Snatch
3x3 at 75, 95, 105;
3x2 at 115.
3x1 at 125.
That’s a 10lb jump on all from last week.
AND that’s where I need coaching. Once the weight hits 115 I am catching SO HIGH - and “the internet” (and even books) say that if you catch too high, that’s fine, because as the weight gets heavier you’ll simply have to be lower in order to get under it.
I think my problem is that I lack the confidence or stability or technique or something to actually get under it, so at this weight I resort to catching where I feel safe - quarter-squat height - and going much heavier would just be a missed lift. Maybe I should just keep going and find out?
ALSO, I find that in an attempt to get low, I’m spreading my feet to an almost comical width. I know this isn’t right. I’m not sure how to fix it. Will keep trying. Maybe insane number of reps of a weight below 115 where I can force myself to better positions?
Wednesday’s “Drills” section is the time for doing this. I need to make a plan.
Squat
Again 10lbs up from last week.
5x5: 115, 145, 165, 165, 175
And I’m ashamed to admit this but my lower back HATED this, and also even at these “light” weights I can feel how my body wants to good-morning up the weight, which is antithetical to O-lifting where upright torso is important. Glutes? quads? hams? Everything? LOL just too weak. Coming out of the hole FORCING myself to keep my hips from shooting up.
Abs
Upped the reps from last week.
3x8 full monte abs, 3x16 reverse (GHD or whatever its called)
Extras
Y-raises: 3x8 with 15lbs DBs, facedown on an incline bench
SS with: BTN, 3x12, 50lb.
3x8 - 20lbs bar, facedown on incline. Front raise to BTN and back. Very hard. Elbows don’t want to go back far enough to clear the back of my head.
Drills
Snatch balance, up to 2x5x85. Focused on foot placement. Felt good.
Cleans
8 singles: 2x115, 135, 145, 155, 165, 165, 175
That tops out higher than last week. It was OK but on heavier weights here again my feet are spreading out super wide for the catch. Which I don’t think is good. Also I’m such a good power-clean-er, I mean I can go nuts power cleaning 175, yet doing this full clean as just a single is really significant. It’s supposed to be the other way round!
Overhead Squat
3x8x95lbs
Again beat last week.
Abs
Same as Monday, 3x8 full monte abs SS with 3x16 GHR thingys.
Pullups
3x8 interspersed with other work
Extra
Superset: 3 rounds.
8 curls with 40lb DBs, then 8-8-8 with a 50lb bar: BTN, tricep ext, strict press.
On the last round had to rest-pause to get the triceps and strict reps.
If I get the chance later I’ll update on why this gym trip was a total shitshow, LOL. But it went fine performance-wise.
I got up at 4:30, which is my new (again) habit.
Rushed out of the house, on the road by 5. Before I got off my own street, I started getting messages related to one of my jobs. I got on the phone and was still on the phone when I pulled up to the gym. Had to stay in the parking lot a couple precious extra minutes because of this.
Then I start lifting. After literally the first set of snatch balance, I get a text from my boss (day job): Call me when you can.
Jesus.
Couldn’t afford to lose the lifting platform, so I finished the cleans and overhead squats, then took a 10-minute phone call with him before getting back to the lift.
Then rushed my ass off in the shower as I was now late getting out of the gym due to the above delays.
What a shitshow.
But you know what? The day turned out great. I got the morning obligations done, left work early, had some afternoon delight, took the kids to music lessons, and then the whole family to the beach.
Caught the first wave I went for, and actually rode the surfboard this time - which is really something as I haven’t been to the beach in weeks.
So all in all, a bad start to a very good day, and I can’t complain.
Note for future sessions: Not tomorrow, because I’m not going to screw up my program, but I think EMOM training (which I’ve always loved) would be a good way for me to drill the lifts and stop overthinking. Like 20 minutes of snatches at 95 and 20 of C&J at 135, not heavy enough for bad form but heavy enough to ingrain the pattern. And get some useful stimulus. And too fast paced to think and get stuck in my head as I do.
Ah we homeschool so vast majority of the time if I WFH it’s a challenge to have a little quiet in the background! Man it must be tough to surf the cold waters of the northern Atlantic. I have a hard time even down here in the tropics in “winter”.
10/11/2024 Friday
Again - up at 430, out before 5, to gym before 530… And it was locked. There’s after-hours access (which I only discovered today) so I waited until someone else showed up and he was kind enough to let me in. I need to get that access… I’m not aware of it being a holiday today but there was almost nobody there, and the door didn’t get unlocked until around 6.
Front squat
5x3 145, 165, 175, 185
These were HARD.
Abs
3x8 full monte superset with 3x16 ghrLstrong text**
Leg accessories
Light leg press; leg ext; prone leg curl.
This session also took extra long. Maybe 1:15 or a bit over.
Mean to say this previously but even more valid now that I’ve done 2 very consistent weeks, with week-over-week increases:
I’ve been sore in a good way after EVERY session. None of these sessions destroy me but all of them are giving a good challenge and a good stimulus and some next-day soreness, so I think I’m on to something.
I do think I need some EMOM training of the two main lifts. And more emphasis on overhead squatting. But then I need EVERYTHING - how am I going to C&J 200lbs when I can barely front squat 185?
