Behind the neck split jerks

Saturday December 20, 2008

About 8" of light powder was only a mild hurdle to navigate over as I made it to the club this morning for an Oly session.

Z-Health: Neural Warm-up Level 2 (Dynamic Joint Mobility Drills)

Clean and jerk (kg)
40 x 1 x 3
45 x 1 x 3
50 x 1 x 3
55 x 1 x 3
60 x 1 x 2
65 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 2
80 x 1 x 1
85 x 1 x 1 Clean only (PR) but no jerk

Hang Clean followed by full Clean Chains (kg)
60 x 5 x 1

Off the rack, back squat followed by a split jerk chains (kg)
50 x 2 x 3
55 x 1 x 3
60 x 1 x 3
65 x 2 x 3 (PR)

Tactical Grip Pullups:
BW x 5,4,3

After cleaning 85kg (for a 5kg PR) I diddled around far too long trying to get my left wrist comfortable prior to the failed jerk attempt. I know it won't bee too long before I clean, short pause and jerk that buffer up.

One of the coaches, Yasha Kahn (who at a body weight of 104kg out snatched all weight classes at the recent North American Open in Arizona with smooth as silk 150kg monster snatch), had me work on speed squat cleans. First after deadlifting the bar and getting into the hang position I was directed to extend upward minimally just drop under it as fast as possible and then immediately repeat the movement without a break from the floor. He kept challenging me to raise the bar as little as possible before dropping under it. I finally got the "hang" of it after the last set .. although very scary at first I found that keeping very relaxed was the key.

Performing a back squat and then a behind the neck split jerk felt very easy. For the first time I was able to handle the after jerk negative with relative ease by lowering the bar quickly and dipping my knees to a quarter squat to catch the bar. These last three Oly sessions have featured combo/chain lifts which I really enjoy just as I did with Kettlebells.

Weight: 180 1/2 lbs
Total Volume: 5800 lbs

Sunday December 21, 2008

Mother nature graced us with another foot of white cool powder. With my left shoulder a bit sore from yesterday, I just worked on front squats based on the this Russian Strength Program. The total volume was very light and just enough!

Evening:
Z-Health: Neural Warm-up Level 2 (Dynamic Joint Mobility Drills)

Barbell Front Squats (lbs)
135 x 1 x 2
155 x 1 x 2
165 x 6 x 2 (80% of 1RM)

Its always interesting that my first set of any light front squats always feels heavy .. my last set of heavy's feel lighter.

Weight: 181 lbs
Total Volume: 2560 lbs