Introduction and some Competition Stories

This is my first article and I would like to introduce myself. My name is Joseph Cosenza but I go by the name Joe Marble. I was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY and grew up playing sports along with my older brother Frank; baseball, football, wrestling and anything else we can find to kill time.  I have been lifting weights since I am 14 years old and Olympic Weightlifting since I was 24 years old. About 4 months ago I decided I wanted to quit my job at the restaurant I had been working for 12 years and be a coach and take my training seriously.  I began coaching at South Brooklyn Weightlifting Club where I trained regularly.  Coaching there was a great experience, I learned a lot in my short time there but unfortunately it wasn't a good fit for me and I left to further my education in lifting and coaching.  I had the pleasure of meeting and working with a lot of people in and around that gym, but I had to move on.

2 weeks ago I had the opportunity to go to my first USA Powerlifting Competition in New Jersey (to pseudo-coach/experience) and it was a very different atmosphere than the Olympic meets I am used to. If you have not had the pleasure of going to a Powerlifting Competition, you are missing out.  They are about 10 times more lively than the Olympic Meets and this one in particular had a brilliant MC who kept the energy up.  There were two platforms set up and everybody was working hard to keep the competition moving forward.  The warm-up area was packed with weights and athletes struggling to convert kilos to pounds, which is where I came in very handy.  I stayed mostly in the warm-up area to support the SBWC team and by doing so was able to help out a few athletes with the conversion.

I had the opportunity to help a man named, Dennis Cieri.  I had no idea who this man was and if you are a Powerlifting fan you will know exactly who this guy is.  This guy is a Monster.  I helped him warm-up, eventually taking 215kg (473lbs) as his last warm-up with the competition pause and he was ready.  This guy only benched.  He ended up Matching a World Record lift of 232.5kg (512lbs).  It was Amazing to work with him even though he probably does not remember me.  Ha, It was a blast and I can't wait to bring an athlete to a competition to be a part of it again.

The following week I had a competition of my own in Stamford, Connecticut; Connecticut Open 2014.  I had 2 athletes, Alvaro Atienza (85kg) and Joe DeVitis(105kg), that I was coaching and I was competing as well.  It was a great showing for us as a new team.  Both of them ended up doing very well, going 6 for 6 with their lifts and hitting PRs in both lifts.  Joe DeVitis even placed 3rd in the 105kg class.  I am proud of them and happy about their progress.  I look forward to continuing the momentum and working harder for the future.  I had a tougher time with the meet, I sometimes cannot control my nerves and it throws me off my game.  I ended up taking second place in the 85kg class, but I missed half of my lifts due to nerves.  I hope to keep that under control in the future.

Starting this blog and this team is a big move for me.  I hope to continue making progress with my athletes and myself and further educating myself in the Sports of Lifting.  I will continue to pursue my goals as an athlete and a coach and hopefully share my experiences with everyone who cares to enjoy them.  Special Thanks to Ron Yellin and everybody at CrossFit Greenpoint!  Thanks for helping me get started!  Also thanks to Marc Chasnov and Dan Casey for helping me move forward with my Education and Training!  Thank everybody for Reading, Happy Lifting!