Patience, my son. Patience.
Snatch
10 minutes EMOM: Snatch 95lb, then one OH squat
10 minutes EMOM: Snatch 115lb, then one OH squat
Will elaborate below on how/why that differs from last week.
Squat
5x5. 125, 155, 175, 175, 185.
Lower back wasn’t frustrated like it was last week, but still I feel my tendency to good-morning it up. Fighting that as hard as I can.
Abs
3x8 full monte with alternating twist
3x16 back extensions with a 10lb plate
Accessory
Y raises facedown on an incline bench, 4 sets
BTN - 3x12 with 40, 50, 60lb
3 sets of front-raise-to-BTN facedown on the incline bench. 20LB fixed bar. These need a name.
Doing the snatches EMOM is just a better way to do it than I was doing before. I should have warmed up with a couple snatches at 65 and 85 but no big. And I didn’t think to add the OH squat until a few reps in, when I realized it didn’t feel like I was working much - plus the OH squat is what I need more of, to be comfortable catching that snatch lower.
I could do this at heavier weight but my catch would be really high so I think another week doing it like this would be good for me.
And the EMOM ends up at 20 total reps vs the 18 total i was doing before, with - on average - higher weight, so all good, plus the overhead squats, so I’m happy with this change.
10/15 quick update: Started getting sick yesterday. Was 100% during the morning’s training, but by noon or 1:00 I left the office feeling like I was about to barf. My throat was super inflamed. Last night it was awful, hurt to swallow, slept poorly.
Feeling better at the moment (afternoon the next day) but still won’t be going to the gym or office just due to contagion risk, plus I reserve the right to feel terrible again in the morning.
Instead I’ll train from home: I’m thinking the mile run to the obstacle course, pullups and burpees there, then the mile run back - and since I’ve probably deconditioned significantly since August, this may suck pretty bad. But I’ll give it a go.
AND: Good news. I’m going to stop overthinking the snatch. Reading my book (Olympic Weightlifting, by Everett), I realized that he says repeatedly not to worry if you’re catching too high; just descend into the bottom of a full squat wherever you catch it, before you stabilize and then recover up.
AND in my sick downtime I discovered a video physics analysis software. I’m just scratching the surface of what it can do and I won’t be spending a lot of time in it, but: I used it to evaluate the bar path of a snatch I filmed a couple years ago. I then got to compare it to the bar paths pictured in the Everett book, expecting it would be awful, and you know what? It wasn’t significantly different.
So with those two points made - my high snatch catch position shouldn’t hold me back from increasing weight, and my bar path isn’t so far from the norm that I should be concerned - I’m going to be able to put more focus onto LIFTING HEAVY WEIGHTS than on drilling technique.
That’s not to say my technique is good - I’m very certain it’s not, and that my foot position is awful, etc etc - but these aren’t reasons to keep drilling light weights right now.
Can you find a coach, or anyone who can help with your form on the Oly lifts?
I say this because I also fell in love with Oly lifting and wanted to push myself on the clean and jerk (I sucked on the snatch bc of various mobility issues and severe strength holes that I never figured out how to fix).
Then I injured my right knee while doing 165lb cleans and decided to never do a full clean again, primarily bc I know I’ll never bother finding a coach to actually help with my form and technique. The knee fully recovered of course, but it was the second injury that knee received and to this day it feels a bit tight when the weather gets cold!
Locally, no. But online I’m sure i can pay someone to watch videos of my lifts and offer tips.
Im reluctant to do that… lots of reasons… but its been on my mind.
Fun for sure. With the weight i would like to do, scary too.
With the weights i’m doing now, not so much haha.
I’ve not hurt myself doing it yet, but my right shoulder often feels like crap so that may be the first thing to go lol.
Good point, thanks. Yeah I haven’t been Powerlifting for a while.
Relatedly, the “after the flood” portion was very significant to me; after over a year, while I still have feelings about it, at least I’ve settled in well, my career is stable, and I’m comfortable with our financial situation. So “the flood” is less of a trauma than it was several months ago.
Growth (tongue in cheek).
10/16/2024 Wednesday
As noted, not going to the office (or gym) out of concern for contagion. Whatever I had was miserable for about 24 hours, I’ve had two nights of poor sleep because of it, but all in all not nearly as bad as I’d feared. Rapid onset, rapid recovery - I’m OK with that.
Run
1 mile down-and-up-hill to the obstacle course EMOM
15 rounds of 3 double-pump burpees and 3 pullups Handstand training
Found a conveniently-shaped tree and hooked my feet in, to support my first real attempt at handstand training. If I’m going to clean and jerk my bodyweight, and ultimately snatch my bodyweight, holding a handstand shouldn’t be a problem. I think it’s a balance thing, not a strength thing, but either way. This builds confidence.
Intend to do more of that in the future. Run
1 mile down-and-up-hill to home
This was a great little session and I didn’t miss going to an actual gym at all.
Eh, I hit a 255lb front squat in the months leading up to my injury (at least, I think I did; I’m certain it as before the injury but I forget exactly when), so I thought 165lb was light weight too!
It’s just the nature of the movements. You’re rapidly accelerating a heavy weight. It’s what makes any of the clean variations more fun to do than a deadlift, but also so much more can go wrong.