Friday's feast day

I trained twice on Friday and even though I was not as sharp as I would have liked, it was nice to be able to lift without severe DOMS. I did some hip mobility drills in the morning and for the first session I simply Back Squatted. I worked up to a single with 175kg and I failed. Very embarrassing. I followed this up with a double with the same weight and I got a nice little pb double in the Back Squat. My positioning felt rough, but I just needed to gut it out.

In the second session of the day, I lifted in the awesome gym, United Barbell, owned by Jenny Werba and her business partner. It is a Crossfit gym and it is fantastic! It has beautiful Eleiko weightlifting equipment and a nice platform. Max Aita was coaching a few of his lifters there and I was allowed join in. There was a really fun and intense atmosphere there with Kirsten, Joanne and Jenny kicking ass and taking names. I started off Snatching and worked up to a double with 100 and I failed the second rep with 105. I then did singles with 110 and 113 and I failed 115 and then Clarked it. I worked up to 128kg in the Power Clean and Jerk and I finished up with the Back Squat. I ended up hitting a double with 177kg and then I got a single with 182kg which felt great in regards to my form. We were rushing off, so I did not have time to finish off with a pb set of 5 which I know I would have hit.

Max was helping me out technically and there were a few points that he was making that hit the nail on the head. The important thing is that what Max was saying, was very similar to what Kelly Starret was telling from a completely different perspective when I saw him about my hip. I need to digest this more and I will write a full post on this also alongside my overall reflections and experiences from my trip.. Max said he would write a guest post for Weightlifting Epiphanies also, so that should be something to look forward to.

Here is an interview that I know will help an awful lot of people out there who are trying to set up their own weightlifting clubs and gyms. David Spitz owns California Strength and he wants to help you: