Jumping Under Barbells


So, I’m starting a log. Just started a new training cycle and I figured maybe I could use this to help hold myself accountable. It’ll also give me a reason to keep coming and posting here, as I only ever really read GAL and the o-lifting forum, and I’m trying to avoid GAL and OL is a little dead. Anyways, the rundown:

Train and compete as an o-lifter in the 105kg weight class (hence the log title). Do all my own programming and training, had a coach for a year or two when I started but he got too busy with other endeavours to continue and I have too much fun planning my own stuff anyways. Before I took up weightlifting I wrestled at the university level in Canada for a couple years.

Wasn’t real happy with my performance at nationals this year, suffered a partially torn bicep around new year’s which seriously hampered my training for a couple months but I was still disappointed. Hoping to put up a better showing at nats next year, and the first step is provincials in about 9 weeks.

The current training cycle I put together actually started last week so the first bunch of posts will just be me catching up. Might take some videos when I go after some real weights in a week/couple weeks/whatever.

Oh, and all weights will be in kilograms unless stated otherwise.

So, yeah. Follow along. Or don’t. I won’t miss you. Probably.

Mon Sept 9/'13

Snatch from blocks
50/3, 60/3, 70/3, 80/3, 90/3, 100/3, 110/3, 90/3, 100/3, 110/1x2
-first time ever from blocks, ironing out the line of pull, and just to be clear x’s are misses, so that last set at 110 was a make, a miss, and then two makes

Snatch grip deadlift from deficit, pauses just off ground, just below knee, and just below full extension
120/2, 130/2, 140/2
-couldn’t keep a tight back with the deficit, pauses were tough as shit, losing the deficit next week

Clean from blocks
70/3, 100/3, 120/3, 130/3, 140/3, 120/3, 130/3, 140/3
-these felt pretty good, lots of power, 140 felt heavy though

Clean grip deadlift, pauses below knee and just below full extension
155/2, 165/2, 175/2
-may have been rounding a bit at 175 but that was the first time touching that weight in a while, so it should come back quick

Jerk from blocks
70/3, 100/3, 120/3, 140/3, 150/3, 160/3
-felt heavy as balls by this point, but these were fairly solid

Front squat (pounds)
135/3, 225/2, 275/2, 295/4, 315/4, 335/4
-pretty tired by this point but these went fairly well

Situps on the GHR
BW/10/10
-just to be clear, when it looks like that, that’s 2 sets of 10

weighed out at 106.0

Tues Sept 10/'13

Snatch
50/3, 70/2, 90/2, 100/2/2/2
-was a little off on these, may have been the bar I was using

Clean and Jerk
70/2+1+2, 100/2+1+2, 120/2+2, 130/2+2/2+2/2+2
-not finishing the pull properly but otherwise good
-2+1+2 is 2 power cleans, 1 front squat, and 2 jerks, 2+2 is 2 cleans plus 2 jerks

Back Extensions (pounds)
75/10/10/10
-felt strong

Seated Rows (pounds, one of those pin selector machines)
200/10, 220/10/10
-felt reasonably good

Dip Bar Leg Raises
BW/10/10
-I do my leg raises holding myself on the dip bars facing outwards, a friend suggested it at one point and it’s habit now

weighed out at 105.9

Wed Sept 11/'13

What I call a short pull, is basically a snatch/clean deadlift where you stop just before full extension with your shoulders still over the bar and then go back down, never actually setting the bar back down (maybe just kissing the floor) and then on the last time up you complete the lift (this is the hang portion). Probably hard to envision for some of you.

Snatch-2 short pulls + hang snatch
50/2+1, 60/2+1, 70/2+1, 80/2+1, 90/2+x1, 100/2+1, 110/2+1, 90/2+1, 100/2+1, 110/2+1
-felt pretty good once I got into the right line of pull (after the miss at 90)

Snatch pull + 2 hang snatch (above knee) + snatch balance + overhead squat
90/1, 100/1+x2+1+1, 110/1+x2+1+1
-was having trouble dialing in the line of pull from the higher hang, and adding the snatch balance and OHS squat at the end makes this complex more awful than anticipated

Clean and jerk-2 short pulls + hang clean and jerk
70/2+1+1+1, 100/2+1+1+1, 120/2+1+1+1, 130/2+1, 140/2+1, 120/2+1+1+1, 130/2+1, 140/2+1
-felt heavy at 140 but the line of pull was good, up to 120 I was still power cleaning it and doing an extra front squat, hence all the 1’s

Clean pull + hang clean (above knee) + paused front squat + paused jerk + jerk
120/1, 130/1, 140/1
-these felt good and strong, little wobbly at 140 but good

Front Squat (pounds)
135/3, 224/2, 275/2, 305/3, 325/3, 345/3
-felt heavy, but strong and reasonably fast

Dumbbell Side Bends (pounds)
80/10/10
-trying something I don’t do much, have to be careful of twisting forward during the bend, gotta keep it all in the same plane

