From the Stage to the Platform - a Pro goes O

[madaozeki]

PS Is there any chance at all you guys might be free on Monday night? We'll be in Waterloo and plan to have dinner at the The 2 Goblets with my mom, and you're welcome to join us if you don't mind the drive! I don't have email access here...

[J.L.C.]

Tuesday October 6

Snatch
Warmup
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 1/2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2/3
50kg x 2

Ditched the straps today and worked on releasing the hook. It went pretty well, thumb is not 100% but was alright. Learning to release the hook is tricky, I think most people do it automatically, but it felt pretty good when I did it right.

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Clean
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2
98kg x2

Work Sets
105kg x 2
105kg x 2
105kg x 2

Good cleans today. I was working on speed and staying upright and not caving on the catch. Felt great!

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Front Squat
Warmup
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
115kg x3

Worksets
126kg x 2
126kg x 2
126kg x 2
126kg x 2
126kg x 2
126kg x 2

Felt pretty good here. Working on staying upright and not leaning forward on the way up.

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Overhead Press
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 3

Work Sets
60kg x 4
60kg x 4
60kg x 4
60kg x 4

Nice pressings today.

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[J.L.C.]

Thursday October 8

Power Snatch
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2

These felt good. Still some tightness in the thumb, but releasing the hook seems to help.

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Snatch Pull
Warmup
Bar work
75kg x 3
92kg x 2

Work Sets
102kg x 2
102kg x 2
102kg x 2
102kg x 2
102kg x 2

These were fun!

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Power Clean + 2 Jerks
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 1+2
40kg x 1+2
40kg x 1+2

Work Sets
75kg x 1+2
75kg x 1+2
75kg x 1+2
75kg x 1+2
75kg x 1+2

These felt GREAT today.

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Back Squat
Warmup
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3
135kg x 3

Worksets
145kg x 2
145kg x 2
145kg x 2
145kg x 2
145kg x 2
145kg x 2

Working on really staying upright and not "unhinging" as I come up. Slows me down a bit but works my strength where I need it.

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Dumbell Row
Warmup
65lbs x 5/5

Work Sets
95lbs x 5/5
95lbs x 5/5
95lbs x 5/5
95lbs x 5/5
95lbs x 5/5

These are going well. Using the straps is letting me keep my hands relaxed so it's not bothering my elbow.

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[J.L.C.]

Saturday October 10

Snatch
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2
60kg x 2
60kg x 2

Heaviest I've snatched in months!

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Clean
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2

Work Sets
98kg x 2
98kg x 2
98kg x 2
98kg x 2
98kg x 2

Concentrated on speed

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Clean Pull
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2

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Front Squat
Warmup
Bar work
70kg x 3
100kg x 3

Worksets
118kg x 3
118kg x 3
118kg x 3

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[JiP]

Looks like you got strong at squatting good buddy old pal.

[J.L.C.]

Tuesday October 13

Power Snatch
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2
60kg x 2
60kg x 2

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Snatch Pull
Warmup
90kg x 2
100kg x 2

Work Sets
110kg x 2
110kg x 2
110kg x 2

Nice pop on these

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Clean & Jerk
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2
100kg x 1

Work Sets
106kg x 1 - Good
109kg x 1 - Good
112kg x 1 - Not bad

This was the end of the planned lifts. I wasn't feeling great, but I was making the lifts so tried for a new PR.

115kg x 0 - Missed the jerk. Didn't commit enough and didn't get it to lockout
115kg x 0 - Missed jerk. Too long of a break chatting to powerlifters and didn't attack the clean well, poor rack

All the planned lifts went great

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Back Squat
Warmup
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3

Worksets
130kg x 3
130kg x 3
130kg x 3

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Dumbell Row
Warmup
65lbs x 5/5
90lbs x 5/5

Work Sets
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3

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Wasn't feeling great today (fighting a cold, not enough sleep and school stress). But the lifts still went pretty well. I'm pretty happy with how the 112 looked and felt.

[J.L.C.]

