Monday's march towards a more respectable squat

I had a good training session today; I was tired so when I started to over analyse, the only way I could continue to train was to shut out the mind completely and simply lift as fast as I could. It was day four of the squat program and it started to get interesting. Last week I found it very hard to get six triples with 80% and today I had to get six sets of four reps. It was hard, but I am finding out that the beauty of this Russian squat program is that it forces uses to utilise what strength you do have to a greater extent. The only way I was getting my last few sets today was to generate as much tension as possible and getting my timing, breathing and positioning accurate. These skills are arguably more valuable than the added stength that will come my way. Here is what I did:

Snatch--3x3@40 1x2@60, 80 3x1@90--When I left my mind behind these actually got quite fast and tight. I had to remind myself to keep aware of how flexibile and loose my wrists were throughout the lift as this means my arms are relaxed and that I extend with my hips and not my arms. Thus teh extension is better as is the turnover.

Back Squat--1x2@110, 126, 135 6x4@144 which is 80% of my Back Squat. I have six sets of five reps to look forward to on Thursday and I am actually looking forward to the challenge.

Here is a nice video made by Chris Betancourt. It shows Vardanyan's individual style that is quite different to what is being preached today as the most efficient technique. What do you think:



Also, my blog is now a year old! For anyone who reads it, I hope you are enjoying your training and are enjoying the journey as much as I am. I have a few more guest article in mind and if anyone can suggest a few ways to improve the blog, please let me know. I have also been maintaining original alliterative titles for the last year and I think this is my proudest achievement. How embarassing, as Byrdie would say...

Monday's mouth watering initiation into the murky world of volume training

I had a fun session tonight and it was nice to do something different. Myself and Sami will be embarking on a journey whose name in the brochure is called: Get stronger by doing lots and lots and lots of volume. Harry is sending me a mail tomorrow giving precise directions for this journey so I will write about them accordingly.

On a different note, here is an email from a Swedish Masters lifter who I have corresponded with a few times. He gave me some good advise that I think is worth sharing. Below is part of the email and he is referring to Saturday's post and how he sees the areas that I need to improve in.

Morgan: I agree that Suylemanoglu is a fanatastic lifter, but very few lifters are built like him and got the same angles. I think you should seek for inspiration by looking at Yuri Zakharevich( 1988 Olympics) and Urik Vardanian 405 kg total instead. Especially notice the extension of the knee angle in the first pull (simultanously moving pressure towards the back of your feet to keep balance). Then quickly change pressure towards toes in order to release your heels early to get the upright motion and use your jumping power .
I knew Vardanian personally as I was his interpreter during some competitions. Actually he never went over 200 kg in front squats although he managed to clean 230 using his timing and explosive legpower.(He did 215 in high jump just for fun). Also look at the simplicity of his jerks. The name of the game is the straight upward motion and the timing and speed under the bar while catching it !

It is sound advise and here is a video of Urik Vardanian and his 405 total at an 82.5kg weight. Incredible lifting and a style of lifting that I have never seen in a lifter of his calibre. He hardly brushes the bar with his thighs and he has an amazingly shallow split in the Jerk.



My session today was the following:

I warmed up with bar work and dynamic and static flexibility work.
Snatch Pull--Triples up to 50, doubles up to 70 and single on 80 and 90.
Power Snatch--1x3@50, 60, 70, 75 for three triples. This was tiring, but I was working on keeping the bar close after my second pull.
Snatch Pulls--1x2@75,85, 95 for three doubles.
Power Clean and Full Clean combo--3x2@70 1x2@80, 90 3x2@100
Power Clean and Shoulder Press--5x3@70
Front Squat--1x3@100, 110, 120, 125 for three doubles.

I will go into the master plan more over the next week, but the idea is to get me far stronger through a significant increase in volume and I will be improving my technique through these exercises. In no particular order, my priorities are the following :
1. Get far stronger in the legs and back.
2. Continue improving my mobility and flexibilty in my back and hips.
3. Improve my positioning in the Snatch and Clean.

Ideas?