progress with ascending/descending snatch ladder

A good nights sleep. Weight: 175.25 lbs. Between 175 and 176 is optimal for me. A little sore from all the yard work.

Z-Health R-Phase and some NWU Level 2

Ahhhhh .. much better

32kg 20 Two-hand swings

Sumo DL Linear PTTP Cycle: (lbs)
Day 5: 165 x 5, 150 x 5

Again barefoot and no problem at all with these.

Dbl 32kg 10 Swings

These were very strong and belly button high. Still warming up and down with Z and performing Z drills between every set of any exercise.

I had my KB consult with Andy Bender,RKC:

16kg 10/10 Halos
Dbl 32kg Farmer walk 20 yards and back
Dbl (32 + 16)kg Farmer walk 20 yards and back
24kg 3 x 5/5 Snatch
Dbl 32kg 1 x 10 Swing
Dbl 24kg 1 x 5 C&J
24kg 2 x 5/5 C&J
Dbl 24kg 1 x 5 Front Squat
40kg 1 x 5/5 One hand Sumo DL on raised blocks (8 inches)
Dbl 24kg 1 x 5/5 One hand Sumo DL on raised blocks (8 inches)
BW 1 x 8 Chins (PR)

This one hour session felt like 5 minutes. The great news is that my snatch form needed only a slight tweak: my left wrist was bending back at the OH lock. Once I corrected this, my left side snatch was much smoother and stronger. I did not use the new double breathing technique as I want to take a more conservative approach: As Rif replied to me on his blog it does put more stress on the spine from the exhale on the down swing and therefore needs to practiced carefully. Not surprising my lower back was a little sore this morning.

Andy also thought my double 32kg swings had excellent form with good height and hip snap. He did notice that I can only get 3/4 of the way into the hole on a front squat due to my left knee issues. I will have rehab this as FrSqt ATG is essential for RKC certification. He also made a number of great suggestions for my C&J and LCCJ. He teaches it the RKC hard-style and its much closer to an Olympic jerk than a AKC one. In particular he suggested to push off much more from the heels during the jerk motion. Once I did this, the bell exploded up and it was much easier getting underneath it. This nicely complemented the Brett Jones KB Basics DVD Jerk section.

All in all, these sessions with Andy are a bargain and I am going to begin to increase the frequency to one every few months. DVDs and books are a great start but nothing beats the watchful eye of an RKC.

This evening after work I wanted to get in some snatches and try some of other things I worked on with Andy:

24kg 1 x 5/5 C&J Hard-style
Dbl 24kg 1 x 8 C&J Hard-style
Dbl 24kg 1 x 5 LCCJ Hard-style
Dbl 32kg 1 x 10 Swing

24kg Snatch:
1,2,3,4,3,2,1 ladder without putting the bell down (32 consecutive reps)
1,2,3,4,5,4,3,2,1 ladder without putting the bell down (50 consecutive reps)
1 x 5/5/5/5
5 x (5/5) on the minute
1 x 10/10
2 x 5/5
Total reps = 192

Doing 32 consecutive snatches and then following it up with 50 consecutive was a very surprising and welcomed result. The approach taken using the ascending / descending ladders was recommended by Andy at todays consult. The only problem I see with doing long sets of snatches is my hands start to deteriorate. Andy suggested chalk and even taping my hands. My right was fine but I did open a small blister on my left hand palm after the long set. Adhesive tape didn't do well either so I went back to wearing a fingerless work glove on my left which got me through the session.

50000 Snatch Race Total = 1188 + 30 (at Andy's) + 192 = 1410 pts

Hah! I just jumped two places to 13th out of the 24 men.

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Diet and Nutrition Log

Breakfast:
1 bowl of Kitchari with sweet potato, and Green Gram Curry
2 cups of coffee with tbs of 1/2 and 1/2
2 dates
1 banana


Morning Snack:
1 small handful of roasted almonds
1 Whey protein shake with 4 oz Kefir

Lunch:
1 bowl of uncooked Tofu, sweet potato, Kitchari and Green Gram Curry
1 large orange
4 dates

Afternoon snack:
5 small handful of roasted almonds
6 dates
1 tangerine

Dinner:
1 bowl of brown rice, sweet potato and Sichuan shrimp with veggies
1 small piece of pie
2 scoops of ice cream
1 small handful of dried cranberries.

Another double workout so I needed the extra calories.