Thursday October 15

Snatch
Warmup
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2

Work Sets
60kg x 0 - Just messed up releasing the hook
60kg x 2
60kg x 2
70kg x 2
70kg x 2 - Stepped forward with the 2nd rep, rushing the pull
70kg x 2 - Same
75kg x 1
80kg x 1
85kg x 1

Released the hook on all of em, which I haven't been able to do above 70kg before. I'm hoping it'll become automatic at some point.

Pretty happy with the performance! Heaviest I've snatched since the first week of July! My plan was just to take a shot at 70, but they were going well so I decided to push things a bit.

Here's a vid of the singles:


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Snatch Pull
Warmup
95kg x 2

Work Sets
104kg x 2
104kg x 2
104kg x 2
104kg x 2
104kg x 2

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Front Squat
Warmup
Bar work
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
118kg x 3

Worksets
129kg x 2
129kg x 2
129kg x 2
129kg x 2
129kg x 2
129kg x 2

Squats felt good.

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Overhead Press
Warmup
Bar Work
40kg x 3
40kg x 3
50kg x 3
60kg x 3

Work Sets
65kg x 2
65kg x 2
65kg x 2
65kg x 2
65kg x 2

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[IGF-WON]

looks a LOT faster than i recall in your old videos

[madaozeki]

Originally Posted by IGF-WON

looks a LOT faster than i recall in your old videos

That's cuz he's snatching for realz now!

[J.L.C.]

Originally Posted by IGF-WON

looks a LOT faster than i recall in your old videos

Thanks! They look different to me too. A bit better at moving under the bar

Originally Posted by madaozeki

That's cuz he's snatching for realz now!

Then what was I doing before?!

[J.L.C.]

Saturday October 17

Snatch
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2

Thumb was sore so I took it easy on these today.

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Clean
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2
100kg x 2

Work Sets
107kg x 2
107kg x 2
107kg x 2

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Clean Pull
Warmup
117kg x 2

Work Sets
123kg x 2
123kg x 2
123kg x 2

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Power Clean + 2 Jerks
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 1+2
40kg x 1+2
40kg x 1+2
65kg x 1+2

Work Sets
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2

These were good today.

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Back Squat
Warmup
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x

Worksets
135kg x 1
150kg x 1
165kg x 1 - EASY

That was the workout, but they were so easy....

171kg x 1 - EASY! (1kg PR)

I stayed conservative because when I set the 170kg PR it was a grinder - but man, the 171 was quick, easy, not even a pause on the way up!

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I think my legs are finally back!

[madaozeki]

Atta boy!!!

(171 was secretly my plan, by the way )

[J.L.C.]

Originally Posted by madaozeki

Atta boy!!!

(171 was secretly my plan, by the way )

I'm learning!!

[JiP]

Wow strong squat!

[J.L.C.]

Tuesday October 20

Power Snatch
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2

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Clean&Jerk
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2
98kg x 1

Work Sets
103kg x 1
103kg x 1
103kg x 1

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Front Squat
Warmup
70kg x 3
100kg x 3

Worksets
115kg x 3
115kg x 3
115kg x 3

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Overhead Press
Warmup
Bar Work
40kg x 3
50kg x 3

Work Sets
55kg x 5
55kg x 5
55kg x 5

Toned shoulders!

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Went for cold laser on the thumb yesterday. Going again tomorrow and I'm aiming for 4-6 treatments to see how things go. Also going for some x-rays because the chiro wants to see what the thumb looks like (it was pretty grindy and noisy) - she's suspecting maybe some arthritis in there

She also wants to see what's up with my wrists. Due to the extremely limited flexibility she is wondering if I have some fused bones in there! So, I'm getting wrist scans too.

[madaozeki]

Yikes! Maybe someone'll finally fix ya!

What happened on cleans? Misload? How do you accidentally put on 3 extra kg?

[J.L.C.]

Originally Posted by madaozeki

Yikes! Maybe someone'll finally fix ya!

What happened on cleans? Misload? How do you accidentally put on 3 extra kg?

You just forget to delete a set from a copy/pasted workout

[madaozeki]

Originally Posted by J.L.C.

