Little Bit of Snatchin' - 11/30/08

Just some snatches and a little bit of stretching today.

-Snatch vo2max(15:15) 16KGx8 30 sets
First time for this in awhile. Felt good, very fast.

I also gave my forearms a contrast bath after the snatches. I like to do this every so often because of the grip work. Hot water for 3 min(5x) while rotating golf balls both directions, ice water for 1 min(4x) holding still. I start and end with the hot water. Really relaxes and flushes the muscles of the forearms and hands, also makes the elbows and wrists feel good.

That's it for today. Short and sweet.

Session #3 - 11/29/08

Same warm up moves with the in-line presses.

-Suitcase Dead 145LBSx5/5
The right side is feeling closer to the left every time.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
395LBSx5
355LBSx5

-Mil. Press 145x5 2sets

-Chin Up 15LBSx5 2sets

-Bending(DO style w/ IM pads)
17/64"x7" DR closed
9/32"x7" DR closed
19/64"x7" to 25 degrees
The IM pads definitely force strict form. With the double leather wraps I was able to push on the ends of the bar, not the case here. Have to use much more grip and wrist strength.

-TGU 32KGx5/5 alt hand every rep

With all the grip work I've been doing I figure I need some ext. work for the hands to even stuff out. I picked up a cool little toy I saw on Diesel Crew's site called the Handmaster Plus. Check it out.

Another Quick One - 11/28/08

Got some swings in to get the heart rate up and burn some calories.

-Swing 24KGx10 every 30 sec for 10 min
Nice and quick.

-Bending
Pushed on a 12" timber spike from FBBC. Tryin' to figure this braced bending out. It was a piece I kinked a while back and I got it to move a bit more but still not closed. This will just take some work to get comfortable with the form.

17/64"x7" DR to 15 degrees DU style then fuinished DO style
Starting to like this DU with my hands set close to the middle of the bar. Really feels like my wrists are doing a lot of the work.

5/16"x6 1/2" CRS "Big Bastard" isos at 90 degrees DO style

That's it!

Session #2 Before a Thanksgiving Meal - 11/27/08

Had to sneak one in before the turkey dinner. Same warm but I used the in-line presses today.

-Suitcase Deadlift 135LBSx5/5
Right side is feeling much better after only a few times.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
375LBSx5
340LBSx5

-Military Press 140LBSx5 2sets

-Chin Up 10LBSx5 2sets

-Bending(DU style)
17/64"x7" DR to 15 degrees

Had to make it quick. Will do more bending and some ballistics tomorrow.

First Session of a New Cycle - 11/25/08

Good session tonight. Same warm up moves, but I did the in-line half kneel with a twist instead of a press.

-Suitcase Deadlift 135LBSx5/5

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
355LBSx5
320LBSx5

-Military Press 135LBSx5 2sets

-Chin Up BW+5LBSx5 2sets

-Bending(single leather pads)
Reverse/left hand forward - 1/4"x6" CRS(blue nail), 17/64"x7" DR to 30 degrees(wanted to get it to 40)
Reverse/right hand forward - 2 blue nails
Closed all reverse starts DO style

Double Underhand Style(DU)
1/4"x7" CRS, 1/4"x6" CRS, 1/4"x5 1/2" CRS(right at 40 degrees)
Closed all DU starts DO style

-Snatch 32KGx10 every min for 10 min
I switched hands every minute.

Great night of practice that ended with the same cool down stretches. I also did some agility ladder work in the morning. I will try and add more of this in throughout the week. I also got a speed bag that I will start working as well. I think the faster paced moves with the legs and hands will go well as recovery work for the heavier, high tension lifts and bends.

1RM Test on the Dead and Some Other New Stuff - 11/22/08

First day for a new session, so I spent some time playing around with things to figure out how I want to line them up. Here's what I came up with for the warm up moves.

Toe Touch x8
FMS Warm up x5 each position
ASLR x2/2
In-line Half Kneel/Press 12KGx5 each hand/each leg(I'll do the half kneel twist some times)
Overhead Squat x10

Some old stuff, some new. We'll see how it goes. Now for the working sets.

-Suitcase Deadlift 135LBSx5/5
Used the barbell and felt a real difference from side to side. I think a set of these on each side will be great for grooving the motion of the deads that follow.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx1
405LBSx1
455LBSx1 NEW PR
475LBS missed
I tried 475 twice and wasn't getting it. I probably should have tried 465 but I got greedy. Oh well, still happy with 455.

