Some Training Consistancy

This is a roll-up of several weeks of training sessions, both prior to the NYC Open and after. There was a greater emphasis on snatch technique prior to the meet and then with the clean and jerk technique subsequently. Also this stretch represents an re-introduction of considerable overhead work now that my right shoulder is doing much better.

Thursday September 17, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5
40 x 1 x 3 3Pos
45 x 1 x 3 3Pos
50 x 1 x 2
55 x 1 x 2
60 x 2 x 2
65 x 2 x 2
70 x 1 x 1 NoLift
70 x 2 x 2
74 x 5 x 1 5NoLift

Back Squat (kg):
70 x 1 x 6
80 x 1 x 4
90 x 3 x 3
100 x 3 x 3

This is the first time I was able to perform consecutive sets of double squat snatches with 65kg. This was hit or miss just a few months ago so I'm quite pleased with the incremental progress. I missed my first single attempt with 70kg and then made the next two. Coach Fuller suggested 74kg and although I missed all 5 lifts they got better and better with the last one being just a little late in getting underneath it. I know this is going down in the next couple of weeks hopefully at NYC Open.

Back squats went well I as I focused on slow controlled descent on each rep and being as vertical as possible on the concentric. When Coach Fuller saw how easily I was handing 90kg, he asked me to move to 100kgs which were only slightly more challenging.

Tuesday September 22, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 6 SS, S/T, HH/Ak/Bk
40 x 2 x 3 3Pos
45 x 2 x 2
50 x 2 x 2
55 x 5 x 1

C&J (kg):
40 x 1 x 2
50 x 1 x 2
60 x 2 x 2
70 x 7 x 1

Front Squat (kg):
70 x 4 x 3

24kg Kettlebell swing
5 x 20 Two hand swing

My jerk is still off but that's expected with the long break from OH work while my shoulder healed. Clean recovery from 70kg felt heavy today.

Thursday September 24, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 6
40 x 1 x 3 3Pos
40 x 1 x 4 3Pos + Sn
45 x 1 x 3 3Pos
50 x 1 x 3
50 x 1 x 2
55 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
60 x 4 x 1
65 x 2 x 1
70 x 3 x 1 3NoLift

C&J (kg):
40 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 1
70 x 1 x 1
80 x 1 x 1
85 x 1 x 1
90 x 1 x 1 press-out
90 x 1 x 1 no Jerk

Way too much for two days before a meet. In retrospect, only half of this would have been enough


Monday September 28, 2009

Morning Olympic Lifting Session at in my basement dungeon

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch/OHS combo (kg):
20 x 2 x 4
40 x 2 x (1 + 5) Sn + OHS
45 x 2 x (1 + 4) Sn + OHS
50 x 2 x (1 + 3) Sn + OHS
50 x 1 x 1 NoLift
50 x 21x (1 + 3) Sn + OHS

Jerks (kg):
20 x 2 x (1 + 4) Clean + Jerk
40 x 2 x (1 + 4) Clean + Jerk
50 x 1 x (1 + 3) Clean + Jerk
50 x 1 x (1 + 2) Clean + Jerk
20 x 1 x (1 + 3)

Working with suggestions by Arthur Drechsler at NYC Open

Tuesday September 29, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5 SnOnToes, StandingSn, HH,Ak,Bk,OHS
40 x 1 x (3 + 3) Sn+SnB
40 x 1 x (1 + 3) Sn + OHS
40 x 1 x (3 + 3) Sn + SnB
45 x 1 x (1 + 4) Sn + OHS
45 x 1 x (3 + 3) Sn + SnB
50 x 1 x (1 + 3) Sn + OHS
55 x 1 x (2 + 2) Sn + SnB
55 x 1 x 1 Sn
55 x 1 x (1 + 2) Sn + OHS
55 x 1 x (2 + 2) Sn +SnB
60 x 4 x (1 + 1) Sn + SnB

OHS (kg):
40 x 1 x (1 + 5) Sn + OHS
45 x 1 x (1 + 5) Sn + OHS
50 x 1 x (1 + 5) Sn + OHS

Front Squat (kg):
40 x 1 x 6
60 x 1 x 5
70 x 1 x 4
80 x 1 x 3
90 x 1 x 2
95 x 2 x 2
110 x 1 x 1 NoLift

Thursday October 1, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Rack Jerks (kg):
40 x 1 x 4
50 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 2
75 x 1 x 2
80 x 5 x 2
85 x 1 x 2
90 x 2 x 1
90 x 1 x 1
95 x 2 x 1 2 NoLift

Snatch (kg):
40 x 1 x 5
50 x 1 x 3
55 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
60 x 2 x 1

Front Squat (kg):
50 x 1 x 5
70 x 1 x 3
80 x 1 x 3
85 x 5 x 3

The most significant event today was being able to handle the negatives on the heavy rack jerks. Although I missed 95kg on all my attempts I'm still encouraged .. just more of these sessions needed.

Saturday October 3, 2009

Noon Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch + OHS Combo (kg):
20 x 2 x 5
40 x 1 x (1 + 5)
45 x 1 x (1 + 5)
50 x 1 x (1 + 4)
55 x 1 x (1 + 3)
60 x 1 x (1 + 3)

Clean + FrontSquat + Jerk Combo (kg):
40 x 1 x 3 x (1 + 1 + 1)
50 x 1 x 3 x (1 + 1 + 1)
60 x 1 x 3 x (1 + 1 + 1)
65 x 1 x 3 x (1 + 1 + 1)
70 x 3 x 3 x (1 + 1 + 1)

Back Squat (kg):
50 x 1 x 5
70 x 1 x 3
75 x 4 x 3
85 x 1 x 3

I really enjoy combo lifts.


