12/4 - Snatch PR!

Last night was all about the snatch.  Or as Coach Tim posed the question to us ‘Are you ready to get your snatch on’.  Yes, Angie blushed.

I was pretty excited as it was a pure strength session.  We were going to be solely focusing on snatching for the entire class and since it’s been so long since I’ve attempted to PR my snatch I was excited to give it a go.  My previous PR was 38kg (might have actually been a power snatch and not a squat snatch as well) and I was aiming for 40kg.  This was what was in my head going in.

After doing a bunch of shoulder mobility with the bands and some bar warm-up with the PVC pipes we grabbed the empty bars and went through the three WOD movements. 

WOD (for quality – working towards 1 RM): 
7 mins hang squat snatch
20-30-32.5-35
7 mins squat snatch from the knee
35-37.5-38
7 mins squat snatch
38-40.5-43-45.5(PR!) 

Had so much fun with this.  I did a few hang snatches at 20kg then jumped up to 30kg probably getting a bit ahead of myself but still it was good.  I did a few reps at the same weight at times just to get comfortable and get a good clean lift in (some weren’t at all pretty).  One note that Coach Tim made when I was doing the hang snatches was that instead of starting with the bar in my hip crease I was dropping it a bit which meant I was losing a lot of power.  As soon as I made the adjustment it got so much easier.

Transitioning to the snatch from the knee was awkward.  It just felt off and not a good place to be.  Jack and I were working beside each other and both pretty much felt the same about it.  As easy as 35kg felt from the hang position it actually felt harder from the knee.  It was good to work on it though and to finally get 38kg after dumping it several times (I was catching the bar overhead well but it was in front of my head and kept pulling more forward/ I fell on my ass to avoid dropping the bar on my head).  

Moving onto the full snatch I knew I had 7 minutes to get a new PR and there was no doubt in my mind that I was going to get this.  Once again my struggle wasn’t with pulling the weight off the ground or getting underneath it even it was in finding that correct catch position to ‘stick’ it (Jack’s term and I love it).  Once again I dropped a few forwards and one off the back (which was even closer to landing on my head) but then I got a couple.  Not pretty but still.  Once I got 40.5 and it felt easy I quickly took off the 1.25’s and put back the 2.5’s to try 43kg.  I wasn’t sure I’d get it but had 1 minute left on the clock to try.  When I went for the final lift time was just about up but without much thinking I just went for it with the sole focus of getting this bar locked out overhead.  I did it.  Easy too.  I was so pumped.  Really.  There was also a little dancing.

I figured that it felt so good that I’d (quickly) throw the 1.25’s back on and try one more.  By this time most people were putting equipment away but Jack was doing one more lift and Coach Tim was there to cheer us on.  Once again, I think because of the pressure of time, I just went for it – no thinking just doing and I got it.  Jack said that it looked like my best lift yet. He said that he’s never before seen me drop under the bar so fast as I did then and honestly, it felt easy.  Easy.  As I noted I think when I have time my head just gets in the way.  I think too much about each stage of the lift that I don’t make it because I lose the speed aspect.  When I’m under the hammer and need to just get it done it happens.  So new PR,  7.5kg PR.  Big jump and I am truly ecstatic and also a little shocked.  That’s 100lbs.  73% of my body weight.  Stoked.  The snatch is my favorite of all the lifts so I’m happy to gain this confidence in it and can’t wait to see where I go from here.