Wednesday's wanted: 260kg total

This was my last session before my competition in London this Saturday and although I was tired, I enjoyed it. I did my Z Health joint warm up, my glute prehab and a small bit of bar work and got stuck into the session. Here is what I did:

Power Snatch--1x2@40, 40, 40, 60 1x1@80, 90

Snatch--1x1@95, 100, 105, 107--I actually missed this as you will see in the video below. I don't really mind because on Saturday, with 2 days rest, I will be far fresher and I will have my zip back. I was tired and I still Snatched up to 95% fairly comfortably. The plan is to open up with 108kg and take it from there in London, but I will not hesitate to bring my opener down if things are not going as smoothly as I want them to. I ended up leaving the Clean and Jerk tonight because I was tired and this is the exercise that takes the most out of me.

Front Squat--1x2@60, 80, 110 1x1@130, 145, 155--I left it there because my last squat was by far my best and I want to save my power and energy for the platform on Saturday. It makes no difference what I get in the training hall. I am naturally a far better lifter on competition day than in training and I really do love lifting when the pressure is on and no excuses can be made. Let's see if I can live up to these strong words on Saturday. My pb's are currently 111/143 and I will come home with more than that.

Monday's maintenance

I had a short training session today. I enjoyed it, but I was tired from a busy weekend and I was also keeping one eye on Saturday so I cut the session short. Zag tried to train but his cns hates him right now and is showing its disdain accordingly. Here is what I did:

5 minutes on the power plate, some pre hab and some bar work

Power Snatch--1x2@40, 40, 40, 60 1x1@70, 80, 90, 94--I pressed out the last rep because I did not finish my pull properly as you will see in the video. Otherwise, they
felt fine so I was happy to move on. My back lock has felt particularly good since Saturday and this is comforting to say the least.

Clean and Jerks--1x1@60, 60, 60, 80, 100, 110--I left it there because I was feeling like I needed to sleep. Usually it is my nervous system kicking my ass, but this was a simple lack of 8 hours a night over the weekend, so I left it there. I will train up to openers on Wednesday with very little volume and have a final flexibility/ very light technique session on Thursday and that should be me ready for Saturday's comp. Have a look at the video and let me know if you have any pointers:

Saturday's start in the morning

Myself and Zag had to train earlier than usual this morning so we had a 30 minute power up session at 09.30; a 45 minute break; Snatch to max for the day/morning; a 15 minute break and then a 25 minute Clean and Jerk session after. It was freezing this morning-- almost more so in the gym!-- and considering how early it was compared to when I usually train and that I was pretty fatigued from the week in general, I was happy with how training went. Here is what I did:

A multi joint warm up followed by glute and scap pre hab and bar work.
Power Snatch--1x2@40, 40, 40, 60, 70

45 minutes later:

Bar work for 5 minutes
Snatch--1x2@50, 50 1x1@70, 80, 90, 95, 100--I missed this by swinging it out front. I then got it, then got 105 and I should have left it there because I knew that was my limit this morning. I had a half hearted attempt at 108.5 and left it there.

15 minutes later:

Clean and Jerk--1x1@70, 70, 70, 100, 112, 122, 132--I got the clean but the bar in the rack position was all over the place so I dropped it. I got the Clean and Jerk of 132 two minutes later and left it at that.

Zag got 95/110 and like me, found the time and weather conditions tough to deal with. But as long as we are getting over 90% early on a Saturday morning, I am happy. Bring on London; I can't wait! The last part of the video is particularly interesting by the way...

Thursday's treaty with Zag

I ended up training quite late this evening for a variety of reasons, but it also ended up being an enjoyable and effective session. Zag represented my lifting conscience and I listened to him tonight. It was important not to go overboard tonight and remember that what really matters is Saturday week in London. Here is what I did tonight:

A 10 minute joint warm up and five minute glute and hip pre hab followed by a hsort amount of bar work.

Power Snatch: 1x2@50, 50, 60 1x1@70, 80, 90, 95, 95, 97--The last few were around parallel. The last three Snatches are in the video below so have a look and let me know of any comments you have. I visualised what I wanted in regards to my back lock and me catching it nice and early and this seemed to help.

