2010-03-22 oly # ?

Finally! A day at the gym that did not feel like a total waste of time.

1000m Row 4:26

Wall squats - much improved! I can now squat holding a dowel over my head standing 6-8 inches away from the wall. a big improvement.

I can stay far more upright squatting holding a dowel behind my head with my elbows (hands behind my head) too. that position used to make me look straight down at the floor.

3 x 5 Hang snatches
25-35-40x2-35 (I tried a couple reps of the last set at 40, but could not snatch it without pressing out the last 6 inches or so, so I went back down.)

Daniel held a dowel out and set it to the level i was catching the bar at (because i was tending to catch it crooked) - acting as my 'spirit level as it were. That really helped me get a better sense of where straight was.

3 x 5 OHS
20-25-25

Oly Cycle Week 5 Day 2

Warmup: 2 rounds of 10 wall squats & 75 sec active squat holds. Burgener warmup.

Technique:
Snatch x 1: 70-75-80-85-85
Clean & Jerk x 1: 95-100-105-110-115

The weight is getting heavy enough on the snatch that I can no longer just keep going up and maintain good form. Once I get over 80/85, I start power-snatching and riding the weight down, which is unacceptable. So now I'm going until I start doing that, and staying at that weight trying to convince my body to get underneath it and catch it.

The clean and jerks are better, but I'm still have trouble with jumping forward on the clean. I've taken to doing my cleans with my toes on a line in the floor, as a disincentive to jump and a means of measuring my fault. Gita and Polly tell me it's due to early arm pull and not coming to full extension, leaving the bar in front of me in space where I have to jump forward to get under it.

Strength:
Overhead squat x 5: 95(3)-95(4)-95(5)
Ring Dip x 5: 5(2)-5(3)-5(4)

Unsurprising that I should start failing the OHS at 95# - I have a mental block about that weight, for some reason. The ring dips continue to be extremely difficult, even with just five pounds. With both movements, my reps went up due to feeling more comfortable with the weight.

Flex: various static holds, PNF hamstring with strap. Ball rolling.

2-9-2010 oly #9

FS 5-5-5
43-43-43

Press 5-5-5
43-48-48(x4)


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Oly Cycle Week 5 Day 1

Warmup: 2 rounds of 10 wall squats & 1:10 minute active squat holds. Burgener warmup.

Technique:
Snatch x 1: 70-75-80-85-85
Clean x 1: 95-100-105-110-115

Strength:
Front squat x 5: 115-115-115
Press x 5: 97-97-97

Flex: Stretches and ball rolling

Still sore from Cindy on Friday and a weekend of snowboarding. Worked on Kelly Starrett's leg turnout on the front squats, which I think made my form better, but hurt like a sonuvabitch.

2-3-2010 oly #7/8

I missed monday's workout - which would have been #7.

1000m of rowing (4:40 or so)
2 rounds, 10 wall squats followed by a 65 sec squat hold. The first one was impossible - i actuall held the second one an extra 5 seconds - i found a position that seemed to work well ...

Andrea introduced us to a new torturous squat warmup. Take a dowel and place it behind your head, then take your hands and put them on the back of your head. The dowel will be pinned between your elbows and your kneck, keeping you very upright. Now squat. The idea, of course, is to maintain an upright position. Daniel tried a few wall squats this way. I tried it, but pretty much ended up looking at the floor. I did a little foam rolling on my thoracic spine, and was able to get slightly more upright, but yikes. CLEARLY something to be worked on. Yay. Thanks Andrea :-p

Snatch skill practice - 15# bar. still kind of hit and miss.

Clean &jerk skill practice
several x 30#
3 x 40#
1 x 50#
1 x 60# - i didn't have much trouble diving under the bar to catch this - but standing up wias HARD (and ugly) and the jerk was more of a press, too. But this is still an acheivement. I've never been able to dive under heavy weights. Now I just need to get my front squat numbers up. And it's time to start seriously working on the jerk.

Ohs 5-5-5
25#(f rep #5)-25#(f r2)-20#-25(f r2, f r1)-20#
20# was easy, 25# was near impossible. very frustrating.

Dips red band aprox 7" tail both sides
5 - 5 - 5

Daniel said I needed to work on my ROM - I'm not going deep enough.

Oly Cycle Week 4 Day 2

Warmup: 2 rounds of 10 wall squats & 65 sec active squat holds. Burgener warmup.
Consecutive double-under practice (36!)

Technique:
Snatch x 1: 65-70-75-80-85
Clean & Jerk x 1: 90-95-100-105-110

Strength:
Overhead squat x 5: 90-90-90
Ring Dip x 5: 5(2)-5(3)-5(3)

Flex: various static holds, PNF hamstring with strap. Ball rolling.