Tuesday October 6, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Clean and Jerk (kg):
40 x 1 x (3 + 1)
50 x 1 x (3 + 2)
60 x 1 x (3 +1)
70 x 1 x 3
75 x 1 x (3 + 1)
75 x 1 x 3
75 x 1 x (3 + 1)
75 x 1 x (3 + 2)
75 x 1 x (3 + 3)

Romanian Deadlift (kg):
70 x 1 x 5
80 x 5 x 5

OHS (kg)
40 x 1 x 5
50 x 1 x 5
55 x 1 x 3
60 x 1 x 3
70 x 1 x 1 NoLift

I've been working on my jerk form and found that 75kg is a great weight to really focus on without being too heavy.


Thursday October 8, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 3 x 6 Sn-on-toes, Standing-sn, high-hang, above-knee, below-knee, OHS
40 x 1 x 3
45 x 1 x 3
50 x 1 x 3
55 x 1 x 3 1NoLift
59 x 2 x 3
60 x 1 x 3
66 x 1 x 2 2Nolift
66 x 2 x 2
70 x 5 x 1 5Nolift

Clean Pull (kg):
70 x 1 x 3
90 x 1 x 3
105 x 6 x 2

Back Squat (lbs):
135 x 1 x 5
185 x 1 x 3
225 x 1 x 2
235 x 6 x 2

After the three sets of doubles with 66kg, I had nothing left and proceeded to miss five consecutive singles with 70kg. Fortunately I moved on.

Saturday October 10, 2009

Noon Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Clean (kg):
40 x 1 x 3 x (1+1) c+j
50 x 1 x 3 x (1+1) c+j
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 2
80 x 2 x 2
85 x 2 x 1 1NoLift
90 x 5 x 1 1NoLift
92 x 2 x 1 2NoLift

Back Squat (kg):
70 x 1 x 3
90 x 1 x 3
100 x 1 x 3
102 x 6 x 3

Push Press (kg):
40 x 5
50 x 4
60 x 3
70 x 2
75 x 1
80 x 1 NoLift

Since learning to squat ass-to-ankles with both front and back squat, my legs are still going through an adjustment period as I learn to recruit new motor units. As a result, my legs are constantly in somewhat fatigued state and this has affected all my lifts. This happened before when I introduced heavy squats and eventually I will complete adjustment phase and begin to improve again.

Arthur Drechsler, Lost Battalion Hall and the New York City Open

The New York City Open Olympic Weightlifting Competition was held on Saturday September 26th. Although a bit too close to my last competition at the Conn. Open in August, I was very excited about traveling down to Rego Park, Queens NY and seeing the famous "Lost Battalion Hall" or LBH for short (pictured above in the second photo).

Also, I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Arthur Drechsler, former Olympic Weightlifting World Record holder and Coach of Team Met-Elite at the New York City Open this Saturday (pictured above at the top right of the top photo along with members of Team Met-Elite). I own a copy of his "The Weightlifting Encyclopedia", or TWLE, for short and brought it down to the meet for a signing for which Arthur was extremely gracious and appreciative. This is by far my favorite book on the sport and one that remains on my kitchen table. It truly is an Encyclopedia, with no frills, a small font and over three hundreds of pages of practical information on the this great sport. I have yet to complete it but have made great progress in working through it in a non-linear fashion by choosing topics of immediate interest that then lead to other topics.

After I completed my snatch attempts, Arthur asked that I stick around at the end of competition as he had some suggestions to implement in my training.

Here are Arthur's suggestions:

• OHS, OHS, and then more OHS. The overhead squat must be mastered and made to feel natural and strong in the bottom position
• The fleshy inside of the elbow joint where the bottom of the biceps attached, must face outwards. The bar must be pulled like taffee during the entire OHS and catch of the snatch.
• Practice, practice, practice with and without a an empty bar, dropping quickly and completely vertically into the jerk split bottom receiving position. All five toes of the back foot should be pushing and cushioning. This motion of quickly pushing directly vertically down mush be grooved into neural-muscular memory.

Here are the details of my meet warm ups and competition lifts:

Snatch Warm ups (kg):
20 x 2 x 5
40 x 1 x 3
40 x 1 x 2
50 x 1 x 2
50 x 2 x 1
55 x 1 x 1
60 x 1 x 1
65 x 1 x 1
70 x 1 x 1

Snatch Meet Attempts (kg):
70 Power Snatch: Good Lift
73 Squat Snatch: Good Lift
75 Squat Snatch .. out front: No Lift

Clean and Jerk Warm ups (kg):
20 x 2 x 5
40 x 1 x 3
50 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 1
75 x 1 x 1
80 x 1 x 1 Missed jerk
80 x 1 x 1
85 x 1 x 1

Clean and Jerk Meet Attempts (kg):
90 Squat Clean: Good Lift
95 Squat Clean, Missed Jerk: No Lift
95 Power Clean, Missed Jerk: No Lift

I traveled down to Riverdale in the Bronx a day early to hang out with my second cousin who I hadn't seen in twenty years. I knew combining visiting relatives would impact my performance but in spite of it I did just okay. I power snatched my first snatch attempt of 70kg easily and then proceeded to get quickly under 73kg for my best heavy snatch to date .. in fact a new PR. I was too slow getting under 75kg but that's going down soon. Mike Shoretz and Dave Almeida two former Excel weightlifters who took charge of my warm ups and deserve a lot of credit for 73kg snatch .. after the 70kg power snatch they were emphatic about me just getting under the 73 and I'm glad I did.

