saturday 16th june

Saturday at GoLift A brilliant session at HQ with plenty of sound advice and encouragement from the coaches.Enjoyed Lifting with big Dave and Darragh from cross fit. Snatch 40x3; 40x3; 50x3; 50x3; 60x2; 60x2; 65x; 65; 65x; 70; 73x; 73x. Struggling a bit with the snatches but things improved a bit when I started lifting the bar slower off the floor in the first pull. Was hoping for 80 next sat but this looks very unlikely. Had 73 twice but fell onto knees. Snatch Balance 40x3; 40x3; 50x3; 50x5; 60x4. Clean and jerk 40x3; 40x2; 50x3; 60x2; 70x2; 80x2; 90; 100x; 100x. Very close with 100 first time but couldnt clean it 2nd time. Might nail it on sat. Squat clean/power jerk/ front squat 40x3; 50x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x4 Plan for ulsters next week is to try and improve a few masters records if possible. Snatch 70; 76; ?? c&j 90; 96; 100. As usual, I will go for max. Thanks to all the coaches and organisers. Myself and son thoroughly enjoyed the session and the great company.

thurs

Didn't get through alot of lifting this week. Struggled with snatch technique and not getting above 80%, Decided to give clean and jerk another go tonight after last night's aborted attempted. Trying to shake of a slight shoulder strain Clean and jerk 40x3; 40x3; 50x3; 60x2; 65; 70; 80; 90. Clean 95. Spurred on by my son who is beginning to motivate me when I need the push. 90 was a very easy jerk but feel that with proper technique, I have a hellof a lot more in me. Brendan junior was excellent giving me feedback on my split and has obviously learned alot from Pete and Ronnie. He insisted on me doing bar work later and putting myself into the correct jerk/split position. I realise that flexibility in the main problem and I have to do a bit of work here. I watched brendan clean and jerking the other day and was impressed with his technique. 90 tonight was good because this is what i want to start with in the ulsters. The snatch could be a problem but this wont stop me enjoying the competition. As usual, I wont chicken out and will be trying to squeeze as much as I can in terms of poundages. 2 weeks out my current thinking in terms of attempts is as follows. Weight 84 Snatch 70; 76; 78. This might be very tough but I will, as sure as hell, have a real go. Clean and jerk 90; 96; 98

irish senior championships UU mAY 2012

decided to compete after a bit recent doubt. Training has not been going too well recently but hoped that today would be a 'spring board' to better lifting. The first hurdle for me was to make the 85kg class to give me the opportunity to go for a few irish masters records. Left home at 8.15am to make the weigh in comfortably. Weighed in at 84.4kg. Getting in to better physical shape but still have a bit of trimming to do around the mid section. Did my warm ups with Rob who is a real power house with Pete being a good help during warmup. Failed one of my warm up 65's which wasn't going to put me off. Snatch 1 68kg. Fairly comfortable. Pleased to get this out of the way. Snatch 2 73kg A new irish masters mark but Pete quite rightly reminded me to keep my concentration Snatch 3 75kg. Nearly walked off platform but just about got this lift; very happy Clean and jerk The warm up went quite smoothly. The cleans as usual very hard but I feel very strong in the jerk. Improving a little in the split but still jumping out too quick. Warm up to 85kg. Felt happy now taking 88 as an opener. Clean and jerk 1 88kg Tough clean but easy jerk Clean and jerk 2 92kg Horrible clean but solid jerk for a new total record Clean and jerk 3 95kg Nightmare clean, just got it and an ugly jerk but 3 lights for a new clean and jerk and total mark Total = 170kg Over the moon to get 6 lifts and 170kg total at this stage after a tough few months. A sort of reward for sticking it out through a few tough months. This gives me a bit lift up to the ulsters and leinsters. Technical advice From Pete. Some good advice on the pull in the snatch and position of the feet From Ronnie. Standing too far forward before the jerk and jumping out of the jerk [which pete has been telling me also. I wanted to lift well today as part of the go-lift team and try to choose the right weights for me. As usual, I went to max in snatch and didn't leave anything else in the tank. Getting to know the go-lift' lads a bit better. A good bunch of lads. Pete has the balance right as a coach. Telling me just the right amount of info and not putting me off. Targets Simply to work hard and sensibly and improve technique. Continue to trim away at stomach fat and become a healthy lifter.

