Saturday's slight progress

I had Friday off and my final heavy session before Cork today. All in all, I was reasonably happy with how it went. I have inched up another few kilos and I know, with two sessions and a lot of rest next week, I have a lot more in me. Cathal also lifted well, getting 107/136 and both lifts looked pretty routine. Roy and Cillian trained also and some of their lifts are included also. Roy is coming back from a series of long term hip and shoulder problems and Cillian is doing really well so far in his brief lifting career.

I warmed up with my glute prehab, some overhead squats and my Miyake Pulls to get my back locked in. Then I did the following:

Snatch--1x2@40, 40, 40, 60, 70, 80 1x1@90--I have no idea how, but I missed this twice. I obviously was not focusing properly. 90, 95, 100, 104, 107, 109--I missed 109 three times and they were all very narrow misses. I lacked that final finish of the pull to get the bar into the perfect position. My back was slightly better than Thursday, so once it keeps going in the direction, no matter how small the improvements are, I will be happy.

Clean and Jerk--1x1@60, 60, 80, 90, 100, 110, 120, 127, 132, 137--I could not get this today. My hips were rising way too fast in order for me to get any leverage for the pull and I was also a bit wrecked. I was very happy with my 127 and 132. They were far smoother than during the week when I was repping on 125.

All in all, I was happy with how today's lifting went. I would have been happier if I got 109/137, but you can't have it all your own way. The week before Scotland I was struggling to snatch 90 and I could not Jerk 122. I am really looking forward to Cork. Have a look at the video below and leave any comments that can help.



Here is a bonus video where the lifting is a slightly better standard. What a rivalry and let's hope it pushes both lifters to even greater heights.

Saturday's simple reminders

I was looking forward to today's session. I had a session with an ART practitioner yesterday in Port Laoise. My right hip has been cramping up recently and the left refuses to get any more flexible despite my best efforts, so I went to see this guy; himself and his co-worker sorted out my hips from the hip flexor around to the glute med. I will assess how this has worked out over the next week or two and write about the effects.

Today I was a bit tight due to doing nothing since Wednesday. It was a strange session but I enjoyed it none-the-less. Here is what I did:

Overhead Squats--5x5
Snatch--1x3@40, 40 1x2@50, 60 1x1@70, 80, 85, 90--After the first rep of 90, I was then unable to Snatch at all. It was very strange. Everything felt out of position and alien, so I took a few minutes and went on to Hang Snatches instead.

Hang Snatch--1x2@60 1x1@80, 85, 90, 95, 98--I missed the first rep. I was scooping through the bar rather than extending up and letting the scoop happen naturally. I then got 98 and missed 100 first behind and then in front. The first rep was very fast, but I just swung it out slightly. I then had a far more technically superior second rep but it was not as fast. This was the most I have ever done in a Hang Snatch so I was happy enough. My problem with the second pull clearly transfers into the full Snatch--which I am having a slight issue with. I need to work on my first pull so that the bar is in the perfect position. I then need to extend the way I know I can and get back to my finer technical points and improve on them.

Front Squat--1x2@70, 70, 100 1x2@120, 140, 150--I got a double with 150 which I was happy with. It was not a pretty double but none of my lifts are pretty at the moment.

Flexibility for ten minutes.
Here is a video of some of the lifts. Nothing is pretty, but they can't all be.