I was off in my c&j missing 80kg in the warmups and got very concerned about it. Fortunately, Mike Shoretz did a great job of calming me down .. a few minutes later I tried it again, made it and then an attempt with 85kg. He convinced me to stick with my opener and I made 90kg .. but it was tough as the clean recovery seemed much more taxing than usual. I decided to go for broke but I missed 95kg badly on my second attempt with a squat clean that took too much out of me in the squat recovery .. it seems I lots some leg strength but I know I'll get it back. On my 3rd attempt with 95kg, I just power cleaned it to avoid another tough squat recovery and missed the jerk out front. As a result, I repeated my total of 163 from the Conn open by shifting 3 kilos from my c&j and adding it to my snatch.

The other Excel lifter that made the trip down to LBH, the seventeen year old Alex Gordon, was very, very sharp making his opener 75kg snatch and then a very easy looking 80kg for his 2nd attempt. He went for 85kg on his 3rd attempt and caught it a little out front and had to ditch it. His c&j opener with 90kg looked like it was a bar warm up. He then smoothly with a perfectly straight back, squat cleaned 95kg and jerked it easily. He then went for 100kg on his 3rd attempt, got under quickly but just couldn't recover. This kid just needs to gain some weight (he weighed in at paltry 79kg) and he will easily do more. With a nice 175kg total he took 1st place in the 85kg. I was shocked when my name was called for 2nd place but its not my fault that the weight class was the weakest by far of the final session. Even so, I did have to beat two other competitors in the weight class to earn "runner up" so it wasn't a total gimme. As a result, Alex and I did the best we possibly could have in representing Excel.

Poorly fitting dentures?!

Until this photo was taken of me at the Conn Open I would have never guessed I looked so completely ridiculous just prior to making this 70kg snatch attempt. As a result, I will never ever make a wisecrack about anyone else's pre-liftoff setup ever again. I would like to change this but there are so many more important areas to work on .. eliminating gaping mouth grimaces will have to wait.

Tuesday Sep 15, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Clean and Jerk (kg): [Goal 6 x 2 @ 90%1RM = 84kg]
40 x 1 x 2
50 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 2
80 x 1 x 2
85 x 2 x 2
90 x 1 x 1
95 x 1 x 1 PR
100 x 3 x 1 3xclean-NoLift

Front Squat (kg):
60 x 1 x 6
70 x 1 x 2
80 x 1 x 2
85 x 4 x 2
90 x 1 x 2
100 x 1 x 2
90 x 1 x 2

The last thing I expected this evening was c&j PR. The heavy back squats on Saturday had a delayed effect on my right knee and this morning it was still a little stiff and sore. My right shoulder was a little better than usual but still painful in some extended range of motion. At least I was a good boy and only did some light Bear and Tiger Frolic QiGong on Sunday and Monday to get as much rest in as possible. Since the Conn Open, I had been avoiding heavy jerks as they seemed to irritate my shoulder. Perhaps switching to power-jerks for a few sessions might have had some carry over or maybe the PR can be partially attribute to the those very heavy back squats on Saturday.

Yet another theory is my shoulder is usually fatigued after a heavy snatch session of which I have been doing at the start of every session prior to today. Instead when I saw that Coach Ben Fuller wanted six sets of double c&j with 90%, I let the snatches slide for a day and starting with doubles with 40kg and I added 10kg each set up to 80kg. I surprised myself when I followed that with two sets of doubles with 85kg (92%). Coach asked me to switch to heavier singles, first with 90kg and then the PR with 95kg. Happily, my shoulder never bothered me and even now its the best its been in several weeks. Part of this I attribute to all the extra Z-Health dynamic joint mobility and some band work I recently added as suggested by top lifter Yasha Kahn. doing.

One thing that helped me psychologically was on Saturday when I asked my training partner Jason Edmonds, who is an extremely strong jerker, if the weight felt heavy prior to jerking it. He replied

"Yeah it feels heavy but I just jerk it and it goes up somehow".

That's exactly what happened with 95kg .. I had a nice clean, it felt very heavy in the rack but somehow I just jerked it an up it went although the catch was wobbly but I was still able to save it after taking a few additional steps. Amusingly, I had really thought I had dropped into a deep full squat with the clean but coach said it was only to parallel and that I did the right thing by not riding it down to the bottom.

While I was on a roll, I tried three attempts with 100kg and missed all three. For the first two the pull was very high but I pulled too long and just stood there holding the bar. The 3rd time I jumped backwards in a poor attempt to get under it. I am not discouraged at all .. it really felt light off the floor .. I'm just trying to pull it too long. The same thing happened with 80, 85, 90 and 95 .. I know I'll nail it in the near future having been through this several times before with lighter weights.