go lift HQ Tuesday

Headed up with son on tuesday to the new hq Brendan jr work with Pete Snatch 40x3; 40x3; 50x3; 50x2; 55x2; 55x2; 60x2; 65x; 65; 67; 70x; 70. Very tough snatching. Can't understand why I havent improved my snatch since feb. clean and jerk up to a couple of singles with 85kg. Still struggling with jerk technique. cleans felt very heavy heading to squad session on sat and hoping that fatigue doesnt get to me too quick. there is a precompetition max session in the afternoon so my targets would be snatch 70-73 clean and jerk 90-95 hoping to maybe be strong enough for a masters record or two next week. looking unlikey at the moment.

fri/sat

aftera tough 2 weeks training wise, things have picked up a bit Snatch up to 65. Snatch balance up to 80 Clean and jerk up to 90. I have to reset my openers for the irish seniors because the snatch is away below par Current ni and irish masters records for m3/85kg are Irish n.i Snatch 72 [myself] 72 [myself, i think] c+j 94 [bs] 97.5 [?] total 166 [bs] 167.5 Snatch I may now have to start with a meagre 65. so maybe 65 70 73 Clean and jerk 90 95 98. I think i could manage a 95 if all goes well for an attempt a new c+j record depending on what others do. A 3rd attempt at a new n.i. mark could be possible for a 3rd attempt.

tough week

No training for almost a week. I have found it tough training on my own recently. I seem to have hit a wall and have been lacking in motivation. Badly needed a few sessions with others but not able to get it organised. competing in irish seniors now seems unlikely for now. Not sure about the son either as he hasnt yet got the confidence to do the lifts at competition. I haven't felt so demotivated for quite a long period.

sat 21 april

Worked very hard this week. snatching a bit below par but other training going well need to get up to go lift more often as i need the competition to push me on. After competition, it will get easier because of the new facility mon to thurs, walked 4x8 miles =32 + 2 on friday and 6 this morning. I would give myself a good pat on the back for the efforts i have made recently. On bad days when i am feeling a bit flat and weak, i still manage to turn it into a very good session Brendan junior is training 3 times per week using low weights. He will probably compete in his first competition on sat 12th may with me following in the 85kg class the next day. my targets are still @85kg snatch 75 and clean and jerk 95. I want to take the snatch, clean and jerk and totla masters records and hopefully improve them but i know i will have competition which will be great. i am slightly concerned about the snatch and i feel that on a really good day i could clean and jerk 100kg. Targets for novembers NI championship are currently snatch 80 and clean and jerk 105. I need 175kg total for the european masters. Big concern is the fact that i am in spain for 3 weeks in august. how will that affect my strength.

sun

10.30am. a 2 mile walk cut short because of the icy wind.

1 hour of strength training with junior. quite tough

4 mile walk with therese

a wee bit of bodybuilding to finish the day. totally shattered now and ready to relax and watch some of the weightlifting that i taped.

sat

Colin came up for a mini session today
Snatch 40x3; 40x3; 45x3; 50x2; 52; 55; 57; 60; 62; 65; 67; 70
Clean and Jerk 60x2; 65x2; 70; 75; 80; 85; 90.

Very pleased with 70 snatch considering I couldn't even get 62 last wed. Hoping to get a 73/75 at the squad session in 3 weeks
90 clean and jerk was very hard, especially the clean. I am hoping to open with 70+90 in 4 weeks in the irish championships. 75+95 would be great.

Finished with a few light squats with Colin. Good to see Colin again although he was obviously extremely tired and a bit below par.

wed

good session of light bodybuilding. friday is snatch night, hopefully, i can do much better than last time.

Hope to get up to petes again next week and then myself and son attend the first squad session in the new venue in newtownabbey followed by the next competition.

tue

5 mile walk

headed off to rossnowlagh for half a day to plat football with the kids. A few heavy showers but otherwise, a pleasant day.

No lifting today because I was home late.

snatch day

Decided to do snatches a day earlier because I felt no pain/soreness from yesterday's conditioning. Strangely, my strength was quite poor even though I felt fine. I also missed more snatches then usual especially at weight that I never normally fail.

