Wednesday's whirling sense of perspective

Yesterday's workout was very intense and I really enjoyed it. I was looking forward to the 6 sets of 6 reps part of the Russian squat program and yesterday proved to be the day in question. For some reason I was determined to Power Snatch into Snatch and it ended up biting me in the rear. I was dead set about Power Snatching 100 and then Snatching 110. This proved to be silly as the weight was not the problem--as you will see in the video--but rather I was not getting under the bar quickly enough or shifting my hips properly in the catch poisition.

I worked on the Jerk again during the warm up and did some good mornings into press for a few sets to warm up the back and get it locked. I also did a few light sets of the modified RDL Tom showed me in Amsterdam to get the back locked.

Power Snatch--1x2@40, 40, 60 1x1@80, 90, 100--I brought this down to parallel so it does not count as a Power Snatch.

Snatch--I missed 110 twice and as I had a massive squat session coming up, I had to leave some fuel in the. I really wanted to go for it a third time. I found it very difficult to put the Snatch out of my mind and move on to the Squats, but I did. I literally had to force myself not to talk about the Snatch or focus on it at all.

Back Squat--1x2@126, 135 6x6@144KG--80%
It took me two sets to get my rhythm together, and they were far smoother once I did this. The hardest part was keeping the mind focused after you stood up to do the next set. My legs felt like they were made of jelly and filled with lactic acid at the same time. And then I had to squat again. Great stuff though and I really enjoyed the mental and physical challenge.

Have a look at the video below and see if you have any constructive criticism.

Sunday's supersetted sessions

We did two sessions today, but we were generally pretty tired. Cathal went to 90% plus in both sessions in the Snatch and did not really push it otherwise. Paudie went up to 90% in the Clean and Jerk and otherwise had a technical day, as did Zag; but Zag got a Back Squat pb at the end of the session.

I had a nice light first session that lasted around an hour and fifteen minutes or so. I took my time warming up--I had stiff hips--and enjoyed the slow pace. I worked up to three doubles with 80 in the Snatch and then did one more single. I was focusing on getting the back and hips as tight as possible at the bottom. I also tried to widen my grip out a finger length and it was harder to maintain a tight position. I finished off the first session with a few single Front Squat singles and went up to 130, 140, 150 and I missed 160. Embarrassing.

We took an hour and a half break and went back for a second session. I went up to a single in the Snatch with 97 and 100, worked up to 120 in the Clean and Jerk for a few singles and then left it there. Byrdie got 104 in the Snatch in the morning and 105kg in the evening and did 5 singles with 127 in the Clean. Paudie went up to 60/85 and Sami went light but Back Squatted a pb of 168kg.

I was pretty tired in general yesterday and felt fresher today. Aside from Cathal, we all went light, as did Chris Chea who has trained with us most days. It is funny that the harder I train, the tougher it is to sleep. I obviously need to wind down a bit more in the late evening. We are still really enjoying ourselves here and the atmosphere is both fun and motivating.

Saturday's snuffly weightlifters in London

I was the only Irish lifter not to have a cold today, which I was thankful for. Myself, Zag, Paudie Roche and Cathal Byrd got up at four in the morning and got a plane to London to train for five days with David Woodhouse and his lifters in Woking Weightlifting Club. We arrived into the gym straight from the airport and we were all pretty stiff, but excited all the same. The idea was to Snatch and see where it took us from there.

There were some great lifts from David, a 90kg lifter and Chris Chea, a 72kg kg lifter. Both of them Cleaned 150kg. Zag got a Clean pr of 130kg, Cathal got a 5x5 Back Squat pb of 150kg. Paudie got a 120kg Front Squat pb as a 62kg lifter.

I started with the Snatch and did three doubles with 40, a double with 60, 70, 80, 90 and then singles with 100, 105 and then I missed 107kg four times. I knew it was there and on David's suggestion, went up to 108kg, got it and left it there. This is the heaviest I have Snatched in training for a long time so I was happy. My back lock was as good as it has ever been and I know I can still get it better in my upper back which sags ever so slightly during my first pull. Considering I was not feeling very fast, I have to be happy with 94% in the Snatch.

I then went on to Clean and Jerks and I worked up to 120kg but my Cleans were feeling out of sync, so I went onto Power Cleans. I did singles in the Power Clean with 120, 125 and then I got a 130kg Power Clean for a 3 kg pb. I tried 133kg, but my catch needed to be faster to keep it above parallel. Next time. I also really have to work on my back arch in the Clean. The Snatch back lock is way better, but the Clean arch must improve. I left it there considering our we are training twice in the next two days, and then once a day for the following two days.

