I'd like some shoulder boulders... w/a side of gunz and round glutes of peace

[IrishLassie78]

Good squat, was expecting to see a really high squat since you mentioned depth but looks like you hit parallel just fine. That sots press looks brutal, I've never seen that before.

Thanks Hammie! I'd really like to get at least my front squats below parallel. So no more adding weight until I'm solidly ass to grass on every rep.

Sots presses are brutal. And very, very humbling.

[ucsumma]

Mobility work?

That's something you do on your mobile device correct?

[IrishLassie78]

Mobility work?

That's something you do on your mobile device correct?

Lulz... Exactly!

[IrishLassie78]

Cleans this morning and they felt very solid. Way better than last week. Didn't attempt any crazy weights but what I did do felt really good.

Cleans:

Warm-up:
Much foam rolling, high knees, ass kickers, bw squats, spiderman/superman complex, ankle mobility

Clean Technique Primer:
Tall Muscle Clean:
15lb technique bar x 3 x 2
15kg bar x 3 x 2
55 x 3

High Hang Clean:
45 x 3
55 x 3
65 x 3 x 2

Clean:
65 x 3
75 x 3
85 x 3 x 3

Clean High Pull:
85 x 3
95 x 3
105 x 3 x 3

Paused Back Squat:
125 x 5 x 3 *Really focusing getting as deep as I possibly can and hanging out down there for 3 seconds before coming out of the hole

Conditioning & Abs:
Conditionning
4RFT
40 Walking Lunges
20 KB Swings @ 35kg
Took 7 minutes on the dot

Abs
Decline pull-over to sit up/Russian Twist SS
15lb MB x 10 x 4

Lying Leg Raises
10 x 4

Finished up with some more foam rolling and stretching. Considering how awful cleans felt last week I was really happy with how these felt this week.

Here's a video of one of my sets of 85 x 3 cleans. Feedback is MUCH appreciated!

[NorwichGrad]

Considering you’re fairly new to WL, you move pretty well! You have lots of great things going on for you. Nice work..

Question:

a) Who does your programming?



As far as feedback, you’re anticipating your second pull. So you are prematurely bending your arms. This is common. Just relax your arms and keep them ‘long’ throughout the first pull. Then BAM! Extend your hips and legs.. Trust that the bar will accelerate through this extension. A nano-second later, then and only then, you should ‘guide’ the bar with your arms (i.e. start bending arms) as you rack weight.

It’s an easy fix:

a) Do some empty bar cleans from the dead hang.. This will give you confidence getting under the bar fast (not that you have any issue with 3rd pull), but specifically to your technical issue, this drill will give you assurance that you’ll be able to clean WITHOUT premature arm bend.. This drill is like the penicillin at an Army base. Penicillin treats all kinds of venereal disease (not that I ever used it when I was in the Army); similarly, cleans from the dead hangs treats many, many weightlifting VDs.

b) You can also do complexes.. For example:

i) Do a clean grip deadlift from ground to launch point then drop bar.
ii) Then do clean grip deadlift from ground to launch point, then PAUSE two seconds, then BAM! clean it while keeping arms straight, then drop bar.
iii) Then do a full clean while exercising discipline NOT to prematurely bend arms.

The possibilities are endless.


Hope this helps and keep up the great work.

[IrishLassie78]

Considering you’re fairly new to WL, you move pretty well! You have lots of great things going on for you. Nice work..

Question:

a) Who does your programming?



As far as feedback, you’re anticipating your second pull. So you are prematurely bending your arms. This is common. Just relax your arms and keep them ‘long’ throughout the first pull. Then BAM! Extend your hips and legs.. Trust that the bar will accelerate through this extension. A nano-second later, then and only then, you should ‘guide’ the bar with your arms (i.e. start bending arms) as you rack weight.

It’s an easy fix:

a) Do some empty bar cleans from the dead hang.. This will give you confidence getting under the bar fast (not that you have any issue with 3rd pull), but specifically to your technical issue, this drill will give you assurance that you’ll be able to clean WITHOUT premature arm bend.. This drill is like the penicillin at an Army base. Penicillin treats all kinds of venereal disease (not that I ever used it when I was in the Army); similarly, cleans from the dead hangs treats many, many weightlifting VDs.

b) You can also do complexes.. For example:

i) Do a clean grip deadlift from ground to launch point then drop bar.
ii) Then do clean grip deadlift from ground to launch point, then PAUSE two seconds, then BAM! clean it while keeping arms straight, then drop bar.
iii) Then do a full clean while exercising discipline NOT to prematurely bend arms.