Power Clean and Power Jerk--For some reason I wanted to do this tonight, so I went with it. I would rarely perform these movements, so I wanted to see if I could beat my best Power Clean and Power Jerk which was 125. I have Cleaned and Power Jerked 130 before but tonight I Power Cleaned 127 and Power Jerked it with a press out. I did two doubles with 70 and then singles with 90, 100, 110, 120 and 127. They felt fast and I really enjoyed them. Zag wisely stopped me there.

Front Squat--Again Zag led from the front and got me to do doubles with 110, 120, 130 and then an really nice and easy single with 145 that felt great.

Have a look at the video below and leave any constructive criticism you see fit:

Tuesday's trajectory

I had time to do a little power up session and I also used it to work out the stiffness and soreness from the previous day's training. Here is what I did in the first session:

10 minutes on the power plate doing muscle activation and stretching, followed by bar work and overhead squats.
Snatch--1x2@40, 40, 40, 60 1x1@70, 80, 90
Clean and Jerk--1x1@60, 60, 60, 80, 100

I left it there and although my legs were feeling pretty tired, I felt the better for the session. Here is what I did later that evening:

Snatch--1x2@50, 50, 70 1x1@80, 90, 100, 105, I then missed 107 twice. I was actually happy because I have never made the jump from 90 to 100 before and I made it in this session which is good new for my competition warm ups. Again, the 107's were just too slow, but I did not let it bother me.

Clean and Jerk--1x1@70, 70, 100, 110, 120, 130, 140--I had never made the jump from 130 to 140 before, but I was not feeling like I had much gas in the tank so I made the jump and I was happy to get it. I went through the motions to attempt 145 but I was not in the right state of mind for it.

I was pretty wrecked by this stage so Zag made the executive decision for me to abandon my squats. I was happy to go along with the call and finished off on that note. I have a light session on Thursday and on Saturday I will go up to openers. Have a look at the video below and let me know what you think:

Monday's mottled cleans

I had a great session tonight in the Hercs and it was really nice training with Harry, Gill, Laura and Karen again. I was not feeling quite as dandy as last week, but I ended up lifting relatively well. I actually trained on Saturday morning for around 50 minutes but it was a non-session where I Snatched up to 90 and Front Squatted 155 for a single. I was rushed and it was early which which meant that my session was a no go from the start. Today, however, was better. I had a nice warm up using the vibration plate machine which I find helpful in activating muscle, ligaments and tendons and the first set if overhead squats always feels great when I use this machine, weird as it is. Here is what I did:

Power Snatch--1x3@40 1x2@40, 60 1x1@70, 80, 90, 93, 95--The last rep was caught below parallel, but it felt fast and in the groove. I tried going back to the narrower Snatch grip that I used when I first started lifting and this felt far more comfortable and it also felt easier to lock in the back. I will experiment with this for a few days and see how it feels.

Clean doubles--1x2@60, 60, 90, 110, 120, 127, 132--This was an improvement on last weeks pb with 130 and even though my lifting was nowhere near as smooth, I still got them. Looking at the video shows me I have more extension and when I am fresher my catch should be timed better.

Front Squat--1x2@130, 140, 150 1x1@160--It took me around five seconds to get through the sticking point with the last lift, but it got there eventually. I finished my session with more flexibility using the vibration plate machine and I felt pretty good afterwards.

Have a look at the video below and let me know if you have any constructive criticism.

Friday's freewheeling

I had a good session on Friday night. I was not feeling fresh or particularly energetic, but I enjoyed it none the less. When I finished my warm up I did the counter movement jump test and I got 49.4cm which far better than my previous best of 47.6. I consistently jumped 47's and 48's in my 5 or 6 jumps and I was pleasantly surprised to get the pb. After this I did the following:

Snatch Pulls to warm up: 1x2@60, 60, 70, 80

Snatch--1x2@40, 50, 60 1x1@70, 80, 87.5, 92.5, 97.5, 100, I then missed 102.5 three times due to a lack of finish. I had very little speed and it was weird that I got the cmj pb.

Front Squat + Jerk--1+1@70, 70, 100, 115, 120, 125, 130--I had to fight hard to lock out and the weight forced me under more than usual, but I was happy to get it.

Front Squat--1x1@135, 145, 155--I did these few singles to finish off the workout.

I enjoyed my workout and did around 45 minutes of yoga, but I was very fatigued by the end of it. Have a look at these videos of the super heavyweights lifting in the 1999 world championships.