy my schedule got and some other factors, I was training once a day during the month of January. So it's hard to tell whether or not my "results" are from not drinking soda, or less training, or both. I am going with both. I lost 6 kgs. Which is 12 ish lbs. So my body weight is where it should be for training and competition. It also means less weight pounding on my knees and better recovery. Was my weight fat or muscle loss? We'll see. I am going to give myself another month and get my body fat percentage done again and see where I am at.


February's challenge is "No desserts." For each person, "dessert" means something a little different. I am trying to avoid, cookies, cake, icecream, candy, that kind of stuff. This is making be very creative if I want to have something sweet without killing my pancreas. I am going to try and make my "desserts" more fruit friendly.  Recently, I made a chocolate avocado pudding with avocado, honey, cocoa, and vanilla paste. It was pretty good. I am trying to moderate what I eat and when for anything that has a high amount of sugar in it.

Now you guys know a secret of mine. I hope this doesn't upset anyone into not following or believing in me anymore. I am trying to do my best to be the best every day even with my own personal struggles.

Who's with me in the "No Dessert's Challenge?"

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 

Recent news stories on Sarah Robles

This is about me being in the Christmas Parade in my hometown

http://desertlocalnews.com/the-2012-dhs-holiday-parade-the-best-ever/

Included in a list of "feel good stories" of overcoming my obstacles with finances

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/22/feel-good-sports-stories-2012-farah_n_2340577.html#slide=1909415

And my favorite one as of late. This is about me being a body positive celebrity.

http://www.blisstree.com/2012/12/26/look/body-image-in-the-media-women-2012/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=body-image-in-the-media-women-2012

Buzzfeed had me on a list of important things people learned this year.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeedshift/the-most-important-things-buzzfeed-shift-learned-t

PR Power Clean and Push Jerk

In a power clean and push jerk off between me and my superstar team mate Alex Lee, I got a new personal record of 135 kgs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUH3JsPxZoA

Final World Champs results/Summary

We'd like to thank USAW and Women Talk Sports for including our blog on their websites. Be sure to check them out by clicking on their banners.

Results

Name/weight class/placing/snatch/clean and jerk/total

* denotes personal records

Kelly Rexroad-Williams 48 kgs 17th place 71/84/155
-Kelly's  lifts have been very consistent lately. She hit 72 and 87 at Pan Ams in May
Amanda Sandoval 58 kgs 15th place 86*/109*/195*
-After a disappointing performance at Pan Ams, Amanda got PRs at the World Championships. Way to come back!
Natalie Burgener 63 kgs 12th place 96/114/210
-Natalie's first international competition since the Bejing Olympics, was quite a success going 4 for 6 and totaling 5 more kgs than she lifted at Nationals to qualify. 
Danica Rue 69 kgs 19th place 90/115/205
-This was Danica's  first international meet since 2005! Totaling just 1 kg under what it took her to qualify, she is making a great come back and doing a great job being consistent.
Rachel Crass 75 kgs 27th place 86/109 /195
-Competing injured; Rachel totaled 14 kgs less than it took her to qualify. At nationals she hit 92 and 117 to qualify for her first international competition since 2003 I believe.
Erin Wallace 75 kgs 18th place 98/117/215
-Erin went 4 for 6 only missing her last attempts, which would have been prs. She totaled 2 kgs less than her 6 for 6 pr performance at Nationals.
Sarah Robles 75+ kgs 10th place 111*/140/251*
-Pr snatch and total. 2nd highest total in US history.

The Hotel

The World Championships was held in Antalya, Turkey. The competitors stayed in two separate all inclusive resort hotels. We were located right on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea. Our hotel had many pools and water slides, hammocks, a carnival area for children , a bar/club, restaurants, many beach activities including a boat tour some of our athletes did, nice rooms, all you can eat Turkish buffets, free wireless internet, and a couple English speaking television channels. The hotels were about 30 minute bus ride from the venue and airport. The dining area was quite spacious and we had a lot of cat friends roaming around. Our favorite one was "crusty cat" Haha. A lot of the food was some sort of sausage or meat ball, tons of bread (like a bakery full of bread every day,) desserts soaked in honey, a lot of dill, cheeses, fresh fruit, and sour yogurt was served with everything. Our least favorite yogurt thing was the "Yogurt Water" just sour yogurt mixed with water. It tasted like you were drinking cheese.

The People

The people in Turkey were very nice for the most part. The athletes, coaches, and officials were friendly. The bus drivers are aggressive drivers. We tried to get to the venue one day and a car was blocking our way and the driver opened the door and started yelling at the valets. The car was moved promptly and we were on our way. Natalie tried to take food out of the restaurant for after weigh-ins. This resulted in tears but, she was OK later. These were the only examples of poor behavior I've seen. The resort was full of people from all around the world. We saw many people in bikinis and speedos many of them probably should have worn something else haha.We noticed many people don't believe in lines. It was frustrating one of the athletes said, "Without lines; there's no order!" It sure felt like it. Overall, they were pleasant.

