-[][][]---OL Log 4---[][][]-

Training Powerlifting
481

4/29/11

Clean pull - 90% x 2 x 3 - 265 lbs

Front squat - 80% x 2 x 3 - 265 lbs

Jerk - 80% x 2 x 3 - 235 lbs

4 sets: no rest;
20 topside halfmoons (sandbag)
1 min. jump rope

note 1: on clean pulls, on the ‘first pull’ I not only extended my knees but focused on pushing them out to the side as well. I figure this will help me since I am tall at 6’2", so the knees can get out of the way easier and I don’t have to compensate with my hips coming up/chest going down. Clean pulls felt much better this way.

note 2: jerks kind of sucked. more and more I realize the better/more focused I am with my warm-ups, the better I am with the heavier weight (duh). Next time I feel that my jerks should be better, I’ll decrease the weight and start from the bottom again. Time consuming, but whatever.

note 3: sand started to come out from the sandbag during the 3rd set, ut oh. So I just did 20 KB front squat to push press (8kg each hand) for the remainder.

482

makes absolute sense to me. Its the whole muscle memory, training the movement pattern and so on. Pendlay says on a video on youtube to even have the same ritual for every rep of olympic lifting.

I’ve even heard of the same for sleep for example. Doing the same stuff you usually do before sleeping will make you… sleepy!

Got a 75kg overhead today. My knees definitely need more rest than 1 day. Probably gonna need 3 days between sessions for a couple weeks and then only 2 between sessions which is decent

483

WUT UPZ!!!

Hey fellas right now I am finishing my 2nd week of Officer Candidate School. I finally got enough time to get on the interwebz for longer than 15minutes.

The other day at a gym we are authorized to use in our barracks (very small, with a few weights and kettle-bells) I did some bellow the knee cleans with 155lbs… and god I felt weak.

484

hey neo!!

congrats on getting through BCT. you are on your way to officershipness! nice pic.

485

Missed the Jerk during a 205 lbs C&J attempt, so I decided to do a Clean double in the next set instead.

Haven’t attempted any doubles over 85 kg, so this was a PR. After the second rep I felt like there was no way in hell I could have gotten more than 2 reps but when I watch the vid, it looks like it was really easy…hmmm

486

1/5/11

AM
Snatch
40x3
60x2
70x2
80x0
80x1
80x1
82x1
82x1
85x1
87x1
90x1
92x0
92x0
92x1
95x1
95x1

Clean and jerk
60x2
80x1
100x1
100x1
107x1
107x1
114x miss jerk
114x miss jerk (getting worried about this)
114x1
120x you guessed it miss jerk, behind this time

PM
Squat
40x3
60x2
110x5
130x1
130x1
140x1
140x1
145x1
150x1
155x1
160x1, fast to. was deffo 65-70 in there

Snatch Pull
70x3
100x2
100x2
105x2
110x2

Low Row
21x10
28x10
35x10
42x15

Really shit morning session, need to get on my jerks. Don’t know what the chuff is goin on here. 209 total for the session is terrible, I have next week to cure it! Nice squatting 130-40 felt heavy but then it just didnt feel any heavier as the weight increased and I powered up really well. Afternoon squats stopped me sulking to much.

487

[quote]Neospartan wrote:
WUT UPZ!!!

Hey fellas right now I am finishing my 2nd week of Officer Candidate School. I finally got enough time to get on the interwebz for longer than 15minutes.

The other day at a gym we are authorized to use in our barracks (very small, with a few weights and kettle-bells) I did some bellow the knee cleans with 155lbs… and god I felt weak.[/quote]

Hey its good to hear from you! I saw some pictures you put up on Facebook!

Do you have a scale there? Any idea what you weigh now? Hopefully now that you are in OCS you can lift more and run less but I know nothing about the army so who knows. Good luck though.

Friday - Smolov Jr, Squat, Snatch, Messing around
Second to last day of Smolov Jr. Excited for it to be over. The squats weren’t that bad though. I won’t be finishing tomorrow because of the Black Belt demo at Maryland Day. I will finish either Sunday or Monday. Than MAX next week!

