O-Liftiing and Throwing

Training Over 35 Lifter
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I used to keep a log here of my training, but due to a pernicious case of demonic possession, I haven’t trained in 3 (4?) years, at least until the last two months. I remember the accountabilty keeping a public log provided, so now that I’m back in the game, I’m starting to log again.

I compete in olympic lifting, track and field throwing events, and highland games. I’m now 58 (damn it hel, they are 8 years overdue filling me in on the secrets). I’m nowhere near competitive levels now, but steady training should get me there in about 1 year.

Anyway, here’s today’s work:

Snatches: 40x1, 45x1,50x1,55x1,60x1,65x1,70x1,72x1,73x1,74x1 (lost this one backwards after standing up about 90%) I’m keeping the bar closer and waiting nicely for the second pull, at least compared to what I remember from years ago.
Back squats: 84(5x3)
Press: 49(5X3)

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Good for you for getting back into everything. And there used to be s’more highland gamers on here.

[quote]Carl Darby wrote:
I’m keeping the bar closer
[/quote]

Yes I had to learn that one on my own, my first coach never quite explained the dynamics to me, but it was a nice “ah ha”, moment. It’s probably been over 3 years since I’ve done any myself.

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I remember you very well and that amazing view out your gym window.

I always enjoyed reading your log and appreciated the advice and help you gave when asked. As someone who’s dabbled with olympic lifting off and on (in fact dabbled makes it sound far more competent than it was, maybe blundered is a better word) I also found it one of the most PHYSICALLY IMPRESSIVE logs.

As a compulsive program swapper in rehab (I swore to myself I would follow 5/3/1 until Christmas) I will resist temptation and get my O lift ‘fix’ vicariously through you.

Maybe I could just do a couple of snatches as a warm-up?..no, no must stick to the plan.

Welcome back Carl!

Please no videos.

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3-4 years is a long break. Good job getting back at it. And nice to see you here again.

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Great to see you back.

I remember you and your training log and and very glad to see you still at it.
will be following along.

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minimaltechno: Thanks for the welcome. Any recent highland games people besides hel and pixiethrower? Even though your log title had no mention of thowing or olympic lifting, the zappa sucked me in. It was a pleasant surprise to find that you are enamored of o-lifting. I hope you will be able to get back to it someday.

FarmerBrett: As I remember your lifts were looking very promising. Almost everybody does that backwards somesault trying to evade a falling bar at some point while learning the snatch. You will be relieved to know the video camera is broken.

kpsnap: Thanks for the welcome back. Good to see you still in the competitions, at least sometimes. I take it your shoulder is no longer an issue?

brotardscience: Formerly kmnyc, or something like that? The little bitey monster is the give away. Good to see you still training.

Today’s training, 6/1/2015

C&J: 40,45,50,55,60,65,70,75,80,84,85,86 all singles. Racking the weight is easy, standing up is less easy, the jerks are all over the place. Towards the end, (the 80, 85, and 86 kg sets,) placement was becomming more consistent and well back.
Back Squats: 75(5,5,7) I’m doing something that is not allowed to be called 5/3/1 on these. The 7 was relatively easy.
OHP: 44(5,5,9) Pseudo-quasi-5/3/1 on these also.

Work capicity is slowly coming up. This is the first C&J workout that hasn’t wiped me out since starting back in early April.

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Training 6/3/2015

Snatch: 40,45,50,55,60,65,70,70,74,74,75,75(1,1,1,1,1,1,0,1,0,1,0,1) Off today, had to concentrate harder than usual to keep the weight back at the beginning, and wait on the second pull. The succesfull 70, 74 and 75 were still a tad out front.
Squats: 81(3,3,7) The 7th was hard.
Front Squats: 90(1)
OHP: 41(3,3,7) Easy

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I think the other gamer was Erik, if memory serves me? I get these senior moments, even when I was 20.

[quote]Carl Darby wrote:
The succesfull 70, 74 and 75 were still a tad out front.
[/quote]

Hows your initial set up? Not that I’m an expert or did it long enough to make any claims. But whenever the bar got out in front of me, even if I was about an two inches from the bar before pulling, I could feel the difference.

Keep the details coming, looks like I’ll have to live oly lifting through your posts.

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minimaltechno, thanks for your thoughts on my snatch woes. Any thoughts on technique are always welcome.

But now I have to tell a mildly embarrasing story. On my first post, I mentioned that I lost the last snatch behind me after mostly standing up. Well, the part I didn’t mention was that the lift was out front (as is often the case), I had stepped off the platform trying to save it, and stepping off the platform is what caused me to loose the bar behind me. When the bar fell, it hit the edge of the platform and continued more or less at full speed to me, about 2 steps away. The full force of the bar was taken by the side of my right shin. So the reason I was having more trouble than usual keeping the bar back yesterday was that I was protecting a very painful shin. Its not too bad unless something touches it. Thanks for checking in.

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Well, embarrasing became annoying and then debilitating. Skipped Friday’s (6/5) workout and spent most of Saturday in bed, resting a discolored, swollen, and non-functioning leg. Felt like somebody hit it with a metal bar. Am going to lay off o-lifts until the pain goes away.

Training 6/9:
Squats: 40x5, 50x5, 60x5, 70x5, 76(5,5,7)
OHP: 40x5, 45(5,5,8)

Training 6/11:
Squats: 40x5, 50x5, 60x5, 70x5, 76x3, 82(3,3,6)
Front Squat: 92x1
OHP: 40x5, 45x3, 48(3,3,7)
Clean Pulls: 88x7 (just a first pull maintaining positions, no pop at the top)

Training 6/12:
Squats: 40x5, 50x5, 60x3, 70x3, 76x5, 82x3, 88x5, 97x1
OHP: 40x5, 45x5, 48x3, 51x5
Snatch Pulls: 76x8

The shin stings a bit in the bottom (last few inches) of the squats, but nothing too bad. Might try some power snatches and cleans next week. Leg strength progressing steadily as it should at this phase (only 2.5 months back, so mostly regaining lost strength) I’m expecting 1-2 kg per week increases until somewhere in the 100-110kg range for the heavy set of 5.

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Injuries a go go, business as usual on the O-35 forum. Ouch that doesn’t sound like fun, it’ll get better :slight_smile: at least you can work on your squat.

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Training 6/15

Power Cleans: 40x3,45x1,50x1,55x1,60x1,65x1,70x1,75x1,80x1, 72 (3,3,3) Working on close bar and snappy pull under. These were all moderately easy. Shin hurt a bit at the catch, but nothing too bad. We’ll see if it swells up again this evening.
Squats: 60x3, 77 (5,5,8) very easy today.
OHP: 40x3, 46 (5,5,7) not so strong on these.
Clean pulls: 90x8

Overall a good moderate workout.

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6/17

Snatch: 40x1,45x1,50x1,55x1,60x1,65x1,70x1,73x1,76x1,78x0,78x1
The 73 was a tad in front, but not so much as to have to step forward in the recovery. The miss at 78 was also in front, and probably not high enough. The successful 78 was close to perfect, just a bit of a pause before standing up, a habit since I usually have to stabalize at the bottom of heavy snatches.
Squats: 83(3,3,7) easy again.
Front squat 93x1
OHP: 40x3, 49(3,3,6)
Snatch pulls: 80x7

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Training 6/19

C&J: 40x1,45x1, 50x1,55x1,60x1,65x1,70x1,75x1,80x1,85x1,88x1,90x0(missed jerk), 90x1
Easy racks throughout, squats got hard at 88, the second 90 was a bit of a grind. Not being able to concentrate on 3 technique points simultaneously cost me the first jerk at 90. That is: 1) Get set with a ridiculously high chest, 2) Tight, shallow dip with weight on heels, and 3) relaxed hands throughout the dip and drive. The weight on heels part got lost in the confusion. I’m getting close to the point where standing up with the clean is the weak link.

minimaltechno, although you couldn’t possibly know it, you helped with the jerks today. In the log where you started learning o-lifts, you mentioned something about “standing proud” (at least that’s how I remember it) when setting up for the jerk. That cue helped with the first technique point I mentioned above. So, thanks.

Squats: 77x5, 83x3, 89x5, 99x1
These sucked today. I was expecting 6 good ones at 89, but even the 5 at 89 were a bit loose and sloppy. I’ll pretend it was fatigue from the three > 100% clean and jerks. I really need to improve my work capacity.

OHP: 46x5, 49x3, 52x5

Clean pulls: 92x8

If I can get moving early enough, I plan to go down to town and do some throwing and light conditioning work tomorrow. It’s been hitting 110’s in Las Vegas lately, anything later that an 8am start is out of the question.