You just forget to delete a set from a copy/pasted workout

Oh, so it was my fault?

[J.L.C.]

Originally Posted by madaozeki

Oh, so it was my fault?

no no - I just went 90x2, 98x1 then onto the work sets with 103, there was no 95x2 set

(if that's the 3kg you're talking about)

[madaozeki]

Originally Posted by J.L.C.

no no - I just went 90x2, 98x1 then onto the work sets with 103, there was no 95x2 set

(if that's the 3kg you're talking about)

(yeah it was, and I was just kidding )

Nice work, by the way! How were the jerks?

[J.L.C.]

Originally Posted by madaozeki

(yeah it was, and I was just kidding )

Nice work, by the way! How were the jerks?

Pretty good! Everything ended up back in the right spot, but I was a little slow getting there on a couple.

[J.L.C.]

Thursday October 22

Power Snatch
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2

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Snatch Pull
Warmup
Bar work
75kg x 2

Work Sets
95kg x 2
95kg x 2
95kg x 2

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Power Clean + 2 Jerks
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 1+2
40kg x 1+2
40kg x 1+2

Work Sets
70kg x 1+2
70kg x 1+2
70kg x 1+2

Felt sharp

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Dumbell Row
Warmup
60lbs x 5/5

Work Sets
90lbs x 8/8
90lbs x 8/8
90lbs x 8/8

Pump!

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[J.L.C.]

Saturday October 24

Snatch
Warmup
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2

Work Sets
60kg x 2
60kg x 2
60kg x 2
60kg x 2
60kg x 1/2 - Missed 2nd forward
60kg x 0 - Missed forward
60kg x 1 - Solid

Pull felt off today. I noticed in the previous videos that it looked like the bar was kicking forward off the floor again. I was focusing on fixing the start today; timing was a little off on the pull.

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Clean
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2
100kg x 1

Work Sets
105kg x 1
105kg x 1
105kg x 1

These felt heavier than they should. I think the timing issue was present here too; bar was crashing on me.

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Back Squat
Warmup
70kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3

Worksets
135kg x 3
135kg x 3
135kg x 3

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[J.L.C.]

Tuesday October 27

Snatch
Warmup
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 2
60kg x 2
70kg x 2
75kg x 1
80kg x 1

Work Sets
85kg x 1
88kg x 1
90kg x 1 - A little out front but locked out well.

I released the hook on all of em, but it was a little tricky on the 88 and 90.

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Clean&Jerk
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2
100kg x 0 - Missed jerk
100kg x 1 - Good

Work Sets
108kg x 0 - No jerk
108kg x 1 - Solid lockout, but tiny split
111kg x 1 - Solid. Felt awesome
114kg x 0 - No jerk
114kg x 1 - Didn't come through so I was holding it out front, but the lockout was good. I think I pushed with my arms too soon - 1kg PR
116kg x 0 - Missed jerk
116kg x 0 - Missed jerk. Very close, might have just been fatigue

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Not bad today. The 90 wasn't perfect, but it felt great to get back under some heavy-ish weight!

[J.L.C.]

Tuesday November 3

Power Snatch
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
Bar x 3
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2
50kg x 2

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Clean & Jerk
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
40kg x 2
75kg x 2
75kg x 2
90kg x 2
98kg x 1

Work Sets
105kg x 0 - Dip n' drove forward, no jerk
105kg x 1 - Did my signature catch then turn the arms, still forward
105kg x 1 - Forward, had to walk with it
105kg x 0 - Missed clean Forward, was wayyy up on my toes in the bottom
105kg x 1 - Sloppy, had to walk with it
105kg x 1 - Best of the night, still a little forward and I didn't get my arms turned though.

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Clean Pull
Work Sets
118kg x 2
118kg x 2
118kg x 2

These felt off too, timing was wonky

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Front Squat
Warmup
70kg x 3
100kg x 3

Worksets
115kg x 2
115kg x 2
115kg x 2
115kg x 2
115kg x 2
115kg x 2

The only lift that didn't feel 'off' tonight

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Dumbell Row
Warmup
70lbs x 5/5

Work Sets
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3
100lbs x 3/3

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Crappy session.