Following the clean & jerks, coach had me go right to front squats to complete the workout. I was very pleased the doubles with 85kg felt very light and the double with 100kg felt the easiest it has ever been.

Needless to say I'm really excited at all the improvements lately and I think Coach Fuller deserves a lot of the credit for the program he has designed for us.

A Reverse Kettlebell WTH Effect

There is a significant number of documented cases of RKC style kettlebell lifters who have experienced large improvements in non-kettlebell strength and endurance feats without explicitly training for them. This cross-0ver phenomenon in the RKC community is known as the "What-the-hell?!!"or the WTH effect for short. Since beginning Olympic lifting eleven months ago, I have since learned that the Olympic lifts are well known for there tremendous impact on strength and power sports such as football and wrestling but never had direct experience of this type of carry-over. In my case, it was RKC kettlebell lifting that provided the necessary base of strength and conditioning to allow me to train the Olympic lifts especially as a 56 year old master lifter.

Well, last Saturday was the first time I had seen the Olympic lifts providing a "WTH" effect in another area and in this case it was kettlebell lifting! Jen Johnson, the 60kg lifter pictured above in a rock bottom position of a 45kg snatch, has been training the lifts for over two years. A biologist by profession, she was an avid soccer player in high school who picked up the lifts several years after college.

As mentioned in a previous post, just as I started lifting at the club I would be in complete awe as she demonstrated beautiful full squat snatch and c&j technique. When I mentioned this to her, she was very modest claiming what I was seeing was a result of year and half struggle to get under the bar quickly. Shortly afterward she broke through a number of lifting plateaus and continues to improve in all her lifts. Just recently she front squatted 71kg, snatched 51kg and c&j 61, all PRs within the last two weeks. We both laughed so hard when I realized only after being at the club for over seven months, that Jen used to baby sit for her brother and my now twenty-eight year old son when they were in elementary school. Oh boy the years fly by!

Well last week Jen asked me about kettlebells and I offered to instruct her in performing the Turkish Getup, or TGU for short, after our session. Within twenty minutes of working through the six steps of the progress, she was handling 25 lb dumbbell (I didn't have a 12kg bell with me at the time) quite easily with either hands for good crisp form as she transitioned between the six positions. To date all of my women clients have taken six months or longer to TGU this weight.

Then last Tuesday, I brought in my 12kg bell for her and 24kg bell for myself to demonstrate and teach her the two-hand swing. Honestly, she was doing them solidly withing a minute with the 12kg bell with powerful hip snap, loose arm and neutral back. However the bell kept flying up too high spinning around her hands. Wishing I had a 20kg bell as I felt it would be better suited for power generation, I went ahead anyway and for grins asked her to try the 24kg bell. Low and behold she began swinging it with excellent form to shoulder height for sets of ten reps. For the record, none of my women clients can handle the 24kg bell for anything more than
Sumo deadlifting it. In all fairness there a quite a few very strong and powerful women RKC kettlebell trainers (Andrea Du Cane, Master RKC, Sarah Cheatham, Senior RKC, Tracy Reifkind,RKC, Gabby Katschthaler, RKC to name a few) that handle the 24kg and heavier bells, but none of them, as I know of, could swing a 24kg so proficiently the first time they learned to swing. Congratulations Jen!

Below is a wrap up of my week of training:

Tuesday Sep 10, 2009

Noon Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 1 x 5 3Standing, Ak, Bk
30 x 1 x 5 3Standing, Ak, Bk
40 x 1 x 4 3Pos,2Sn 1Sn-NoLift
45 x 1 x 3 3Pos
50 x 1 x 3 1-NoLift
50 x 1 x 2
55 x 1 x 2
60 x 2 x 2
65 x 4 x 1 1-NoLift
65 x 1 x 2
65 x 1 x 2 1-NoLift
65 x 3 x 1
67 x 1 x 1
70 x 2 x 1 2-NoLift
72 x 2 x 1 2-NoLift
72 x 1 x 1 PR

Snatch Balance (kg):
20 x 1 x 5
30 x 1 x 5
40 x 3 x 3

Front Squat (kg):
85 x 6 x 3

A very good snatch session with a double squat snatch with 65kg. After a very smooth 67kg, Coach Fuller recommended going up. I missed 70kg twice and then was asked to jump to 72kg. Again missed it twice getting under it the 2nd rep but unable to stand with it. After being told I could have made it if I was just a little more confident, I went one more time and caught parallel to the ground a little off balance and somehow saved the lift for a new PR.

Thursday Sep 10, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):

Front Squat (kg):
60 x 1 x 6
70 x 1 x 5
80 x 1 x 3
90 x 6 x 3

Snatch (kg):
40 x 1 x 3 2Ak, sn
40 x 1 x 3 3Pos
50 x 1 x 3 3Pos
60 x 2 x 2
60 x 1 x 1 NoLift

Snatch Pulls (kg):
70 x 2 x 3
80 x 3 x 3

C&J (kg):
40 x 1 x 3
60 x 1 x 3
70 x 2 x 2
80 x 1 x 2 1Jerk-NoLift
85 x 1 x 1

This is the first time I've ever front squatted first. Coach Fuller has suggested I do this once a week to mix things up. They did tire my legs but I was still pleased with a quality session.

