I’m a little behind here… ThibArmy. Go to the blog. There’s a video or two on the clean and it has a progression. It’s on page 7 today.
If that doesn’t do it for you then high pulls give you all of the explosiveness without the technical part. I used to just do pulls to develop power. It was just a jump and shrug. I’d do it from the floor and hang. Here’s a video of me doing them on my lunch break. It’s the 3rd exercise.
Thanks @stronkfak and @Frank_C
I think I may give the high pulls a try. I seem to be “mechanically challenged”. So, until I can find someone to teach me the Cleans and be there to verify my form, I think I’ll put that movement on the shelf for now. If I repeat this Hard Body for Women program, maybe I’ll post video of myself and solicit feedback/help on here.
May 31, 2017
I’m pretty irritated with myself. I keep spinning my wheels to lose and then gain the same 4 or 5lbs. I wanted to think I could continue to lose some body fat without being a slave to measuring & logging my food. But, I’m just not there yet. Even when I eat healthy meals, I will overeat. When I’m not logging every morsel, I find myself allowing more of the “just a little bite” of this and that. And when I get back up those few lbs, I get down on myself, then say “F it” and eat a bunch of crap, then feel like crap. I’ve been on that cycle for years now. So, as of today, back to measuring and logging I go. 
workout Hard Body Training for Women Upper body strength/hypertrophy - week 8
A) Medicine Ball / Wall slam ( Didn’t do these. All of the balls were taken. Warmed up with straight arm rope pull downs and overhead shoulder presses)
B) Push Press (100) 3x2
C1) Eccentric Push Press (90) 3x2
C2) Overhead medicine ball throw (14lb ball, was light. But, the only ball available) 2x12, 1x15
D) Chest supported neutral grip DB row (50’s) 3x8
E) Lat Pull Down (120) 3x8
added F) incline treadmill walk - 10 min
59 minutes = 396 calories burned
Meal 1: (pre workout): 6oz Greek, plain, 2% yogurt & 16g almond butter
Meal 2: (post workout): 6.5oz grilled chicken thighs, steamed broccoli
Meal 3: 1 hard egg (got busy at work & didn’t get to eat)
Meal 4: ground turkey, cauliflower mash & artichoke
Meal 5: protein pancakes drizzled with almond butter & protein (314 calories 22c/13f/39p 7g sugar 11g fiber)
Pancakes = 1/2 scoop chocolate Metabolic Drive, 3 egg whites, 2tbl coconut flour, 32g pumpkin purée, 1 packet Splenda & water
Snack: chicken thigh
I can completely relate to this. Late night snacking is my biggest problem. I will spend an entire day of being slightly hungry, in a modest calorie deficit, and then blow it up with 6TBSP of peanut butter, or a huge bowl of Fruit Loops, or half a bag of chocolate mini eggs, or, or, or, or, or…
As much as this sucks for you to do, I enjoy seeing your food logs!
I’m still not there either. Been logging my meals for years and still do. The moment I stop I fall apart. I eat things that I normally wouldn’t eat because I don’t have to worry about logging them. As sad as it is, there are times that I decide not to eat a treat at work simply because I don’t know how to log it and don’t want to go through the hassle of finding a recipe online and guestimating.
I don’t think I’ll ever be there either. I’m too obsessive about body fat. Ever since I revealed my six pack for the first time in 2006 I’ve wanted to maintain it…which means staying around 12% body fat and I can’t do that without measuring and tracking. I typically even track my binge/cheat meals (the best I can). As much as it sucks to track everything it’s worth it (compared to how I’d be otherwise).
Well, then I’ll happily post my meals for your enjoyment 
Yes… as much as I don’t want it to be true, I NEED to log. I really,really, really love to eat. Maybe I should bag this whole fat loss thing & be a power lifter! 
For your Cleans you could do Bent Over Rows with a wide-ish to wide grip.
Haha! Thanks! 
