Friday, March 20, 2009

Catching it in the hole

Thursday March 19, 2009

I was concerned about my left thumb going into tonights training but it loosened up as evening progressed.

Evening Olympic Lifting Session:

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

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 10 5xHang-snatch + 5xOH-squat
32 x 1 x 9 Hang-snatch + 3xSnatch +2xSnatch-pull + 3xSnatch-balance
36 x 1 x 10 3xSnatch +5xSnatch-balance + 2xSnatch-pull
40 x 1 x 12 3xSnatch +5xOH-squat + 2xSnatch-balance + 2xSnatch-pull
45 x 1 x 4 3xSnatch + Snatch-pull
50 x 1 x 4 3xSnatch + Snatch-pull
52 x 6 x 4 3xSnatch + Snatch-pull [80% 1RM]

Clean pulls (kg):
95 x 5 x 3

Reverse plank pull-ups:
BW x 5 x 10

It wasn't until the 4th set with 52kg that I was told just squat catch the snatch. Previously I had been splaying my legs wide to get under the bar. After the forceful cue, I was able to jump under the bar and catch it in the hole with my feet acceptably wider than my dead-lift stance. Before injuring my thumb I had duplicated this but it had been over three weeks since I had been able to repeat it. Next session I am going to start with snatches just to make I can duplicate the proper catch. I've adding OH-squats and snatch-balances with the lighter weights and both are improving. In particular I hit a mini-PR when I was finally able to correctly get under 40kg for snatch-balance double. Previously with anything over 32kg, I had been snatch grip pressing it out followed by an OH-squat .. that is not the exercise.

The clean pulls with 95kg presented some problems as I was pulling way too slowly during the deadlift. Once I was coaxed into "pull the darn thing .. its only a little heavier than your best clean" it went right up and the snatch pull was much more explosive.

The "reverse plank pull-up" is my own terminology. This is a good substitution for rows which Coach Fuller recommended for my touchy left shoulder. I'll try to describe it. A bar is place in a power rack so that it is a couple feet off the ground. Then I lay down on my back under the bar and with my arms extended upward and jump up a bit to grap hold of it. With my heels still touching the ground, I pull my self up so that my chest touches the bar, lower and repeat.

Total Volume: 10070 lbs

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Diet and Nutrition:

Goal: 182 lbs by April 2009

Thursday March 19, 2009

Current: 183 3/4 lbs


5 comments:

Colin said...

I had to chuckle when I read the title of this post. Yes, my humour is that of a 10 year old.

I've been going through the blog of Barry Kinsella you have linked here. Those guys can lift and look like they have some powerful craic down there.

Franklin said...

Barry has put together a heck of blog. Once you get a little more experience, I would suggest taking a trip down there and a train with them for a session if possible .. I bet it would be very inspiring.

As for avoiding juvenile behavior, just the name of the competition lifts themselves don't make it any easier :)

Colin said...

Yeah that's a great idea actually. It'd be down the line a bit, I'd get laughed out of Ireland now. But it is very cool to watch those guys lift big weights so fluidly and seemingly effortlessly.

The first exercise on my sheet for tomorrow is "Jerk off Rack" ....I'm thinking of calling in sick!! ;)

Martin Schap said...

If you guys want to really see some opportunities for juvenile humor look into all around weightlifting. How about the 2 man clean and jerk?
Nice sessions lately Franklin. I have heard your mystery exercise called a reverse push-up and a bodyweight row or body row. Maybe there are regional differences or something, I'm not sure. I have also seen the same thing done on rings, which is even nicer on the shoulder and elbow. Crossfitters call these ring rows.

Franklin said...

Martin,

Hey, thanks man!

I could have used the rings at the club but it would have inflamed my right golfers elbow as there would have been a tendency towards a neutral grip. The bar kept my palms facing outwards and this is why Coach Fuller suggested them.

Also, thanks for the proper name "body rows" for what I was doing.