Sunday 14 March 2010

Saturday's snarling Snatching

Myself, Zag and Laura went down to Limerick yesterday to train with Murph, Sean O'Sullivan, Paudie Roche and Cathal Byrd. It went swimmingly for all and better than expected for me. We had a very short power up session to begin with--I Snatched up to 60 for two doubles and did plenty of bar work and left it there. We then had a bit of lunch and watched Ireland play Wales in Croke Park and we were all suitably fired up from rugby and double espressoes for our second session.

Zag Snatched 100kg and very narrowly missed 103 and 105 several times, which had a knock on effect on his Clean and Jerks. Laura Snatched up to 96% and got a 3kg pb in the Clean and Jerk. Murph Snatched 97.5 and Cleaned, Front squatted and Jerked 117. Sean Snatched a pb of 110 and got a pb Clean of 142.5kg. Cathal got a 2kg pb with 115kg in the Snatch after missing it nine times. I equalled my Snatch pb which is my best ever training Snatch. Paudie had an injured trap and was never really able to get going and left it after he was not able to Snatch. The atmosphere was fantastic; the lifting was furious and the banter flowed. A great day's training and the best part is we have next week's national squad session to look forward to. Here is what I did:

After my first warm up session, I did my back mobility again and a small bit of bar work and I was ready to go.

Snatch--1x2@40, 40, 40, 60, 80, 90--With my doubles I did a Power Snatch first and a full Snatch second. I then worked up to singles with 100, 105, 110, I missed 112.5 and went straight up to 115kg and got it to match my competition pb. Zag missed out on the video of my 115 but got the pathetic attempt I took with 117.5kg. At least I know what it feels like now. I was happy with this because it was the first time I have gone heavy with my new wider grip and I felt pretty good. After 105, from looking at the videos, my form started to get a bit sloppy. I needed to stay over the bar more and finish my extension up rather than back; they are old habits and my technique work will help get rid of them hopefully.

Clean and Jerk--My right shoulder has been bothering me a bit over the last week so I was unsure whether to do the Jerk or not. I decided to see how it went, but my Jerk has not felt the same since my shoulder has started to pinch on the catch portion of the lift. I ended up feeling fine so I went ahead with it anyway and although my Jerk felt off, I still got 142.5kg which is only 3.5kg below my best. I did some doubles with 60 and then did singles with 90, 110, 120, 130, 137.5 which I missed the Jerk on as I did with the following 142.5kg. I tried it again and got the Jerk with a wobbly right elbow and left it there. I am still feeling a bit awkward with the heavier weights in the Clean and as you can see in the video below, I am dropping quicker than needed and letting the weights fall down on me. The more I work on the Cleans, I will sort this out and get my timing down. I was not worried about the Jerk because it has been great over the last few months and I had a sore shoulder.

Back Squat--I wanted to get five reps with 160kg but I only got four. I will get it next time though....

A great day's training for all and I am really glad we made the effort to go to Limerick. The atmosphere and intensity in these sessions away from home environments cannot be replicated unless there are similar conditions. David Woodhouse was right when he said one has to learn how to train and push oneself to the limits when either alone or in your home gym and I agree; but sometimes sessions like these are a timely boost in adrenaline, energy levels and also what tends to be forgotten: they are fun because of the company and this freshens up our perspective towards training and the sport in general. I am already looking forward to next week. For training over the next few days I will lift with a little less volume because I went heavier than planned; I will keep the intensity as high but will do a few less reps a session. Have a look at the video below and leave any constructive criticism you may have.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great lifting lads!

wtf @ the 142.5kg attempt by byrd! I was expecting a lot better! The 140 was ridiculously easy! Very sharp! mofo!

K

Harry said...

First things first: Laura, Sami, Séan, those PB's are the first of many.

Very soon you'll lift a lot more and you'll consider these lifts below you. These are just new points along the journey, not your final destination.

Barry, those Clean's looked ridiculously easy. One small quibble; Finish the extension more. There is SO much more there. 2010 is the year for 160.

That Snatch pull may look rough to you, but to me it loks like an improvement. You ALWAYS lift better in competition...

Byrdy: Great 115kg, you know what I'm going to say though; next time, get it first time. Once you've done a weight once you know what it feels to do it. There's a lot more than 115kg on your horizon.

You've got a 265kg total very soon (think Belarus) just nail those positions first time, every time. Remember, as soon as that bar hits your hips it feels so good... :)

GEOFFFFIEEE said...

i noticed that on your 142.5 jerk misses, you don't put your head and chest through, so you're missing bar forward. personally, i find that if i put my head and chest through more, the jerk will line up better.

CathalByrd said...

Great day had by all, really looking forward to squad session next week...

K, ya the 140kg was very easy and is an opening attempt for me. But after the 10 attempts at 115kg snatch I was far from fresh! The 142.5kg got caught on my wind-pipe and I blacked out so just called it a day. Next week I'll do 145-147kg clean and jerk.

Harry..thanks. The 115kg wasn't heavy, it was just the feel of a new weight that made it so frustrating! It was one of those days when I knew I would get it, even if I needed to go all 'Broz' on it. See you next week Zhang Lee.

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