Had to go early because the gym is only open for 3 hours. Sore from yesterday.
1 power clean
2 x 3 @ 90 kg
No power found. So I only did two sets and then switched to blocks for some variety.
2 power clean from blocks
1 @ 90 kg
3 x 1 @ 95 kg
Felt much better taking the legs out a bit.
3 push press (reactive)
5 x 6 @ 95 kg
4 front squat (banded)
4 x 5 @ 98 kg + black bands
Quite an increase in band tension today. Front squats are like the final boss and bands chsnge the difficulty setting up a notch…
5a leg extension
4 x 12 @ 77 kg
5b sit ups
3 x 10 @ 15 kg
6 lat pull down
4 x 12 @ 100 kg
Work capacity is slowly catching up (mainly I guess my body is past the post-sickness-weakness). Still, this plan remains very challenging. Hopefully with good results. Monday is the hardest of the sessions though.
Changed this to a complete upright and reduced weight.
5 row
4 x 12
6 leg curl
4 x 10-12 @ 86,3 kg
I’m having some second thoughts about the programming but it’s a bit early. Also I just didn’t have a good day and didn’t want to lift. That showed in some very weak snatch sets.
1 clean + jerk
2 x 1 + 1 @ 80 kg
1 x 1 + 1 @ 90 kg
1 x 2 + 1 @ 95 kg
2 x 2 + 1 @ 100 kg
Just no spring, no speed and explosiveness. Legs feel too tired and heavy. My meet handler was there today and she said the same thing.
2 incline bench press
5 x 5 @ 80 kg
3a high bar squat (beltless)
3 x 4 @ 120 kg
2 x 3 @ 90 kg (paused)
1 x 5 @ 90 kg (paused)
1 x 1 @ 120 kg (paused)
Playing around a lot with technique.
3b dips
3 x 6
1 x 8
Progress
4a ssb hatfield lunges
3 x 8 @ 62 kg
4b kb suitcase carries
2 x 39 m per arm @ 48 kg
Awkward af
Notes:
the squats make me want to quit lifting. I lift such low loads and struggle with the most basic technique. It’s just pathetic!
training isn’t going as I hoped right now. I feel weak and incapable. I am doubting myself and the program although I know better on a conscious level. And I feel fat and unfit more often than I like to admit lately.
I am making quite an impression at the new gym. A teenager came up to me today to initiate a conversation and he felt a bit star struck because he had never seen some clean & press 100 kg in person before. It was actually very sweet. I hope I was nice enough for him to find the courage and ask for advice. He seemed like a dedicated kid and while I don’t exactly feel like giving out advice all the time at the gym, I would have been super happy to receive such advice when I was his age. Also someone straight up asked me if I do strongman the other day. I was super baffled and looked at my shirt because I suspected I was wearing a comp shirt. But he replied he could just spot that in me. I am not sure if he knows the distinction between the strength sports but I’ll take it as a compliment. In general people and especially the trainers are so far very nice at the new gym.
I am not sure where to go with the olympic lifts. I don’t want to get rid of them because practice is needed but I will probably compete in autumn, after the strongman season. Right now I can’t dedicate enough to them to really make progress.
The key word in both of those sentences is “feel” - feelings aren’t truth. You are a beast and so capable of accomplishing big things. We all have winning seasons, losing seasons and seasons when we just break even. Maybe you’re not where you think you need to be right now, but there’s a winning season on the horizon. Keep on trucking!!
As QuadQueen said, its just a feleing your having in the moment.
I believe(not sure you do) that there is no coincidences and everything happens when you need to. Take this as a sign that all your effort is paying off, but use this hatred motivation to push your self in the right direction.
I suffer from SMS and I know the feeling as I never think I am big enough and everyone around me essentially says the same things. Its in our heads and we need to learn to harness it to use it for the gym and not let it crush us.
You fking got this because you truly are a fking beast!!