Dumbbell Soviet elbow bends (pounds) (per arm)
35/10, 40/8, 45/5
-just screwing around, felt heavy as shit, right arm (the one I partially tore) is noticeably weaker

weighed out at 105.5

Thurs Sept 12/'13

Snatch
50/3, 70/2, 90/2, 100/2/2/2
-these felt pretty good, better than Tuesday

Clean and Jerk
70/2+1+2, 100/2+1+2, 120/2+2, 130/2+2/2+2/2+2
-had some decent pop and the positions were good

Back Extensions (pounds)
80/10/10/10
-felt strong, wasn’t feeling my glutes firing as much though (I call them back extensions but the only movement for me happens at the hip, don’t even know if that’s proper form but that’s what helps keep my back feeling good)

Dumbbell Rows (pounds) (per arm)
100/10/10/10
-these felt really heavy, think I was tired or something

Dip Bar Leg Raises
BW/10/10
-wasn’t maintaining a nice controlled movement with these today

weighed out at 105.7

Fri Sept 13/'13

Snatch
50/3, 70/2, 90/2, 100/2, 110/2, 120/x1x, 100/x2, 110/2, 120/2
-felt plenty strong but was having trouble dialing in the line of pull today

Clean and Jerk
70/2+1+2, 100/2+1+2, 120/2+1, 130/2+1, 140/2+1, 150/2+1, 130/2+1, 140/2+1, 150/2+1
-felt really good, strong, got a little mentally lazy on the last set or two though, have to be sharper

Situps on the GHR
BW/10/10
-wasn’t feeling these in my abs today

weighed out at 105.5

Sat Sept 14/'13

Back Squat (pounds)
135/5, 225/3, 315/3, 335/5, 355/5, 375/5
-moving well, felt heavy but I think that was a mental thing

Push Press (kg)
70/5, 80/5, 90/5, 100/5, 110/5
-first time doing these in forever, felt really heavy, still finding the rhythm

Romanian deadlifts (kg)
70/5, 100/5, 120/5, 130/5, 140/5, 150/5, 160/5
-wasn’t using hook grip, straps went on at 150, need to stick my ass out more instead of just bending over

Dip Bar Leg Raises
BW/10/10/10
-these felt really good today

weighed out at 104.6 (different scale today which may account for the difference)

Sun Sept 15/'13

Went on the track for a little active recovery (something I’m trying out). It was a 200ish meter track I was at today, and after a little bit of a warmup, I’d run a 35-40ish meter acceleration on the straightaway, coast to a walk and walk the curve, then an acceleration on the next straightaway, etc. Only ran 5 accelerations, haven’t done any sprint-type work in roughly forever so I’m not going to push it, might shorten up the acceleration distance and do 6-7 next week, we’ll see how I feel. First one or two were a little awkward. I remember when I used to be fast . . .

Yes.

Look Mr. Frodo it’s an Oly-log! No one at home will believe this.

[quote]csulli wrote:
Look Mr. Frodo it’s an Oly-log! No one at home will believe this.[/quote]

I may have groaned audibly when I read this.

Mon Sept 16/'13

Snatch from blocks
50/3, 70/3, 80/3, 90/3, 100/3, 110/3, 120/x1x, 100/3, 110/3, 120/3
-lost the line of pull first set at 120, second ramp up felt really sharp though

Snatch grip deadlift, pauses below knee and just below full extension
130/2, 140/2, 150/2
-felt much better without the deficit, might’ve lost my back a little @150 though

Clean from blocks
70/3, 100/3, 120/3, 130/3, 140/3, 150/x2, 130/3, 140/x2, 150/3
-both misses (and a couple of the makes) were me cutting the pull short like an asshole, last set was probably the best though

Clean grip deadlift, pauses below knee and just below full extension
165/2, 175/2, 185/2
-felt strong on these but I think I was rounding a bit on the last set

couple hours break for chocolate milk, class, and laying down for a bit

Jerk from blocks
70/3, 100/3, 120/3, 140/3, 150/3, 160/1x1, 170/1x
-second rep at 160 was completed but pressed out, hit a wall at 170, these weren’t great today

Front Squats
70/3, 100/2, 120/2, 140/4, 150/4, 160/4
-was a bit of a grind finishing the set at 160 but felt pretty strong otherwise

Dip Bar Leg Raises
BW/10/10

weighed out at 105.3

I think Oly-logs are cool.

[quote]spar4tee wrote:
I think Oly-logs are cool.[/quote]

Really? I’d think most other training goals would include a little more variety and excitement.

Tues Sept 17/'13

Snatch
50/3, 70/2, 90/2, 100/2/2/2
-was a little loose with the hands but the positions were pretty good

Clean and jerk
70/2+1+2, 100/2+1+2, 120/2+1, 130/2+1/2+1/2+1
-got a little lazy about finishing the pull on the last set or two, but otherwise not bad

Back Extensions (pounds)
85/10/10/10
-still not feeling the glutes activate like I’d like them to, need to be more diligent about that

Seated Rows (pounds)
204/10, 216/10, 228/10
-had to start using a little body english on the latter half of the last set, the 12 pound jumps screwed with me

Dip Bar Leg Raises
BW/10/10
-felt fine

weighed out at 106.3

I like the concerted dynamics. I also think the resulting physiques have a high level on authenticity.

