Beginners Gains

Training
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NICE!!! Everything seems to be coming along perfectly.

And big BIG props on the 30k snatch! I bet that felt sooo good! Lucky you. I still don’t think I’ve landed a proper 30k snatch. Good work!!

Also great work on the cleans! You’re putting up some nice numbers. I also find cleaning easier than snatching, which in turn makes it so much more fun. You do a good job whipping those elbows.

And thanks for the vids! Your squat looks pretty darn good! You have better flexibility than I do, that’s for sure.

Its also interesting to see your set up - that would drive me crazy! and now frankly I feel lucky that I get to work with the noisy, dinky plates. And like Andy said, if you could get the snatch and clean from the side that would be great. I’d love to see them for comparison.

Keep it up girlie, you’re def making progress!

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Yeah, I’m not an O-lifter so everything looks good to me!

Great work, you worked hard and it shows.

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Thanks Masch. Been scared of 30 for a while now and still am truth be told. I think that is the first time I’ve landed it since before Christmas, so very happy indeed. Carl’s suggestion of widening my grip seems to be helping a lot. When left to my own devices my grip tends to shuffle in (I learned to snatch with the preloaded short bars with my arms jammed against the collars so a too narrow grip feels more natural even though it’s wrong). Have visual markers for where to put my fingers now.

Which lift I prefer depends on which one I’m feeling best at. That seems to change over time. I would really love to see a vid of you if you would feel comfortable showing me. I’m really interested in how you are learning (work from the hang and then starting pulls from the floor). I’ve heard that your way is more traditional. With my pulling I basically taught myself how to powerclean (from “Starting Strength”) and then got some in person instructions on how to alter it. I’ve played from the hang - but it doesn’t feel right for me. Don’t think I get it. I’ll get some vids with a side on view. Maybe tomorrow… Otherwise next week :slight_smile:

It does suck not being able to drop anything until I get to put the green bumpers on (35kg). Dropping the weight and making a big noise is about half the fun, I reckon. There aren’t a whole heap of people at my gym who Oly lift. Most people seem to think the platform is for dropping the last inch of a deadlift. You should see their faces when they think I think I’m about to do a heavy deadlift (of 25kg lol) and I snatch it. Feel pretty silly when I fail, though :-/

Thanks Nikki :slight_smile:

SATURDAY:

BodyBalance. Had fun again. Need to spend more time stretching my hip flexors. I do laugh at how my muscles seem incapable of holding strength poses for more than about 15 seconds.

Snatch: 20kg double, 22.5 single, 25 single, 27.5 single, miss, single, miss 4x1. MIsses are my being up on my toes in the catch position and then losing balance forwards. I think I’m pulling straight. I think it is about my squat / catch position.

Clean: 35kg 4x1, 37.5 2x1, 40 single - didn’t ride the bar all the way down, though. bit heavy for that :-p
37.5 3x1. Had a few misses here, too (didn’t record them properly). Same thing with coming up on my toes in the squat / catch position.

Jerk: 20kg (bar) 2x5.

Press: 20kg 1x5, 25 1x5, 27.5 1x5, 30 three push presses.

Our club is having a (relatively informal) competition in April. Snatch and Clean and Overhead Movement / Jerk (they will say whether the lift would have counted in a proper competition). Personal Best - so unlimited number of lifts but miss the same weight twice and you are out. Weigh in and they’ll figure Sinclair. So… Now I have something to peak for. Hmm… Need to figure my program. And start eating better since it would be nice if I could get to under 58kg weightclass (63kg at the mo)…

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Hi alexus, I just read through your log and am enjoying your progress. I just started oly lifting too so I’m glad you’re sharing your training :slight_smile:

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Lol! Yeah, 30k is always a bit intimidating (despite what Andy says!) - but just look, if you can do it once, you can definitely do it again. So its only uphill from here :slight_smile:

And I’ll def try to get some vids! I mean, there’s not much to show, but it could be interesting to compare teqchnique - and you too Deb!

And kudos to you for learning on your own, I couldn’t even imagine! I’m sure Andy’s put the links somewhere but California Strength has good tutorials on snatch progression which are akin to how my coach taught me. But in all honesty, I think you should just do whatever feels best, learn the lifts your way and tweak them as you go along. With these lifts there’s always like 5 things you need to fix at one time - sometimes its best to just concentrate on fixing 1 or 2 things, and then the rest further down the road. no?

Btw, are you using Oly shoes? I couldn’t tell. But I swear they make all the difference.

Good stuff!