-KB Press
40KGx1/1
48KG missed
32KG bottoms up missed
Just had some fun with this. The 40 feels good but the Beast is still a ways off.

-Barbell Mil. Press 135LBSx5 2sets
First time for this in awhile. Felt good. I'll use this instead of the KB press for this cycle.

-Chin Up
37LBSx3
BWx5
Feels good. I'll start adding weight this cycle.

-Bending
Isos on DC #1 horseshoe. I'll bend that thing one day.

-TGU 24KGx10/10
I alternated from side to side and went pretty much straight through, just a little break at the halfway mark. I will use this move more in this cycle. I will alternate it with swings and snatches throughout the week.

For the cool down stretches I used the shoulder dislocate x5 and a cobra stretch with a quad stretch into a child's pose. Good stuff for today. I'll start the real cycle on Tues and go for 12 session.

Another Big PR In Session #16 - 11/15/08

Started with the same old warm up moves then went right into the deads.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
430LBSx5
390LBSx5
First time I have attempted 430 and I squeezed out 5. I took some video to check what I look like when the weight starts getting heavy, for me at least. ;-) I stayed solid till the very end of the 5th rep. My chest stayed up but I lost the arch in my lower back. I finished off the rep to lockout but it was a little sloppy. Other than that they felt great. I take a little time off and then test a 1RM.

-KB Press
40KGx1/1
36KGx5/4 on the left
I think the deads drained me for this move. I'll still test a 1RM with the KB, but I will switch to a barbell military press for the next cycle, just to change it up a bit.

-Chin Up BWx5
I'm going to get some video of this just to see what my form looks like.

-Bending
A couple isos on a DC #1 shoe. My palm is pretty sore so I think the week off is coming just in time. This should be stronger when I return as well.

A few thoughts on the up coming cycle. I have been using 16 session cycles and will shorten to 12 next time to see how that goes. I will start with higher weights because of the shortened cycle but will also get the off week sooner. We'll see how it goes.

Some Good News + Session #15 - 11/13/08

Today Kendra and I found out that our baby will be a girl. That is very exciting news but even better than that the doctor was able to get measurements of all the vital organs that she wanted and said they are all just as they are suppose to be. We are both very thankful and happy to find this out.

Now for the training session. The usual warm up moves to start.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
410LBSx5
370LBSx5
410 felt good. I will try 430 on Sat and then test for a new 1RM sometime next week.

-KB Press
38KGx4/4
34KGx5/5
My press cycle got a little messed up the last few session but has still gotten stronger. I'll test a new max for it as well. I will also plan the next cycle a bit different.

-Chin Up
BWx5 2sets

-Bending
DC #1 isos on right hip
SCF UL #1 hearted on left hip

Reverse Style
Right hand forward - isos with 1/4"x7" CRS
Left hand forwared - isos with 1/4"x5" CRS

-1 Arm Swing
40KGx5/5(alt swing to switch hands) 5sets

Session #14 - 11/11/08

Same warm as Sun. The lunge was still tough.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
390LBSx5
350LBSx5

-KB Press
40KGx2/2
36KGx5/5
Very happy with the 40KG press. I was only able to get 1 on my left side last time. I started getting adjusted in a different way on Friday. It's called the NUCCA technique, doesn't feel like much when it's happening but I noticed a huge difference in the way my shoulders and hips sat immediately. Very cool! I think this will do a lot for my strength training.

-Chin Up BWx5 2sets
I will stay with the chin up grip and add weight on my next cycle.

-Bending(Reverse Style)
Left hand forward - 1/4"x6" G5 hex isos, 2 - 1/4"x7" CRS, 1/4"x5 1/2" CRS
The bends were all between 70 and 100 degrees
Right hand forward - 1/4"x7" CRS isos for 5-10 min

-Snatch 24KGx100 in 5min
Still a challenge, but felt better than the last time I tested my #s. I think I might add 10 reps in 30 every couple of attempts and try to work up to the gold standard of 200 reps in 10 min. It will take some time but will keep me ready for the RKC snatch test next year.

