I Want It All...

Training Over 35 Lifter
61

Wednesday:

Snatch, up to
80kg x 2 x 8

Clean and Jerk:
100 - 110kg: 2 x 5

Paused Front Squats, up to
110kg 3 x 3

Paused Snatch Deadlift,from deficit, up to
150kg x 3 (paused at knee)

And that was it. I have a yoga class I am going to later. I am considering getting a higher heel on my lifting shoes. After analyzing my videos, my knees have to go way, way over my toes for me to stay upright and I suspect that some of my problems are due to this position. My ankle and hip mobility is so much better but I think that I may need another cm or so to allow me land better. Anyway, working on technique still. I noticed today that I probably straighten my legs too much as I lift the bar from the floor. I have to remember to not straighten too much. Couldnt warm up properly today which was annoying, my right hip flexor was driving me up the wall and my knee was caving a bit with valgus. More glute work and single-leg work is clearly needed I think.

62

Thursday,
Am:

Power Snatch + Overhead Squat + Snatch:
40,50,60,70,75,77.5, 80kg x 1

Military Press:
up to
80kg x 3 x 3
82.5kg x 3 x 1

Rear delt raises:
3 x 15

PM:

Snatch Balance:
Up to 40kg x 1

Hip Snatch:
40,50,55,60,65,70kg x 2 (PR)

Close Grip Bench Press:
up to
105kg x 10 x 2
107.5kg x 10 x 1

Presdowns: 4 sets 12 reps
Side raises: 3 x 12
Upper Back Row:3 x 12

Wow. Big breakthrough with the snatch today. The combo exercise I did this morning (which felt brutal at the time), really ironed out a few issues. The power snatch allowed me to think about my pull, the overhead squats I sunk as low as I could and paused them, so when I went into do the snatch at the end of the complex, beside being pretty fatigued, I had the image of the pull and the OH squat in my head.

Did some hip snatches in the evening and the improvement persisted and I hit a PR double. I felt pretty tired today too but progressed well today. Pressing was much better than last week and I hit my weight goals.

63

Friday AM:

Squats:
120kg x 10 x 3 (reps x sets)

Power Snatch + Overhead Squat:
Up to 70kg x 1 + 1

Snatch:
Up to 70kg x 1 x 4

The squats were nasty. Depth and form wise, no problem, but the reps were like torture. Especially since I haven’t done any rep work in my lower body for a while. My lungs were on fire. Didnt really help that my legs are pretty fried from training this week either. Anyway, last set was the best; good depth, good rhythm and didnt seem as fatiguing as the first 2.

Did some light snatch technique work in preparation for this afternoon. I will be getting some volume today on Snatch and Clean and Jerk, and I want them to be crisp. Happy with where I am moving technically, so I am need to remember to concentrate on process goals and not blasting the weight up on them an eradicating the good work I am doing. I think that by bringing up my auxilliary lifts (which are/ will be the Hip Snatch, High Hang Snatch and some combo lifts) that they will translate into improvements into the full lift.

This is one of the problems with being self-coached, you get into bad habits so quickly and it takes time to iron them out.

64

PM:

Snatch,

up to 90kg x 1(missed 92.5kg behind a couple of times; over pulling)

75kg, 77.5kg,80kg,82.5kg x 3

Back off sets were great; fast snappy and dropped to bottom. Last 2 sets I could tell that the bar was millimeters away from my body(a good thing). Wasnt too happy with the singles, didnt feel better till I got some reps in

Clean and Jerk,

Up to 120kg x 1 (missed 127.5kg out in front, couldnt get onto my heels that well for some reason)

105,110,115kg x 2

Clean deadlifts paused at knee, from deficit

90,130,160,180kg x 3
200kg (440lbs) x 1 (easy, paused for a mental 4 count too)

Fake 1 arm chinups
3 x 12

Chinups (BW)
3 x 12

Curls: x some

Weird session. In both instances the single were not that great, but the back off sets ended up being technically much better, and I felt like I could have done more. I got a little overzealous today though and thought I would try for a 127.5kg clean and jerk. I haven’t even tried to front squatted that weight in a while let alone clean and jerk it. It actually felt really easy, but I couldnt get onto my heels properly to pull the bar into the right position.

