Damn you, Overhead Squats

I think I may be starting to get the hang of snatches - maybe even figuring out the final pull (though I'm still nowhere near diving under the bar). But I'm still horrendous at OHS, and will probably never get much better at the snatch until I get the OHS.

Run 800 Meters
21 Power Snatch 95/65
Run 800 Meters
21 OHS 95/65
Run 800 Meters
21 Power Clean 95/65
Run 800 Meters
21 front Squat 95/65

33:30 (Snatch at 85#, most OHS at 75#, all else RX)

So, let's check out the splits:

Run 1: 3:26
Snatches: 4:11
Run 2: 4:48
OHS: 7:55
Run 3: 4:10
Cleans: 2:16
Run 4: 4:21
Squats: 2:19

Wow, I didn't realize how crappy my runs got. But apart from that, it's clear that the OHS are the outlying movement. After 5 it was clear to me I needed to drop the weight if I was going to get anywhere, so I went down to 75# and worked in with Bill. The weight was not bad, but it hurts my wrists like CRAZY. I think the limiting factor here is actually hamstring flexibility: in order to go down all the way, I need a super-wide grip (all the way to the collars), which torques my wrists and makes them burn in a bad, bad way. It's all because my trunk leans way forward at the bottom of the squat. I can't really think of a way to work on this other than by doing squats up against a wall, or maybe front squats. But if I can get my trunk upright, then I can take a narrower grip on the bar, which will prevent wrist pain.

The second lesson here was about my lower back - it's been acting up lately, and I think the consequences of poor form are catching up to me as my weight and volume is going up - particularly as we keep hitting thrusters and snatches for reps. By the time I hit the cleans, my back was smarting pretty bad, but I found that if I focused on keeping my chest high, back arched and visualizing a short, vertical bar path then it didn't really hurt. Virtuosity is about more than efficiency of movement for a better time - it also prevents injury, and I need to be better about protecting my back.