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[quote]Mascherano wrote:
Lol! Yeah, 30k is always a bit intimidating (despite what Andy says!) - but just look, if you can do it once, you can definitely do it again. So its only uphill from here :slight_smile:

And I’ll def try to get some vids! I mean, there’s not much to show, but it could be interesting to compare teqchnique - and you too Deb!

And kudos to you for learning on your own, I couldn’t even imagine! I’m sure Andy’s put the links somewhere but California Strength has good tutorials on snatch progression which are akin to how my coach taught me. But in all honesty, I think you should just do whatever feels best, learn the lifts your way and tweak them as you go along. With these lifts there’s always like 5 things you need to fix at one time - sometimes its best to just concentrate on fixing 1 or 2 things, and then the rest further down the road. no?

Btw, are you using Oly shoes? I couldn’t tell. But I swear they make all the difference.

Good stuff![/quote]

Oh! I thought these were great:

http://www.californiastrength.com/olwete.html

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Sorry, I’m not sure if it was mentioned b-cos I have to get moving here and can’t read the entire thread, but some training plates would help you get your set-up at the right height. If you don’t have training wheels, try some low boxes set-up to the height of 45lb plates. Wider grip for snatch (think I saw that you adjusted that). I had the problem with coming up on my toes and the best advice I got was from Pierre Roy, to keep my weight on the mid-foot rather than the heel. Having trained as a powerlifter, this was awkward at first but made all the difference. FS, if you feel you are losing form and bending over, push up with your elbows, the chest will follow.
Have fun!

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How cool that you’re going to do a competition.

Is Sinclair a strength-to-weight formula to equalize results? Kinda like Wilkes or McCulloch for powerlifting?

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oh my goodness! i am so behind on your log, and you have vids!! :D!! i gotta catch up but i want to sya I’m excited to read it:)!and to see vids!! OH! and a competition?! :smiley:

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ok! i watched your vids and know realize i still do everything wrong!! clean and snatching…its hard to master the f%in technique!!!

you look great though:)

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I’m finding the front squat video to be highly hilarious.

…later on in the vid, while you’re squatting ass-to-the-grass, there’s a dude on the side of you squatting to a depth that I chuckle at.

All in all, you have pretty good form in that lift.

The only thing I don’t like about it is that herky-jerky movement you have after you’ve come out of the hole, which might be due to your looking your knees out, instead of keeping a slight bend.

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Awesome numbers, I’m impressed every time.

The competition sounds fun and great motivation. Good luck to getting to your desired weightclass.

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debraD - yay another person :slight_smile: looking forward to you starting a log.

dinab - yep, got wooden blocks for the height. one day i’ll learn to edit properly so my log will be more succinct (i really do struggle, but i am trying to work on it). i’ll try ‘elbows up’ to see if that helps…

kpsnap - yeah, its a strength to weight formula. i didn’t know powerlifting had them, too, but it makes sense that they do. i think it tends to work out better for lighter lifters in weightlifting. i suppose that is pretty fair since usually the higher weight classes get the glory of putting up the biggest numbers.

brute - thanks :slight_smile: i got some side-on vids of snatching today and i realize i still do everything wrong!! so lol at that. maybe i’ll post some edited highlights later… or maybe i won’t (i did indeed get pretty damned sloppy).

it really is back to the bar for me. starting from the hang. working to the floor. then pulling just the bar. sigh. damn.

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get_ate - hello :slight_smile: by ‘herky-jerky movement’ do you mean that i goodmorning it up (raise hips ahead of shoulders) or that i have a little hop at the top? part of the fun of trying to power out the hole is seeing how much momentum you can get from the quarter squat to standing IMHO. little bit of a hop at the top. i think some lifters use that hop to readjust their hand position from the clean grip to one that is a bit more amenable to jerking. does use up energy, though… hence the pause before the next rep :-p but, yeah, my cadence is kinda odd…

nikki - thanks. i’m going to have to start paying more attention to your food logging…

i’m actually thinking (after todays performance, anyway) that i’m not quite ready for the comp… just in the sense that long term i think the best thing i could be doing now is more reps to get better form with just the bar rather than worrying about the full lifts too much or how much weight i can move in the full lifts. people are starting to get a little numbers obsessed about it (people are telling me to power them since i can move more weight that way etc). but the whole point of learning this (for me) was to develop functional (and pretty!) motor patterns… so… it is back to the bar i go… and i’ll do the comp… but try not to be numbers obsessed (about my weightclass or the weight i lift). nice low key first experience. maybe i’ll be in the position to take it more seriously this time next year.