The deadlifts felt great. I think I could pull well over 220kg (5-plates) from the floor. I may go for 220kg with a pause in a few weeks.

The weirdest thing happened though when I was deadlifting. As if by magic my TFLs (both sides) suddenly became mega loose and I felt my hip external rotators just switch on and my pulling posture and mobility seemed to improve dramatically. Wish that happened at the start of the session.

Wanted to get some vids today but couldn’t because the gym was super busy and I had nowhere I could put the camera. Sunday morning should be quiet so hopefully get a video or 2.

65

Sunday:

Snatch:
A bunch of singles from 80 - 90kg

Clean and Jerk
same, between 100 - 110kg

Front Squats:
up to
112.5kg x 5 x 5

Snatch Pulls from Deficit
110kg x 3 x 4

Band Hypers supersetted with Glute med stuff
3-4 sets

Then did some work for my lower traps and wrists.

I could not warm up and get loose today which was annoying. My positioning (start, for the snatch anyway)felt incredibly uncomfortable and it was really distracting, was making my pull feel really off. I got a few good reps in and my cleans were certainly better than Friday. So that is definitely progress. My jerks are a non issue at the moment and I suspect that I would be able to jerk anything that I clean.

Front squats however felt really good. Technique looked solid. I felt slow (probably a bit fatigued from Friday) but they weights were very smooth. Next week the weight goes up quite a bit though, hopefully the lifts will stay as comfortable despite the increase.

66

Monday 4th

Power Snatch+ Overhead Squat + Snatch
40,50,60,70 x 1+1+1
75 x 1+1+1
80kg x 1+1+1 x 3

Military Press:
up to
75kg x 8 x 3 (reps, sets)

Bent Over 2 arm DB Row
22.5kg x 12 x 2 sets
25kg x 12 x 1 set
27.5kg x 12

Close Grip Bench Press, paused
120kg x 2 x 5

Face Pulls:
4 x 25

Chinese DB Rows
30,35,40,45kg x 15

Power Clean + Front Squat + Clean

up to 100kg x 1+1+1

Clean from hip
up to 100kg x 1

Triceps pressdown + band resistance
4 x 15

These were split up as normal today. Snatches are still to cerebral to be strong at the moment, with working the kinks out. The presses felt good today and I was fairly strong overhead. Close grip bench was OK, last set was strong. My grip is pretty close now, well within shoulder-width.

Cleans later on were pretty good too, although my hips were a little sore at that point.

67

Tuesday 5th

AM:
Paused Back Squats(3-count), up to
130kg x 2 x 5

Snatch, up to
80kg x 2 x 3
82.5kg x 2
85kg x 2

PM:
Clean and Jerk, up to 100kg x 2 (had to stop, hips were painful)

Snatch grip DL, from Deficit, with pause at knee
up to 150kg x 3

1 arm supported chinups
8 reps x 2 sets

Chinups
BW + 10 x 8
BW + 15kg x 8
BW + 20kg x 8
BW x 10 x 2sets

Weird day. Paused squats felt more difficult than they needed to be but looked good on camera. I am happier with my snatch pull now however I did not move my feet today as well as I have been doing. Still, weight went up from last week and I feel technically better so I should view that as progress. Clean and jerk was bad, I am starting to get some hip pain so I need to keep an eye on this. Will see what tomorrow brings. The rest of the session was just going through the motions really.

68

Wednesday:
Took the day off and went to a yoga class at night. Decided to rest up the hip but my schedule was messed up on Wednesday due to taking my car into the garage.

Thursday am:

Front Squats, paused - 3 count
worked up to
120kg x 2 x 4 (reps, sets)

Power Snatch + OH Squat + Snatch, up to
80kg x 1 + 1 + 1 x 5
82.5kg x 1 + 1 + 1 x 1

Not a bad morning, feeling pretty good about the session. The front squats were comfortable and the snatch complexes got better and better as I went along. The limit on this is now my power snatch which is clearly down at the moment due to not lifting heavy this past few weeks. However, I am feeling technically much better and I would say that I am looking much better on camera. I am beginning to feel like I can start to train for strength a little more now, as well as working on technique.

I think I had a bit of revelation the other day which showed up today. I wear orthotics because I have structurally-flat feet, however, I have done a ton of work on my feet to strengthen and mobilize them. I also wear shoes (without the orthotics; I only wear these during training) that allow me to strengthen my feet. Anyway, I decided to try and train without them and bought some cork heel lifts. The lifts add an extra 1 cm to my shoe. I tried them this morning and i felt much better training. The heel lifts definitely help my mobility and taking the orthotics out helped me to engage my hips more (weird!).

After tomorrow I will make a decision about what I do next with my weightlifting training. My presses and squats are programmed currently and I am now hitting my target weights on these, so I that will stay the same.
I will jot some ideas about where to go next with the rest of my training. If anyone is interested I may post the template up on here.

Anyway, session 2 later today.

69

Things are getting in the way of training currently and I am on a downward spiral it seems. I hate it when stuff like that happens. Its depressing. anyway Friday afternoon I snatched up to 95kg x1 then did a bunch of triples from 80 - 85kg. I had the leave the gym after this to back to work(after already finishing for the day)

Sunday (today),
I got watched by some coaches and did a ton of snatches from various hang positions:
80kg x 2 x ? many sets from mid thigh
70 - 77.5kg x 3 x ? many sets from top of thighs / just below hip

Then some power cleans:
100kg x 2 x 4 sets

I really, really wanted to squat today after missing them out on Friday but my right hip is not in any shape to. I warmed up and got to my goal weight and it felt awful so I had to shut it down. My lower back was hyperextending on the decent and my right psoas / TFL area was in bits. All my body weight was on my left leg and I was twisting, turning and asking to re-herniate a disc.

The right leg is throbbing around the psoas / TFL area currently and I am limping a little. I’m not sure if the issue is that I removed my orthotics this past week to train or not. Possibly. Front squats seemed OK the other day and snatches, etc are fine so I am not sure why back squats are being problematic. Anyway there is no point playing a guessing game so I will make an appointment to see someone about it and do what I can training wise.

Tomorrow I cant see me getting to train much due to work again and I was unable to do anything on Saturday due to work too. Couple the hip pain and lack of training and high life-stress and I am feel a little negative right now.

Anyway, it will pass and I know this but today is one of those days where I am asking myself why I invest so much time and effort into an activity that I am shit at and think that maybe I should just train to stay in shape.

rant over. lol.

70

Managed to get some training in:

Monday;
squats - 125kg x 8 x 2 (reps, sets and lactate)

Power Snatch, OH squat and Snatch
up to 80kg x 1 x 3

Tuesday:

Front squat, paused:
125kg x 1 x 5

Snatch:
80 x 2 x 2
82.5 x 2
85 x 2
87.5 x 1, miss, 1 (bugger! lol)

Clean and Jerk (pm):
up to 120kg x 1

Power clean, Front Squat, Clean and Jerk
80 x 2 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
90kg x 2+ 1 + 1 + 1+ 1
100kh x 2+ 1 + 1 + 1 + 1

1arm wrist supported chinups:
BW x 10 x 3

Chinups
BW x 12 x 3

Pendlay Rows (strict)
70,80 kg x 10, 10, 10
70kg x 12

Got a semi-decentish session in today, which made me feel better. The hip is getting better but I have a slight strain in the right Rec Fem.

Fairly happy with the weightlifts today. Taking the orthotics out and increasing the heel height slightly has changed how I squat and lift, which makes things feel very different. This may have led to strain in my bad leg however I have adjusted my posture now during training to compensate (trying to maintain a more neutral lower back and creating lots of external rotation torque at the hips). Today I started to feel the benefit from taking them out (the proprioception I have gained in my feet during training is pretty cool)

Anyway, there is light at the end of the tunnel with work/life. Clean and jerks felt pretty strong today and the complex I did was actually pretty good fun.

