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.