i hook grip pretty much everything, too. i suspect he has his eye on cleaning it. helpful for me to see some powercleans since i’ve started worrying about them now…
Snapper, alexus is right, I hook grip (and double overhand) everything I pick up off the floor. On those deadlifts I also try (not very successfully) to do them like a first pull, back arched, weight moving backwards, shoulders raising at same rate as hips.
Training 2/3/2011
Snatch: 50x2, 60x2, 70x2, 80x1, (85x1)5, (90x1)5, (93x1)5, 96x0,1, 99x0,0,0,1 Working on keeping shoulders and hips raising at the same rate. Did better at this than on any previous attempt. But now the weight seems to be coming out around my knees on the way up.
5/3/1 Military
54x5
57x5
60x5
72x0, 57x5 Damn I got weak on these! Hope its being sick and the weight loss over the last two weeks.
Lat Pull Downs 180x8
Looks like you’ve been getting in some good training Carl. I especially like your form on the press. I cheat way more than you.
You really have great power off the floor.
Thanks John. The way I look at it, if I can’t push a lot of weight, then I can at least look good doing my light weights. Added benefit-I’m working just as hard with lighter weight. That’s gotta contribute to longevity. Or at least that’s what I tell myself.
Thanks Joe. Off the floor used to be my weak point. Still need to improve positions and bar path.
Throwing 2/6/2011
6kg Shot x lots. Best just over 15m (~49’4"). Took video which showed my weight is WAY WAY to far forward after I hit the middle of the ring. No wonder the ring felt too small. I’ve got some serious work to do here.
LWFD: 12 throws, trying to wait for the weight and keep low, best ~51’, all between 45’ and 51’.
WOB: 5 throws, 36.5lb weight, over 12 foot branch. last one cleared by almost 2 feet. Felt easy and balanced for the first time at this weight. Just might be able to throw with this spin at my next games. Only 5.5 more lbs to go to get to competition weight.
Sprints
30mx8 low 5s to high 4s.
100mx1 at 15.78s. Getting close to my 15s goal. (so then I will officially only be slow rather than damn slow.)
Training 2/7/2011
C&J: 60x2, 70x2, 80x1, 90x1, 97x1, (104x1)5, (107x1)2, 110x0,1, (113x1)2, 116x0, 118x0 Missed the jerk on the 110, missed cleans on the 116 and 118. Racked 116 easily, but weight was too far back, so pushed weight forward and fell back. 118 pulled very high and got under quick, but weight was too far forward and couldn’t hold it. Started second pull too soon. Was supposed to work on the hip-shoulder thing in the first pull, but my camera was dead, and from experience, this is one thing I have a very poor feel for. I need to be able to see each lift to tell if I’m doing it right. So instead, I worked on elbows in the catch. I’ve been leaving them low and getting them around late, sometimes making the recovery a pain. Definitely did better on this.
5/3/1 C10 W2 Bench:
76x3
81x3
86x2
(76x5)3 Definitely time to reset training max. Didn’t even try the heavy single I usually do at the end.
Pendlay Rows: 70x8,8,7
you’ve been running this cycle combining the OL and 5-3-1 quite a while haven’t you? what kind of strength gains have you seen (I’m too lazy to go back and look)
George, since July when I started, (shoulder injury in June forced a layoff).
Squat: 107-135, +28kg
Bench: 80-94, +14kg
Deads:
Clean: 135-157, +22kg
Snatch: 115-139, +24kg
Military: 60-71, +11kg
Snatch: 87.5-101, +13.5kg
Clean and Jerk: 102.5-117, +14.5kg
[quote]Carl Darby wrote:
George, since July when I started, (shoulder injury in June forced a layoff).
Squat: 107-135, +28kg
Bench: 80-94, +14kg
Deads:
Clean: 135-157, +22kg
Snatch: 115-139, +24kg
Military: 60-71, +11kg
Snatch: 87.5-101, +13.5kg
Clean and Jerk: 102.5-117, +14.5kg[/quote]
that’s pretty impressive!
Really impressive. And that’s only been in the last six months? Wow.
Working on keeping shoulders and hips raising at the same rate. Did better at this than on any previous attempt. But now the weight seems to be coming out around my knees on the way up.
yeah… i’ve been having some trouble with this too, i think.
