Add One Kilo

It was a hot summer day in Oakland. I stood on the lifting platform, readying my mind for the next clean.

I had been working my way through a six-week cycle that required attempting 15 cleans every 60 seconds. We called them OTMs or “on the minutes.”

At the start of the cycle, I started at 65% of my personal record. If I attempted all 15 cleans successfully during the OTMs, then I was allowed to attempt a heavy single for the day.

And today was the last week of the cycle. I had completed my 15 cleans and worked my way up to a 104kg clean for my heavy single. 104 didn’t feel heavy, and I was feeling strong, which doesn’t happen often.

I was also two kilograms away from my personal record – 106kg.

I started loading weights for the next clean to match 106kg.

My coach saw what I was doing and said, “Add one kilo! There’s no point with 106 because you already did it.”

Up to this point, I had never thought about strategizing to beat my PRs. I did most of my lifting previously in a CrossFit gym where I had, at best, 15-20 minutes to perform cleans before the coach moved us onto the met-con workout. I would warm up, complete three to five sets of the lift, unload the bar, and move on quickly.

This compared to the OTM workout, where 15 minutes was only the beginning of the training, it was no wonder I never thought about beating PRs during CrossFit classes.

Either case, my coach knew I previously cleaned 106kg – it was on the whiteboard where my teammate’s PRs were displayed. He saw no reason to attempt the same weight since I had proven it before.

He explained that in the best case, I would successfully lift 106. But that’s nothing special since I’ve done it before. Additionally, 106 would leave me without enough energy for another attempt – remember, it’s a maximum-effort attempt.

In the worst case, I fail at 106, and I’m demoralized knowing I couldn’t lift a weight I had previously lifted.

With 107, the best case is I have a new PR – the best feeling. The worst case is I leave knowing I tried my best to beat my previous PR – I could hold my head up high.

So, I added one more kilo to the bar.

I sucked in a belly full of air, pulled the bar off the ground, and exploded upwards; at the top of my extension, I immediately pulled myself under the bar. As it came down, the bar crashed slightly on my shoulders, but I caught it in the squat. Instantly, I bounced up from the bottom, grinding my way to stand. At the top, I dropped the bar and exhaled loudly.

I walked to the whiteboard, crossed the six from “106kg” and replaced it with a seven.