The possibilities are endless.


Hope this helps and keep up the great work.

Hi! The programming came from Catalyst Athletics website. It was the simplest one that didn't look like it would kill me with volume. I'm broke due to a ludicrous amount of student loan debt incurred from a useless bachelor's degree and an MBA that has yet to pay for itself so no coach really at the moment. There is a coach at my gym and she gave me some tips and things to work on for the snatch but I can't afford her regularly so I'm mostly going it alone.

I see what you mean about the elbows with second pull. I'm sure I do that with the snatch too now that I think about it. Will definitely add that drill and complexes. Thank you so much for the feedback. I can use all the help I can get

[NorwichGrad]

No sweat.. Always a pleasure “Spreading Weightlifting Like a Bad Case of Chlamydia in a Frat House.” (That is the title of my journal, btw. LOL)

I suspected Catalyst Athletics was the source of your programming. They do a lot of great things for the WL community.. They produce some top notch lifters for sure.. Plus the terms tall muscle clean, high hang clean, etc.. were coined by Greg Everett, so it was a given for me. Catalyst is a great source of information.


One thing about WL is that it is NOT like the other strength disciplines. A new lifter like yourself can follow any program out there, but the key thing to remember is to first and foremost identify your most glaring weaknesses in the movements and improve upon those movements. No programming can do that because everybody is different.. If you do not fix your issues from the beginning, you will only get stronger with bad technique, and it will be harder later down the road to fix, and your progress will halt sooner than later.


Think of it this way. When you first started, you had technical issues.. We all did, and still do.. And even for seasoned lifters like myself, I still have issues.. Imagine that your issues in the beginning were the size of a watermelon. Your goal in your WL journey is to slowly reduce the size of that watermelon to the size of a cantaloupe, then to the size of an orange, then a golf ball, and eventually the size of a marble, until it’s gone.. But issues will never go away because there is always something to improve upon, always some insy-weensy positioning or tempo or whatever to nitpick. And that it what makes our sport unique, because it is also an ART.

Snatch and clean & jerk are simple, but paradoxically, their simplicity is also the source of their complexity. We can either say, “Yeah, bro. I know Klokov would criticize my technique but I’m happy with my technique.” OR, we can say, “Yeah, bro, I’m improving, and I have improved a lot.. But I want to be PERFECT.” The funny thing is that PERFECTION in WL is also a matter of opinion.. We can set our own standard and definition of ‘perfection,’ or we can have others define it for us, based on their opinion as well.

I did not have a true WL program until a year or so later, after the major flaws were improved upon.. Same thing with my WLers in real life.. I do not give them a dedicated WL program until their technique is good enough in my eyes. But I also parallel traditional strength training while they are working out the bugs in their technique. They do the traditional squat, front squat, OHP, and so on.. The goal is that as they improve their technique, it is my hope that they will also develop the base strength in order to support an increased weight in the Olympic lifts as they improve their technique. There has to be a perfect balance between technique and strength; but most importantly, what’s up here (points to my head) and what’s in here (points to my heart) is half the battle.

Weightlifting is closer to Martial Arts than it is to traditional strength training.


I think you will go far in WL. You need a coach? I’d be more than happy to help the best I can. I’m always in the female section anyway..


I also have an MBA.. Someday I will contact my school and get my money back.. They didn’t teach me jack.. Bastards. Moral of the story: Education and formal schooling are two different animals. Getting an education should be a lifelong pursuit and not a period of our life.

[thehobbes]

Nice power cleans OP. I have about zero knowledge on the form of those but if it helps at all it did NOT look like a clusterfuk. I have seen people at the gym doing those where it has been cringe worthy.

[NorwichGrad]

Nice power cleans OP. I have about zero knowledge on the form of those but if it helps at all it did NOT look like a clusterfuk. I have seen people at the gym doing those where it has been cringe worthy.

It's only cringe worthy if they DON'T show the crack of peace..

[thehobbes]

It's only cringe worthy if they DON'T show the crack of peace..

Well there you go.

[IrishLassie78]

No sweat.. Always a pleasure “Spreading Weightlifting Like a Bad Case of Chlamydia in a Frat House.” (That is the title of my journal, btw. LOL)

I suspected Catalyst Athletics was the source of your programming. They do a lot of great things for the WL community.. They produce some top notch lifters for sure.. Plus the terms tall muscle clean, high hang clean, etc.. were coined by Greg Everett, so it was a given for me. Catalyst is a great source of information.


One thing about WL is that it is NOT like the other strength disciplines. A new lifter like yourself can follow any program out there, but the key thing to remember is to first and foremost identify your most glaring weaknesses in the movements and improve upon those movements. No programming can do that because everybody is different.. If you do not fix your issues from the beginning, you will only get stronger with bad technique, and it will be harder later down the road to fix, and your progress will halt sooner than later.


Think of it this way. When you first started, you had technical issues.. We all did, and still do.. And even for seasoned lifters like myself, I still have issues.. Imagine that your issues in the beginning were the size of a watermelon. Your goal in your WL journey is to slowly reduce the size of that watermelon to the size of a cantaloupe, then to the size of an orange, then a golf ball, and eventually the size of a marble, until it’s gone.. But issues will never go away because there is always something to improve upon, always some insy-weensy positioning or tempo or whatever to nitpick. And that it what makes our sport unique, because it is also an ART.

Snatch and clean & jerk are simple, but paradoxically, their simplicity is also the source of their complexity. We can either say, “Yeah, bro. I know Klokov would criticize my technique but I’m happy with my technique.” OR, we can say, “Yeah, bro, I’m improving, and I have improved a lot.. But I want to be PERFECT.” The funny thing is that PERFECTION in WL is also a matter of opinion.. We can set our own standard and definition of ‘perfection,’ or we can have others define it for us, based on their opinion as well.

I did not have a true WL program until a year or so later, after the major flaws were improved upon.. Same thing with my WLers in real life.. I do not give them a dedicated WL program until their technique is good enough in my eyes. But I also parallel traditional strength training while they are working out the bugs in their technique. They do the traditional squat, front squat, OHP, and so on.. The goal is that as they improve their technique, it is my hope that they will also develop the base strength in order to support an increased weight in the Olympic lifts as they improve their technique. There has to be a perfect balance between technique and strength; but most importantly, what’s up here (points to my head) and what’s in here (points to my heart) is half the battle.

Weightlifting is closer to Martial Arts than it is to traditional strength training.


I think you will go far in WL. You need a coach? I’d be more than happy to help the best I can. I’m always in the female section anyway..


I also have an MBA.. Someday I will contact my school and get my money back.. They didn’t teach me jack.. Bastards. Moral of the story: Education and formal schooling are two different animals. Getting an education should be a lifelong pursuit and not a period of our life.

I'm totally with you on technique and fixing your flaws first and foremost. I'm a former ballet dancer so I understand how important proper technique is. You can have a boatload of talent but if your technique is garbage, eventually it will catch up to you. I'd rather get the technique right now instead of having to try to undo sh!tty habits later. I think my background in dance is one of the reasons Oly appeals so much to me. Like dancing, it's all about using your body and your mind to manipulate weight and defy gravity.

I do have some plain old heavy lifting worked in to my plan to keep developing strength as well. I like lifting heavy sh!t, and I really like that I can lift more than a lot of the dudes at my gym so I have no plans to abandon good old deadlifts, squats, bench presses or strict presses any time soon. I have changed up my back squats to high bar (from somewhere in the middle) and that's been a humbling experience...

Thanks for the offer of help. I will gladly take you up on it. I must also go read your journal because with title like that, it's gotta be well, well worth reading

I didn't learn anything I didn't already know with my MBA either. I learn way more just watching and observing and picking other people's brains than I ever learned during that fiasco. I keep hoping that nifty little piece of paper I got for my time and money will open some doors that no having it would leave closed. So far, no dice, but I still have hope.

[IrishLassie78]

Nice power cleans OP. I have about zero knowledge on the form of those but if it helps at all it did NOT look like a clusterfuk. I have seen people at the gym doing those where it has been cringe worthy.

Ninja Post! Thanks Hammie. My goal in life is not look like a clusterfuk

It's only cringe worthy if they DON'T show the crack of peace..

Well... of course...

[NorwichGrad]

That’s awesome. When my 12-year-old daughter was 3, she took up ballet for a year.. Then she developed different interests as she got older.

The way you catch the bar in the clean looks like a ballet position.. I believe that’s called a plie? This plie position in both snatch and clean is okay for now, but it will be unstable as you get stronger and badder and better as a WLer.. This is something we will also adjust a bit in the future. No big deal. Just letting you know ahead of time. When addressing issues (again, we all have them), we want to focus on fixing them one at a time.. Otherwise, if you tackle all issues at once it will discourage the lifter to the point where they’ll just say, “Screw weightlifting. I’m taking up hopscotch.” With this in mind, just remember that WL is a patient man’s and patient woman’s sport. Immediate goal is to fix your premature arm bend..


Plan of attack..

How many days do you train? Out of those days, how many days do you plan to incorporate WL?


Also, a couple of things:

a) It seems as though you look in a mirror when you train. In WL, mirrors are commie bastards.. You want to feel the movement instead of seeing yourself. When you look at yourself, you will end up THINKING.. And when you think, you will start criticizing yourself as you’re doing the moves in midair in a split second. This cannot happen because the lifts are FAST; therefore, you must not see so that you cannot think because you do not have time for self-criticism. If you could turn around for me. It might seem weird at first, but sometimes we gotta take one step back, so that we can take 10 steps forward.

Note: I know that in ballet, you hold onto that wooden thingy as you face the mirror so you can practice your moves.. You have the luxury to wave your arms and kick your legs thousands of times til you hit ballet perfection.. In WL, this is not possible because you lift heavy $hit.. There is a thing called fatigue and injury resulting from muscle failure.. This is why learning the skill to FEEL the movement as early as possible is a must in WL. Hope this makes sense.

b) Camera angle. If you could set the camera at a 45 degree angle. This will help me see the moves..

Looking forward to working with you.

[HARRYBEAST]

In this thread I am learning about WL.
very interesting stuff

[IrishLassie78]

That’s awesome. When my 12-year-old daughter was 3, she took up ballet for a year.. Then she developed different interests as she got older.

The way you catch the bar in the clean looks like a ballet position.. I believe that’s called a plie? This plie position in both snatch and clean is okay for now, but it will be unstable as you get stronger and badder and better as a WLer.. This is something we will also adjust a bit in the future. No big deal. Just letting you know ahead of time. When addressing issues (again, we all have them), we want to focus on fixing them one at a time.. Otherwise, if you tackle all issues at once it will discourage the lifter to the point where they’ll just say, “Screw weightlifting. I’m taking up hopscotch.” With this in mind, just remember that WL is a patient man’s and patient woman’s sport. Immediate goal is to fix your premature arm bend..


Plan of attack..

How many days do you train? Out of those days, how many days do you plan to incorporate WL?


Also, a couple of things:

a) It seems as though you look in a mirror when you train. In WL, mirrors are commie bastards.. You want to feel the movement instead of seeing yourself. When you look at yourself, you will end up THINKING.. And when you think, you will start criticizing yourself as you’re doing the moves in midair in a split second. This cannot happen because the lifts are FAST; therefore, you must not see so that you cannot think because you do not have time for self-criticism. If you could turn around for me. It might seem weird at first, but sometimes we gotta take one step back, so that we can take 10 steps forward.

Note: I know that in ballet, you hold onto that wooden thingy as you face the mirror so you can practice your moves.. You have the luxury to wave your arms and kick your legs thousands of times til you hit ballet perfection.. In WL, this is not possible because you lift heavy $hit.. There is a thing called fatigue and injury resulting from muscle failure.. This is why learning the skill to FEEL the movement as early as possible is a must in WL. Hope this makes sense.

b) Camera angle. If you could set the camera at a 45 degree angle. This will help me see the moves..

Looking forward to working with you.

Yeah, the plie thing is one of the issues I know I have. It's probably the biggest one outside of the premature arm bend. It's especially apparent in my catches with the snatch, which hopefully I'll get to today. Will turn around so I'm not facing the mirror. That way I can give my angry bitch face to all the people giving me weird looks directly to their faces Especially when I drop the bar... That should give me more room for a better camera angle too (not to mention keeping me from overanalyzing from the get-go). Right now I have the OL stuff set up for 3 days/week and a bro day or two on the days I'm not OL'ing. My schedule is pretty flexible though so that can be changed any old way. Today should be interesting at any rate. We're going to find out if I can snatch without knocking my glasses off my face since for some reason my eyes do not want my contacts in them (gotta love living in the midwest during weed pollen season).

In this thread I am learning about WL.
very interesting stuff

I aim to keep things from being boring

[NorwichGrad]

Great. The plié thing is next in line of things to fix then. No sweat.


Do your thing today. Have fun.

Looking forward to watching you perform the snatch lift to the best of your ability.

(Notice how I was careful and reworded the above instead of simply saying "can't wait to see your snatch." You have some 8th graders in your journal. Lol. )

[IrishLassie78]

Great. The plié thing is next in line of things to fix then. No sweat.


Do your thing today. Have fun.

Looking forward to watching you perform the snatch lift to the best of your ability.

(Notice how I was careful and reworded the above instead of simply saying "can't wait to see your snatch." You have some 8th graders in your journal. Lol. )

Lol... sometimes I am one of the 8th graders...

[HARRYBEAST]

Great. The plié thing is next in line of things to fix then. No sweat.


Do your thing today. Have fun.

Looking forward to watching you perform the snatch lift to the best of your ability.

(Notice how I was careful and reworded the above instead of simply saying "can't wait to see your snatch." You have some 8th graders in your journal. Lol. )

If this was aimed at me I am nowhere near as mature as an 8th grader

[NorwichGrad]

If this was aimed at me I am nowhere near as mature as an 8th grader

Lol. I believe Bubz has u in her pre-k class.

[thehobbes]

Looking forward to watching you perform the snatch lift to the best of your ability.

(Notice how I was careful and reworded the above instead of simply saying "can't wait to see your snatch." You have some 8th graders in your journal. Lol. )

Lol, noticed that right away. Always wondered if whoever was in charge of naming the oly lifts was intentionally trolling everyone.

[IrishLassie78]

If this was aimed at me I am nowhere near as mature as an 8th grader

Lulz

Lol. I believe Bubz has u in her pre-k class.

Oh I don't know... I'd say maybe 2nd or 3rd grade would be about right

Lol, noticed that right away. Always wondered if whoever was in charge of naming the oly lifts was intentionally trolling everyone.

That's exactly what my boyfriend says. He also says the need to reverse clean & jerk because in life you jerk and then clean... He is also an 8th grader...

[IrishLassie78]

So yesterday's snatch workout did not go according to plan. I switched schedules with someone so I worked the early shift yesterday, which put me at the gym with a bunch of high school kids and some dude that had piled all of sh!t up on the platform but then ended up not even using it. So not only did he commit a d1ck move, he looked like a d1ck too. He did almost get hit in the face with a flying barbell for his trouble so it was almost worth it though I had a headache all day from having to wear glasses again, I did not warm up properly (no excuse for that other than not being focused and having my mind be everywhere other than where it should be), and the height my desk is (it is on the lowest setting), I either have to have my chair up so high my feet dangle which for some reason makes my knees hurt and my legs feet swell up, or lower my chair so my feet touch the floor and then my neck is at an awkward angle to see my computer screens. If I want a desk that works for my midget ass I need a note from doctor saying I need a special desk... I haven't wanted to go down that road because I don't want to bother her for something so stupid, but I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and do it. My feet were so swollen when I got to the gym last night I could hardly get my shoes on. And I had to wrestle myself into the knee sleeves

So here's my awkward lifting:

Snatches:

Snatch Technique Primer:
Snatch High Pull:
55 x 3
65 x 3
75 x 3

Snatch Balance
45 x 3
55 x 3
65 x 3*These felt great today so I had high hopes that the snatches would also be great. My hopes were crushed

Snatch:
Many @ 45 - some were OK, some were not OK
A few @ 55 - 1 was OK, namely the first one, the rest were a sh!t show

Here's 55. If you don't like cursing, turn off the volume.



Many more @ 45 - again, some were OK, some were not. I am jumping instead of extending and my feet/legs end up WAY too far apart.

And here's 45...




Front Squats:
55 x 5
75 x 5 x 2
85 x 4 x 3

Here's a set at 85. The depth of these is much better than last week.



Strict Press:
Bar x 5
55 x 5
65 x 5 x 3

So I was not happy with much of this at all. I should have taken the time to warm up and not worried about what all the other yahoos in the gym were doing. And then I skipped most of my mobility stuff to come home and clean, which was also not smart.

I got the cleaning done and Kendre isn't coming down until later than originally plan so I plan on hitting the gym for some DL and bench in a little while.

[NorwichGrad]

Not bad considering your "newbieness." No sweat.. One step at a time..

I was hoping that somewhere in the e-webz blackhole called 'youtube' I would have an existing tutorial to fix your issues. I usually have a collection of tutorial from past lifters, fixing their issues. Unfortunately, I don't have anything that is readily available, which proves what I said earlier regarding having our own issues.. But tomorrow I will make a video to get your started..

I generally coach the snatch first, then the cleans.. Most coaches do.. The reason is because, although the snatch is a bit harder, learning the snatch will carryover to the cleans, but NEVER the other way around.. It has to do with learning how to keep arms straight and learning how to properly use extension..


In the meantime, a little something to help with your bottom position.. You already have the flexibility to be a contortionist.. What's stopping you is habit, habit that you formed from ballet.. No worries.. I gotcha..




When is your next training? I will upload vid no later than tomorrow night..

[ucsumma]

^^^Hope today's session is amazing!!!

BTW - your front squat video is private.

[NorwichGrad]

Okay.. I found one that will help.. I will send you more, though.

Let's focus on first and second pull for now..

You are still anticipating the second pull BAM!, which is why your arms are bending.. At setup, think lower body extension...lower body extension..lower body extension... then BAM! with a violent extension while KEEPING your arms straight.. Then guide the bar upward with scarecrow.. Keep the bar close.

If you watch the vid below, the arms bend a nano-second after the extension..

A good cue is:

a) Make yourself TALL through hip, knees and ankle extension, while keeping arms relaxed and straight, THEN

a) Make the bar FLOAT as you scarecrow your arms.

You will also notice that the extension happens when the bar is pretty much inline with my hips..



At the top of the snatch pull, you should feel 'balanced.' You should not feel like you're gonna tip forward.. You should feel balanced while the bar is floating..

[IrishLassie78]

Not bad considering your "newbieness." No sweat.. One step at a time..

I was hoping that somewhere in the e-webz blackhole called 'youtube' I would have an existing tutorial to fix your issues. I usually have a collection of tutorial from past lifters, fixing their issues. Unfortunately, I don't have anything that is readily available, which proves what I said earlier regarding having our own issues.. But tomorrow I will make a video to get your started..

I generally coach the snatch first, then the cleans.. Most coaches do.. The reason is because, although the snatch is a bit harder, learning the snatch will carryover to the cleans, but NEVER the other way around.. It has to do with learning how to keep arms straight and learning how to properly use extension..


In the meantime, a little something to help with your bottom position.. You already have the flexibility to be a contortionist.. What's stopping you is habit, habit that you formed from ballet.. No worries.. I gotcha..






When is your next training? I will upload vid no later than tomorrow night..

Teaching the snatch first makes perfect sense. It's definitely a more difficult lift so if you can that right, cleans should be no sweat.

Did both of these stretches today. I've been doing a version of that squat with the elbows in the knees but I think this one will work better for me because it doesn't have me holding on to the tops of my feet so it forces me to keep my chest up. I LOVED the one with the barbell. That definitely helps hammer in the feel of that bottom position because it lets me get my knees out of over my toes without feeling like I'm either going to fall on my ass or faceplant. Will do both of these daily.

Next OL training day will be Tuesday morning.

[IrishLassie78]

Okay.. I found one that will help.. I will send you more, though.

Let's focus on first and second pull for now..

You are still anticipating the second pull BAM!, which is why your arms are bending.. At setup, think lower body extension...lower body extension..lower body extension... then BAM! with a violent extension while KEEPING your arms straight.. Then guide the bar upward with scarecrow.. Keep the bar close.

If you watch the vid below, the arms bend a nano-second after the extension..

A good cue is:

a) Make yourself TALL through hip, knees and ankle extension, while keeping arms relaxed and straight, THEN

a) Make the bar FLOAT as you scarecrow your arms.

You will also notice that the extension happens when the bar is pretty much inline with my hips..



At the top of the snatch pull, you should feel 'balanced.' You should not feel like you're gonna tip forward.. You should feel balanced while the bar is floating..

Thank you for this! The slow mo in the video makes it a lot easier to see what's supposed to be happening when. I see what you mean about the arms/bar floating and keeping the arms relaxed and straight until you absolutely HAVE to bend them. Will work on these Tuesday.

[IrishLassie78]

^^^Hope today's session is amazing!!!

BTW - your front squat video is private.

Should be fixed now. Today was WAY better. Apparently it was DL day for the whole gym. Much hilarity was witnessed. Wish I'd had my camera today because the gym fails were rampant.

[IrishLassie78]

Today must have been DL day at my gym. Everyone in there was dead lifting. Some of them were scaring the crap out of me. I was seriously waiting for the guy next to me to either dislocate something, tear something, pass out, or all of the above. He didn't though and he did manage to get 4 plates off the floor with the absolute worst form I've ever seen. Imagine what he could do if he did right... I also got excited because I saw this guy come in with actual lifting shoes on so I had high hopes that he knew what he was doing and I'd have someone to lift with. And then he proceeded to do what I think were supposed to be power cleans but was more like a Romanian deadlift superset with a reverse bicep curl. I was also shocked he didn't dislocate something, tear something, or pass out. SMH... Anyway, I did every DL variation imaginable, some incline benching, some rowing, and a bunch of other stuff. My bestie isn't coming until later now so I had tons of time and since I won't get to the gym tomorrow I wanted to make sure I hit everything I haven't hit this week.

All the Dead Lifts:

Warm-up
Foam rolling, hip and ankle mobility, high knees, ass kickers, spiderman lunge/superman complex, squat stretches from NG's vids

DLs of Many Types:
Snatch DL:
Warm-up Sets
55 x 5
85 x 5
125 x 5

Working Sets
145 x 3 x 3 *These felt really good today. Working on keeping my arms straight but relaxed and not locking my elbows so they're inside out...

Clean DL
145 x 5
155 x 5
175 x 3 x 3 *Same focus as the snatch DLs. These felt really smooth

Sumo DL:
175 x 3
195 x 3
215 x 3 *Really hadn't intended to go this heavy today but 195 was really easy so I did a set at 215 and it was definitely easier than it has been in the past.

BOR
95 x 8 x 4

BB Incline Bench:
Warm-up Sets
Bar x 8
55 x 8

Working Sets
65 x 8 x 4 * The last two sets of these felt pretty damn hard. I haven't done these in ages so I figured I'd work on these for a while for a change of pace, which should make my flat bench better when I go back to that.

SL Leg Curl/SL Leg Extension SS:
25 x 8 x 3/side for each *These are getting better. The desparity between my left and right leg is narrowing, which makes me really happy

WG Lat Pull-Down/Weighted Side Bend SS:
Lats
85 x 8 x 4

Side bends
25 x 15 x 4/side

BB Calf Raises/Weighted Sit-ups SS:
Calf Raises
135 x 15 x 4 *Smoked by the last set

Sit-ups
15lb MB x 15 x 4

Finished up with some foam rolling and LAX torture, many stretches, and some extra ankle mobility stuff.

So that was the lifting today. Pepper your angus for epic food pron later

[thehobbes]

Nice deadlifting Lassie, and incline benching! Haha some people are pretty damn resiliant and don't get injured no matter the magnitude of their jackassery in the gym or in life. Other people bend over to put their socks on and snap their chit up. Humans man...

Anugs peppered for a feast to behold.