Back Squat: (8x4x288)
-135x5
-185x3
-225x3
-290x4,4,4,4,4,4,4,4

Snatch:
-50x2
-60x2
-70x1
-75x1
-80x1,1,1(~85%)

Snatch High Pull:
-80x3,3,3
-90x3,3,4

No clean and jerks because it hurts my left trap. I found that if I held onto the pulls it hurt but if I dropped them immediately at the top, it was fine.

Barbell Curl:
-70x10,8,8
-95x1
-115x1 PR
-120x1 PR

Chins:
-11 (lost the contest to Alec, he did 14) Both of us tired.

Meant to post this earlier but I had a lot going on. Maryland Day was on Saturday and the martial arts group I am in put on two demonstrations, so I haven’t finished SMolov Jr. I will finish the final workout for that today. Thinking I will max squat on Friday and see where I am.

I posted videos of the demos on my channel on youtube, its not weightlifting but check them out if you want!

488

Nice Cloy! I just checked it out the vids. Very cool!

Hey everyone! I feel a bit silly posting in here because you guys are all so awesome and strong, but I really need help on my first pull - I simply can’t get an arch!

I’m new to Oly (bout 5 months in) and while I keep a nice arch in the hang, when I pull from the ground I’m a mess!

I can’t always get to my Oly gym, so these are from this morning at my regular gym.

Any/all critique much appreciated!!

489

First thing that would come into my mind would be changing the width of your stance.

490

Mascherano

First, Iâ??m totally jealous of the guys at your oly gym…
But in regards to your Pulls

What helps me is trying to â??lengthenâ?? from my tail bone to the base of the neck and trying to tighten the shit out of my lats/upper back. If you do this properly it pushes the chest out and puts in a significant arch.

In your first few pulls it seems to be hitting your thigh rather low causing it to swing out.

Donâ??t pull with your arms; the object isnâ??t to get the bar really high. Your arms are just hooks.

Idk if youâ??re facing a mirror but if you are do yourself a favor and turn the other way.

However im an average lifter at best so who am I to give advice

491

Monday - Smolov Jr Final Day! - Squat, Messing around

Final day of Smolov Jr! I plan to max out the squat on Friday, hoping to hit 350 or 360.

Back Squat:
-135 x 5
-185x3
-225x3
-305x3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3,3 (10x3)

Power Snatch:
-50 kg x 3,3

Press:
-115x3

Deadlift:
-70 kg x 3
-120 x 3
-355 lbs x2
-395x1
-415x1

Notes:
-really tired after squats but was just messing around afterward. Too slow to snatch, but I like deadlifts so did a bit.
-Hopefully I will max the front squat Wednesday, max the back squat Friday, and max snatch and clean and jerk Friday too.

492

[quote]Apnea Diver wrote:
Idk if youâ??re facing a mirror but if you are do yourself a favor and turn the other way.
[/quote]
I’ll second that. I did that for awhile, and when I first made the switch the difference in the stability of the catch was enormous.

Workout today…
5/2/11
Snatch
bar work
65 x 3
95 x 3
115 x 2
135 x 2
155 x 1
165 x 0, 0, 1, 1, 1
175 x 1
185 x 0 got under it but my arms gave out and almost dropped it on my head

Squat
225 x 3, 3
245 x 2, 2, 2
265 x 2

Push Press
135 x 5
155 x 3
175 x 5 singles

Decline Situps
45 x 10, 8, 8, 6

493

hey V,

  1. don’t change your stance, it’s fine… hip mobility though, get on it. go to catalyst athletics website and look at their warm-up. do that every day. The most important part of this warm-up is the squat portion. Go ass-to grass, keep your chest up, push your knees out with your elbows. go down and sit there, try to get your bums to touch your calves. it should be painful after a bit, but this is good, as long as you keep your lumbar arch throughout.

  2. do thoracic extensions on a foam roller every day before lifting. do it from the T12 all the way up to the middle area of your scapulae.