The atmosphere in the gym is infectious and myself and the lads are really enjoying our time so far. Chris Chea's parents have been really kind in feeding us and David's hospitality has been exemplary. Hopefully the rest of the week will be as productive.

Wednesday's whistling workout

Myself and Zag only had 50 minutes to train tonight and it had to be pretty late in the evening. My legs were pretty fatigued after yesterday's training, so I would not have done much more anyway. Zag had new 5 rep squat pb with 150kg and it looked like he could have done 155kg. I only Snatched doubles and Front Squatted for a few singles.

I did a few Snatch Pulls to warm up

Snatch doubles--1x2@50, 50, 70, 70, 80, 90, 90, 95--I missed the second rep twice, but I did not beat myself up. It simply was not there and I just lacked the finishing of the pull.

Front Squat--1x2@ 100 1x1@130, 150

Short and sweet, but enjoyable. I will train tomorrow and work on my technique with lighter weights and then train on Saturday; I will judge the intensity on how I feel on the day.

Monday's marshalling of the cumulative fatigue

I had an enjoyable day's training today and I finally got that triple in the Front Squat with 150kg which I have not gotten since early on in the Summer. Again, it was a split session and I deviated from my usual Monday workout as I am competing on Saturday. Here is what I did:

Early afternoon:
A short warm up involving bodyweight movements and pre habs.
Front Squats--2x5@60 1x3@100, 120, 130, 140, 150
15 minutes partner flexibilty with Zag focusing on the hip flexors, groin, hamstrings and internal and external hip rotators.

Evening:
Warm up followed by the counter jump movement test on the computerised mat. I got 45.5 and Zag got 48.3, with our hands on our hips.

Power Snatch--1x3@40, 50 1x2@60, 70 1x1@80, 85, 90--I was happy with these: they were fast and locked in. Perhaps I could have finished my pull a bit more, but have a look at the video below and see if you can spot anything that needs to be changed.

Power Clean and Jerk--1x1@70, 70, 90, 100, 110, 115--I left it there as I did not have too much more in the tank.

I enjoyed training today and I think I may have turned a corner on the fatigue front--assuming I look after myself over the next few days and sleep really well. I will lift up to my last warm ups on Wednesday with as little volume and as big jumps that I can make. If things do not feel hunky dory, I will nip it in the bud and save it for Saturday.

Saturday's stretching

I have nothing really to report other than I am trying to get my nervous system recovered and ready for the competition in Glasgow next Saturday. I had a great forty minute stretch and glute pre hab this afternoon and I definitely felt looser afterwards. Because I need to drop unwanted skin folds that are unnecessary, I have eliminated most of the starchy carbs from my diet and have been eating a whole lot of greens and fruit with a lot of protein to boot. I have already lost two kilos and that has been pretty easy. I aim to be around 96kg or a little under for Glasgow, so for Cork, the 94kg class will not be a problem. I am happy in this weight class and I want to get more technically sound, faster, more powerful, stronger and overall a better athlete rather than simply putting on weight to lift bigger weights. I want to become a better athlete and weightlifter and I think it is the easy way out to put on weight to placate the ego. Weight is not holding me back: technique, speed and power are.

It is actually not that difficult to strip away the fat because I am essentially eating as healthy as possible with a lot of health inducing supplementation in my diet at all times. This evening I was in a restaraunt and instead of eating what I would have eaten before, I ate a beef and spinach salad with lots of additions and i had some frozen youghurt with berries for desert--I actually had less than half the youghurt. It requires discipline to eat like this across the board from breakfast onwards, but I am doing it and enjoying the discipline. The only real drawback for me is that my body is used to using carbs for fuel, so it needs to adapt to this a bit.

Here is part two of the interview with Charlie, so I hope you like it.

Monday's mashing of my hips

I trained yesterday and my hips were very tight. The good thing about training with Sami is that we spur each other on in training and also enforce the partner flexibility drills that we both need. Because I was awy for a while, my flexibility went down the pan and I need to get it back and improve it again. I stretched before and after the session and this needs to become a mainstay once again. Here is what I did:

Clean and Jerk: 3 singles with 85% which was 120. There is a clip of my last single on the video below. I was really trying to push myself under the Jerk as fast as possible, but it took me a while to wake up.

Clean Pulls: 1x3@120, 130 for three triples. I was really trying to get these with as flat a back as possible.