OK! I’ll keep that in mind too. I think I’ll try the high pulls and give the wide, bent rows a shot if those don’t work out.
Thursday, June 1
Feeling a bit better today. I have 1 good eating day under my belt & now feeling like it’s doable to get back on track. We are going up to Lake Tahoe in a couple of weeks and I’m going to try to keep the diet as clean as I can until then. I wont go hog-wild (I hope) in Tahoe. I had THE best pizza of my life last year and I can’t wait to get back there again 
workout
Hard Body Training for Women Upper body pump complex/upper body metcon - week 8
Circuit
A1) DB Lateral (20’s) 3x12
A2) Kneeling rope tricep press down (50) 3x12
A3) DB Shoulder Press ( 22.5’s) 3x12
Circuit (85) 3x12 each
B1) Lat Pull Down (behind neck)
B2) Lat Pull Down (wide, front)
B3) Lat Pull Down (supinated)
Circuit - 3 rounds
C1) Row 500m
C2) Push-ups x15
50 min = 442 calories burned
Meal 1 (pre workout: 5oz, plain 2% greek yogurt, 12g chia sees, 15g chocolate Metabolic Drive - mixed with water, overnight in fridge then topped with 9g almond butter
1 hour post workout: 1 serving Mag-10
Meal 2: chicken & zucchini skillet
snack grilled chicken thighs
Meal 3 Oh Yea One bar - Blueberry Cobbler
Meal 4 chicken, guacamole, broccoli salad
Meal 5 mug cake = Chocolate Metabolic Drive,1 egg white, 45g pumpkin, 1 spends & water
Without logging veggies: 1666 calories, 216P/62F/74C
This Hot Sauce is soooooo good! Spicy with a hint of sweet. 
I’m originally from Oregon, but spent a lot of time in California, in fact, my family still has a place in Santa Cruz, and I get jelly anytime you mention a favored location - like Tahoe or Napa.
I stopped logging meals about two months ago and nothing has changed.
Strange but true.
Did you ever go to Base Camp Pizza in Tahoe? OMG the Smokey BBQ Chicken Pizza and the Thai Chicken Curry Pizza are HEAVENLY 
Show off! 
No, most of my trips to Tahoe were business related, or day trips to go skiing when I lived in Sacramento, so I didn’t get out much.
But, I’m going to spending a lot of time in California this summer, so a Tahoe trip might be in the cards and I will certainly plan on hitting those up!
Friday, June 2nd
Food
Pre workout: 1tbl Sugar Cookie Muscle Butter on 1 slice Sprouted flax bread
Post workout: Chocolate Sea Salt RX Bar
Snack: .5oz raw almonds
Meal 1: same chicken/zucchini skillet from yesterday
Meal 2: grilled chicken thighs & broccoli
Meal 3: ground turkey & guacamole salad
Meal 4: protein donuts (because National Donut Day)
Topped 1 with Metabolic Drive chocolate protein & 1 with Sugar Cookie Muscle Butter
~ 1781 calories total for the day
Workout 
Hard Body Training for Woment Optional sprint/energy systems session - week 8
Circuit - 6 rounds x70yds
A1) Farmer’s Walk (80lb db’s)
A2) Sprint
Added: B) incline treadmill walk - 15 minutes
55 minutes = 475 calories burned
This is the recipe I used for the Protein Donuts. I swapped out the egg substitute & used 1 egg white. And I don’t like or own the brand of protein in the recipe. I used Brownie Batter Devotion for 1 batch and Lemon Trutein for the other. The Trutein ones fell apart easily.
Saturday June 3
_Workout _
Hard Body Training for Women - week 8
A) High Pulls (65) 3x3
1st time doing these. After my sets I dropped to an empty bar & then a 30lb EZ BAR and practiced. I started off too heavy with 65 & wasn’t getting a “high” pull. So, I’ll NOT do that next time.