I was away at a conference last week which isn't ideal for recovery (not enough food or sleep, and too much drink).

Might be fighting off a cold or something too

[madaozeki]

Shrug it off, don't get sick, and come back fresh for your next workout. I promise it'll feel better (assuming you don't get sick)

[J.L.C.]

Thursday November 5

Snatch
Warmup
40kg x 2 (Powers)
40kg x 2 (Powers)
55kg x 2 (Powers)
55kg x 2 (Powers)
67kg x 2 (2nd rep full snatch)

Work Sets - All full snatches
75kg x 1/2 - 2nd rep went over
75kg x 1
80kg x 1
85kg - 1
88kg x 0 - Went over
88kg x 1
90kg x 0
90kg x 0
90kg x 1
92kg x 1
94kg x 1
96kg x 0
96kg x 0
96kg x 0 - Didn't get my thumb out on this one, and it hurt!

I think the bar is kicking forward as it breaks from the floor again.... No PRs today

Releasing the hook is still weird. In order to get my thumb out, I have to let go of the bar and then literally catch it as it's coming down. This is tough on the wrists and my hands are shifting all over the place as I lock out. Tricky stuff!

I'd like to get the first pull sorted out again, because getting bent over and having to step forward is not comfortable!

But, 94kg after 4 months off snatching is still pretty good.

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Snatch Pull
102kg x 2
102kg x 2
102kg x 2

A couple bonus sets to work on bar path off the floor.

102kg x 2
102kg x 2

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Power Clean @ Jerk
Warmup
Bar work
40kg x 1+2
60kg x 1+2

Work Sets
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2
80kg x 1+2

These were good. Being angry is good for jerk technique apparently.

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Back Squat
Warmup
80kg x 3
100kg x 3
120kg x 3

Worksets
130kg x 3
130kg x 3
130kg x 3

Legs were sore during these!

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Meet next weekend.....

Not sure how this one is gonna go.....

[madaozeki]

Originally Posted by J.L.C.

But, 94kg after 4 months off snatching is still pretty good.

Heck yeah, it sure is. Normally one would be happy about snatching up to their old PR (or is it 95?) after snatching heavy once over the past 6 weeks...

A couple bonus sets to work on bar path off the floor.

This isn't the time for bonus sets, especially at the top weight of the day.

These were good. Being angry is good for jerk technique apparently.

We have to learn to get you to channel your anger more productively... I think I'm going to have to be more specific in laying out your attempts.

Meet next weekend.....

Not sure how this one is gonna go.....

You're going to be pleasantly surprised.

[crackyflipside]

I had a problem of the bar moving forward off the floor also, I slowed down speed that I pulled bar off floor a little bit, instead of tearing it off the floor, and that fixed it.

[J.L.C.]

Originally Posted by madaozeki

Heck yeah, it sure is. Normally one would be happy about snatching up to their old PR (or is it 95?) after snatching heavy once over the past 6 weeks...

Yeah.....but they just feel so light!!

This isn't the time for bonus sets, especially at the top weight of the day.

But, but, but.....

We have to learn to get you to channel your anger more productively... I think I'm going to have to be more specific in laying out your attempts.

I still have a tendency to get carried away. It's just so frustrating missing weights that feel insanely light - and having a wonky bar path no matter what I do to correct it!

You're going to be pleasantly surprised.

I hope so!

Originally Posted by crackyflipside

I had a problem of the bar moving forward off the floor also, I slowed down speed that I pulled bar off floor a little bit, instead of tearing it off the floor, and that fixed it.

I'll play around with that a bit. I think I have a relatively slow first pull, but I might be rushing everything when the weight gets heavier. I also think I do too much thinking/correcting instead of just setting up and doing the lift.

I can't remember if I fixed it last time by not having the bar touch my shins on set-up, or if higher hips alone corrected the problem.

It's not as bad as it was before, but I think it's enough that it's pulling me forward a bit and messing things up.