Clean Deadlift: 3x3@140

Back Squat: 1x2@90, 110, 130, 140, 150, 160 and then I only got a single with it on the next set. I went for a three hour walk the previous day and my legs were not at their strongest. I was supposed to go up to 162kg or 90% for three doubls but my legs did not have it in them.

Here is the video of my lifting and Sami's double with 155kg for a pr double:

Tuesday’s tramping around on a rainy morning

Session 1

Our first session was very early and we were warming up at 8.45AM. It turned out to an incredibly demanding session, but it was extremely worthwhile. The video below shows how our session was structured but here is what I did:

Bar work to warm up

Clean triples up to 85% for three sets—1x3@40, 40, 40, 60, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120 for three doubles. I missed my last Clean in the first set, got all three reps on my second set and on my third set that is on the video below, I missed the first rep by overpulling and I got the following two reps. This was very difficult because this was all happening around 9.15 am. None of us had ever trained this heavy this early.

Clean singles to max—I got a single with 125, missed 130 and then got it. This was demanding because my brain was telling me it was too early. At no stage of the pull or catch did I feel in any way fluid, but we had to go through with the Cleans anyway and improve our mental strength and our ability to switch off the negative sides of our brains. I then did a single with 135 and I was unable to focus enough in order to Clean 140.

Power Clean and 3 Jerks—Myself and Byrdie worked up to 110kg. Again, it was the co-ordination—or lack of it—that made the exercise tricky. I really focused on driving under the weight and moving as quickly as I could. Because the weight was light, it meant my split was very close, but I could really feel myself getting under the bar. It is quite strange that when we did the max Jerks with 100kg the previous day, it was the 6th, 7th and 8th Jerks that were my best and the first real time that I drove myself under the bar in the split Jerk.

Power Cleans—We did three or four singles with 110kg to work on keeping the bar as close as possible by focusing on the top of the pull.

Session two—7 pm

Snatch—I did doubles up until 90kg and then went onto singles. Throughout the warm up and all my Snatches, I tried to make my lifts as fast as I possibly could and to finish the pulls. This is very tricky with 60kg, but I have to learn to do it.
1x1@95, 100, 105—The 100/105 felt very smooth and close to the body, but there was no pop in the pull in order for a fast finish. I then missed 110 three times which was very frustrating as the bar was high enough, but I lacked the final zip in the finish of the pull and my hips were not opening up enough to get down at rock bottom. I have a good bit of flexibility work to do over the next few weeks. My hip flexibility really improved but since I have been away for the last month, it has gone to the dogs.

Snatch 80% for five reps in a row—Murph and Byrdie were able to get their five singles, but I could only get four. Like out earlier session, Chick was really trying to change the way our mind works and shake it out of our comfort zones. This set felt like an equivalent of a weightlifting brawl and I got knocked out in the final round.
Back Squat—We worked up to a max triple. Murph got 140, I got 160 and Byrdie got 168. Chick really emphasised having your foot spacing and back angle in the same position as you would the Clean receiving position.

That was it. A tough, but exhilarating day’s training where we really pushed the limits of what we were used to, and comfortable doing also. We can always do more than the mind tells us. Peter Kirkbride came into the gym around 8pm and was clearly shattered form a day working on a building site. He was still able to lift some outrageous weights that were very close to his max lifts. This shows how mentally strong he is and how Chick coaches lifters to ignore the mind and to trust his coaching awareness that he has developed over the years. When I come into the gym after a tough day’s work, my mind tells me to take it easy and have a light session. This is fine if one does not want to improve, but rather stagnate. Sometimes one is forced to rest, but there are also times when one has to transcend their previous limits and put everything they have and more than they think they have into a session. This is the biggest thing I have learned off Chick that goes beyond the technical details. I have more mental strength in me than I realise and I need to work on building up this strength and it will come into play on the days were in a tough session or in a competition, I can compose myself, ignore the doubts and simply grip and rip. Here is the video below. I have only included myself, Muprh’s and Cathal’s lifts and in a few days I will publish some videos of Chick’s younger lifters and Peter that will bring a tear to the eye. I also got a great interview with Chick that I will post when I am able. Comment on any aspect of the video that interests you or include any constructive criticism you may have.



As a bonus feature for this post, I have added the third part of Jim Schmitz's interview. It is on how he structures his programmes and also on competition strategy, so enjoy.

Saturday's scintillating display from the Scottish boys!

Yesterday was an action packed day in Scotland. We all went heavy as did Charlie's boys and we Snatched and Clean and Jerked to a max on the day. Cathal got 103/135 and Back Squatted 180, I got 107/135 with a pressed out 140, a new Clean pb of 142 and a Back Squat pb of 180. Murph got 95 and a new Back Squat pb of 165. We were pretty tired from the last two days and three sessions--involving mostly pulling movements--which really fried the nervous system.