COMPLEX - 3 rounds
B1) DB Lateral (20’s) x5
B2) Box Jump x10
B3) Overhead ball throw/push (20)x10
B4) Broad Jump x10
B5) Ball Slam (20)x10
CIRCUIT - 12 minutes
C1) Bike Sprint 1 min
C2) Row 250m
C3) Push-ups x15
65 min = 568 calories burned
FOOD
Pre-workout: protein donut topped 16g almond butter
Intra: 1/2 serving Plazma
Post workout: protein donut topped with 1c Black Cherry Halo Top
Snacks: ground turkey, guacamole, chicken thighs
Dinner: salmon patty & broccoli
I love the gritty texture of this “grind your own” fresh almond Butter from Whole Foods
My DELISH post workout treat 
Macros for just the donut:
97 calories, 7C/4F/11P 2g sugar, 4g fiber
Sunday June 4th
R E S T D A Y 
Meal 1
2 eggs, green peppers, Anaheim peppers & tomatoes and a protein donut topped with frozen banana (and sprinkles)
Meal 2
Grilled chicken thighs, sweet potato, cabbage
Snack Almonds - roasted, sprayed with coconut oil spray & sprinkled with Splenda & cinnamon
Snack Protein Shake - PEScience Vanilla Frappe, water, ice & Walden Farms Chocolate
TREAT 
A friend (or the devil, I’m not quite sure which) sent me a slice of HEAVEN ON A PLATE. And you just don’t pass on something like this:
Samoa Cheesecake 
(and if anyone wants to tell me how much they hate coconut, SAVE IT! 
)
Monday June 5, 2017
HELP
workout
Hard Body Training for Women Lower body strength/hypertrophy work, - Week #9
A) Box Jump 3x10
B) Back Squat (165) 3x3 , rest 2min
C1) Eccentric Back Squat, 6 seconds (140) 3x3 , rest 30s
C2) DB Jump Squat (25’s) 3x3 , rest 90s
D) BB Hip Thrust (160) 2x6 , rest 45s
added E) Incline Treadmill Walk , 3mph/level11 incline - 10 min
55 min = 377 calories burned
Food
Pre workout: 1 protein donut topped with SF jelly & 1/2 serving Plazma
Post workout: baked zucchini noodles & chicken (1 string cheese & 25g olives per serving)
Snack: Blueberry Rx Bar, 1 protein donut topped with 10g coconut oil, cinnamon & Splenda
Meal: grilled chicken thighs & broccoli
I’m not familiar with the program you are using but when I’m working up to a 1RM I make sure that I’m sufficiently warmed up (primed) to start moving up weight. Below is MY preferred method for working up to a 1RM, but there is more than one way to skin a cat! 
Since you used 165lbs as your TM for your program and hit it 3x3, a progression to a new 1RM might look something like:
45 x 10
75 x 6
95 x 5 (This is the point where I usually start feeling warmed up so I start doing doubles are singles to make sure I don’t move from ‘warmed up’ to ‘fatigued’)
115 x 3
135 x 3
155 x 2
175 x 1 ← New 1RM (I suspect you will surprise yourself with your new 1RM weight if you hit 3x3 @ 165lbs)
From here you will have to feel it out and determine the jumps based on how difficult the lift feels. Basically, keep working up in weight until you start to feel your form breaking down.
I wouldn’t be surprised if you were able to work singles up well over 205lbs.
Another method here might be to just work up for a top triple. This is sometimes recommended for people who aren’t as comfortable loading up the bar to find a 1RM. If you get a PR 3RM, you could simply calculate your new 1RM to use for your next cycle (or whatever the program calls for).
I hope something in that ramble made sense or helped. I feel like I was a bit all over the place as I was interrupted a few times and had to minimize T-Nation…darn colleagues.
Yes, made total sense! Thank you so much!
I am a little afraid to fail on a squat. But, I’m also intrigued by the idea of actually doing this and hopefully, as you said, possibly surprising myself.
