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Christopher Camenares

@ccamenares

916

followers

1054

following

🥇Nationals ‘24 ‘25, AO Series ‘25, ‘26
🥈Nationals ‘19,’26 AoF ‘25, Uni ‘13
🥉AoF ‘19, AO Series ‘24 ‘17
@philadelphiabarbellclub

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Super fun snatch singles up to 110! Feeling great energy and support at @thepowerhousedmv today ⚡️

@philadelphiabarbellclub @dmvweightlifting

#snatch #usaw #weightlifting by @ccamenares

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12 hours ago

185 for a pause + tempo back squat!! Loving how back squats feel with all this glute work to complement. Great energy and support at @thepowerhousedmv / @philadelphiabarbellclub / @dmvweightlifting

#squat #backsquat #usaw #pause #weightlifting by @ccamenares

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2 days ago

Great front squat medley at @thepowerhousedmv tonight!! Grateful for being pushed by my @philadelphiabarbellclub teammates @murphyweightlifting and @coach5oto tonight. 170x1, 166x2 (+1kg PR), 161x3 (+4kg PR). Super fun energy.

#frontsquat #usaw #weightlifting #squat by @ccamenares

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4 days ago

Great session at @thepowerhousedmv training alongside my @philadelphiabarbellclub teammate @dietcoke75kg !!

Pumped for a 185x3 back squat at the end; a double and triple PR. Last March I had to stop back squatting entirely for a while, and imaging showed 2 disc hernias and a partial labral tear in the hip…but a lot of focused and intentional training is really giving results!

#backsquat #weightlifting #squat #usaw by @ccamenares

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7 days ago

Had a lot of fun at this years WSO Championship, my 3rd year in a row! I went 106x-109x-110x, 131-136-141x. Big thanks to @steveyanda for helping me out as always, I’m so grateful to have him by my side. Great time with all the @dmvweightlifting community, I’m so happy to be a part of while representing @philadelphiabarbellclub

And thank you for all the support & love @jl.rawe ❤️
#usaw #weightlifting #snatch #clean by @ccamenares

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a month ago

Feeling so grateful for another awesome training session! 107x3 snatch off blocks;
131 Pull + RDL + RDL + Hg Clean + Jerk
175 tempo backsquat

So much fun training at @thepowerhousedmv !

@philadelphiabarbellclub @dmvweightlifting

#usaw #weightlifting #snatch #clean #jerk by @ccamenares

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a month ago

We all go through so much training for this sport, myself included. The effect of every life stressor can seem amplified when you’re lifting that bar.

However I wanted to take a moment of sincere gratitude for @thepowerhousedmv . It’s been a home to mine, and many others, for their lifting since it opened earlier this year. I honestly can’t imagine what I would have done without this space for my training leading into Nationals 2026.

The community is burgeoning and welcoming, We’re all in this space trying our best together, sharing what we can. I’m grateful to be included and welcomed alongside everyone else here, and I think it’s easy to overlook how special something Iike that really is.

A big thanks to the founders @yangtae94 and @dietcoke79kg for what they’re doing here, and excited for their upcoming meet!

#usaw #weightlifting #training by @ccamenares

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3 months ago

Long post alert!!
Chris (60kg) swept Silver at the 2026 National Championships! He hit a PR snatch in that category at 108kg (after opening at 105kg and then missing 108kg on his second). In the C&J’s he crushed his opener at 130kg before unsuccessful jerks at 138 and 139kg, which would have secured Gold in the C&J and the total.

Most importantly, Chris gave himself a ton of proof that he can succeed going forward and during rough circumstances.

He missed 103kg twice in the back
Three weeks before the meet, work sent him to a country where he lacked access to training equipment
He weighed 66.15 when he returned.
Chris sauned for five, 20-minute sessions the day before.
A torn labrum in his hip impeded execution of heavy jerks in training.

Why am I including all this information?

In closed-skill sports like weightlifting, self-efficacy—the belief that I can perform a task—provides the biggest correlates of sport performance (an r of .38 to .41). Far more than a flimsy concept like “self-confidence.”

Research shows that past mastery experiences provide the strongest source of self-efficacy. When athletes succeed at a task, they build a record of “I can do this” that generalizes forward.

At a first glance, training difficulties, missed reps or second-place finishes look like the opposite of mastery. But research also emphasizes resilient efficacy, the belief that I can recover and re-execute after difficulty.

This resilient self-efficacy directly predicts mental toughness, which in turn drives performance outcomes like fewer errors and more wins. Self-efficacy and mental toughness work together as a shared resource, working in tandem to sustain performance under pressure.

A part of me feels reluctant to use Chris’ success to promote ideas in my book Keep Fighting. But too many athletes experience the so-called “Silver Medal Syndrome,” of “Second place; first loser.”

Chris and I think otherwise. He knows he took a lot of proof away from Nationals, proof of ability and resilience that he can leverage building even heavier totals and attempts in the future.
#TCTSA #keepfighting #nationals #mindset #proudcoach taken in Ed Robson Arena by @ccamenares

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3 months ago

180 for five from last September- looking forward to returning to back squats soon! by @ccamenares

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3 months ago

108/140 from a meet in Pennsylvania, back in April this year. Extremely fun lifting alongside the rest of my @philadelphiabarbellclub team there! by @ccamenares

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4 months ago

Had an amazing time at USAW Nationals! I went 105-108x-108, 130-138x-139x to sweep 2nd for the 60kg class. I was super happy to be out there competing & pushing. And the Manitou incline was a great post comp hike!

Huge thanks to the wonderful support system I have, my @dmvweightlifting community and @thepowerhousedmv
🫶🫶🫶

Shout to to @drcoachcarter for the incredible help making the weight cut happen. Making my body weigh 60kg is quite the adventure 😅

And I’m so grateful for the inspiration & camaraderie my entire team @philadelphiabarbellclub gives me, and the profound insights my coach imparts on me. I’m always excited for what’s next. 😃

#usaw #weightlifting #clean #snatch #jerk taken in Ed Robson Arena by @ccamenares

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4 months ago

Had an awesome time at AO1/the Arnold! I went 102-106-110x and 133-138-143x for a 1kg comp CJ and 3kg total PR (244); swept gold across Sn/CJ/Total! Also my heaviest CJ opener so far.

Huge thanks to the support of @philadelphiabarbellclub , absolutely felt the energy from my team! And of course thanks to all my support from the @dmvweightlifting community as well.

And special note to seeing @mil0jett & @trennhoe , loved seeing folks from the SBU strength club!!

All credit to @notalexchiang for the cover photo.

#usaw #weightlifting #clean #jerk #snatch by @ccamenares

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7 months ago