Recovery Session - 11/9/08

Just had to move around a bit today and try a new move in my warm up. I went through my normal pre-movement work and added a rotational hold in the in-line half kneeling(bottom of the lunge) position. Ridiculously hard. I twisted each direction for a 20 sec hold x2 on each leg. The in-line part is what made it so hard, adductors really have to work to stabilize. I think I will use this move more often.

-TGU 32KGx10 alt. hands every rep
Nice and slow, tried to make it as perfect as possible.

-Bending
Tried a DC #1 shoe off the right hip and got no movement

-Swing 24KGx10 every 30 sec for 5 min

Session #13 - 11/8/08

Have a back off day scheduled.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
370LBSx5
335LBSx5

-KB Press
38KGx3/3
34KGx5/5

-Chin UP BWx5 2sets

-Bending
SCF Ultralite #0 - tried to heart it but one side got stuck, I taped it for a cert video so here it is



Reverse style short bending.
1/4"x7" CRS - right hand in front to 90 degrees
1/4"x6" G5 hex cap - left hand in front and no movement, closed it DO style

DO short bending
5/16" x 6 1/2" CRS "Big Bastard" - to 4 1/2" in 5min

Session #12 With A New PR - 11/6/08

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
410LBSx5
370LBSx5
My previous 1RM was 410 and the set of 5 tonight felt pretty good. Got some video of it.



-KB Press
36KGx5/5
32KGx5/5
I was supposed to go up to 42KG for my first set but since last time the 40 was for a set of 2 I went down early.

-Chin UP BWx5 2sets

-Bending
SCF Ultralite #1 - hearted
Got some video of it too.



-Swing 24KGx10 every 30 sec for 5 min
Just to get the lungs working a bit.

I also got my warm up and cool down moves in. Great session!

Session #11 - 11/4/08

The usual pre-training drills.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3
315LBSx3
390LBSx5
350LBSx5

-KB Press
40KGx2/1+1 on left
36KGx5/5
I almost got the second rep on my left side, halfway up...a little pause...and down it came. They still felt better than the last time I went after this weight.

-Chin Up BWx5 2sets

-Bending
Wanted an easier night on the bends so I played around with the reverse and double underhand(DU) styles with some 1/4"x7" CRS. I'm not very good with either style so there would be no going overboard. I couldn't move the stock at all with the DU but with rev. style I got it to 90 degrees(left hand front) and a little wobble to 10-15 degrees(right hand front). The conclusion I came to is both styles need a lot of work :-)

-Snatch 32KGx10 every min for 10 min
I switched hands every min so I ended up with 5 sets right and 5 sets left. It felt good to get a heavy bell over head and it really got me breathing.

Great night!

Some Snatches For Recovery And A Few Other Things - 11/2/08

Started with some bending today.

-Bending
I started with a fresh SCF UL #2 and took it well past 180 degrees. I wanted to twist it all the way around and put it in a heart but it got stuck on me. Still pretty happy with where I got it. I pulled this one from my left hip, the one from yesterday was off my right hip. Not sure which one felt stronger, but I figure it's a good idea to alternate between them and keep everything even.



I also pushed on the "Shiny" from the other day. I moved from 3 1/4" to 2 7/8". That crush down is a killer!

-Pistol 24KGx1/1 3sets
Just for fun. The third one felt way better than the first. I need to do this move more often, just to keep it greased.

-Snatch vo2max(15:15) 16KGx8 20sets
Felt really good when I finished this. It was hard not to do another 5 or 10 min, but I had to remember what the purpose of the session was....RECOVERY. So I packed up the bell and called it a day.

Session #10 - 11/1/08

Good day today. I've actually been sticking with my warm up and cool down moves and I think that is a big part of why this cycle is going so well. The FMS drills are feeling much easier, I know I am getting more flexible and more importantly stronger in these new found ranges of motion.

-Deadlift
225LBSx3 2sets
370LBSx5
335LBSx5

-KB Press
38KGx4/3 on left
34KGx5/5

-Chin Up BWx5 2sets

-Bending
I tried some braced bending with a 12" timber spike from FBBC for the first time tonight. Much tougher than I thought it would be. I got it to about 30 degrees before it froze up on me. This is something I need to watch some more video on and clean up my technique.



I also got the horseshoe that I wobbled on Thurs to about 90 degrees. Very excited about this. I'm gonna try a take pictures to post.