Oly Cycle Week 4 Day 1

Warmup: 2 rounds of 10 wall squats & 1 minute active squat holds. Burgener warmup.

Technique:
Snatch x 1: 65-70-75-80-85
Clean x 1: 90-95-100-105-110

Strength:
Front squat x 5: 110-110-110
Press x 5: 95(2)-95-95

Flex: just a little ball rolling

Mondays are going to be a bit tricky this month, as I have to be back at the Aurora at 7:30, which means doing the workout before class, leading class and rushing to work ASAP. I left work at 4, and had enough time to get through most of the workout - though I didn't get as much time to stretch as I would have liked.

The lifts went fairly well. At higher weights I'm power-snatching and riding down to the bottom of the squat, which I'm working on fixing but is primarily, I think, due to a lack of comfort at the bottom. My focus on the cleans is the lie-back at full extension on the second pull - I'm not getting the bar far enough back, and am jumping forward to get under it. I think today went better than last week, but didn't have anyone else there to provide feedback. On the jerks, I'm trying not to let my torso dip forward, but just do the short oompah-loompah thing Gita told me to do.

Oly Cycle Week 3 Day 2

Warmup: 2 rounds of 10 wall squats & 55 sec active squat holds. Burgener warmup.
Consecutive double-under practice (29! Big PR)

Technique:
Snatch x 1: 60-65-70-75-80
Clean x 1: 85-90-95-100-105

Strength:
Overhead squat x 5: 85-85-85
Ring Dip x 5: BW-BW-BW
Alternated with 5 depth jumps.

Flex: various static holds, PNF hamstring with strap. Ball rolling.

Oly Cycle Week 3 Day 1

Warmup: 2 rounds of 10 wall squats & 50 sec active squat holds. Burgener warmup.

Technique:
Snatch x 1: 60-65-70-75(f)-75
Clean x 1: nope

Strength:
Front squat x 5: 105-105-105
alternated with 5 depth jumps

Press x 5: 90-90-90

Flex: various static holds, PNF hamstring with strap.

Was NOT feeling it tonight. Whether it was residual soreness from snowboarding or just insufficient warmup, everything felt tight and slow, and I was coming forward onto my toes receiving the snatches. Gita suggested that continuing to do skill work while "not feeling it" only reinforced bad motor patterns, so we never even bothered with the cleans, and just tried to get through the strength stuff. Not a satisfying workout.

1-25-2010 - oly cycle # 5

2 rounds 10 wall squats, 50 sec squat hold, burgener warmup

Snatch skill practice.

3 rounds (not for time):
5 Front squats: 33-43-48
5 Box jumps: 2 kraborg 45#, 2 25#, 1 15# (about 15-16")



Press 5-5-5
43-48*-48
 *might have failed after 4, might have gotten all 5 - i lost count.


Muscles were pretty worked from snow boarding. I tweaked something in my left thigh right around the end of my snatch practice, so I didn't really go through clean & jerk practice today.  And I really only did 2 sets of front squats - the set @ 33# was just a warmup.  However, even though didn't finish most of the exercises, there was clear improvement of form for most of them.

My wall squats were better - I didn't have to do them with a kettlebell - I was even able to get 1/2 to 2/3 of the way down with my hands behind my head, but I did have to grip onto the base of the wood on the wall in order to stay upright in the bottom position, however, it allowed me to correctly work the full bottom ROM, so I don't feel too badly about cheating.

I think the height of the box jumps is about right.  I made about 60% of them on the first try.  (Box jumps and front squats do not go well together).

It wasn't the best workout ever there was a lot of dnf-ing - but I don't feel like it was a waste of time, either.

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1-20-2010 - Oly Cycle #4

Missed most of the warm up. stupid work.  Did  a few wall squats and a 45 second squat hold.

Worked on snatch technique - did hang power snatches and and full squat snatch balances with the 15# bar.  I can do each of these movements fairy well - but the instant I try to link the pull and the drop things get all wonky, so I'm working on them separately for now.

Worked on clean technique - mostly worked tall cleans with 33# bar to work on diving under the bar while staying upright.  I tried a 45# tall clean and ended up on my butt.  I managed a few 40#.  I did a couple jerk reps at the end.  I am less worried about working on these than the cleans.

OHS 5-5-5
15-15-15

really need an alumalight(sp?) barso i can go up in weight without jumping from 15 to 30#\

Ring dips 5-5-5
first set was with the green band - too easy.
second set was with my new tiny red band and I managed 5 across - barely
3rd set was 1, then 2 then 2 (with the little red band)