Jack, Tim, Angie and I all warmed up and got set to go – we were
sharing a bar so we rotated through sets of 3 snatches with Angie and Jack
doing power snatches and Tim and I focusing on squat snatches – my power snatch
is currently higher than my squat snatch hence my need to focus on the squat
aspect. Starting at the lower weight
into full squat snatches was a good way to go rather than just trying to change
the movement when it got heavier.
Snatch
3x15
3x25
3x30
3x35 (power)
2x35
First off I need to give a huge THANK YOU to Shonelle for letting
us use her 15kg women’s bar – the thing is a beauty and I’m pretty sure the
reason that lifting seems effortless at the garage.
Starting at a lower weight was really good to help me focus
on dropping under the bar. I think it
was on the 30kg set that the first two reps were a little off (I was splitting my
feet wider to compensate) but then on the third I had a better explosion
through my hips and got easily under the bar – which Jack commented on – it actually
felt easier too – with some much to think of during the movement I need to
almost clear my mind and stop thinking or at least figure out what the most crucial
aspects are for my focus in order to just do it. I struggled with 35kg, a lot. I was getting the bar up and getting under it
even I just couldn’t balance it. Big
focus for me has to be OHS’s or at least sitting in the lower position with the
bar over my head and just getting comfortable there.
As I mentioned above, my power snatch is stronger than my
squat snatch and so after a few tries dropping the squat snatch I power
snatched the 35kg, easily. I then forced
myself to try the squat snatch again and was happy to stick two reps though
they weren’t at all pretty.
 |
| Angie's snatch progression |
We took a lot of time on this mostly because we were all
sharing one bar and Angie had to run off so she did her pull-up school (she’s
so close to getting unassisted pull-ups) and then took off. Jack had switche to cleans before we were
finished snatching as he has some nagging body parts and then he bailed on us
leaving just Tim and I to continue on…
Clean and Jerk
3x35
3x40
3x45
3x50
1x50
1x50
1x50
This was awesome. I
was a little unsure about my shoulder but figured I’d give it a go anyway. So glad I did. I power cleaned all the reps and it felt
solid. I remember not too long ago when
I could clean 45kg but would have poor technique (feet out wide rather than
dropping under it faster) to compensate for the weight. Not today.
Started at the weight I’d finished the snatch on and went
from there. After completing the set at
45kg I knew I had 50kg so made the 5kg jump.
My current (squat) clean and jerk PR (1 rep) is 52.5kg (done at the end
of our lifting course with Luke). I mentioned
to Tim that I couldn’t remember the last time I’ve done C&J’s (I think they’re
actually programmed tonight though!) so the jump was cool and not entirely
unexpected as I’ve definitely gotten stronger since last fall (May).
The reps at 50kg came easily and the last few single reps
were purely for the camera… haha. At the
end of the video I posted yesterday I actually said ‘it’s easy’ and it really
was. It felt solid which is why I’m
quite excited for tonight as I’m sure I can surpass my previous PR – I managed
to squat clean 57.5 (during the oly lifting sessions) but couldn’t jerk it, I’m
ready for it now. I’m excited to see
what I can get.
At this point we were a few hours into the day (no time rush
clearly) but I wasn’t sure I wanted to do the backsquats at this point – mostly
because my quads have been sore for eons and I didn’t really want to hammer
them again before starting the week back at Cooee. After seeing Tim rack his bar and load it up
for his first set I knew I was going to do them. I couldn’t just watch and I’m so glad I did
them.
Tim racked the 50kg bar for me (they have two racks which
was really convenient) and I started from there knowing that I was already adequately
warmed up (from the workout and from the heat of the day – it was about 35°C at
that point).
Back Squat
3x50
3x60
3x65 (PR)
3x70 (PR)
3x75 (PR)
This was the first day that I’ve gone heavy after hurting my
back a few weeks ago doing deadlifts.
The biggest change since then has been the focus on activating my glutes
which I know will make me stronger. It’s
still something for me to think about – my focus is on tucking my belly button
down and back which gets my hips in line and keeps my back straight and strong
and in turn activates my glutes (rather than quads and back). It sounds way more complicated than it is – I
think of tucking my belly button and the rest just works. That’s it.
I love it.
The first few sets felt solid. My previous 3RM PR was 60kg (my 1RM was
72.5kg from CFT back in September). Tim
started spotting me (or at least being near enough to) when I did the 65kg
lifts and it was solid. I remember him
asking me what I was going up to next (2.5 or 5kg jump in essence) and I told
him quite clearly that I had 70kg and he nodded as he knew it too. And I did, no problem, and even better than
just getting it I felt strong, I felt tight and was using my glutes and keeping
my body upright, definitely all good. The
final set I made the jump again by 5kg both because of how strong I still felt
at 70kg and also because I really wanted a new PR (though technically I had a
new 3RM PR already). The 3 reps at 75kg
were a bit more sketchy and while Tim was close by for the spot he never had to
help me other than his encouraging words in my head telling me to push up. I could feel though on this set my form going
out the window a bit and I was falling forward a bit more so I called it after
successfully getting the 3 reps. I was
really stoked about it though – it was really awesome.
It was a fantastic day and once again thanks to Shonelle for
letting us use her bar (though I did use the big bar for the backsquats),
thanks to Vini and Jack (and Mark) for letting Angie and I wake them up on
Sunday morning to come and workout and mostly to Tim for providing the coaching
and support and beast-mode that only inspires us to get stronger and push
harder – it’s great to workout with him and setting PR’s isn’t so bad either!
I know there were some photos of me snatching (in my snatch is paleo shirt) but they might be on Angie's phone. Guess the videos will have to do - and yes, that's my little 'I'm excited' dance after easily CJing 50kg the first time.
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