Couple of updates, links and information….
Asian Championships and Request for help
I plan to compete at the Asian Weightlifting Championships April 2012 in Korea. I am seeking sponsorship/endorsement and am more than happy to provide financial details about my expenses and upcoming competitions. Training, recovery, writing, maintaining the website, is like a full time job.
Currently, I am researching as a visiting scholar at Georgia Tech until I become employed. I am applying to grants in humanitarian engineering, one of which I hope to get, which will help me with my career, and getting employment. All costs are covered by myself and those who have donated (Details on who have donated in the past and how much, are on my Sponsors page).
For future competitions and continuing to share my story to help other women, I need financial help. Any assistance, feedback, fundraising or advice will be greatly appreciated. Please contact me (lifting[at]liftingcovered.com) if you can help or have any questions.
Links and Press:
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International Weightlifting Federation
Here is a writeup on my 2011 weightlifting moment that I submitted to and is on the IWF website:
http://www.iwf.net/2012/01/15/moment-kulsoom-abdullah/
I am very happy to contribute and have my story and experienced shared. (Click Read more to read the rest of this post)
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Islamic Horizons magazine
I was interviewed by Zahra Cheema before I left for Worlds. It is about breaking barriers, following faith and practicing a sport. She wrote a great article (on myself and Ibtihaj Muhammad, fencer for Team USA) for the magazine, Islamic Horizons (published by ISNA – Islamic Society of North America) is available online:
magazine issue index: http://bit.ly/xiQH9U (article is on pages 30 and 31)
direct link to page 30: http://bit.ly/xoi3yN
direct link to page 31: http://bit.ly/y7tgvU
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Muslim Heroes:
Muslim Heroes has included me in their list. The “website was created in order to highlight the positive contributions that many Muslims have made to their communities, societies, and the impact they’ve had on the world with their work and contributions.” Thank you for the honor:
http://muslimheroes.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/215-kulsoom-abdullah-weightlifter-atlanta-ga/
Shoulder Rehab and Training update:
My Teres Minor (shoulder muscle) is either recovered or close to it. I still continue to do rehab and mobility exercises for maintenance. I was having some problems holding heavier weight in the rack position which limited my cleans and any press in front of the neck.
- Snatch
During this time, I revisited my snatch technique. I have problems bringing the bar all the way in and keeping it close. I also tend to pull the bar high, that is, I don’t pull under the bar as early as I could. Here are 2 videos:
Before – not as fast when getting under the bar.
After – improved technique, bringing in the bar completely, extension, then immediately pulling under the bar.
I just started trying out the drill: “no hook grip, no feet” technique (more about it at the Pendlay forums). It is the same movement as the snatch, except you hold a regular grip as opposed to the traditional hook grip, and making your feet to stay on the ground forces you to pull under the bar much faster. As I was able to do this the first attempt last week, I worked up to 27.5kg, and will continue doing this heavier once a week and see how it translates improving the regular full snatch.
Here is a video demonstrating the drill:
- Split Jerk
For the Jerk, I really need to work on speed and ending position under the bar, driving the bar straight up, not forward. I hate my pressouts! During my down time, I started doing one drill of doing the jerk behind the neck, then doing another jerk holding the split position in place.
Here is a video of a clean and jerk where I have a press out in the right elbow, it is an older video:
Because I have been recovering from my injury, all my jerks have been behind the neck and incorporated drill work. I am back to regular clean and jerks again, increasing volume and weight. I will continue drill work, focusing on locking out the bar.
American Open 2011 photo album:
I got a few more pictures from Jim Schmitz and have added these to my album.
Lack of Vitamin D?
I was chatting with Amna S. Al Haddad (UAE resident Crossfitter and weightlifter) recently, and we talked about Vitamin D deficiencies. This reminded me of when I found out some years ago that the result of my blood test showed I was very deficient in Vitamin D. I hardly get any sunlight exposure… it is an issue for women who cover most of thier skin with clothing, such as myself, but also an issue for people who are or work indoors most of the time (also me). Here is a great article (that also addresses athletes):
http://www.eatmoveimprove.com/2009/10/a-closer-look-at-vitamin-d/
“85-90% of people are deficient to severely deficient in Vitamin D. This is because we get very little from our diets except for fish and in fortified dairy now. This is exacerbated by having jobs that are indoor. When we do go outside we use sunscreen which blocks UVB radiation that allows Vitamin D production to occur in our skin. This is particularly alarming because of the health benefits of Vitamin D on our bodies. Those with darker skin are often more deficient than others because it takes more sunlight to produce the same amount of Vitamin D as other ethnicities.”
0-14.9 ng/mL = Severely deficient
15.0-31.9 ng/mL = Mildly deficient
32.0-100.0 ng/mL = Optimal
>100.0 ng/mL = Toxicity possible
Using the article as a guide, I took 10,000 IU of Vitamin D per day, for a few months. After getting another blood test, with an improved test result, I dropped back down to 5,000 IU per day for maintenance. As for December 2011 my Vitamin D 25-Hydroxy level is 67.8 ng/mL.
I would encourage everyone to start supplementing Vitamin D, as the article states “if you do not work an outdoor job, eat fish everyday, or drink at least a half gallon of milk a day or other dairy.”
Fish Oil
Speaking of supplements, I take fish oil everyday. Here are some articles and guides:
http://whole9life.com/fish-oil-faq/
http://robbwolf.com/tag/fish-oil/
I prefer to take the liquid versus the capsules. Wanting to get in a total of about 3-5g of EHA/DHA per day, I would have to take a lot of pills so I just take the liquid. Here are two I like, that have good prices, and no fish after taste. I am not being sponsored or getting any profit, just sharing 2 I know of. There are other great ones out there.
http://www.carlsonlabs.com/p-70-very-finest-fish-oil-lemon-flavor.aspx
http://www.vitacost.com/Vitacost-Liquid-Finest-Fish-Oil-Omega-3-DHA-EPA
As a result of this and trying to have a healthy diet, my HDL (good cholesterol) is very high. As a result, my LDL (bad cholesterol) is high, but that is OK contrary to popular beliefs (and cholesterol myths).
Till my next post, peace be upon you.
Kulsoom