QWA WK 2 DAY 1+2

Very pleased to find that my knee is fine today. It felt very strained yesterday doing power snatch. This makes me nervous and tentative.

Rack Jerk: I decided to complete this. The weights felt too heavy on Saturday. They were still heavy today but I managed to complete. Nowhere near my 110pb at the moment but hopefully I will reach my targets by May 31st

Squat cleans - no problem completing program lifts but failed 105??
Power cleans - got the max prog lifts but then had to stop when the knee hurt.

Later
Clean pulls and back squat - these were ok but light weights used for squat.

Irish ranking
My recent lifting has given me a modest irish ranking of 28th with 200 points. Challenge for 2010 is to get inside top 25. I have the will power to do this but need some luck with injuries

in the neck of time

QWA WEEK 2

The sore neck didn't help but if anyone needed to make a documentary on how not to do weightlifting, they should have watched me lifting today.

Snatch completely horrendus
Power clean.ugly technique. Was doing sets with 85 which felt like 105

Rack jerk. 70kg felt like 100 so i gave up. I will try again tomorrow or monday

Front squats- these went ok
deadlifts. a few sets

overall 5/10. happy to get some training done considering that i am sore , full of turkey and not very motivated

More neck woes

Still struggling with neck pain. Very little relief from pain killers. Not sure yet if the guys are lifting in St Gab's on Monday. I need to give training a go today [sat] or else I will start losing recent momentum. I will put this on the blog later. I will have to see how the neck bears up

A pain in the neck

Woke up this morning with severe neck pain. I thought i might have been caused from doing 'good mornings' for the 1st time yesterday but now I think it was from the way I lay on the pillow???

Might have to skip thurs training a give it a few days rest and get back at it on Sunday

mon/tue

Monday
got a bit of light bodybuilding done

Tuesday
QWA Week 1 day 3
First time to complete 3 olympic sessions in one week. Hopefully I can train for a while now with no injury.

Just over 6 weeks to go to Munster open and 8 weeks to irish masters.

Have qualified for British masters in March. Might go if any other lifters are going

Sunday

QWA WEEK 1 DAY 2

Got through all training except squats. I did snatch balance and clean pulls-something I never do. I must say that pulls are a horrible exercise but probably very important if I want to improve.
No problem getting through the clean routine. I thought I might go for a big one but 97 was very hard so I decided to leave it
Power snatch was fine.I feel very fatigued at the momen. I might do the squats tonight or leave them until tomorrow. Munster open is 7 weeks away- long time to wait but regular tournaments after that.

A new beginning [friday]

After last weeks competiton in Herc's, I have decided to try and start training properly.
Yesterday, I did the Aussi program WEEK 1; DAY 1. I did this b4 but omitted half of the exercises. I have never done any type of pulls, snatch balance and verty few squats. Injury permitting I intend to do everything this time. I realised that I rarely feel sore after training which shouldn't be the case.
Looking forward to the long journey to Limerick in feb.

herc's open

What an enjoyable day at Herc's. I felt a bit more nervous today compared to the NI's. Probably bacause I was lifting very close to the referees. My snatch technique is crap even on a good day [if that's possible] so I didn't want to be the 1st lifter in Ireland to kill a referee. I bottled out and did power snatch instead.
Snatch 65; 70xx; 70
C+J 97; 100; 102
Total 172 [7kg improvement form the NI's]
After a recent layoff, I feel my strength gradually comin back. Hopefull I can start training legs now
Was glad to have a few guys to warm up with. Definately helps with the prep. Garrett, Liam and Cathal - gentlemen.
Several strong ladies were lifting and showing good form

Cathal Twaddle's lifting was especially impressive with 85+105 for a 190 total with plenty left in the tank. Sami's lifting was smooth as usual but the star today was Barry with 115+145 for an outstanding 260kg total. Inspirational lifting

wed

No training today after all. I have 3 days rest now which I hopw wont do me any harm. Right eye swollen for some reason. Lifting on sat even with one eye.

Slight pain in right elbow so I need to be careful

pre competition

Got my final training b4 herc's. Only did power exercises so that I dont aggravate my knee

Simply hope to beat my total from the Ni's and then full steam ahead with training for UL and IRISH masters both in Feb

N.I Open

At long last, myself and Sean managed to drag our asses to a competition. I didn't enjoy the nerves at the start. I was asking myself at the start, "what the hell am i doing here!!"
BW 88.4KG
Snatch 60, 65; 71xx all were power snatches for some reason?? The 71 felt so light that I pulled it out in front and too high.
c+j 95; 100 103xx . I think 100kg is a new ni masters record. 103, I couldn't quite lock out after a very nasty clean total 165.

The big positive was how we were treated by everyone. Alot of nice guys, no sign a big ego's, just a bunch of great and dedicated lifters. The facilities were amazing.

Cant wait to compete again. Definately in the irish masters and hopefully the connacht open.

Was very proud of brother Sean who really enjoyed the comp as well. he was unlucky not to get his 65 snatch which would have possibly equalled the masters snatch record for his age group.

60 mins lifting without injury

I managed to put a few lifts together for the first times in yonks. this has been frying my brain for weeks.

snatch up to 70 and c+J 95 which was absolute max. and 12.5 below pb in c+J. I think weight loss and injury has caused me to struggle badly. the bright light tonight was cleaning 105. considering i have only squatted once/twice in a few months leaves me feeling alot more positive.



i am weighing in on sunday mornin and hoping to be 14stone which would be a loss of 16 pounds. Jim Schmitz says that the inclusion of aerobic exercise will result in a loss of strength over a period of weeks or maybe a few months but strength will come back. i may become an 85 kg lifter and hopefully an all-round better lifter. I will soon reduce aerobics and curb weight loss. cathal and pete have made interesting points about my need for leg strength in the jerk.

back to hard work

I decided to try a few more exercises tonight. a little bit nervous because of the knee

Power cleans up to 90kg which was tough

rack jerk up to 102.5

front squat - light sets then singles upto 105 which felt like a tonne. [very far behind recent 132 pb]

pleased to get through this.

main plan is to get to the NI's, get over apprehension and post a total and then build up to the irish masters in feb. long term plan is to meet the targets set for May

tuesday

home at 9.30. only time for snatch

40;40;40;45;45;45;50;50;50;55;55;57;60;62;65;67x;67; 70x;60;60;60;60;60;60;60;60x

60 is my opening lift in nov so happy enough tonight

hope

Today, I decided after several aborted attempts to try squat snatch again after recent knee trouble.
40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x; 55; 60; 62; 65; 67; 70. every snatch but one felt so comfortable, right in the slot. I had one snatch thought which seemed to change my body angles. I have never felt like this in the snatch b4. When i get my strength back, maybe 80kg will come in the spring!!

c+j 40; 50; 60; 70; 80; 90; 95; 100 total 170kg. very surprised and delighted to get 100 even though the clean was so difficult. i am 6 kilos lighter than last time.

Tried on weightlifting suit tonight in prep for NI open. It is starting to fit better after recent weight loss.

I really hope my snatch was not 'a flash in the pan'. I couldn't believe that my technique didn't break down. I have never managed to hold a snatch in thebottom position. Tonight they all did. the last was slightly forward.

comeback??

Reading about Trevor, colin and 'go-lifters' exploits made me feel a little left out. I have fallen far behind the pack!! Out of action for weeks because of knee.
Decided tonight ws the night to give it a go again and test the knee. One colleague told me that I may have had a slight knee strain due to not warming up properly. he used some technical name which sounded like a russian kebab.

Power snatch
40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 57x1; 60x1; 62x1; 65x1. [only 7.5 off pb] Although this is a paltry weight, I was still pleased. I really want to go to the NI's in Nov so my opening snatch may be 60kg. I wont snatch proper again until i get some coaching in the new year. My main focusnow is the Irish masters

Clean
40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x1; 82x1; 85x1; 90x1; 95x1 [very tough, 15 off pb but very please because i had no knee pain.

Rack jerk
40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x1; 75x1; 80x1; 85x1; 90x1; 100x1 [slight press out.]

Overall, very pleased to be lifting again wit no kneepain tonight. I may have to use a new training prog and gear up for masters in feb. I will use NI's as a training day and suffer the humility of lifting very light weights

knees up

training yesterday was fun. after 10 minutes working through light snatches, i felt a sudden jolt of pain on my right knee cap and had to stop. serious enough to stop me for a while. i dont know how bad it is. hoping it might be a knee strain
pete is correct. i dont train enough and therefore leaving myself up to injury. Colin has warned me abot the necessity of warming up properly so i deserve all i get.

tuesday
instead of bemoaning my bad luck i did a spot of resistance exercises in our local leisure centre.

Thurs

Clean 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 85x3; 90; 95; 100; 105xxx. Strength seems 10kg below pb in most lifts
Power sn. 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60; 62; 65; 60; 57x3; 55x3; 52x3; 50x2

Back Squat 50x3; 70x3; 903; 100x2; 105; 110; 115[22 below pb]; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x3; 102; 107

Some presses up tp 67 [10kg below pb.]

Aerobic exercise is definately having a bearing on my lifts and strength. Will stick it out until xmas and then gradully build up again. will be worth it in the long run. maybe a fitter weightlifter.

Weigh in next Thurs. [1st time in month] wiat measurement dow from 97 to 93.5cm] was 82.5 two years ago!!!

qwa week 7 day 1

Very hard graft
Snatch up to 67, failed 70 twice which is incredible when my power snatch is 72.5. Have to continue to try and improve technique. Aerobic work seems to have weakened my legs but when waist line gets back to normal, I will build up again gradually. thought I would have increased pb from 77.5 to 82 by now??

Power clean - up to 95kg. reasonably happy. only 5 away fromcurrent pb
Rack jerk. Went ok -up to 100kg. didn't try any more. wrist hurting a bit
Front squat - up to 110. very hard. 22.5 below pb??

bad day

The worst lifting since I started back. Snatches rubbish, c+j awful. Dont seem to hav alot of leg strength. Maybe the cardio is causing this.

mixed bag

Wed
Did my qwa programme and it was horrendus. Cleaned 102, failed 107. very sluggish. Power snatch was so bad that I gave up early. did a few back squats but couldn't be arsed. I was heading with the wife at 8pm to do a spot of shopping but suddenly told her to drop me off at the local leisure centre where I did 1 hour of aerobics and 50 mins of bodybuilding. Pleased that I came back after feeling crap earlier

Finding it extremely difficult training on my own at the moment but I have been there b4 and will come good.

thurs
no weights but level 13 session 2 x60 minutes. gr8 to see the flab coming off.

I badly need to change my weightlifting programme and my attitude and intensity. Although my upper body strength is reasonable, the lack of pulls and deadlifts are seriously affecting my pull power in the clean and snatch. 3 months ago i barely missed an 80 snatch, now 70 kg is a challenge. I will get there in the end. Hoped to get to st gabriels but last weeks events mean more travelling.

Positives

Never going to give up
rapidly losing flab. gone from obese to overweight recently which is good. lol
feeling fitter
still love this sport

negatives

when am i going to snatch 80 [losing sight of everyone]

qwa

back to weights after almost a week. Another rather difficult week and a few days spent in wicklow. Didn't feel like lifting but take inspirition from Pete and return to weights after a major set back.

Snatch 40 40 40 45 45 45 50 50 50 55 55 55 60 60 60 65 65 65 67 70xxx 70. Trying hard to improve technique but I feel that it may take a while to get up to 80kg

Power clean 47 47 47 57 57 57 67 67 67 77 77 77 87 92 97xx
Rack jERK 40 40 40 50 50 50 60 60 60 70 70 70 80 80 80 90 90 90 100 100 100 112.5xx
Very narrowly failed 112.5. Whatever day I get it I will probably nail 115



Press - some presses but little stretgh left

busy day/ qwa week 5 day 3

8am - 5.30pm. what a long and busy day at work. Home in time to help kids with some homework. Decided to go for max in classicals

Snatch 40x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x2; 62x1; 65x1; 67x1; 70x1; 72.5x1; 75xxx Slow but definate progress. Only dropped the last snatch which was a big improvement. Trying to keep angles for a bit longer and lift more with the legs. Should have got at least 75 but had a strange problem with timing



Clean and Jerk 40x3; 50x3; 60x2; 70x2; 80x1; 90x1; 100x1; 107.5 x1[missed clean]


Back Squat 40x3; 60x3; 80x3; 90x3; 100x1; 105x1; 110x1; 115x1; 117.5 x1. Really tried hard here. I really need to start back squattin g. hopefully legs are ok.


The diet is going gr8. You might just about notice a slight reduction in the size of my gut!!!

fri/sat

Headed to Sean;'s with suitcase incase we had a sudden dash to Wicklow. Decided on fri night to do a spot of lifting.
Rack Jerk 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x1; 97x1; 102x1 [very tough???]
Front Squat up to 120kg
Military Press up to 65x2. Feel a bit flat tonight. Everylift seems to be 10kg below par.

Sat
No need to head south yet so headed home early in the morning to get a bit of work done and then rest.
Headed to local leisure centre later for some gym work and random level 12 x60 minutes.

Just Noticed 'Gs' 112.5 kg clean [go lift] I feel like Scott when he got to the south pole in 2nd place :-) With the size of his legs, it wont be long b4 he is cleaning 300lbs. [What does 'G' stand for????] I will have to have another go at 112.5 soon b4 he hits 115.I think my legs are strong enough but not sure about the pull.

QWA WEEK 5 DAY 2

Cleans. 42x3; 52x3; 62x3; 72x3; 82x3; 92x2; 100x1; 105x1. I thought the 112 might be on but after 82x3, I was finding cleans slow and sluggish. This was a real struggle tonight. 92 was incredibly tough but I decided to squeeze as much as I could. 100 very tight. 105 was like a heavy deadlift. I dont know how I racked it. At least when I get into a deep position, I seem to find the strength to get up.

Power Snatch. I took this up to 60 only. Right shoulder hurting abit combined with the usual bad technique

Back Squat 40x3; 60x3; 80x3; 90x3; 100x3; 110x2; 120x1; 125x1; 110x3; 100x3; 95x3; 90x3. first time trying back squat for a few months. reasonably happy although the back squat is usually higher than front.

happy lifting

Final weigh in this morning 1st sept. Only going to weigh in at the start of each month. I dont want be get obsessive about my weight. I will train hard, exercise and cut down on junk food. the weight will take care of itself.

93.5 kg - 14st 10lbs - loss of 6 pounds.

I did a good hour of conditioning exercises today followed by Random level 11 x 60 mins by no.4. Starting to feel better and have more energy. I need to take protein drink once or twice per day to avoid muscle loss. I need to lose excess fat without compromising strength so I need to do this properly.

Tomorrow, I might start QWA wk5 day 2. This means Cleans. Depending on legs, I might have another assult on 112.5.

QWA WEEK 5 DAY 1 [PART B]

Unexpected pb's

Rack Jerk
45x3; 55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 95x2; 100x1; 105x1; 110x1**pb 112.5xx
First time in yonks that I have rack jerked more than 100. 112.5kg felt like 90 but with the excitement my knees began the shake. I was actually thinking too far ahead [115]. I couildn't lock out but was close.
110kg new pb

112.5 attempt


Front Squat 40x3; 60x3; 80x3; 90x3; 100x1; 110x1; 120x1; 110x2; 130x1**pb; 132.5**pb

Sunday Mix

10am - 3 mile walk

2pm - 20 mins assistance exercises
Treadmill random prog x level 11x60mins x no.2

8pm - QWA WEEK 5 DAY 1 Part A
Didn't intend to do this until tue but had a go anyway

Snatch
42x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x3; 62x2 67xx 67 70xx 70xx 70xx. Really frustrating that I can't snatch a weight that I can power snatch. I perservered with the improved technique but even though the weights feel light, I dont have any explosion. When I pull with my arms, I can get 80-82 to the correct height. I have to stick with it but it seems that an 80+ snatch is a long way off

Power clean
40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x1; 92x1; 95x1; 85x10; 80x10. This went alot better.

Tomorrow is treadmill, rack jerk and squats

qwa week 4 day 4

Sean came up today [at last] so our intention was to try and max out.
Sean struggling a bit after 5 days of bulgarian and a dodgy shoulder so had to ease up a bit.
Snatch 40x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x1; 70x1; 72.5 xxx. Techique quite good up to 65. 70 not too bad but old habits creeping in. Still 7.5 below pb but technique is improving.

Clean and Jerk 40x2; 50x2; 60x2; 70x2; 80x2; 85x1; 90x1; 95x1; 100x1. I had to fight like hell for this. I can tell that my strength is a bit below par so this was far from easy tonight. Total 170kg @94kg body weight


Clean. After 100, I decided to try a few cleans 105x1; 110x1; 112.5xx. 110 was the hardest clean of my life but pleased to get it. Really wanted 112.5 to get Pete into heavy cleaning again. I couldn't rack the weight properly. The mind boggles when I think of Pete cleaning 161kg [unbelievable]
110 clean






112.5 Clean Attempt


Front squat 40x3; 60x3; 80x3; 100x1; 110x1; 120x1; 125x1 pb** 127.5 xx


Deadlift 80x5; 100x5; 120x3; 140x1; 160x1.

Press 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x3

fat camp day 6

random level 11 x 60 mins. got a bit of momentum now.

Taking 1-2 protein drinks per day now hoping to maintain muscle while I lose body fat.

I am now back in the 94kg class.

No weights today, going to max on friday

Fat camp

4pm
random hill level 10 x 60 minutes x 5th session. Great to get this started. Up to level; 11 next time

10pm
I felt to urge to do a bit of lifting even though it wasn't planned for today and my legs were a tad weary.
Front Squat
45x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 95x1; 100x1; 105x1; 115x1; 120x1; 122.5x1 pb. Very pleased with this as it was unexpected.


Press [Pete's favourite exercise] Reps up to 72.5

fat camp

random level 10 day 4 -60 minutes. NEW FITNESS DRIVE GOING WELL intend to shake this gut by next June

30 minutes conditioning work.

QWA WK4 DAY2

Clean. Decided to push myself abit. I have been wasting too much time on really light weights. I need to crank it up. I am falling behind everyone at the moment.
47; 47; 47; 57; 57; 57; 67; 67; 67; 77; 77; 77; 87; 87; 87; 92; 97; 102; 105; 107.5; 110x



Snatch. Decided to change form power to squat to give myself time to improve my terrible technique. Got all my lifts eventually after many failures.


Front Squat up to 110 [for on-line competion] I am sure I am probably propping up the table

sat fat camp

More cardio today [sat] and 20 mins conditioning work. Watch this fat man become lean and hungry again. Hope to fit my weightlifting suit for Novemebers Ni Open.

Starting a minstrels diet tomorrow [details to follow]

I am going to revisit my targets for next May and make sure I get them.

Sunday
Went to Croke park today and watched my team Tyrone get hammered by Cork. The referee was a disaster and that is not an excuse. Cork deserve their win and I now hope they hammer kerry [if they beat Meath] - sorry Kerry people! Cork are the real deal and deserve some success. Tyrone will bounce back.

Monday is cardio and multigym. tue/wed, olympic weights

QWA WK 4 DAY1

Snatch
42x3; 47x3; 52x3xxx; 57x3xxx; 62x3; 65x1; 67x1x; 67x1. Horrendus snatching. Cant even snatch 10kg below by pb even though I can power snatch them?? Dropped many forwards. I thought I was getting over this problem. I think I need to do what Pete does. Make sure I successfully complete all the lifts no matter how many I fail

Power Clean 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 85x2; 85x2; 85x2; 80x3; 75x3; 75x3; 75x3; 75x3

Rack Jerk 45x3; 55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 92x1; 82x1

Front Squat 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x3; 100x3; 95x3; 90x3; 85x3; 80x3. Legs still feel weak and below strength. Was supposed to go higher today. Slight pain in left knee.

fat busting

I am still trying to work out the best way to lose excess flab without compromising strength and losing muscle mass. I managed to drag my ass the gym today and settled on 60 minutes treadmill [random hill climb]. The levels go from level 1 to level 20. I did an hour at level 10 and burned an estimated 600k. I decided to avoid jogging because of the risk of leg fatigue and potential injury. I have decided that I need to do level 10 x 60 minutes x 5 times then move up to level 11. To get to level 20 I will need to do 50 sessions and 55 sessions to complete this. It will be interesting to see if I can trim up and hope it doesnt effect my leg strength.

The other issue for me is diet. Weightlifting makes me damned hungry. Periodically I take protein drinks but I feel that I need to discipline myself to taking 2 protein drinks per day from the start of September. This should help me lose fat but maintain muscle [hopefully.]

I also completed 30 minutes of conditioning

tough path back to olympic lifting

Finally managed to find some will power and energy to start back after several weeks. I decided to try and take up from where I previously lft the programme with mixed results

Week 3 Day 3

Snatch
42x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x3; 60x2; 62x1; 65x1; 67x1xx. A bit weak and slow in the pull although I only dropped 2. I was thinking about Pete saying last week that you should feel your weight in the middle of the feet. This thought really helped.

Clean and Jerk
47[1+2]; 57[1+2]; 67[2+1]; 77[1+2]; 87x1; 92x1; 97x1; 90x1. All the cleans after 77 were unbelievably hard. My legs were so weak. 97 clean felt like 110 but I had to use every ounce of strength to stand up with it. I was delighted to get 97 after a layoff. This is encouraging.

Front Squat
45x3; 55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 95x3; 95x3; 90x3; 85x3; 80x3. 95 was so tough that I couldn't attempt 107 or 115. The right knee hurt slightly so I had to be careful. Legs are really weak but this will improve.

Military Press
40x3; 42x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 62x1; 65x1; 67x1; 70x1; 72x1. Only 5 off pb which was good. I didn't expect to get this. Hopefully I will break the 80 press barrier b4 end of Sept. I think I need 80 press to have strength for 110 c+J

4 mile walk
Overall, very relieved to get through this barrier. Hopefully things will settle after a few weeks

non starter

Yesterdays aerobic work left my legs rather spent and I still havn't got over last weeks lack of sleep and therefore feeling incredibly fatigued.
Finding Pete's comments interesting regarding weight loss.My return to weightlifting has increased my appetite but my calorie control has been very sloppy. Maybe I should make out an eating plan and stick to it. Maybe more protein and alot less junk food. I am considering cutting out bread and sugar. I dont think I can successfully combine threadmill work and weights. I hate exercise bikes, stairclimbers etc.
Hopefully I can get back to olympic weightlifting tomorrow

fri

Decided to some aerobic work today. Considering that when I was 40, my 1 mile time was around 5 minutes. I dont think I could it in 10. I want to get my weight down to around 14 stone. 3 years ago with all the running. my weight dropped to 11.5 stone. As well as losing fat, I lost an awful lot of muscle mass. This time I want to trim up sensibly but retain most of the hard earned bulk and strength I have gained in 18 months. The difficulty is that I dont want aerobics to have a detrimental effect on my weightlifting
Threadmill 30mins@ 7km/hr. random hill level 1
Light bodybuilding 30 mins

Tomorrow - olympic weightlifting. dont know how this will go

rebuilding

After an enforced layoff, I managed to get through a good bodybuilding type session today. I dont know what to do about my QWA programme after such a layoff. Dont know whether to give it a stab this weekend or leave it and start fresh in September.

Friday [2 bags of nuts+crisps+2 eclairs]+3 meals

Nice 4 mile walk to start the day. Breakfast downtown. Went to local leisure centre and did some light work to make up for yesterdays shambles.

Diet

Still havn't sorted this out yet. First year ever to have a gut. I have managed to build some muscle and strength but dont like the gut. I cant and dont want to become a super heavy weight lifter. Today I bought a journal to write/record what I am going to eat everyday. I want some one to insult me and slag me off for being a fat git. That might get me going!!!!

QWA Week 3 Day 1

Snatch 42x3; 47x3; 52x3; 52x3; 57x3; 62x2. miss half of these forward. Skipped the rest which is something I never do. Bad form, bad form,bad attitude, things bugging me, got a touch of flu, swine flu, bird flu?? -not a good combo for lifting

Power Clean 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x1; 85x3; 85x3; 85x3; 85x3. Feeling slow and weak but managed to get these.

Rack Jerk 45x3; 55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x2; 95x1; 92x2

Front Squat 55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 95x3; 107; 102x2; 107x1; 95x3; 95x3

QWA Week 2 Day 3

Snatch
42x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x3; 62x3; 65x3; 62x2. these weights are feeling light hence hard to resist power snatching. I need to do a hell of a lot of work on my technique although I only dropped one tonight.


Clean and Jerk 45; 55; 65; 75; 85 [1+2]; 92.5 [2+1]; 92.5 [1+2]; 85 [2+1]


Front Squat 45x3; 55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 95x3; 107x2; 115x1; 125x1 xxxx. I didnt follow the programme to the letter because I wanted to test the knee especially since I have only started doing full front squats. Just missed 125 which was very encouraging

Deadlift 100x3; 120x3; 140x3; 160x1; 180x1; 202.5x1 xxxx. I decided to give these a go as I hadn't tried them for over a month properly. 180 was easy but I went for a pb of 202.5 which was not on tonight. This would have been special as I got 200kg at 19yrs in Queens PEC many years ago.

QWA WK2 DAY2

Clean 47x3; 57x3; 67x3; 77x3; 87x3; 92x2; 87x2
Power Snatch 42x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x3; 62x2; 62x2; 62x2; 57x3; 55x3; 55x3
Sn. Balance 40x3; 47x3; 50x2; 50x2; 50x2; 55x2; 50x2; 47x3; 47x3
B. Sq. Will do this tomorrow to save knee plus some assistance exercises.

QWA Week 2 , Day 1

Snatch 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x2; 60x3
Power Clean 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 85x2; 85x2; 85x2; 75x3x4
Rack Jerk 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 85x3; 90x3; 80x3
Front Squat 55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 95x3; 107x2; 102x2; 95x3; 95x3 [very pleased that these were comfortable because of knee concerns but will still have to be very cautious]
Military Press 40x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x8; 65x3; 70x1; 60x3; 55x3; 50x3. Wanted to get 60x10 but strentgh wasn't there
Romanian Deadlifts 80x5; 90x5; 100x5; 110x5; 120x5. I havn't done any deadlift type work for a while so I didn't want to push it.

Have jeans, will lift classic

The start of our global once a month max day.
Did some power snatches and power cleans up tp 80% by several sets.
Snatch 40x3; 50x3; 55x2; 60x1; 65x1; 70x1; 75x1xx; 75x1; 80x1xxx; 82.5x1xx



Clean and Jerk
40x2; 50x2; 60x2; 70x2; 80x1; 85x1; 90x1; 95x1; 100x1; 102.5x1; 105x1. the cleans felt very tough. I put everything I had into this today.
Total 180kg



Did some back squats to finish and then hurt my knee at 120kg. Hope it is only a slight strain. Rest of the lifts are on colinbirdman [you tube]

Make or break

QWA WEEK 1 DAY 1

After a couple of difficult weeks and the serious thought of quitting I finally managed to get started. Considering how weak I feel and the constant fatigue, I was pleasantly surprised how today went. I felt that if I could manage the first day, then the future could be rosy.

Snatch 40x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x3; 62x3; 62x3; 62x2 [dropped 2 but dont give a s___.
Colin is going to sort out my elbows for this.
Power Clean 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 80x3; 80x3; 75x3x4. More left in the tank.
Rack Jerk 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 85x3; 85x2; 85x2. Delighted and surprised to get this. Havn't done rack jerk for months
Front Squat [1st time doing full squats instead of parallel squats]
55x3; 65x3; 75x3; 85x3; 95x3; 102x2; 95x3x4 [hard but solid]

I feel pleasantly surprised to get through this. I might be coming out of this difficult period.

A stuttering return - Sunday 5th

back after a good break but feeling unmotivated, tired and a little weak.
Power sn. 40x10; 45x10; 50x10; 55x3; 60x3; 62.5 x3. I found this difficult today.

C+j I tried this exercise today. Havn't really completed this exercise for nearly a month. Had to stop again because of wrist. I have just ordered new wrist straps.

Clean 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 75x3; 80x2. Very weak and sluggish. I feel about about 10-15kg down in power.
Press 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 55x3; 50x3. I will do squats and d/lifts tomorrow.

I am going to make out a 12 week Aussi programme and start from scratch again. I t could be months b4 I hit and pb's again

Strange power surge

Because I was golfing today and it was warm I decided to only do some power snatching today. Tomorrow I will complete.
Today was supposed to be my return to competiton but comp is postponed until August. I intended to start with a 60kg power snatch in comp so I wouldn't 'bomb'. My confidence is low in the squat snatch at the moment. I decided to work up to 60 in the power snatch and see if I could do 3- 5 reps.

40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x40 [forty] This weight felt like a feather tonight so I decided to keep on lifting it. I think I could have done at least 50 reps. Maybe I will break my pb in power snatch soon [currently 72.5kg]. After this, I was dripping with sweat. This was probably like those cross fit exercises they do. A real buzz.

heading to Galway this week for some golfing, island hopping , dining and drinking. A well earned rest. Next weekend, I will consider whether I am going to build up to Ulsters in August or start aussi programme and build up to Northern Ireland open or Cork open.

Really hope that myself, Colin, Trevor and maybe Sean can get together for a sort of squad session or 2. Hopefully get up to Gt Gabriels soon.

'Snatchus horribilus'

Snatch
40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65; 67xxx; 67xxx; 67xxx. I couldn't even get near to my power snatch the other night. Yes I kept my ass low to the floor but even though the weight felt quite light, I kept losing them forward. This was the 1st time in weeks that I actually felt like lifting . I actually thought that I might nail 80kg snatch tonight. So frustrating.

Clean
60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 85x3; 90x1; 95x1; 100x1; 102.5xxx Again very far off my pb. The 102.5 I couldn't rack, it actually nearly broke my wrists.

Press
40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x3; 70x2; 72.5 x1; 75 DNA [Too heavy tongiht.

Back Squat 60x1-- knee hurting

20 minutes

20 minutes of bodybuilding exercises.

midweek day 2

I struggled today to get myself up for weightlifting because of the blinding heat.
Press 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 60x5; 60x4; 60x3; 60x3. Press is really all I can do this week and last because of my left wrist. Struggling to clean and jerk at the moment
Back Squat. 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x3; 80x3. First time doing full squats today. Slight strain in left knee so I [conveniently] decided not to push it.
Deadlift
80x3; 100x3; 110x3; 120x3; 130x3; 140x3. Difficult to do this in the heat. Even more impressed with Pete's deadlifts considering the heat he lifts in.
Holidays are going to interfere with my training quite a bit during July and August. Going to train whenever I can and start aussi programme in august/sept

midweek day 1

Power snatch 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 62x1; 65x1; 67.5x1; 70x1 [new pb] 72.5x1 xxx; 72.5x1 [new pb]


Power Clean 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 87x1; 95x1; 92x1; 90x1; 87.5x3; 85x3; 80x3; 77.5x3; 75x10. Was hoping to attempt a new pb of 102.5 but 95 was at or near my limit for today

A bit of a struggle

Fri
Snatch 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x5; 60x3 [mixture of power and squat snatch] 62x1; 65 xx; 65 xx [almost gave up at this point. 65x1; 67x1; 70x1; 72.5 xx. Maybe a slight improvement.

Clean and Jerk. got to 60kg then had to stop because of wrist so I decided to continue with cleans
Squat Clean 60x2; 70x3; 80x1; 85x1; 90x1; 95xx[awful attempt, so slow and weak; 95x1 [felt like 110kg]. Again I mentally decided I had enough. Feeling weak and finding training alone at the moment very difficult. I decided to do my cleans all over again.
60x3; 65x3; 70x3; 75x3; 80x3; 85x3; 90x3. I felt a bit better after these.
Military press. 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x3.

Stale mate

Training is quite tough at the moment. Not feeling inspired. This is bound to happen after a few good weeks. I decided to do power clean again today because yesterday it was awful.
3@ 40; 45; 50; 55; 60; 65; 70; 75; 80; 82; 85; 87; 90; 85; 80. I deliberately started very light to try and ease up the back and get some form.

Front squat and jerk [together] x2 40; 50; 60; 70; 80; 85. Never tried this b4 and probably wont again. My sore left wrist doesn't help but 85kg felt like 100kg normally does. Feel quite weak??

Deadlift. 5@ 85; 105; 125; 145; 155. I intended to go for 10 reps with 155 but too heavy tonight.

I am in a bit of a limbo at the moment with training. No Ulsters in june and will probably miss the competition in August because of holidays. I think I will train until July and then take a bit of time off then build up for the NI champs

tue

Snatch
40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65 xx; 65 xxx. Complete disaster. Up to 60kg - ok. trying to keep ass low to floor but seem to have alot less power. Very frustrating

Power Clean.
60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x1. Felt weak and a rather stiff back wasn't helping. I am, going to do these again today because my form was horrendus. With the postponement of the Ulsters, I seem to have lost a bit of focus and motivation.

sort of rest day

Monday

I prmised myself a rest day and felt very relaxed. My wife was nagging a bit so I decided to go to my gym for a while so that I would bnot have to listen to her wonderful voice. I then felt like some military press work.

45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x3; 70x1; 72.5x1; 77.5x1 [new pb]; 80x1 xxxx; 60x5

Sunday

Did a bit of light bodybuiding for 20 minutes early after noon. Right forearm still hurting after golf. Shins aching a bit as well

Evening - Deadlift 60x3; 80x3; 100x3; 120x3; 140x1; 160x1. The 160 felt heavier than the 190 several weeks ago.

Front Squat 40x5; 60x5; 70x5; 80x5; 90x5; 80x5; 70x5

the lawnmower man skins his shins

Saturday
Started the day filling in for a mate and playing a round of golf. I realise now that I will never be as good as I used to and I dont want to either. My feet hurt and I slightly jarred my elbow hitting poor shots. I needed a nap when I got home but managed to stay awake for the Lions game.

I decided to cut the grass but to make it more bearable I decided that each time I empty the lawnmower I would do some deadlifts. 90x10; 100x10; 110x10; 120x10; 130x5; 140x5. When I dropped the 140 it hit a depression on the platform and the bar bounced backwards crashing into both my shins and skinning them from the knee to the ankle. Very painful but I decided to focus my anger on the last set, a very satisfying 150kg x10.

Military press 42x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x3; 62x3; 67.5x3; 72.5x1; 77.5xxx [almost got it.

Pete's 50kg exclusion zone has not been breached

Weekend part 1
Back from school with a severe headache listening to crazy kida all afternoon. Guess what? I dont want to lift weights!! Guess what?? I am going to anyway!!!
Snatch
I have never tried so hard to keep a fat arse from rising :-) I think my technique might have improved very very slightly but I have a lot of work to do
40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x4; 65x3; 70x1; 72.5x1. I dropped about 2 forward but I was very surprised to get the 70+72. A friend called in the middle of my training which made things a tad difficult. Concentration was a bit more diff, trying to chat and lift. Anyway, if he wasn't there I might have got 75. Abig improvement from the last day.

Squat Clean -- Operation exclusion zone. I am getting a little nervous. Can I break the 50kg barrier b4 Pete post a 165kg clean on you tube.
40x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x1; 87.5x1; 92.5x1; 97.5x1; 102.5x1; 107.5 xxx [couldnt rack] 95x3 [please with this although very hard] 90x3; 85x3; 80x2. I needed to get a smooth 107.5 to give me a platform to attack 112.5. Not enough strentgh tonight. I feel that if I could rack 115kg, I could maybe get it.
My wife was startled last night when she woke up to hear me screaming out loud in my sleep I had a terrible nightmare. I dreamt that Pete had posted a 180kg clean on you tube.

Very pleased to be able to get this work done considering how flat I have felt this week.

Tomorrow I will do possibly press, deadlift and squat

Rest day

Definately going to rest for a day or two before I get too stale. Focus for Friday/Sat is to really concentrate on snatch technique. I might also have a go at a pb in clean or power clean.

Another grind

Headed to local lc after school and only stayed 15 minutes. The warmup reps I usually start with felt so heavy. Again, motivation a bit low but I know this will pass

I managed to watch the Lions without falling asleep. The Natal [sharks] defense was very strong in the first half but Roberts was brilliant in the second. Felt a slight energy boost so I went out to the gym and did a bit of lifting

Military Press 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x5; 65x3; 60x3; 57x3; 55x3; 52x3; 55x3; 57x3
Back Squat 40x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x3; 100x3; 97x6; 95x6.

Reasonably happy to get something done.

On FRIDAY/SAT i am going to take of what Pete has said and really try hard to keep my ass and hips low when raising the bar from the floor. Tell me this Pete??? What are the main effects of not doing this part properly/? Does this cause the bar to go out in front??

This is a Video of Natalie Woolfolk [snatch] Hopefully this will give me a few pointers


Aimee anaya - very similar snatch

Captain Jerkoff

Midweek training part 2

Rack Jerk
This is an exercise that I either love or hate. I usually hate it and tonight this was the case. Feeling jaded, lethargic and weak the temptation was to take the night off but in the past this has led to quite a few nights off and then I doubt myself.
42.5x3; 52.5x3; 62.5x3; 72.5x3; 82.5x3; 92.5 [didn't even bother]Motiavtion low. Difficult to muster up any enthusiasm at all

Back Squat
40x3; 60x3; 80x3; 100x3; 90x3; 80x3. Couldn't be bothered with that either.
That was it. I am please to do even a tiny amount. What I do know is that the ratio between euphoric sessions and really tough session is heavily weighted towards the tough. I have had a good few weeks with some good pb's. I now need to knuckle down and grind it out. Looking forward to meeting up with Sean or Colin or both soon for a good session

Some of my snatches from tonight

I watched Natalie Woolfolk snatching and she starts from a very low position and then moves the bar on the way up. I really tried to get my ass and hips lower and seemed to snatch better for the 60 and 65kg attempts. The 67 was awful. Any views???


Here is the 67.5 which I failed

new power clean pb

From the sublime to the ridiculous

I didn't intend to lift today but some lads asked me to give a demo on c+j after dinner time.

40x3; 50x2; 60x2; 70x2; 80x1; 87.5x1; 95x1; 102.5x1; 107.5x [failed clean] 107.5kg success and new personal best. Unfortunately no camera with me. The clean this time was smooth and jerk ok but poor split. 110 -failed clean miserably

5pm at home

Tried snatching slightly differently. ronnie [wider stance] pete[ mix in a few squat snatches with powers] Natalie Woolfolk [ trying to start from a lower position. Snatched up tp 60x3 quite smoothly the 65kg no problem. 67.5 failed miserably twice. Please look at my you tube videos to see if my 60x3 is improved technique and what the hell happened with 67.5. This disturbed me because it is 10kg below my recent best.

6pm

Even though I felt a bit jaded , I had a go at power cleans.

40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x1; 90x1; 95x1; 100xxx; 100x1; 102.5 xx; 102.5 xx. Delighted and surprised with new pb ogf 100kg and very narrowly missed 102.5. I feel that next time when fresh I could get close to 105.

I wanted to do the power cleans to prove to myself that the snatch failure wasn't down to a lack of power but because of technical problems

Sleepathon

Sunday

After too much sleep, I decided to tape the formula 1 and go to the gym for 30 mins. I completed a short routine. Theblog is helping me to do a bit even when I dont feel like it. I came home and realised that I taped the wrong channel.

Even yesterday, I completed my clean and jerk early so that I could watch the Lions rugby match. After 10 minutes I fell asleep and missed the rest of the match. The same thing happened last week against the golden lions.

I look forward to reading the other blogs now and still waiting for Colin to make his debut. Maybe Pete could encourage some of the other lifters to do the same. It is also a great chance to slag Sean off. I would love to see Sean being coached by Pete for a while - that would sort him out :-0 [Sean the procrastinator!!!] Anyway, hoping to meet up with Sean middle or later in the week to go for a max.

No surrender

weekend day 2
Saturday

Decided to have a go at clean and jerk 40x2; 50x2; 60x2; 70x2; 80x1; 90x1; 100x1 -the usual 100, tough clean and semi-ugly jerk. Pure will power is putting these up, not technique. I have got to get real help here. 105kg, very solid clean and at I manage to jerk it over head. A new pb clean and jerk. 107.5kg solid clean, failed jerk. the went for 112.5kg for a new clean pb to try and get inside Pete's 50kg exclusion zone but struggled to rack it properly. I though I would pull it better after recent improvement in deadlift but alot of work to do.

Back Squat: 40x3; 60x3; 80x3; 100x3; 90x3; 80x3; 90x3; 100x5; 95x3; 90x3; 85. legs a bit tired after this mornings c+j

Military press 42x3; 47x3; 52x3; 57x3; 62x3; 67x2; 72x1; 77.5 x1 fail

Not a bad day overall.

nightmare on snatch street

Weekend lifting. Day 1 Friday night.

I decided to do my snatching tonight. Guess what? - I am feeling strong, motivated and the weather has cooled down.

power snatch 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60 x3. very easy then suddenly snatch 65x 65x 65x 65x 65x 65x. Back to 60x3-no problem the 70x. Absolutely horrendus. I tried lowering my butt and looking straight ahead. I lost every snatch out in front. Maybe there is a simple explanation for this.

The strange thing is that when I got 60x3, I was thinking of getting 80 tonight. Nearly hurt myself losing 70kg. Strange last week a new pb of 77.5 and almost 80kg. This week one success with 65 out of many attempts. Does it put me off? -HELL NO!!! One thing about weightlifting. There are more bad days than successes. I actuallt feel very positve. Think about how much my technique is yet to improve. This keeps my feet on the ground.

I am going to take it out on the bar tomorrow. I think I will have a go at breaking past 102.5 c+j or maybe a new pb in the clean or press.

Another Thursday

Just jumped into my time machine to do Thursday all over again.

Was lying in the house at 8pm after trip to dentist and massive 3 course meal including ultra high calorie dessert. the usual feeling of guilt and knowing that I haveo train tomorrow. The thought came into my head to do some bodybuilding exercises at the LC. No way, I thought. I put on my training gear anyway and 5 mins later I am in the gym.

Managed 40 minutes of good work. Now I feel happy. It has been a tough training week. Next time I am with Sean or Colin I might try and max out with the cleans

What a grind

Decided to try and spread my training over two days this time. The heat is getting to me.

Wednesday night

Decided to start with snatch whihc was a complete disaster. 40x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x1 [+ 6 dropped snatches] 60x1. The 60 felt as tough as the 77.5 the other night. I dont know how anyone trains in the heat. It sucks the energy out of you.

Thurs night

Motivation strangely low but I started with power clean which went well. 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 65x3; 70x3; 75x3; 80x3; 85x3; 90x3; 85x3; 80x3; 75x3. I havn't tried these since I hurt my back weeks ago power cleaning 97.5kg. I havn't lifted 100kg yet but may have got close tonight. I was pleased with 90x3. These were quite comfortable.

Rack Jerk: 40x3; 50x3; 60x3; 70x3; 80x3; 90x3. Very tough but happy enough. I didnt have the will to go for anything else.

Deadlift: 90x3; 110x3; 130x3; 140x10. Happy to get through this. We all have periods where lifting can be very tough.

'sweat' smell of success [or lack of]

Fell asleep after work. Wasted 2 hours and felt that I didn't have enough energy to train. Managed to drag myself down to the local leisure centre to do some bodybuilding work on the machines.



Started on the lat pull down without warming up properly and had a slight pull under the arm pit. This made all the other exercises difficult. One fellow was sweating alot and unfortunately I was following him after he finished with a machine. A pool of sweat was left each time. I was now battling exhaustion, lethargy, irritability, injury and sweat. I still 'soldiered on' by lifting light.

I went to the curl machine. I then had to battle rancid sweat odour. I nearly gagged. This was the final straw. Back to my humble abode.

Sunday's non event

Because my legs were spent, I thought it would be good idea to do some upper body work. I did one press with 40kg before the heat in my gym killed me. Temperature in Tyrone yesterday must have been close to 26c. Anyway, I fell asleep in the sun and got burnt even more.
I need to rest the legs until at least wednesday. That what I get for not allowing myself to recover from a heavy session of squats and then going for max snatches and c+j. I think my legs have found out that I am 44.

unexpected Saturday max day

After soaking up the sun for a few hours and getting burnt in the process, I decided to travel to Monaghan to see if I could stir my brother into lifting. With sore thighs from Thursdays squatting I intended to lift light.

Snatch 40x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x1; 70x1 [fail] 70x1 [fail] 70x1; 75x1[pb] 77.5x3[pb]; 80x1 [close] Sean didn't bother to snatch much. Alot mof kids around, adults, tractors, footballs flying. My concentration is now very good. I dont let negative thoughts enter.

Clean and Jerk. Sean finally stirred himself to 2 pb's 82.5 and 85kg c+j which equalled the masters record for his age. Maybe this will encourage him to train properly.

Brendan's c+j 60x3; 70x2; 80x2; 90x1; 100x1; 105 fail [clean very hard and strength left. ]

My total was 177.5kg which I was pleased about.

Deadlift 90x3; 110x3; 130x3; 150x1; 170x1; 128x1; 190x1.

I am going to give myself 2 days off now to rest the legs which are aching.

Upcoming goals: [b4 end of June]

112.5 clean

105 c+j

110 rack jerk

200 deadlift

compete in 1st competiton for many many years