Saturday Sep 12, 2009

Noon Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5 3Standing, Ak, Bk
40 x 1 x 3 3Pos
40 x 1 x 5 3Pos, 2Sn 1Sn-NoLift
50 x 1 x 3 3Pos
55 x 1 x 3 2-NoLift
50 x 1 x 1 , 55 x 1 x 2
60 x 2 x 2
64 x 1 x 2 1-NoLift
64 x 1 x 2 2-NoLift
64 x 1 x 2

Clean and Jerk (kg):
40 x 1 x 2
50 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 2
80 x 1 x 1 Clean only

Back Squat (kg):
50 x 1 x 5
70 x 1 x 3
90 x 1 x 2
100 x 1 x 2
105 x 1 x 2
108 x 5 x 2 PR (90%1RM)

24kg Kettlebell Finisher AMT Complex:
A1. 20 Swings
A2. TGU Left
A3. TGU Right
Total: 5 super sets

Heavy front squats on Tues and Thurs took their toll and I struggled. I took immense focus to complete the back squat portion of the session with a five sets of doubles with 108kg. After resting a bit, I really worked up a good sweat with five supersets of 24kg kettlebell swings and TGUs.

Magic Bullets and Tired legs

The photo above is of the Large Hadron Collider at CERN where particle beams are accelerated close to the speed of light and then smashed into in each other, in the hopes of creating elusive primordial subatomic-particles. If in fact discovered as predicted by the theory of super-symmetry, these sub-atomic "Magic Bullets" would provide the indivisible glue for assembling the greatest source of energy known in the universe.

But alas, way up here at the macro level of everyday existence in the iron game, the search for a "Magic Bullet" yielding ever-lasting strength and power is completely futile .. just blood sweat and tears and only then results.

On Saturday, absolutely everything felt heavy, I had no explosiveness in my pulls and my right shoulder acted up while power jerking a fairly light weight. I should have known this was going to be a rough one as my bar warm-ups were unexpectedly taxing. When my inner dialogue of indignation and disgust finally subsided, I "sucked it up", dropped down to weights that I could handle with somewhat reasonable form, and made the best of out it. What kept me going was knowledge of the belief that these are precisely the days that really count towards measurable results as they train the mind just as hard as the body.

Tuesday Sep 1, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility
Snatch (kg):
20 x 1 x 8 Standing-sn, 3-pos-sn, scarecrow-sn, sn-on-toes
32 x 1 x 5 3Sn-on-toes + 2 AK-sn
40 x 1 x 3 Standing-sn 1NoLift
45 x 1 x 3 3-pos-sn
50 x 1 x 3 3-pos-sn, BK-sn-NoLift
50 x 1 x 3 2AK-sn + sn
50 x 3 x 3 1NoLift

Clean and Power-Jerk(kg):
50 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 2 x 2
75 x 1 x 2
70 x 2 x 2
75 x 2 x 2
80 x 1 x 1 PR
80 x 1 x 1
85 x 2 x 1 2CleanWithNoJerk

Front Squat (kg):
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 2
80 x 1 x 2
90 x 6 x 2

My hips and legs were quite fatigued as I had to abandon snatches early. The power-jerk PR was a nice surprise in a very difficult session.

Thursday Sep 3, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility
Snatch (kg):
20 x 1 x 6 Standing-sn, AK-sn, BK-sn
30 x 1 x 5 3-pos-sn, standing-sn
40 x 1 x 3 3-pos-sn
45 x 1 x 4 3-pos-sn, 1sn-NoLift
50 x 1 x 3 3-pos-sn
55 x 1 x 2
60 x 5 x 2
63 x 2 x 1
66 x 2 x 1
66 x 1 x 1 NoLift

Snatch Pulls (kg):
70 x 1 x 3
75 x 1 x 3
80 x 1 x 3
85 x 1 x 3

Back Squat (kg):
70 x 1 x 3
80 x 1 x 3
90 x 1 x 3
102 x 5 x 3 (5 x 3 x 85%)

A great snatch session as this was the first time I was ever able to full squat snatch 60kg so consistently, in fact for five sets of doubles. However back squats required such intense focus as I forced myself to go as deep as possible on each rep. Recovering from the 3rd rep of each set was agonizing and I knew it would take a toll on me in terms of requiring extra time to recover.

Saturday Sep 5, 2009

Noon Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5 3xStanding, AK, BK
30 x 2 x 5 3xStanding, AK, BK
40 x 2 x 3 3-Pos
50 x 1 x 2 1-NoLift
50 x 1 x 2
55 x 2 x 2
60 x 1 x 2 1-NoLift
60 x 1 x 2 1-NoLift

Clean and Power Jerk (kg):
50 x 1 x 3
60 x 1 x 3
70 x 1 x 3
75 x 1 x 3 2-Jerk-NoLift
75 x 1 x 3 2-Jerk-NoLift
70 x 1 x 3 Clean only

Front Squat (lbs):
95 x 1 x 5
135 x 1 x 5
155 x 1 x 5
175 x 1 x 3

Walking Lunges (lbs):
45 x 5/5
95 x 5/5
135 x 2 x 5/5 PR

Although this session was extremely difficult and every thing felt heavy, I salvaged it with walking lunges. The heavy back squats on Thurs completely fatigued my CNS.

