=== On my way to bodyweight snatch ===
Hang power snatch + partial rdl or whatever. Just a first few inches of ROM before the second pull.
3+3 double ramp (each weight 2 times before moving on)
Finished with 70 kg (154 lbs)
Deadlifting 4 plates with hook grip, snatching 1 plate with straps. Cheater.
Ofc form still sucks (jumping forward, underpulling & messed positions) but…
who cares, I learned oly lifts from youtube
PR city:
BTN push press
2 sets 10 x 82,5 kg (182 lbs)
Paused beltless front squat
1 x 130 kg (286 lbs) !!! 10 kg less than my beltless max
That’s some great push pressing for reps! It looks like you have enough strength for that bodyweight snatch already, might be coming soon if you keep improving your speed under the bar.
I’m really enjoying snatch-grip DLs at the moment, might have to join you in trying to learn some Olympic lifting technique from YouTube!
Thanks bro, push press behind the neck is incredibly easier for me!
It’s not ultra-wide grip (Klokov press) but it’s quite wide and I feel much better leg drive than in regular push press.
=== HERE IS MY BEST ACHIEVEMENT IN 2016 ===
and certainly one of the bigger goals for me in the past.
Front squat.
Paused.
No belt.
Olympic grip.
140 kg, 308 pounds. Absolutely crashed it.
Thank you Evolv!
What’s funny is the fact that I’ve never front squated anything above 140 kg bc I was focused on reps.
So, basically, my paused beltless PR = regular, belted PR
I wasn’t updating lately because I went to snap city.
Not a big deal though but I tweaked my thoracic spine during a heavy power clean. Or maybe a rhomboid, hard to explain.
Nonetheless:
no deadlifts
no heavy rows
no standing delt work, i.e. OHPs or push press
at first I couldn’t do face pulls and pull ups but now all my pulling volume is from a shitload of chins and rear delts.
What’s funny, I feel the best when I have massive scapula retraction (arched bench, supertight squats)
To make up for the lost volume I’ve been doing paused squats up to 7-8 sets of 5 and bench for at least 6-8 solid sets.
Pain’s getting fairly mild so hopefully I’ll be back soon.
Yeah I believe it’s a muscle not a spine problem. Probably just a little of rhomboid tear.
Today I tried OHP and it went kinda well.
Super strict form, paused and slow eccentrics, 3 sets of 8 x 50 kg (110 lbs).
Light deads with one plate are fine and smooth however I won’t attempt anything hard.
How to work out when you’re fucked up?
10 sets of 10 chins, a lot of squats and 10 sets of seated lat raises to get the power look
Random OHP test - I managed to ramp up to 3 x 65 kg (143 lbs) with a solid pause on the chest. Not really worth braggin’ about - just a few weeks ago I did 5x5 with 60 kgs - but my only overhead work since around November are BTN push presses.
But hey, 7 days ago I couldn’t do a single barbell press.
Slowly greasin’ the groove on the bench.
After block of DB work with a lot of shoulder focus and after another smaller block with bench as an accessory (feet up, spoto, close grip, that stuff) I’m ready to hit some PRs.
Today, after OHP test “warm-up” I did 5x5 x 110 kg (242 lbs) - all time 5RM is 115 kg - wasn’t that bad compared to the last week when I struggled with 100-105 kgs.
No heavy deads yet.
Yesterday’s 10 lightning fast sets of 3 x 140 kg (308 lbs) got my traps sore as F. I like it.
Nope, still not a bodybuilder and I still don’t lift heavy-ass weights.
But I’m proud to announce that I PRed on sqwaats.
8 x 155 kg (341 lbs), high-bar, sleeves + loose belt.
Some dude dropped fckin deadlift on the floor and my cam fell down so no video of my crappy form </3
RPE 9-9.5. I could bang out one more grinder but I lost positions on the last rep and did kinda good-morning. Still PR.
I was too fatigued to do sumo deads so I tested my conventional “daily max”.
Ramped up to 2 x 190 kg (419 lbs). No belt, hook grip, no music, pumped quads, straight back.
Well, all of those are excuses. It was a double with my sumo 10RM weight
I got back to pushing overhead work hard after my minor snapcity.
Today’s push
Speedsqwaats
BTN push press
5, 5, 7 (easy) x 85 kg (187 lbs) (PR is 9 reps)
Spoto bench, wider grip
4 x 5 x 105 kg (231 lbs) easy stuff
Seated DB press
12, 12, 13, 12 x 30 kg (66 lbs) each hand - that’s prolly my PR, for sure volume PR even though it was a fourth exercise.
