What sets your soul on fire?

I have many things that I like, love, obsess over. Here are a few in no particular order:

1. Celebrity Biographies. I really dig reading about athletes and musicians specifically......

       

  

These are some of my recent faves. Such good reads.

2.  Sunshine. Don't worry....I always wear sunblock AND reapply! I get recharged by the sun. I could lay in the sun all damn day.

All.Day.Every.Day.

3. Family and Friends. I'm totally obsessed with My People. My Tribe. They are carefully selected. Each one has the ability to make me laugh, cry, and strive to be a better person. I'm constantly learning from them, loving them, and enjoying life with them.

My tribe knows who they are. No pic needed :)

4. S4M1.....I have written a statement here a dozen times and erased it. No words do them justice.

unbelievably cute

5. This guy is a like, love, AND obsess. Sam. Not Dwight.

Gives me daily likes, loves, and support

What is setting my soul on fire these days? What is getting me all excited? What is my google search stuck on???????

Power Lifting

I've been making the switch from CrossFit to Powerlifting over the last few months. It felt weird at first. I have focused on CF for 3 years and still enjoy it. I love the people I have met, the skills I have gained - all that made it hard to think about something else. I still do CF a few times a week - but my primary focus is Power Lifting. I really like it and am finally feeling like a real one! I Powerlift 3 days a week and I am getting stronger everyday. Mentally and Physically. I'm connecting with other powerlifters online and through social media which is tons of fun. There are so many strong girls out there!!!!! 

My most recent Back Squat at 250x2!!!!

I love to be inspired and I love to inspire others. The easiest way for me to do that is through this blog and Instagram (@liftwithann).  I hope you enjoy reading about me and my happenings as much as I enjoy doing them!  So my summer will have lots of relaxing, family, friends, sun, and fun.......and TONS of powerlifting! Find what sets your soul on fire and dive right in!

First Power Lifting Meet

I survived my first power lifting meet! Yeah!!!!!! I had a great time, learned a lot and met my goals. What where they?

1. Don't cry. seriously. There is no crying in weight lifting

2. Make 6/9 lifts

3. Don't poop my pants (this is always a good stand by goal)

Yep. No tears. I'm a big girl. I made 7/9 lifts. No poop in my pants. No poop anywhere actually. If you have read ANY of my race/competition write ups you know I hit the bathroom dozens of times. Not once for this one. Weird.

Here are my lifts:

Back Squat: (1) 175          (2) 195          (3) 214 - failed at this on the way up. my max is 210

Bench: (1) 90 - made the lift, but didn't follow commands so it didn't count    (2) 100        (3) 110

Deadlift:  (1) 200      (2) 235        (3) 253


My husband decided to do the meet the day before (!) and ended up PRing two of the lifts! What a guy :) He was my handler for the lifts, which was great. Turns out I am horrible at assessing how I did, what I should increase by, etc. I just need someone to say "do this". It was cool to see other people lift, see their routines, and what they can lift. There were some really really heavy lifters there, super impressive.

It was a long day of being in a gym, cheering, lifting - exhausting. It really helped that I was with a lot of friends.  Would have been one long and boring day. I would totally do another one - learned SO much.