(squat-snatch 1RM) > (power-snatch 1RM)

Transitioning to a lifter

A month ago I set a snatch PR with a 70kg power-snatch at the Conn Open. Upon closer examination of a video of that lift (provided at no cost via email by meet director Gary Valentine .. you can bet I will repay this wonderful freebie by attending his events every year for as long as possible) revealed the following flaws:

• I tilted my head to the left side to clear the bar
• My receiving stance was way too wide
• I was almost 6" airborne after the pull
  
• Both arms pressed out slightly

I am not knocking the power-snatch .. there are many lifters who just don't have the flexibility for the squat version and do make progress with the power version. In my case it was clear that after examining my technique that it was time to change direction and to put a full-court press on learning to squat under a heavy snatch. Since attending my first meet I was in awe of the lifters who performed the full squat lifts smoothly and powerfully .. I hoped someday I would join their ranks.

This past Saturday I full squat snatched 71kg at the club .. a full kilo more than my flawed power-snatch PR at the Conn Open. With my coach, Ben Fuller, providing encouragement to go for it after failing my first attempt with it, I caught the second attempt in a deep squat with arms fully locked and recovered easily. All I remember is thinking to jump under it as fast as possible and all of a sudden I was in a full squat position with the bar securely placed overhead with locked arms.

I was told by many of the seasoned lifters that eventually if I worked hard and smart, my squat snatch would exceed my power-snatch. For the longest time it seemed unattainable but as with any treasured accomplishments, their value lies in the hard and sustained effort required to overcome a seemingly insurmountable goal. With the support of my coach together with input from Head Coach Freddie Myles of Myles-Ahead, my plan consisted of:

• working only the full squat lifts with a specific focus on the full squat snatch. If a lift was accidentally power-lifted, I would either ride it down or repeat it with the full squat version
• work the stand-on-toes assistance lift and the 3-position versions of the lifts with light weights: Above-knee followed by below-knee followed by from the floor
• systematically and slowly increasing the weight of the full squat version of the lift
  

Here is the roll-up of the eight training sessions that led to accomplishing this goal:

Tuesday August 11, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 1 x 5 3Sn-on-toes + 2High-hang-sn
25 x 1 x 5 3Sn-on-toes + 2High-hang-sn
42 x 5 x 5 HHSn + 4Sn; 2No-lift
45 x 3 x 3 HHSn; 1No-lift

Front Squat (lb):
135 x 1 x 5
155 x 1 x 5
165 x 5 x 5 (75kg; 70%1RM)

BW x 2 x 20/20 Hip Dip
BW x 2 x 3/3 Box Pistol

I worked hard on full squat snatches from the hang position. The idea here was a minimal "bump" and then quickly getting under the bar. Even with light weight this was very challenging but decent progress was made.

Thursday August 13, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 4 Sn-on-toes
40 x 1 x 2
50 x 1 x 2
55 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 1 No-lift
50 x 1 x 1

C&J (kg):
40 x 1 x 3 Clean + Front-squat + Jerk
50 x 1 x 3 Clean + Front-squat + Jerk
60 x 4 x 5 C&J

Clean Pull (kg):
80 x 3 x 5
90 x 1 x 5
100 x 1 x 5

Front Squat (lbs):
135 x 1 x 6
155 x 1 x 6
165 x 6 x 6 (75kg; 70%1RM)

I missed a full squat snatch with 60kg today by not getting under it quickly. I finished with a solid 50kg single and moved on.

Saturday August 15, 2009

Noon Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5 3Sn-on-toes + Sn + SnB
25 x 1 x 5 3Sn-on-toes + Sn + SnB
40 x 1 x 4 3-position-sn + sn
45 x 1 x 4 3-position-sn + sn
50 x 1 x 4 2Sn + 2BK-sn
55 x 1 x 2
55 x 1 x 1
60 x 1 x 2 1No-lift
60 x 1 x 1
64 x 1 x 1 Squat-snatch PR
65 x 1 x 1 Squat-snatch PR

Clean (kg):
65 x 1 x 3
70 x 2 x 3
80 x 1 x 3 1No-lift
85 x 1 x 2
70 x 2 x 3 Hang Clean
80 x 2 x 1 1No-lift

RDL (kg):
70 x 1 x 5
90 x 3 x 3

Back Squat (kg):
70 x 1 x 5
80 x 1 x 3
90 x 1 x 3
100 x 1 x 3

Evening Olympic Lifting Session in my basement dungeon

Snatch (kg):
40 x 1 x 3 Sn + 2AK-sn
40 x 1 x 2
50 x 1 x 3 2Sn + AK-sn
55 x 1 x 2 Sn + AK-sn
60 x 1 x 2 2No-lift
60 x 1 x 1 No-lift
60 x 6 x 1
65 x 2 x 1

24kg Kettlebell AMT Complex
20 Two-hand swings
1 TGU left
1 TGU right
Total: 5 complexes

Worked the full squat snatches hard today with a double session, the 2nd being an impromptu one. The significance was evening session with the six straight singles with 60kg really focusing on jumping under quickly. This was after missing my first three. I then did two singles with 65kg with the 2nd one a much deeper catch.