It was also great to see Charlie's lifters in action. It was interesting to see that all of them displayed very similar techniques (with some individual differences of course) which conveys Charlie's coaching principals--watch out for some big lifts in the video below! The environment that Charlie has created for his lifters is second to none and extremely conducive to pushing one's limits. Maybe this is an aspect that Irish weightlifting needs more of? Today we will be doing a very tough session focusing mostly on the jerk which should be challenging, although very enjoyable. Charlie has invited us for dinner at his house after today's session to celebrate Byrdie's 23rd birthday and no doubt a few beers will be had. Hopefully will be able to pace himself unlike Friday night. Tomorrow will be a transitional session with the purpose of being fresh and motivated for heavy lifts again on Tuesday.

In brief, Charlie's main area of concern with all three of us is the top of the pull. He believes we are all coming off the bar a little rather than shrugging up which is pushing the bar out in front, making our catch more difficult than it needs to be. Hopefully by the end of this camp we will all have made improvements in that regard.

Tuesday's tenuous technical and physical adjustments

Today was another challenging day's training and focused more on the Clean and Jerk than the Snatch. The first session started at 9 AM and this was a first for me as this is an hour later than Irish time. Here is what myself and Tom's 12 year old son did:

Session 1: 9 AM
General body warm up with various bodyweight drills designed to open up the hips and shoulders, stretch out the back and lock the core areas.
We then did 3 reps on a Muscle Snatch/Overhead Squat/Drop Snatch up to 3 sets of 50kg.

Power Clean from below knees--We focused on getting the back as arched as possible and by rotating my elbows towards my body anti-clockwise. This felt different but it meant that I could rack the bar with my hands on it, not just my fingers. I think this may help with the Jerk. I only worked up to three or four triples with 100, but with the isometric contractions with the back and legs, it was quite tiring.

Good morning to press--I worked up to 3 sets of 8 with 60 kilos. The purpose of these was to get the back used to being locked and working out the hamstrings. The reps were the tiring part, not the weight. There is a video of this exercise below. The idea is to contract the relevant muscles rather than lift massive weights.

Session 2: 7.30 pm

Bodyweight and bar warm up that was surprisingly tiring. Sufak was training in this session and he is an 85kg lifter with 115/145 lifts to his name. He is quick and has efficient technique.

1. Cleans—I worked up to doubles with 120 for two sets and then a single with 130 and then back down to 110 again to work on keeping my lower and upper back and also the shoulders locked throughout the first pull and the transition. This got much better as the session progressed. It means that I can get a much better hip drive in the Clean and I can transfer power better from my lower body.

2. Back Squat—I worked up to a double with 160, but Tom said I was doing plyometric squats, as in I was going down too fast to focus on strength. I went back down to 130 and 120 and really focused on setting that back and sitting in the hole with as locked a back as possible. It was a whole lot slower when I was going down with more control and pausing at the bottom.

3. Jerk from the rack—I worked up to a single with 120. In the beginning we focused on my Dip and controlling it down better and staying on the heels. This really improved. Then we focused on getting through the Jerk by keeping the back locked and getting through with the abdomen. The angle that my elbows were flexed at was wrong and this meant that I was bouncing under the Jerk rather than fixing it. This is the next thing to fix. Maybe I was too tight in the upper body and need to relax more? I missed 130 twice even though it was flying up.
We then finished up with some stretching and that was that. A great day as my Clean and my Jerk dip really improved. My hamstrings and glutes are in pieces now though... Any constructive criticism you have from the video would be great.

Friday's fall guy

It was difficult to get going for the first session on the Friday morning. All major muscle groups were shouting at me and we were training earlier than the previous days. I took my time warming up and it was a mercy that at this stage of the week, my joints and muscles were easily warmed up and ready to go. They had a adapted so that there was not as long a warm up needed. I began with some bar work and glute activation work.

1. Snatch: Work up to 93 for 4 sets of 2--These were very rough and I just had to get them done. For some reason I was cutting my pull short.

2. Power Clean: Work up to 110kg for 3 x sets of 3--These were tiring but each set got better because I got a snappier second pull and therefore faster elbows. There was an extra 10kg than when I did these the last time.

1 hour break

3. Clean Pulls: Work up to 140kg for 4 sets of 2--I was working on keeping my back locked on these. Next time I do them I need to focus on initiating my pull at the top of the movement. This was also 5kg heavier than last time.