Dan John says something about only moving from the knee (not the hips) until the bar is over your knees (in the second position). and in the second position your butt and chin are pulled as far apart as possible (like a bow) with ones back horizontal (the tension being about loading up your hamstrings for the strongest possible hip drive).
if i do that then the bar gets past my knees okay… and i’m over the bar okay… but it feels a very awkward / unnatural / slightly precarious position for my back to be in… not sure if that is the way to think of it or not…
not even sure that i’m pulling it off… but that is what i’ve been trying to do lately, anyway.
i’m not sure about shoulders and hips raising at the same rate…
Thanks George and snapper, I’m happy with the progress, but I have to point out that the initial numbers were low due to lack of serious training over most of the previous year. If I can do half that good the next 6 months I’ll remain happy.
alexus, not sure I agree with Dan John on this one. I would rather keep the back more vertical, to keep it in a stronger position for the second half of the first pull, and minimize the distance the shoulders have to come back after the bar passes the knees. Getting the stretch on the hamstrings is good, but you can do this without a horizontal back. The description you gave actually sounds more like what Vardanian did back in the 80’s.
Training 2/8/2011
Power Snatch: 50x2, 60x2, 70x2, 80x2, (80x2)2, missed 2nd rep of the second set out front.
High Hang Snatch: 72x1,0 missed 2nd one out front again.
5/3/1 C10 W2 Squats:
101x3
108x3
114x7 Damn the last one was hard.
125x1, 136x1 easier than the 135 last week.
Front Squats: 102x5, 103x5, 104x5
Back Raises: BW+27.5kgx9,9,9
Looking great as always.
Nice squats. i love the little clunky noise the metal plates make at the top. I also like it how you do another rep even though you might not get it rather than huffing and puffing for a while to make it more likely you will get it (as I do). Mental toughness… What you say about the horizontal back makes sense, thanks for that. I guess in a way it is hard for me to get the pull right without it being about beating the bar down - but my poor squatting is defeating the purpose of that, rather. I’ll get there (hopefully).
[quote]alexus wrote:
i love the little clunky noise the metal plates make at the top. [/quote]
I really missed this when I moved to a gym with rubber coated plates. It’s not the same to do push presses/jerks, cleans without that rhythmic clanking.
I would think that whether the back is horizontal or not would depend on leg and back lengths relative to one another. Optimum pulling position would then be different for differently shaped lifters.
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
I would think that whether the back is horizontal or not would depend on leg and back lengths relative to one another. Optimum pulling position would then be different for differently shaped lifters.[/quote]
Agreed that optimum position depends on each lifter’s dimensions, but in no lifter would the optimal position have the back horizontal. I think that the higher you can get your shoulders throughout the first pull, the more efficient the lift. Higher shoulders and consequently a more vertical back position minimizes the distance the shoulders and hips have to move to get into position for the second pull and puts your back into a stronger position for doing this. By keeping shoulders high, more work is done pulling the bar from the floor to knees, so less needs to be done from knees to 2nd pull position. Higher shoulders also make it easier to keep the weight back close to your body, since your shoulders are closer to your center of mass.
Alexus, snapper, thanks. I think I subconsciously leave the clips off for squats just so I can hear the clinking.
[quote]Carl Darby wrote:
[quote]DaCharmingAlbino wrote:
I would think that whether the back is horizontal or not would depend on leg and back lengths relative to one another. Optimum pulling position would then be different for differently shaped lifters.[/quote]
Agreed that optimum position depends on each lifter’s dimensions, but in no lifter would the optimal position have the back horizontal. I think that the higher you can get your shoulders throughout the first pull, the more efficient the lift. Higher shoulders and consequently a more vertical back position minimizes the distance the shoulders and hips have to move to get into position for the second pull and puts your back into a stronger position for doing this. By keeping shoulders high, more work is done pulling the bar from the floor to knees, so less needs to be done from knees to 2nd pull position. Higher shoulders also make it easier to keep the weight back close to your body, since your shoulders are closer to your center of mass.[/quote]
And I agree that shoulders should be above hips. You’re gonna be way outta whack if they are level once that bar’s at the knees. Every snatch and clean I lose forward is because my hips got too close to my shoulders. It don’t take much.
Hmm… Thanks for the discussion. Looks like I have some work to do on finding the second position…