My diet hasnt been as great this past couple of weeks. I am actually pretty good with nutrition (its one of specialisms at work, actually), but my Kcalorie intake has been higher than needed (apart from my training I am pretty sedentary) and I have had a few days here and there where I will have exceeded 4,000kcals easily. Being an ex-fatty I wont get the same level of T.E.F from refeeds as someone who has never been overweight, especially at a body-fat % at a little bit higher than 10% (guesstimate of 11%). I de-fuzzed (aka became less of a human-orangutan hybrid) this weekend and I am definitely smoother and softer than I would like. Definitely not the look I am gunning for. Anyway summer is on its way and I need to get back on track and getting the body-comp better.

71

Quick and dirty Wednesday AM session:

Paused Back Squats:
135kg x 1 x 5

Snatch from hip
40,45,50,55,60 x 2
65 x 1
70 x 1

72

Thursday:
Am:
Power Snatch + OH Squat + Snatch:
up to 80kg x 1 + 1 + 1 x 3 sets

Military Press:
up to
77.5kg x 6, 5, 5 (wanted 3 x 6, strength was way down on these)

Pm:
Snatch:
Up to 70kg x 1 x 3 sets (sharp as fook)

Close Grip Bench,Paused (3 count)
up to
130kg x 1 x 5

Wide-grip bench, touch and go, no lockout:
80,90,100kg x 12

Incline DB: 25kg x 12 x 4

Lying face Pulls:
3 x 25

Pressdowns + rear delt superset:

3-4 sets of ?

73

Friday:
Am:

Front Squats:
117.5kg x 4 x 4 (felt strong)

Snatch:
80kg x 1 x 4 (some OK reps here)

PM:

Snatch:
40,50,60,70kg x 2
80 x 1
85 x 1
90kg x 1
95kg x 1 (not bad)
80kg x 2
85kg x 2
87.5kg x 2
90kg x 3 (equal PB - happy with that)

Clean and Jerk
60,90,100,110x 1

120kg x nearly broke my f****ng wrist. No idea how it happened but my elbow got caught on my knee somehow when I caught the bar and bar rolled back onto my hand. I heard a loud snap (felt it too), and dropped the bar. I had to wait about 15 - 20mins before feeling came back into my hand.

Not deterred by the fact that my wrist and hand is now swollen, killing me and incredibly weak:

Snatch Grip Deadlifts from high deficit (strapped in tight - agonizing by the way)

100kg x 3
120kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 3
170kg x 3
180kg x 3

GHR:
BW x 15 x 5

Band Hypers
25 x 2

Other crap not worth mentioning

74

Typing this now with my hand throbbing - awesome.

Anyway, I saw an Osteopath yesterday (Thursday) and he suspects that i have joint degeneration in my hips, particularly my right leg (which is generally a mess anyway). I have permanently tight hips and squatting movements can be painful for me. After some assessments we determined that the restriction I experience is likely to be the capsule and not soft tissue related, which may be causing inflammation and pain. He did a bunch of articulations, and to be fair my hips did ease up, but I am very restricted on my right side which -if it is indeed joint degeneration - will not ease off: I lack internal rotation, particularly during deep hip flexion, which is essential for weightlifting and deep squatting movements.

My right leg is also shorter than my left and he measured it at 4cm thinner too. None of this is a surprise to me as I suspected that my issues were something like this. Anyway, my rectus femoris’ and vastus laterlis’ are huge compared the rest of my legs and overly hypertrophies. By comparison, my hamstrings are less hypertrophied and demonstrated less tonus. They need work to balance things out.