[quote]spar4tee wrote:
I like the concerted dynamics. I also think the resulting physiques have a high level on authenticity.[/quote]

There are definitely some very impressive looking o-lifters (Klokov, Xiaojun are the big names that come to mind) but there are also some guys who look like regular schmucks in street clothes, skinny even.

Wed Sept 18/'13

Snatch- 2 short pulls + hang snatch
50/2+1, 70/2+1, 90/2+1, 100/2+1, 110/2+1, 120/2+1, 100/2+1, 110/2+1, 120/2+x/2+1
-these felt really good today, was maybe a hair forward on the first wave but tightened it up on the second, the one miss I just cut the pull short

Snatch pull + 2 hang snatch (above knee) + snatch balance + overhead squat
100/1, 110/1, 120/1
-these felt way better than last week, although 120 was tough as hell

Clean and jerk - 2 short pulls + hang clean and jerk
70/2+1+1+2, 100/2+1+1+1, 120/2+1, 130/2+1, 140/2+1, 150/2+1, 130/2+1, 140/2+1, 150/2+x/2+x
-felt great on the first wave, the second I was letting the weight pull me forward on the pulls and it screwed up the line, enough power/strength to do it but was just off by a little too much on those last two tries at 150

Clean pull + hang clean (above knee) + paused front squat + paused jerk + jerk
130/1, 140/1, 150/1
-these felt really good, a friend got video of the 150 I’ll tack on below

Front Squat
100/2, 120/2, 135/1, 145/3, 155/3, 165/3
-felt strong with these

Situps on the GHR
BW/10/10
-fine, actually felt it in the abs, which was nice

weighed out at 106.5

And the video of my clean and jerk complex with 150kg (~330 pounds) (note: this is my friend’s youtube account, not mine)

Jumped a hair forward on the clean (not really what you want) and pressed out that second jerk a little though it’s hard to tell. Going to chalk that up to fatigue after a decent training session though.

[quote]TheJonty wrote:

[quote]spar4tee wrote:
I like the concerted dynamics. I also think the resulting physiques have a high level on authenticity.[/quote]

There are definitely some very impressive looking o-lifters (Klokov, Xiaojun are the big names that come to mind) but there are also some guys who look like regular schmucks in street clothes, skinny even.
[/quote]
Definitely.

Seriously though for 2 lifts you actually make things very interesting with all fhe variations and complexes. In fact I had never even heard of “short pulls” before.

[quote]csulli wrote:
Seriously though for 2 lifts you actually make things very interesting with all fhe variations and complexes. In fact I had never even heard of “short pulls” before.[/quote]
That’s probably because “short pull” is a name I made up for something I stole from Glenn Pendlay haha. Saw it on an MDUSA weightlifting video on youtube where he was explaining it, and I thought I’d try it. I liked it, like the extra strength stimulus you get from the eccentrics and the fact that it forces you to be diligent with the bar path because if you screw up at any point you generally don’t make the hang lift at the end of it. I just needed a relatively concise name for it and I don’t remember Glenn giving it one so I made something up.

Also, I’m kind of in a short prep phase right now, so I’m trying to get a little more volume and I’m playing around with some variations and things I don’t do very often. Try to keep things interesting, but as I get closer to my next comp it’ll get a little more monotonous.

Thurs Sept 19/'13

Snatch
50/3, 70/2, 90/2, 100/2/2/2
-lots of pop but these weren’t very tight, not mentally zeroed in today

Clean and jerk
70/2+1+2, 100/2+1+2, 120/2+2, 130/2+2/2+2/2+2
-wasn’t finishing the pull right into the rack position and wasn’t finishing the drive with the legs on the jerks

was running out of time so turned the accessory stuff into a triset

A. Back Extensions (pounds)
90/10/10/10
-these felt pretty good, strong

B. Seated Rows (pounds)
204/10/10/10
-these were much rougher immediately after back extensions than they normally are on their own, weird huh

C. Dip Bar Leg Raises
BW/10/10/10
-not as controlled as I normally like but not bad for the third exercise of the triset

weighed out at 106.5

I’ve noticed that when I incorporate almost any overhead strength work, my arms and shoulders want to start taking over on the jerks, and it screws me up when I get to heavier weights. Need to be more diligent with finishing the leg drive. Also stopped in at my parents to grab something and my mother noticed a nice bump of inflammation on my right shoulder. It’s not painful but it’s something to keep an eye on.

Lower back seized up Friday morning. Took me somewhere between 30-60 minutes just to get out of bed and spent most of the day laying around/trying to stretch. Starting to come back but I am still going to avoid a weighted barbell for a couple more days, and my roomie has offered to take me into her work after hours and give me some therapy on it pro bono. This is what happens when I fail to take care of myself properly.

HOLY SHIT HAHA!! A WORKOUT LOG!!!

I effin told you to start a log like a year ago!!!

Guess what word I put in scrabble?!?! Waltzes
BINGO
WITH A Z
stick that in your pipe and smoke it!