More Oly

The roulette table is coming up Oly more lately, which is just fine by me - my form on these lifts improves at a glacial pace, and I need all the practice I can get. A great deal of my problem is, I think, related to functional flexibility - my front squat, overhead squat and shoulder flexibility are all lacking, which makes catching heavy weights in midair both terrifying and, well, unlikely. I'm working on it. I'm going to start incorporating Coach Boz's warmup into my warmups to try and work these points, as well as doing some of K-Star's PNF don't-call-it-stretching after workouts.

(Side note: If you don't subscribe to the CrossFit Journal, you should. And if you do, you should go watch Kelly's midline stabilization series NOW. It's far, FAR more informative and interesting than anything I have to say).

Clean & Jerk x 3: 95-115-120-125
Clean & Jerk x 1: 130(f) - 135(f) - 130
Clean & Jerk x 10: 95

Odd, how I was able to knock off three reps just five pounds shy of my 1RM. But really, these are not Jerks. They are push presses, with an emphasis on "press" for the last 4-5 inches. When the weight gets heavy I don't bend my knees and I don't get under the weight in either exercise - they're really muscle cleans and push-presses. I wish it was not this way. I can do proper cleans and jerks at lower weights, but 115 really seems to be my limit for this - after that I just get way too tight.

This matches my PR of 11 days ago, but when it finally went up it felt much smoother than that day. The technique is hit or miss. More practice!

Speaking of which, while the 6 o'clock class did their thing I went back upstairs and practiced handstands. These are getting MUCH easier and more reliable. I was able to knock out at least a dozen of increasing grace and stability, and at the end I was getting them on the first try more often than not. The secret, for me, is hands not too close the wall (about 5-6 inches seems to work), being careful to push UP and not FORWARD (thereby avoiding smashing my back into the wall), and to get my right leg up to the wall ASAP so it doesn't linger overhead.

These are not good, hollow handstands though. There's a huge arch in my back as my butt and legs touch the wall. I spent a good amount of time upside down trying to tuck my pelvis and straighten out, which is quite hard. This is the next step. Handstands facing the wall would be better for this, but I need to learn to roll out gracefully. I also need to work on coming down from back-to-wall handstands without whacking the back of my head against the wall, as I did frequently tonight.