So quite a few snatches were completed with snatch balance and a few squat cleans. This is the first time I have done any squat cleans in 30 months [apart from the odd max clean and jerk session] The left knee is improving but I am not going to push it too much.

Tomorrow, I will do rack jerk, squats and presses.

Irish seniors are 4 weeks from this sat. Not sure if I am lifting on Saturday or Sunday yet.

thurs

Snatch, snatch balance and a few light power cleans. Plenty of volume, low in strength, and failed more snatches than usual

monday

1 hour of back squat and press

My legs are incredibly weak. 70x5 mearly killed me but the knee seems ok.

now for an 8 mile walk. I want to make sure i can easily make weight in 6 weeks

sun

Snatch, snatch balance and clean jerk completed today. Feeling a bit below par after thursday so i had to work hard. Was wasted after these exercises and decided to do squats tomorrow. The knee has held up quite well so I dont want to to push it.

6 weeks until irish seniors. Will give Pete a visit when he comes back from turkey and maybe one more visit b4 jordanstown

sat

84.2kg [from 87 on monday] I seem to watch what I eat during the week but self destruct during the weekends. I am going to exercsie more self control in future.

4 mile walk. Had breakfast down town, tasty scrambled egg and toast.

Starting weights at home with son tomorrow. More time warming up in future.

I feel that if I can work my training and not aggravate knee, then when I visit 'go-lift', the competition and atmosphere is going drive me to heavier lifts in future.

6 weeks until irish championships in Jordanstown

Pete's gym

Finally got around to making the journey up to Ballyrobert.

Was still concerned about the knee pain but this didnt hinder me. Brendan jnr got plenty of instruction and encouragement from Pete and he really enjoyed the session.

I lifted with a guy called Ross and we seemed to inspire each other to some good lifting. Ross had a pb of 74 snatch with plenty left in the tank..
Considering how little lifting I have done recently, I lifted much better than I expected. It shows what competition and a good atmosphere does to inspire.
Snatch 40x3; 40x3; 50x2; 50x2; 55x2; 55x2; 60x2; 65; 70; 72x; 72; 74x; 74x. Pete throws in the right amount of technical suggestion.What I do like is that he doesnt throw too many things at me and I understand what he is talking about.
Things to work on:
- position of the feet especially in the receive position
- hips, explosion, bar position too low down on thighs etc
Clean and jerk 70x2; 80x2; 90; 95
Clean 97; 100[ I wrote in my diary yesterday that I wanted to get this by July!!]
Total 72+95=167[although the 95 clean and jerk was a press out]

All in all, a really good session. Delighted that my son enjoyed it and cant wait for the next time.

Rest

The knee has been rested for a few days. I jarred the knee doing power cleans at the weekend and I still have a bit of pain.
Heading up to Pete's gym tomorrow with my son for some coaching. I really hope I can shake off injuries because I feel that I am on the brink of making decent gains

sun

Knee very sore this morning and putting me in bad form which I had to snap out of very quickly. Spent most of the day reading in the bad garden and enjoying the fine weather.

At 6pm, I decided to give clean and jerk another go. The pain was moderate. Common advice is always to rest when injured but I felt that i had nothing to lose. Can't keep stopping every time I get a niggle.
Clean and jerk
40x3; 40x3; 50x2; 60x2. No increase in pain so I continued. 65; 70; 75; 80; 85. 85 clean very hard but jerk very easy. Relieved that pain is not any worse.

Front squat. light reps up to 70. Decided not to squat anymore than this,

Rack jerk
40x3; 40x3; 45x3; 50x3; 55x3; 60x3; 65x3; 70; 75; 80; 85; 90; 95x Very close with 95 which was quite surprising.

injury jinx

decided to get in a good session today.
snatch 40x3; 40x3; 45x3; 45x3; 50x3; 50x3; 52; 55; 57; 60; 62; 50; 52; 55; 57; 60; 62; 65; 67; 70x
Very pleased with this but concerned about slight niggling pain in the left knee.

Snatch Balance. As I worked through these, the knee gradually got worse.

Clean and jerk 40. After a 40 clean and jerk, I couldnt lift any more. the pain became very uncomfortable and remained for the rest of the day. I dont know what the problem is but i cant seem to get a decent break from injury.