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Good to see the Oly programming. Love that stuff. Would love vids. My shoulder is great. But, sadly, not great enough for anything overhead.

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Welcome back! I didn’t have the pleasure of reading your previous logs but I can’t wait to follow along on this one.

Looking forward to seeing your progress over the months.

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kpsnap: Sorry about the shoulder not allowing everything you would like to do with it. Can’t do vids until I get a working camera, and besides, Farmer Brett votes no. I will need to do some recording though, since I train alone and form is not always how it feels. I would like to do some mathematical analysis of the video eventually, so I am waiting on being able to afford a very sharp, detailed camera with high frame rates.

late2thegame: It seems you started posting here a few months after I quit. My last log was titled “Marathon runner looking dude dabbling in oly lifts” or something like that. Don’t know if its still around. The title came out of some teasing by hel when I returned to posting after a lengthy break. I’m 6’ tall and lift in the 85kg weight class, so at least compared to the guys I compete with I do look like a marathon runner. Thanks for dropping in.

Throwing 6/20
Shot (6kg)
Standing throws: 5, best at 29’2", mostly just warm up.
Half spins: 2, second felt good (about 32’) so
Full spins: 14. Shaky at first with bad balance and foot positions, but settled in later. The last 6 were all between 35’ and 36’ except the last one of 37’ 1". I was trying, with varying amounts of success to keep my weight over my right leg as much as possible in the middle of the ring, and trying to get my hips well out front in the front of the ring. The last throw was the closest to the ideal, and the distance reflected this.

I then did a few jumps:
Standing long jumps: 3 at 5’2", 5’7", and 6’4"
3 consecutive jumps: 18’3", 20’0", and 20’6" Stopped there because these tend to tear up my shins when I’m out of shape.

“Sprints”: (faster than walking and technically running, but damn slow, thus the scare quotes) 40 yds x 5 with about 1 min rest in between. Couldn’t find my stop watch, so no need to be appalled at the times.

So, 4 years off and not only the lifts, but also the throws and jumps are sitting at about 70-75% of previous levels. At 58, we’ll see how much of that I can get back.

Lifting 6/22
Power snatches: 40x1, 45x1, 50x1, 55x1, 60x1, 65x1, 67x0, 67x1, 60 (3,3,2) Missed the second rep out front on the third set.
Squats: 60x3, 70x3, 79 (5,5,8)
OHP: 40x3, 47 (5,5,7)
SGDL: 82x8 Not quite fully recovered from Saturday’s throwing.

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Training 6/24

Clean & Jerk: 40x1,45x1,50x1,55x1,60x1,65x1,70x1,75x1,80x1, 85(1,1,1,1,1) On the 85s, I let the second jerk drift forward a bit in the dip, but overall very solid lifts.
Squats: 80x3, 85 (3,3,7)
Front Squat: 95x1 Right knee barked at me near the top, feels like medial meniscus funkiness. Had a tear there repaired about 20 years ago–it will do this from time to time. Also upper back rounded not far out of the hole, so I won’t be going up on these soon.
OHP: 40x3, 50 (3,3,6)
Clean High Pulls: 94x8

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Sounds like you’ve been having fun getting back into things.

I’ve been doing some throwing too, at least today, in the porcelain :wink:

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[quote]Carl Darby wrote:
Training 6/24

Clean & Jerk: 40x1,45x1,50x1,55x1,60x1,65x1,70x1,75x1,80x1, 85(1,1,1,1,1) On the 85s, I let the second jerk drift forward a bit in the dip, but overall very solid lifts.
Squats: 80x3, 85 (3,3,7)
Front Squat: 95x1 Right knee barked at me near the top, feels like medial meniscus funkiness. Had a tear there repaired about 20 years ago–it will do this from time to time. Also upper back rounded not far out of the hole, so I won’t be going up on these soon.
OHP: 40x3, 50 (3,3,6)
Clean High Pulls: 94x8[/quote]
Stop by here every now and again and this time I happen to see you were back. I kinda dropped outta posting right after you left. Note to reader’s. This is one modest dude. His list of accomplishments is long and distinguished (for a skinny fella) Would be even longer if I hadn’t lied to him about learning all at 50, it’s really 60. Glad to see you back in the game. Since I don’t wanna take over your thread, which I already did, I’ll see if I can find the last thread I had on here and post some updates.