A crack at 8reps/set 24kg MaxVO2 Snatch

Weight: 181 1/2 lbs
I'm teetering on the edge of nutritional purgatory and am struggling to get back to 90% compliance with my Precision Nutrition program. I had the habits locked in for a few months and I find myself just barely clinging to the wagon.

Z-Health: Neural Warmup 2

32kg x 2 x 10/10 one-hand swings

24kg MaxV02 :15/:15 8reps/set
Total: 10 sets = 80 reps in 5 mins (TSC-like PR)

5 min rest

24kg MaxV02 :15/:15 8reps/set
Total: 6 sets = 48 reps

3 mins rest

24kg MaxV02 :15/:15 8reps/set
Total: 5 sets + 1 rep = 41 reps

5 min rest

24kg x 7 x 5/5 Dead hang snatch @ 1set/2mins
Total: 70 reps

Grand total: 239 reps

I knew the 8 rep sets of MaxVO2 would be rough but I was a bit surprised that I could only eke out ten sets in the first session. With some rest I did two more shorter sessions to get twenty one sets in for some decent volume.

I previously did twenty sets in one session with the 7 reps per set but 8 reps per set was so much tougher as I was always a bit behind the clock. For the first ten sets I didn't tape my hands and only used Tracy's sock glove technique. I noticed that I had to really throw the bell down on the eccentric to get the faster pace. This meant letting it go of it a bit at the top and then re-catching at the bottom just before swinging it behind (Jason Vezina, RKC, sent me a private correspondence elucidating the fine points of this technique .. thanks Jason!) .

For the next two mini-sessions I abandoned the sock and went raw. This gave me more control of the bell and I was able to get my 8 reps in right at the buzzer for most sets. Since the total number of sets was only twenty one for a total of 160 reps, my hands were fine.

Kenneth Jay, Master RKC, had recommended to I work up to ten sets of 8 followed by ten sets of 7. I have decided to slightly tweak this by just trying to add more sets of 8 in the first session and add additional sessions to get a minimum volume of twenty sets in total. Eventually, I should be able to get to twenty in one continuous MaxVO2 session.

I realized later that my first session resulted in a new TSC-like snatch PR of 80 reps in under 5 minutes up from three reps of previous five minute 24kg snatch PR. Of course when I finally to take the official TSC snatch test, I will not use a MaxVO2 rep structure but will instead attempt to do continuous sets of ten left, ten right for the five minutes.

I'm really enjoying performing low rep sets of dead-hang snatches to get my snatch volume up. I have been tweaking my form by slowly swinging my non-snatching arm back while lowering the bell. Then as I explode with a hip snap, I also swing my non-snatching arm forward to create more force. This will have direct carry over to my regular snatch.

I screened my 26 year old son last night with a home-made FMS screening kit. He scored 18 with no ones or asymmetries and I was quite pleased. Unfortunately, he is having great difficulty hinging during swings and his lower back is sore. I had to have him back off swings for the time being and work on box squats and Chinese wall squats.