Tuesday August 18, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5 3Sn-on-toes + 2HH-Sn
25 x 2 x 5 Sn-on-toes
25 x 1 x 5 Sn-on-toes + Sots-press
30 x 1 x 6 HH-sn + 3Sots-press
40 x 1 x 4 Sn + 3Sots-press
50 x 1 x 3
50 x 1 x 3
55 x 1 x 2
60 x 1 x 2 2No-lift
60 x 1 x 1

Clean (kg):
60 x 1 x 5
70 x 1 x 5
75 x 1 x 5
80 x 3 x 3
85 x 1 x 3

Front Squat (kg):
70 x 1 x 4
80 x 1 x 4
80 x 1 x 3

The cleans left me so exhausted I coulnd not complete the five sets of four front squat reps.

Thursday August 20, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 3 x 5 AK-Sn, Sn-on-toes
40 x 1 x 5
40 x 1 x 3
45 x 1 x 3 3-Pos-Sn
45 x 1 x 3
50 x 1 x 2 AK-Sn, Sn
55 x 2 x 2
60 x 2 x 1
60 x 2 x 2 1NoLift
60 x 1 x 2
60 x 10 x 1 1 NoLift
50 x 1 x 2 AK-sn
55 x 1 x2 AK-sn

RDL (kg):
70 x 2 x 4
80 x 1 x 3
90 x 1 x 3
100 x 1 x 2

CDL (kg):
110 x 1 x 2
120 x 1 x 2
125 x 1 x 1 NoLift

Tuesday August 25, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5 Sn-on-toes, AK-sn, Standing-sn
25 x 1 x 3 Standing-sn
32 x 1 x 3 Standing-sn
32 x 1 x 5 2Standing-sn + 3-Pos-sn
40 x 3 x 3
45 x 1 x 3
50 x 1 x 2 AK-sn, sn
50 x 1 x 3 AK-sn, 2sn

C&J (kg):
50 x 1 x 3
60 x 1 x 3
70 x 1 x 4
70 x 1 x 3
75 x 1 x 3
75 x 1 x 3 Clean-only
80 x 1 x 3 Clean-only
85 x 2 x 1 Nolift
70 x 1 x 1

Back Squat (kg):
60 x 1 x 5
75 x 1 x 5
90 x 3 x 5

Box Pistols
BW x 3 x 3/3

Thursday August 27, 2009

Evening Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Clean (kg):
40 x 2 x 6 3AK, 3C
50 x 2 x 6 3AK, 3C
60 1 x 3
70 x 5 x 3
80 x 1 x 3
80 x 1 x 2

Muscle Sn (kg):
40 x 5 x 3

Power-Jerk (kg):
50 x 1 x 6 1NoLift
50 x 1 x 5
55 x 1 x 3
60 x 1 x 3
65 x 1 x 5
65 x 1 x 43
70 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 3

Front Squat (kg)

Saturday August 29, 2009

Afternoon Olympic Lifting Session at Excel Fitness and Sports

Z-Health Neural Warmup Level II Dynamic Joint Mobility

Snatch (kg):
20 x 2 x 5 Standing-sn + 3-pos-sn
32 x 2 x 4 Standing-sn + 3-pos-sn
40 x 2 x 3 3-pos-sn
50 x 1 x 3 3-pos-sn, BK-sn-NoLift
55 x 1 x 3 1NoLift
60 x 1 x 2
67 x 1 x 1 Squat snatch PR
71 x 1 x 1 NoLift
71 x 1 x 1 PR

Clean (kg):
40 x 1 x 3 3-pos
50 x 1 x 3 3-pos
60 x 1 x 3
65 x 1 x 3
70 x 4 x 3

Clean Pull (kg):
80 x 4 x 4

Front Squat (kg):
60 x 1 x 2
70 x 1 x 2
80 x 1 x 2
85 x 5 x 2

24kg Kettlebell AMT Complex
20 Two-hand swings
1 TGU left
1 TGU right
Total: 2 complexes


After making a full squat snatch with 67kg and ready to move on, Coach Fuller recommended I go for snatch PR. I missed 71kg by not getting under it quickly enough and crashed down on me. With little rest, I was urged to attempt it again just focusing a slow pull off the floor and getting under it quickly. By golly the next thing I knew, I was in a full squat snatch with the bar over my head. I easily recovered and was stunned for several days there after.

An Interview with 2009 Conn Open Masters Champion, Harry Cochran, Jr.

Since getting involved in Olympic weightlifting, I have spent considerable time researching and reading about master lifters that are in my weight class (85kg, 187lb) and approximately my age. Some of these master lifters are very accomplished and can handle weights that even much younger men would be proud to lift. However, it is one thing to read about these lifters, but it is quite another to see one perform live. And this is exactly what happened at the 2009 Conn. Open in Stamford, Ct a month ago. It was such a powerful image that it is forever embedded into my head and one that I will long remember and provide inspiration to keep me training hard and smart.

Gary Valentine, the Conn Open meet director and holder of many American Master records in the snatch, clean and jerk and total, had the brilliant idea of asking all the participants to email him a non-lifting photo and a short bio, which he then compiled into a new meet pamphlet. As I am always interested to see if there are any other master lifters in my weight class, I came across the photo and bio entry for Harry Cochran, Jr. Just a few years younger than me, Harry's bio indicated that only recently had he returned to competitive Olympic lifting after a thirty year hiatus.

As you can see from the photo above, Harry is not some muscle bulging genetic freak but instead a very fit looking middle age man who happens to be exceptionally powerful and explosive. This was extremely important for me to see as it immediately dispelled the false belief that in order to achieve totals to be competitive with the top master lifters in age and weight class, it would require some massive changes in my body composition. I held this ridiculous belief even though I had read that Olympic Weightlifting is not an optimal regime for building massive muscles. At the same top it is also well documented that the elite Olympic weightlifters are the strongest most powerful athletes on the planet.