The Venue

The venue was an expo center. It had a really huge banner outside of the logo for worlds and inside it had a floral display of the world championship logo. It was pretty cool. The training hall had like 60 platforms. Imnot 100% sure. No one had to share a platform at anytime. We saw some pretty big lifts going on. The Iranian super was attempting 190 kgs snatches a few days before competing. They had a dining room for the athletes with hot meals in the middle of the day and cold drinks. The competition area was poorly set up and security was pretty loose. People without the proper credentials were all over the place. We had people that weren't athletes or staff members training in the training hall and Joe Schmoes in the media area and fancy seating. I think the spectating area was about half the size of worlds last year and even in the A sessions it didn't get full. 

The Competition

The atmosphere wasn't as intense as I would have hoped but, the athletes were positive and brought their own energy which was good. It was ran smoothly and the loaders were fast and seemed excited about their jobs. The technical officials were very strict. Even though it was your turn, they wouldn't let you on the stage until your name was called. Which wasn't OK sometimes because the clock was already running, so you wasted time not chalking up. When teams found out that only 6 and 4 counted for points for Olympic slots, many countries didn't send teams. This helped out USA for placing. Some athletes who could have placed anywhere from sub 20th place to sub 30th place were placing in the teens and 20s. There were surprises, upsets, and lots of excitement when watching the competition. The World Championships is a great meet and always a great chance to learn, make new friends, and have fun.

Reflection on my training cycle and my competition

     This training cycle has definitely been interesting. It was very emotional. This was my first cycle in two years not being a resident athlete. When I got back, I realized a lot of my friends I had made here either got married, moved, or I had lost touch with them. So I have to start all over again making friends. So it's been pretty lonely. One month I had a couple checks not come in on time and I wasn't able to plan properly with my finances so I was stressed out over that. Of course there are lots of little normal things to have to be conscious of like; getting on my own car insurance, grocery shopping, paying rent, etc. Normal people stuff. I have to drive everyday to the gym. It's not so bad. I actually like it because I feel like I'm making weightlifting a priority vs. doing it because I'm already there. 

     At some point I hurt my thumb and every time I had weight over my head It hurt really bad. I was afraid to catch anything so I missed a lot of weights or I caught everything forward to avoid pain. I have zero pain tolerance so this was a big deal to me. We trained a lot heavier here than I did at the OTC or NMU. It was exciting to get under heavy weights more often but, most of the time I didn't feel ready. So I wasn't really confident getting under them. I felt really beat up too. Mostly because I wasn't used to training this way. Not because anything was actually wrong. One day I actually felt good and hit PRs! I did a 113 and a 145. Normally I don't pr until I'm in competition so I was feeling pretty confident. I also rarely front squat and I hit a 175 which was a 10 kg pr. I power cleaned 130 which was a big pr. If you saw me at nationals, I power cleaned 120 so 10 kgs in 3 months was cool. Everything was going well and I had mentioned several times, "150 at Worlds Joe! 150!" I felt it. I knew it was in me. Our goal was to hit 150 at worlds.

     By the time Worlds came around I was pretty emotionally exhausted. Of course I had the excitement of being at worlds and lifting heavy weights but other than that, I was pretty spent emotionally. Warming up for the snatch felt pretty good. If you know me or my training at all, you'll know, I always manage to find a way to miss at least one snatch. My first snatch is always very stressful because I usually miss it. (I think like 3 out of my competitions I have made my opening attempt.) Goal #1: Make my opener. I actually did! I made my second, then my third! I never make all my snatches. It was quite an accomplishment. I was thinking, "Sweet! I might actually have a chance to go 6 for 6!" Clean and Jerks are what I'm good at and even if I mess up I can usually pull something out.

     I had a couple goofs in the back looping 65 horribly, stumbling around with 85, and getting chalk in the eye at 130! Most of my attempts were forward. Usually, once I'm on the platform I can fix little technical issues and my attempts are easy. Not the case at this competition. I did worse on the platform than I did in the back. I opened with almost my pr, 139 so I could do 139-145-148.  I got stuck a little in the bottom then missed my jerk forward. The next attempt at 140; the clean was bad then I over jerked it and missed it behind. Panic set in. I've never missed my first two attempts. I kept telling myself  "You gotta make this lift. You have to get USA points. Make this lift. Make this lift." I caught it horribly and jacked up my upper back pulling it back, then I pushed it forward but, I made it. I have never been so relieved! I usually never hear anything while I'm lifting but I managed to hear my coach say, "Fight Sarah! You're still in this!" I heard Collin yell, "Let's go Sarah!" I also heard someone from another country when I was recovering from my jerk, "Duro!" which roughly means "be strong or tight" something like that. It's always nice when people from other countries have good sportsmanship. 

     This training cycle taught me about how tough it is to be a full-time weightlifter. It's only going to get harder. Worlds gave me a taste of what's to come in 2012. Had I lifted what I was capable of in the clean and jerk; my total could have gotten me 5th or 6th place. Instead, I got 10th. I'm hungry for more.  

Weightlifting has proven to me that I can do anything. 

There's no such thing as impossible.

  

 

 

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."