@QuadQueen and @bigpappafrance tjabk you both for the lind words of comfort and votes of confidence. I appreciate it.
I know I’m going through a phase, as I have often before, especially when I am far from a peak and light weights feel heavy and make old achievements look like trophies on a shelf from long gone times. I k ow that’s not reality but sometimes I can’t make myself see that clearly enough.
Oly (preferably in a competition, likely around autumn)
100 kg snatch (+ 7 kg)
125 kg clean & jerk (+ 8 kg)
Strongman/ general lifting
Log lift 130 kg (+5 kg but not done in forever)
Axle clean & press 140 kg (+ ?, 126 kg x 2 is pb)
Deadlift 250 kg (+ 10 theoretically but that is an old max that I couldn’t do right now)
High bar squat 180 kg (+ ?, a lot)
Front squat 150 kg (+10 kg old max)
Btn split jerk 160 kg (+ 5 kg)
Push jerk 150 kg (+ 2,5 kg)
Compete in strongman and weightlifting (at least once)
I don"t really have much else in mind.
These depend on what I will actually have to train for and if I can commit to peaking the lifts (like the axle was likely already there 2024 but it made no sense to go for it).
1 snatch from blocks
2 x 3 @ 60 kg (power)
2 x 3 @ 70 kg (regular)
1 x 3 @ 80 kg - actually equals my PR triple from the floor!
2 btn split jerks
10 x 1 @ 130 kg EMOM
3 deadlift
4 x 5 @ 187,5 kg
4 strict press (beltless)
5 x 6 @ 67,5 kg
5 paused rdl (beltless)
2 x 8 @ 140 kg
6 ez bar curls
3 x 10 @ 35 kg - needed to cheat on these quite a bit in the last set.
Notes:
played out one of the major fears of lifting in the new gym today which resulted in a newr death experience… man I miss the jerk blocks! Just watch the video.
My knee has been a bit wonky yesterday. Felt better today but the front squat bottom position was aggrevating. Pain on the lateral left knee, basically at the head of the fibia into calf. Since it lead to loss of stability/ movement control, I abondoned the exercise for today. Probably not a big set back.
1 power clean from blocks
3 x 3 @ 90 kg
1 @ 100 kg
2 push press (reactive)
6 x 4 @ 100 kg
3 banded front squats
3 @ 105 + bands
Bands are a little under 20 kg per side at the top apparently (nearly lifting the 20 kg kettlebells used to anchor them)
Holy shit dude, can you not take the spotter arms off the racks and just lift off the regular J-hooks? If you miss a jerk in front it’s going to bounce straight back into your face…
1 power snatch
2 x 3 @ 40 kg
1 x 3 @ 50 kg
1 x 3 @ 60 kg
1 x 1 @ 70 kg
1 x 1 @ 75 kg
2 x 1 @ 80 kg - wanted to get it cleaner but remained difficult. Had some fails in there. Borderline to call them power snatches
1 x 1 @ 85 kg (regular snatch) - knee was suddenly fine with it.
Wanted to do regular snatches but knee didn’t. The good thing is, it’s really only the very bottom squat position that’s painful. So easy to train around so far.
Snatches were awful today. Lots of fails, which impacted the rest of the training. No one to blame but me. Just being stupid here.
2 push jerk
5 x 2 @ 120 kg
1 x 4 @ 120 kg
These still feel shit and so weak compared to when I still did them regularly!
3 paused deadlifts
1 x 1 @ 200 kg [pause for 1 sec now] +
1 x 3 @ 180 kg
1 x 3 @ 185 kg
1 x 3 @ 187,5 kg
These felt nice.
4 seated db press
3 x 10 @ 27,5 kg
5 chest supported cable row
4 x 10-12 @ 45 kg - next time same weight
6 leg curl
4 x 10-12 @ 90 kg - next time same weight
Bit frustrated with the push jerks. But in reality it’s just an adjustment period.