When Harry arrived at the meet venue, I recognized him immediately from his photo and introduced myself as a fellow master in the same weight class. A friendly and modest individual, Harry did not give any indication that he would later be tearing the place up during the competition. When it was time to lift in the last section, I began warming up with snatches. After struggling to perform a single with 60kg, Harry stepped in to share the bar. I remember watching in disbelief how he first easily power snatched 60kg, slowly brought it down to his thighs and then easily full squat snatched it from the high hang. He then repeated this for multiple reps, each performed effortlessly and with impeccable form. I then watched him shortly afterward do the same thing with 65kg .. with no change in perceived amount of effort! When I mentioned to him how impressed I was with his warm-ups, he just about blushed. When he told he planned on opening with 80kg (a two year away goal for me) I knew he would make it and more. And he did just that with three beautiful full squat snatches of 80kg/85kg/90kg.

For the clean and jerk, Harry went on to make 100kg, then 105kg before barely missing the jerk with 108kg for a total of 195kg. Again all three cleans were smooth as silk full squat clean. I was not the only who was impressed with his superb performance as a number of coaches were speaking highly of Harry as well. Harry went on to win the bronze in the open (all ages combined) 85kg weight class and took first place among all master lifters with the highest computed Sinclair value (this normalizes both the weight and age of the lifter).

Having been awed by Harry’s performance I thought other middle aged master lifters might want to hear a bit more from Harry, so he graciously granted me the interview below:

How and when you were first introduced to Olympic Weightlifting?

Watching my father and brother lift weights in our garage is what sparked my interest in lifting. My father was a natural athlete; however he never participated in Olympic weightlifting. My brother participated in Junior Olympic Lifting, but his real passion was wrestling. My brother was able to perform a standing press of 245 pounds at the age of 17 and a bodyweight of 165 pounds! My brother at the age of 15, and I at the age of 13 entered our first Junior Olympic meet in Philadelphia, PA along with my dear friend Michael Spallone, age 15 (you met him in Connecticut).

Where did you train? What type of lifts did you perform?

My training was in our garage with my father, brother and very dear friends Tom and Jim Martin (you also met Tom in Connecticut) was a regular event. It included lots of squats, presses, power cleans, and power snatches.

What other types of lifts did you work on?

As a youngster, I also experimented with every type of lifting imaginable – curls, pullovers, dips, pull-ups, deadlifts, rows, etc. As a teenager, I participated a few times a year in Junior Olympic lifting events with my brother and Michael Spallone.

What lifters at the time had the most influence on you?

Obviously the lifters that had the most influence on me were the ones closest to me: my father, brother, Tom and Jim Martin and Michael Spallone. Of course I also admired the greats – Bob Hoffman, Bob Bednarski, Phil Gripaldi, Peter Riegert.

What happened in the interim between lifting competitively as young man and now?

With demands of work and raising a family, I had lost touch with competitive lifting. About a year and half ago, Mike Spallone and I attended a East Coast Gold meet held in nearby Moorestown, NJ. At the meet, I had the honor of meeting East Coast Gold President and Executive Director Leo Totten. Since then, Leo has included me in his newsletter e-mails. Mike, Tom and Leo have provided motivation, but the greatest inspiration in everything I do in life comes from my loving wife Sandra. She is the one who encouraged me to compete as a Master.

What are some of the ways you train differently now versus back then?

As a Master weightlifter, I have to spend much more time warming up to avoid injury. Recovery time between workouts is also much longer. Most importantly – read your body’s signals and avoid injury.

How did you train over the years prior to re-entering competitive weightlifting?

During my hiatus imposed by frequent travel to manage construction projects from the Bahamas to San Francisco, I constantly sought out places to lift. When I was unable to lift I would swim, ride a bike or sometimes do calisthenics.

Please tells us a little bit on how often you train and what you do?

Now I lift about 2 – 3 times per week for about 1 hour at a time. On days that I don’t lift I do sit-ups and/or ride a stationary bike or ride outdoors. On some days I do back squats in sets of 20 reps (to keep the weight low on my arthritic knees) and incline presses in sets of 5 reps. On alternate days I do power snatches or power cleans in sets of 3 and standing presses or standing push-presses in sets of 5.

What is your favorite lift?

My favorite Olympic Lift is the snatch – it’s exciting.

What about your favorite assistance lift?

My favorite assistance lift is the full back squat – the foundation for all Olympic Lifting.

What are your short and long term goals with regards to lifting?

My short term goal is to continue to compete in Masters events. Long term, I want to maintain my health and strength so to enjoy activities with my family.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

I want to thank you for your interest and to wish you the best of luck. I hope that the responses have been helpful. Can’t wait to check out your blog! Good luck with future meets, I am looking forward to participating with you again. Also Franklin, I can’t believe that you have only been lifting for 8 months – wow! I’m sure it won’t be long before you pass me.

Well, it should be obvious to all that Harry is a gentleman and a complete class act. And honestly, I don't think I'll be passing Harry any time soon, but I know I will continue to improve and enjoy this great sport .. and that's what it’s really all about anyway.