So, going to work on the PC more, try to release my quads a bit. I also need to stretch my gastrocs. So, sitting here with achy hips and a throbbing wrist I am getting reflective. Everything is saying to me that maybe I should accept that I should not be weightlifting; I don’t have the leverages, I am old, immobile, I was told I would be too slow when I started and that i would struggle. My injury histories include 2 separated shoulders (which hurt periodically), prolapsed lumbar vertebrae, permanent nerve damage in my right leg and now joint degeneration in both hips (and perhaps a broken wrist, if my luck continues as it has all week). I also have a couple of health issues that require me to obtain TUEs to compete under WADA.

You know what I am gonna do? I’m going to fucking make myself the best weightlifter I can be. I will compete at the national level and I will win competitions. I will outwork everyone in the country if I have to and I will make my weaknesses my strengths. My strengths will simply get better. Life is too short to not do what is important to you. conviction, determination and stubbornness equate to success. Weak people quit. The strong do what is needed and posses unwavering self belief and determination.

75

[quote]Dave Rogerson wrote:
You know what I am gonna do? I’m going to fucking make myself the best weightlifter I can be. I will compete at the national level and I will win competitions. I will outwork everyone in the country if I have to and I will make my weaknesses my strengths. My strengths will simply get better. Life is too short to not do what is important to you. conviction, determination and stubbornness equate to success. Weak people quit. The strong do what is needed and posses unwavering self belief and determination.
[/quote]
Nice. I like it.

I have some joint issues and have had my share of injuries and surgeries. Perseverance is the only way to go.

76

Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to read and reply snap, I do really appreciate the words of encouragement.

Yeah it sucks a bit but it is what it is isn’t it?. I have been training a long time now and know that things are not always rosey but I also know that a little bit of adversity and the odd set back can be a positive thing. I’ve had various things happen in the past that have made me think and take action and in the end, I have been better off for it. Kinda hoping that this is one of those things.

77

Saturday I went to watch the British student championships, we organised it so that the British Weightlifting would hold the champs at work. Was great for motivation and we had some decent lifters show up. Jack Oliver, who competed in the Olympics for GB competed and made some big lifts.

Sunday:

Training is a case of doing what I can until my hand and wrist is OK. Its crazy swollen right now, I don think it is broken but it is preventing me from doing quite a bit:

Paused Squats - 3 count

Worked up to
145kg x 1 with a long pause,
120kg x 3
125kg x 3
130kg x 3

Snatch Pulls:
up to
120kg x 5 x 3 (reps, sets)

Clean Pulls,
up to
140kg x 5 x 3

Hip thrusts;
90,110,140 x 15 - 20

Lying leg curls:
4 sets 10 - 12 reps

Single-leg Press
3 sets of 20 on right leg only

Shrugs on Calf Raise machine
4 sets of 12 reps

78

Monday AM:

Snatch Pull + Rebend:
up to 100kg x 3 x 5

Military press:
up to 90kg x 1 x 5

Bent Over DB Row
25,27.5kg x 12
30kg x 12 x 3

79

Monday PM:

Close Grip Bench Press:
Up to
112.5kg x 8 x 3(reps,sets)

Superset with bent over lat raises: 12.5,15,17.5,20kg x 12

Reverse Grip Bench (just 'coz)
80,90,100kg x 10

Superset with
Band GHR: green band x 12 x 3

DB Upright Row
15,17.5,20,22.5kg x 12

Rope Pressdowns:
4 sets 12

Strapped my wrist up with an Old Metal Black wrist wrap. Seemed to work. Pressing was uncomfortable but not overly painful.

80

Tuesday:

Paused Front Squats (3 count):
up to
120kg x 1
130kg x 1
135kg x 1
140kg x miss (held breathe and nearly blacked out, lol!)
90kg x 3
110kg x 3
120kg x 3

Clean deadlift/heavy pull from deficit
110kg x 3
140kg x 3
160kg x 3
180kg x 3
190kg x 3

Hip thrusts
100kg x 20 - 25 x 4

Band X Walks:
3 sets x 15 reps

Cardio (stationary bike):
5 mins warm up
10 intervals: 15 seconds on 45 seconds off x 10 reps
10 mins cool down.