I always sucked at DB delt work and haven’t done this exercise for months. All kinds of gainz from DB chest work?
I moved from training 6x/week to 5x/week.
It’s partially because of an excess fatigue and life management… And partially because I wanna hit some heavy conventional deads.
I almost forgot how satisfying conventionals were. They can’t be compared to sumo. Period. However I need to carefully manage other stuff since conventionals are 14654 times more demanding for my recovery than sumo.
No set in stone plans yet but starting carefully
Pull day one (wednesday)
Ramp to 5 x 180 kg (396 lbs) with straps - felt a lot better than previous 2x190
8 x 3 x 145 kg (319 lbs) hook grip, reset every rep
Pull day two (today)
4 x 5 x 175 kg (385 lbs) hook grip
5 x 3 x 140 kg (308 lbs) first rep slo-mo (Mark Bell’s new video), 2&3 fast. Standing up and resetting position after each rep.
So I widened my grip just a little bit and feel darn stronger. I’m still focusing on getting those strict reps and accumulating volume.
Today I really discovered how lift-off helps me.
2 x 5 x 110 kg (242 lbs) last rep paused, easy
3 x 115 kg (253 lbs) unracked it on my own and it felt like RPE 11
And then I asked for a lift-off…
another 3 x 3 x 115 kg (253 lbs), every rep paused, RPE like 7-8 and 2 minutes rest…
I’m doing more slo-mo pulls and instantly feel more comfortable with more lat engagement.
Small PR:
Chin ups with 2-sec hold at the top
8 x BW +20 kg
July 2015
First 160 kg high-bar. No pause, tight belt & grinder as fuck.
January 21st
140 kg paused beltless, 5-sec count.
February 24th…
Paused. Beltless. NO SNAP CITY
Spontaneous & random. I was going to do 5/4/3/2/1 because I felt like shit and I think that 5/4/3/2/1 is the best possible way to overcome a “bad day”.
LOL, it wasn’t that bad.
6 x 130 kg (286 lbs) because I lost count…
4 x 135 kg (297 lbs) because I didn’t want to repeat 5 and it felt heavy
3 x 140 kg (308 lbs) 3 reps on 1RM?
2 x 145 kg (319 lbs) that was the moment when something clicked and I thought let’s make some PRs
1 x 150 kg (330 lbs) 3-sec pause
1 x 155 kg (341 lbs) it felt shitty actually
1 x ultimate PR 160 kg (352 lbs). +20 kg
Accessory: conventional deads.
165 kg (363 lbs) 8 minutes AMRAP. I managed to get 17 fast reps. That was exactly 75% of my hopeful conventional 1RM 220 kg/5 plates
Conventional deadlift gains
2 sets 1 x 200 kg (440 lbs) - that is my old conventional PR. It moved super smooth, hook grip, no belt, legit RPE 7.
followed by 3 x 3 x 185 kg (407 lbs) eaaasy
and 6 x 3 x 145 kg (319 lbs) speed work, actually low pulls not deadlifts
I’ll be testing max reps @ 200 kg in a few workouts. 4 or 5 reps would be amazing.
I’m super excited about my skwaats.
singles at 157.5 kg (347 lbs) the day after front squat & deadlift work feel soo strong.
AMRAP @ this weight next weekend.
Sooo… Eddie Hall pulled fucking 465 kgs on the Arnolds.
That’s the moment when you realize where you are in your training…
Test day: High-bar back squat
8 x 157.5 kg (347 lbs) +2.5 kg PR
I had a hard time sleeping today and sqwaats actually looked and felt like shit. I haven’t even bothered myself uploading this and I thank God I haven’t got a one-way ticket to snap city.
I had a great time watching yesterday’s Sling shot PL meet. The livestream started around 6 PM Central European Time, the ideal time for leisurely watching unbelievable PRs.
I am a big fan of Brett Gibbs, so sad he missed his opener twice and lost around 25 kgs. Nevertheless I think he made 3 world records (bench, dead, total) so it wasn’t that bad
=== Just another day ===
Binch test
7 aand half x 115 kg (253 lbs) +2 reps PR
Random front squats - no belt, no sleeves. This was to be a LIGHT DAY but…
2 x 140 kg (308 lbs) PR
1 x 145 kg (319 lbs) PR
1 x 150 kg (330 lbs) PR