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That was the attitude I took regarding my last powerlifting meet. Just do the best I can with where I am given the fact that I was coming off surgery. I had fun with it. Won’t hurt you to get the experience. And it can serve as a baseline for you.

I think you’re way smart to focus on form at this point. Oly lifts are SO FORM DEPENDENT and the risk for injury is high if using bad form with C&J and snatch. Smart girl!

As an aside, I did front squats today for the first time since my surgery. My shoulder did okay – I had full flexibility – but was definitely the limiting factor.

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You have plenty of time to think about doing a comp, so you can work on your techniques and the answer will present itself to you.

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excellent work in here! WTG lady!! WOOT WOOT!! :slight_smile: :slight_smile:

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I love video! Never done front squats, but now I’m wondering what they might be like…

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thanks guys.

TODAY:

6x6 FRONT SQUATS. someone on the Oly forum said he did 6x6 alternating front and back squats 3x a week with his new lifters. to help build a base of conditioning (which I’m realizing I surely need). aiming for 80% of 1RM but learned something about my squats today:

If I go really slow and deliberate I can get a bit more of an upright torso. standing up 20kg like that is hard work for me, though (god, i’m pathetically weak). need to work on really pushing my knees out hard and driving out the hole pushing my hips forwards and up. so… 6x6 with the bar until I can do the 6 reps smoothly. I guess in a way I’m over-emphasizing the movement in terms of muscular contraction etc. Think it is important that I do this for a bit, though. Try and get it smooth.

TECHNIQUE DRILLS: i’ve developed the bad habit of pausing with the bar on my thighs and then throwing it up. Not even throwing it up properly since I’ve become obsessed with getting under it. Played with the women’s bar (15kg). Standing to Romanian Deadlift / Second Position (snatch grip) repetitions. Trying to really stretch my chin and butt as far apart as possible with horizontal back. Then work from the floor (well forwards over the bar, push the floor away to that position and back again). Then work from there to driving hips through for a powersnatch. Then trying to slowly ease the bar to second position and gain momentum for the hip drive.

With just the bar it should really be flying lightening fast. Catching it should be about preventing its further trajectory upwards since its only the bloody bar. I’ve got some work to do on reliably hitting the second position when lifting from the floor. Some work to do on getting full hip drive. Some work to do on the gaining momentum thing.

I’m starting to think that without lifting 6x a day for, like, 5 years, this may well apply:

http://www.motifake.com/image/demotivational-poster/0912/olympic-weightlifting-crossfit-demotivational-poster-1260893874.jpg

but I guess I’m just feeling a bit frustrated that not only am I weak i’m slow and deconditioned and my technique has gone to crap.

Did some similar work on my powerclean.

Realize that I need to work on my conditioning so that I can do triples (and it is important to do these because often the second or third rep is actually the best). I shouldn’t need to rest as long as I’m needing to between sets (or reps). Need to build up my work capacity.

AMT: 20 minutes.
ROWING: 500m. My split sucked.

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kpsnap - thanks. i have this worry in the back of my mind that i’m being a pussy… but i guess it isn’t that i haven’t shown myself to be capable of hard work to improve the weights i’m lifting. i just need to accept that the hardest work that is sensible for me to do right now is work on conditioning and technique. part of technique (for me) is about developing my mental focus, too. i had fun stuffing around (and yeah, showing off a little) at the other gym over the summer. now is the time to knuckle down, though. make every rep count. i’m not doing myself any favors trying to improve my 1RM or trying to put the bumpers on for the full lifts when a by-product of that is that my form goes to crap.

the competition will be an experience because i’ve never done a weigh-in before. or had much in the way of people watching me do a lift that matters more than being just one of an indefinite number of attempts. that will be enough for me at this point, i reckon. there will be plenty more where that came from and will be good for me to have that as baseline where i’m only going to be getting better from there.

nikki - thanks for your support. i’m thinking improving my 1RM on the lifts might be a bit like happiness. in the sense that the best way to achieve it is to not seek it directly. when i first started this log I snatched 32.5kg and it felt easy and effortless in a way i haven’t even begun to approximate since. that lift came after a lot of technique work, not a lot of trying to improve my 1RM work. so i think i’ll focus on my technique, and simply see what i’m capable of lifting on the day.

coyotegal - thanks :slight_smile:

kimba - i love video, too. have been very happy to discover what a wonderful training tool they can be. really enjoying learning a lot from watching other people lift, too. have yet to try hip thrusts - but have realized i can use the wooden blocks to set the height. i’m actually getting some funny looks from the guys doing my super-slow squats… feeling a bit self-conscious… want some alone time in the gym to do hip thrusts lol. and leg raises…