  3. two things before your initiate the first pull via leg extension. a) chest up. seriously, just focus on it, CHEST UP. b) a way to help the ‘chest up’ portion is, tighten your lats. Look at this video of Aramnau doing a snatch. he keeps his chest up, and aids this by contracting his lats. you can tell he contracts his lats because you see his shoulders go slightly back.

as for your hips sometimes coming up on the first pull… well, the only thing that helps this is practice through many many reps. once you start focusing on extending the knees alone, while keeping the chest up, and do this for every single rep, it will get better in time. eventually, your body will start to do this automatically because of the neural wiring via many repetitions. you have to be patient with this one, just make sure you do that on every rep (“extend knees, extend knees!”)

494

BW - 71.5kg

AM
hang snatch
60 x 3
70 x 3
75 x 1
80 x 1
84 x 0,0,0,0,0,0
75 x 2,2,2,2,2

Back Squat
70 x 3
90 x 3
110 x 3
120 x 2
130 x 1
140 x 1,1,1,1,1,1

PM
hang snatch
60 x 3
70 x 3
75 x 1
80 x 1
83 x 0,0,0,0,0,0
75 x 2,2,2,2,2

Hang Clean
70 x 3
80 x 3
90 x 3
100 x 3
105 x 1
110 x 1
114 x 1
117 x 0,0,0

Back Squat
70 x 3
90 x 3
110 x 3
120 x 2
130 x 1
140 x 1
145 x 1
150 x 1 PB!!!

495

Thanks for the responses guys!

Apnea Diver - thanks :slight_smile: I actually don’t wear such tight spandex at my Oly gym. lol! I really appreciate your advice on thinking about lengthening the spine from chest to tailbone. I’m a very visual person, so that cue resonates with me, and it ties in perfectly with Andy’s feedback on keeping the chest up too. So thanks! And I’ll definitely remember to keep the arms loose!

Andy!! Thank you!! I know, you’re right about the mobility. And just when I think i’m good with that, I see I’m totally NOT. I’ll definitely go to catalyst and look up those warmups (greg everett?!) and do the thoratic extensions.

Got it chest up - and now that you say it, it makes total sense to tighten the lats! AWESOME! Great vid too.

And finally, believe it or not, but i haven’t until now really understood the pull is initiated by knee extension.facepalm I will absolutely practice this!

Thanks again everyone! You guys are so helpful :slight_smile:

496

5/3/11

Clean & Jerk
warmup
135 x 2, 2
155 x 2
175 x 1, 1
185 x 1, 1, 1
195 x 1, 0 no jerk

Squat
225 x 5
275 x 2 for 5 sets
225 x 5

Decline Situps
45 x 8, 8, 10

Stretch

497

3/5/11

Snatch
40x3
40x2
60x2
80x1
80x1
85x1
90x1
92x1
92x0
97x1/0 jussed missed the 2nd rep
104xbehind
104x0
104x0
95x1

Jerk
85x2
85x2
100x1
100x1
105x1
105x1
110x1
110x1
115x0
115x0, angry
115x1
115x1

Power clean
60x2
90x1
90x1
100x1
100x1
104x1
104x1
104x1
104x1

Front squat
80x2
110x1
130x1
137x0
137x0

Got so angry with jerks! Seems they weren’t going up straight. Hopefully they will be much better tonight, if I Clean and Jerk well tonight that will be my last fully heavy clean session untill the comp. I was so close to smashing a chalk stand to smitherines I had to hold back…can be a frustrating sport.

498

Second competition coming up this weekend last one totaled 170 pretty terrible but hit some prs this past month. Looking for closer to 200 this time shooting for 85 snatch and 115 clean and jerk. Hit 70 snatch and 100 c&j in the 85Kg novice last month.

499

This is basically what I did today. Some snatch practice too.

500

4/5/11 May the fourth be with you

3 Positition Snatch
40x3
50x3
60x3
70x3
70x3
70x3

Clean and jerk
60x2
80x1
100x1
110x1
120x miss jerk…can you believe it
120x1 stuck it
125x0
125x0
125x missed jerk, was a nice lean though

Back Squat
60x2
110x1
140x1
150x1
155x1

Snatch Dead Pull
60x2
100x2
110x2
120x2
125x2

Not a terrible session, the 120 jerk was nice, missed the first one from not getting low enough. Will maybe clean and jerk heavy again on sunday then start easing off towards my comp. Still determined to open at 97/120, will definately be at the English next feb.