4. Back Squats: Work up to 150kg for 3 x sets of 5 reps--These were very tough and my last rep on my last set was gruesome, but succuessful. There is a video below of my second set. Considering I was only doing doubles of these on Monday, I was delighted with getting the three sets of five. I had only ever tripled 150 before.

By the end of Friday's training I was more fatigued than I have ever been from weightlifting. The hour break between sessions meant that I could pile on more weight. I was weighing in heavier by the end of the week also. It will be intersting to see how the body reacts to this week's ten session in five days for training tomorrow and over the next week. Here is a video of my 150 Back Squats and the second video is pure gold, so make sure your audio is working.

Saturday's superbonanza

Saturday's session was unlike any I have ever had before. There were four sessions and half an hour in between each session, except for the last one where there was fifteen minutes in between. Harry gave us the sessions and himself and Jimmy Jennings used thier keen eyes to see how we were getting on. Myself, Sami, Laura, Gill, Hans and Cathal Byrd were the test subjects. A number of important factors came to the fore and a few records were set. My legs are still a bit fatigued, but I know that my the battering my cns has taken is not as bad considering the volume training I did last month. Here is what we did:

Session 1: Power Snatch and Clean Pulls--45 minutes
I needed this first session to wake up my nervous system and prepare me for later.
Overhead Squats--4x5
Power Snatch--1x3@40, 50 1x1@60, 70, 80, 85, 90 1x2@75
Clean Pulls--1x3@60, 90 1x2@110, 130

30 minutes rest

Session 2: Snatch to max and Power Cleans--1 hour
Overhead Squat with hip push through--5x3
Snatch--1x2@40 1x1@40, 60, 70, 80, 90, 95, 100, 104, I then missed 107 twice. The bar was high enough both times and I was low enough, but my feet were too narrow to get me into proper position. 106 is my pb and I really wanted to beat it.
Clean grip pnf x1
Power Cleans--1x2@70 1x1@100, 110, 120, 122, 124--These were strong, fast and high.

30 minutes rest

Session 3: Snatch Pulls and Clean and Jerk to max--1 hour/45 minutes
Snatch Pulls--1x2@50, 80, 95, 105--Like the Clean Pulls, this was only my second time doing this exercise so it will take time to get used to it.
Jerk Skill with 50
Clean grip pnf x1
Clean and Jerk--1x1@50, 70, 90, 110, 120, 130, 138--I got this for a new 3kg pb, so I was delighted and relieved after my Snatch frustration.

15 minute break

Session 4: Back Squat to max

Back Squat--1x3@70 1x2@90 1x1@120, 150, 170--I got buried by this because I went up weight to sharply due to trying to be competitive with Cathal. I learned. I went back down to 160, ten 165, then an easy 170 again where I was much tighter and more ready for the weight. I then got 175 for a 5kg pb. I was very happy with this, particularly because of the previous workload.

And that was it. This session was great. It was fun seeing Cathsal squat 200 weighing in around 70kg, and also seeing Gill squat 115. I chose a selection of the many videos I took and put together this little number below. This session revealed that I need to do the following:
1. My skill warm up needs to focus on the Snatch now, not the Jerk.
2. I need to up teh ante with my hip flexibility and mobility work.
3. I need to stay patient. My Snatch is on a plateau at the moment due to skill, not strength. Once I make it automatic for me to get a wider catching stance, my numbers will go up nicely. If anyone spots anything about my technique on the video, please let me know. I am here to learn.




Saturday's superbonanza from Barry K on Vimeo.

Tonight was a tough session. For various reasons I was tired going into the gym and I had to really try and focus in order to make my lifts tonight. We focused on the Clean and Jerk tonight which is the first time we have never done some kind of snatching. Here is what I did:

Jerk Skill work with the bar

Overhead Squats--5x5

Drop Snatch--1x3@bar, 40, 50, 60

Jerk Dips--1x3@60

Jerk Catches--1x3@60

Split Jerk--2x3@60

Clean and Jerk--1x2@60 1x1@80, 90, 100, 107, 115, 120--I missed the first rep due to not bringing my feet back in after the clean. A silly mistake but I made up for it. I then got 3 singles with 120 and although they were ugly as sin, I made them. Usually when I am this tired I cannot jerk at all, but at least my skill has improved so that I can get them ugly rather than not at all.

Back Squat--1x3@60, 80, 100, 120, 130, 140, 150

Ab vacuums--4x30 on/off

Knee to Chest--3x20

Static Flexibility Here is a video of one of the clean and jerks and some squats: