Two weeks to write up here since I've been swamped with work and the gym while also slacking on updates.
6/10
Cal Back Extensions + Hanging Leg Raises three sets each
Front Squat - 70x3x2 100x2x2 120x2 120x1 135x1 145x1 152x1
Snatch - 50-70-80x2x2 90x1x2 100x1 105x0x3 110x0/ 80x2 90x2 95x2 100x2
Sn Pull - Knee + Full (2+1) - 110x1x7
B Squat to 150x1/ 120x3x4
Good Morning - 70x5 75x5 80x5
6/11
GH Raise + Hanging Leg Raise - Three sets each
Back Squat - 70x3x2 100x2x2 120x2 140x2 155x1
High Hang Snatch - 60-70-80 90x2x5
Pwr Clean + Pwr Jerk - 100x1x4 105x1
F Sqt - 60-80-100-120-130-140-145/ 110x2 120x2 125x2 130x2
(250m row + 12 DB presses) x3 with some side bends
6/12
Pulldown Abs + GH Raise - three sets
F Sqt - 60-80-100-120-140-150-160x
CJ - 70-90-100-110-120xFJx3
Cl Pull - knee + Cl Pull (1+2) - 130x2x1 140x1x3
B Sqt - to 140x1x2
Pause B Sqt - 120x3x4
GM - 80x5x3
6/13
B Sqt to 160x1
Jerk Behind Neck - 100x2x5 (haven't done these FOREVER)
High Hang Clean - 100x2 100x2 105x2 110x2 110x2
Push Press - 75x5x4
Front Sqt to 130x1
(12 KB Swings + 12 Chins) x three sets
Missed training on 6/15 due to having to be out of town for a funeral. Got back Sunday night feeling a little rough.
6/17
F Sqt to 135x1 145x1
Snatch (All of these lifts are done on the minute)
65x1x5
77x1x5
82x1x5
Supposed to go to a heavy single, but didn't have any more gas.
Sn Pull - 110x3x2 120x1x3
B Sqt to 140x1
-110x3x4
GM - 70x5 80x5 90x5 90x5 90x5 100x5
6/18
B Sqt - 70-100-130x2 150x1 160x1 170x1 180x1 (narrowed up my squat stance)
Hang Snatch to Knee - 85x2 90x2 92x2x3
Pwr Cl + Pwr Jerk - 100x1 105x1x4
F Sqt to 130x1/ 100x3x3
(12 DB Row + 12 DB Press) - three sets
6/19
Toes to Bar/GH Raise - three sets of each
Front Squat to 150x1 160x0
CJ (lifts on the minute) - 80x1x5 90x1x5 100x1x5
-110x1 120x1 127x0 130x0
CL Pull - 120x3x2 140x3x3
B Sqt to 150x1
Pause Sqt - 120x3x4
GM 90x5x3
6/20
B Sqt - 60x3x2 90x2 115x2 130x2 145x1 155x1 165x1 175x1
Behind Neck Jerk - 112x2x5 (better)
Hang Clean to Knee - 100x2x5
Push Press - 60x5x2 70x5 80x5 85x5x2
F Sqt to 125x1
(12 chins + 12 ring pushups) x2
6x22
Front Squat up to 135x1 150x0
Snatch to 90x1 100x1 110x0x3 100x1
CJ to 100x2 110x1 120x1 130xFJ 135x0
B Sqt to 135x1 150x1 160x1
Pause Squat 120x3x4
GM 70x5 90x5 100x5x2
I promise I'll be more interesting in the future. Been slammed lately with work and living the good life.
Showing posts with label clean and jerk. Show all posts
Showing posts with label clean and jerk. Show all posts
Monday, June 24, 2013
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Joe Mills' 20/20 Workout
Here is the original article on Joe Mills' 20/20 workout written by one of Joe's former athletes, Gary Valentine. I wish I had found this two years ago when I started this wild goose chase. Better late than never.
Joe Mills' 20/20 Workout! by Gary Valentine, MA, CSCS*D
"The woods are full of strongmen, but very few great Weightlifters!" this was the first of many aphorisms I was to hear when i began training with the legendary Joe Mills of Central Falls Rhode Island. He had so many of these humorous sayings that summed up his philosophy, and 10 years after his passing, I find myself thinking of, or using one of them almost daily.
Joe was 82 when he passed away in 1990, a Member of the Weightlifting Hall of Fame, National Champion in the 30's, and coach of some of Americas greatest lifters, Bob Bednarski and Mark Cameron to name but a few. For many New England Lifters, the trek to Central Falls to be taught Weightlifting and to socialize with Joe was an experience never to be forgotten.
The above quote rang true for me, and so many trainees that sought out his direction. I knew little about the sport in 1980 when I met him. AT 22 years old, I had lifted weights initially to improve my baseball playing, and did what everyone was doing at the time in the gyms - a bodybuilding/powerlifting kind of workout. I soon learned that size and strength were ok, but unless they helped you snatch and clean and jerk more, he was definitely not impressed. At 200 pounds or so, I had done the lifts on my own for about 6 months, learning from an old manual I found somewhere. My clean of 300 pounds was more of a high rounded back deadlift, and what I hoped would impress him made him cringe terribly! "You keep doing that you'll kill yourself" was his comment as I recall.
Style.
Technique.
Body speed.
Fluid motion.
Timing.
This is what he was teaching, with an insight that I continue to find amazing to this day. Today's researchers have discovered "Rate of Force Development" training, and "Task Specificity", as if new and startling discoveries. These were the foundations of Joe's philosophy.
"Sure you’ve got to be strong" he'd say sarcastically, "but if you don’t know how to use it, what good is it?!"
"Perfect practice makes perfect" he repeated constantly. Knowing that the biggest need for most trainees that came to him, myself included, was to learn to apply their strength to the Olympic Movements, he recommended the 20/20 workout. This consisted of 20 progressively heavier snatches and 20 clean and jerks, under his constant constructive criticism. This "got you in shape for Weightlifting" he said, and frowned upon the overemphasis of assistance lifts. "Endless drilling" he claimed was necessary to ingrain the proper motor pattern so that when maximum weights were attempted in a meet, all energy would go toward explosive effort, with no slowing sown of the movement due to conscious thought.
"Don't think, you're ill-equipped!" he remarked, half jokingly, but also to bring out the point that the movement had to be automatic.
"You play baseball right?" he asked, "When was the last time you thought about where your feet were while you were swinging a bat?!" That hit home with me, because I'd been playing ball since age 7, and the only times i was in a batting slump was when I started to think!
After warmup, you take approximately 70-75% of your best snatch. This is performed in exact competition squat style for 5 singles, about a minute or 2 apart. Usually you'd do one, turn to re-chalk for 30 seconds or so while hearing a coaching point, do another, then rest a few minutes while another lifter went and you discussed your lifts and what to work on. After five good singles were completed, you add 5 kg to the bar, and continue for another five singles. Then 2.5 more kg for another five singles. You've now completed fifteen lifts. At this point, if your style was good and the lifts were "pulling you up" - his criteria for a good training lift and the sign that you had more in you- you would continue with 2.5 kg increases for one single at a time until missing. If you made the 20th lift, you were close to your best lift. If you make 21 or 22 consistently, this was the sign to increase the starting weight, and therefore the whole sequence, by 2.5 kg. After a 5 - 10 minute break, clean and jerks were done in the same fashion. Some days you'll do just 15-17 of each lift, or once every week or two, depending on your recovery ability, you would push to 20+. Assistance lifts were something he did not recommend "while trying to learn how to lift weights". Believe me, if you put everything into this workout as you were supposed to, you weren't asking for anything more!
"You just did 40 of your pulls, squats and jerks exactly the way you need to, so go home and recover!" was his recommendation.
I've found this to be an incredibly demanding workout that truly tests your desire to be an Olympic Lifter! It is ideal for building confidence, and helping determine your openers. Always better to start a little lighter, I learned, and do them sharply. Used exclusively of course, it can easily lead to overtraining or staleness, so try it a few times and see where it fits for you. I learned from Joe that this sport is a perfect blend of all athletic qualities. Unfortunately, many people in it overemphasize the strength or size aspect, almost downplaying "technique" as some sort of trick or something. Joe knew that you had to have it all. If you had strength without style, you’d probably never realize your full potential, and injury was almost inevitable. All technique and no strength would not cut it either, but he realized that strength was movement and speed specific, so a workout like this was designed to apply all the strength you had.
Please give this a try! I'd be interested in your experiences. Feel free to email me garyv@optonline.net to tell us how it goes or with questions.
I'll end with another Mills quote that you'll need for this workout -"You’re never as tired as you think you are!".
I don’t know about that one! Good luck, and enjoy your workouts!
Joe Mills' 20/20 Workout! by Gary Valentine, MA, CSCS*D
"The woods are full of strongmen, but very few great Weightlifters!" this was the first of many aphorisms I was to hear when i began training with the legendary Joe Mills of Central Falls Rhode Island. He had so many of these humorous sayings that summed up his philosophy, and 10 years after his passing, I find myself thinking of, or using one of them almost daily.
Joe was 82 when he passed away in 1990, a Member of the Weightlifting Hall of Fame, National Champion in the 30's, and coach of some of Americas greatest lifters, Bob Bednarski and Mark Cameron to name but a few. For many New England Lifters, the trek to Central Falls to be taught Weightlifting and to socialize with Joe was an experience never to be forgotten.
The above quote rang true for me, and so many trainees that sought out his direction. I knew little about the sport in 1980 when I met him. AT 22 years old, I had lifted weights initially to improve my baseball playing, and did what everyone was doing at the time in the gyms - a bodybuilding/powerlifting kind of workout. I soon learned that size and strength were ok, but unless they helped you snatch and clean and jerk more, he was definitely not impressed. At 200 pounds or so, I had done the lifts on my own for about 6 months, learning from an old manual I found somewhere. My clean of 300 pounds was more of a high rounded back deadlift, and what I hoped would impress him made him cringe terribly! "You keep doing that you'll kill yourself" was his comment as I recall.
Style.
Technique.
Body speed.
Fluid motion.
Timing.
This is what he was teaching, with an insight that I continue to find amazing to this day. Today's researchers have discovered "Rate of Force Development" training, and "Task Specificity", as if new and startling discoveries. These were the foundations of Joe's philosophy.
"Sure you’ve got to be strong" he'd say sarcastically, "but if you don’t know how to use it, what good is it?!"
"Perfect practice makes perfect" he repeated constantly. Knowing that the biggest need for most trainees that came to him, myself included, was to learn to apply their strength to the Olympic Movements, he recommended the 20/20 workout. This consisted of 20 progressively heavier snatches and 20 clean and jerks, under his constant constructive criticism. This "got you in shape for Weightlifting" he said, and frowned upon the overemphasis of assistance lifts. "Endless drilling" he claimed was necessary to ingrain the proper motor pattern so that when maximum weights were attempted in a meet, all energy would go toward explosive effort, with no slowing sown of the movement due to conscious thought.
"Don't think, you're ill-equipped!" he remarked, half jokingly, but also to bring out the point that the movement had to be automatic.
"You play baseball right?" he asked, "When was the last time you thought about where your feet were while you were swinging a bat?!" That hit home with me, because I'd been playing ball since age 7, and the only times i was in a batting slump was when I started to think!
After warmup, you take approximately 70-75% of your best snatch. This is performed in exact competition squat style for 5 singles, about a minute or 2 apart. Usually you'd do one, turn to re-chalk for 30 seconds or so while hearing a coaching point, do another, then rest a few minutes while another lifter went and you discussed your lifts and what to work on. After five good singles were completed, you add 5 kg to the bar, and continue for another five singles. Then 2.5 more kg for another five singles. You've now completed fifteen lifts. At this point, if your style was good and the lifts were "pulling you up" - his criteria for a good training lift and the sign that you had more in you- you would continue with 2.5 kg increases for one single at a time until missing. If you made the 20th lift, you were close to your best lift. If you make 21 or 22 consistently, this was the sign to increase the starting weight, and therefore the whole sequence, by 2.5 kg. After a 5 - 10 minute break, clean and jerks were done in the same fashion. Some days you'll do just 15-17 of each lift, or once every week or two, depending on your recovery ability, you would push to 20+. Assistance lifts were something he did not recommend "while trying to learn how to lift weights". Believe me, if you put everything into this workout as you were supposed to, you weren't asking for anything more!
"You just did 40 of your pulls, squats and jerks exactly the way you need to, so go home and recover!" was his recommendation.
I've found this to be an incredibly demanding workout that truly tests your desire to be an Olympic Lifter! It is ideal for building confidence, and helping determine your openers. Always better to start a little lighter, I learned, and do them sharply. Used exclusively of course, it can easily lead to overtraining or staleness, so try it a few times and see where it fits for you. I learned from Joe that this sport is a perfect blend of all athletic qualities. Unfortunately, many people in it overemphasize the strength or size aspect, almost downplaying "technique" as some sort of trick or something. Joe knew that you had to have it all. If you had strength without style, you’d probably never realize your full potential, and injury was almost inevitable. All technique and no strength would not cut it either, but he realized that strength was movement and speed specific, so a workout like this was designed to apply all the strength you had.
Please give this a try! I'd be interested in your experiences. Feel free to email me garyv@optonline.net to tell us how it goes or with questions.
I'll end with another Mills quote that you'll need for this workout -"You’re never as tired as you think you are!".
I don’t know about that one! Good luck, and enjoy your workouts!
Saturday, December 22, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 12/16 - 12/22
12/16
Kneeling Jumps up to bar x3
Front Squat 60x3x2 80x2x2 100x2 120x2 130x1 140x1 150x0 150x1 130x1 135x1 140x3
-150x1 and 140x3 were recent PRs (I've done better, but in gear and about fifteen extra pounds) and also managed to spring a leak in my nose on the third rep @ 140. Might be finally starting to figure out this whole "front squatting with straps" thing, hopefully just in time to start back with normal front squatting.
GH Raise 5x5 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Cal Back Extension - 3x15
Chinese Arches - 3x w/ 35kg
Hypers and Traction
I was supposed to do some Zerchers and some other things, but since the front squat went so well I dialed back and just did my usual accessory work.
12/17
Foam rolled out IT bands/inner thigh/quads
Five minutes accumulated in bottom squat position (shoes on)
Five minutes accumulated in bottom squat position (no shoes)
Epsom Salt bath
12/18
Single Leg Box Jump 5x2
Back Squat 60x5 90x3 110x3 130x5 140x5x5
GH Raise (unweighted) 3x15
GH Sit-Up (unweighted) 3x20
Reverse Hypers 2x10
Foam Roller and some squat time
(The SSB squats and the squat accumulation time is really helping everything. Highly recommend the SSB work and 5-10 mins of squat time on your off days. I think the SSB has been very helpful with helping my posture become more upright in the hole and I highly recommend it)
12/19
Box Jumps 3x2 then Kneeling Double Jumps 3x3
-(a kneeling double jump is a kneeling jump + immediately jumping for max height like a vert test. It seems to help me with clean recovery.)
SSB Squat bar x5 70x5 90x4 110x4 120x5x3
Tried some behind the neck presses; hand still too swollen
DB Iso OH Press up to 60x8x3 (R hand) and 40x8x3 (L hand)
Iso Pulldown 4x10+10
T-Bar Row 4x12
Cal Back Extension 4x15
Weighted Plank 4x
Traction
Rolled out IT bands and Inner Thighs + a couple mins in the squat
12/20
Kneeling Jumps 2x3
Front Squat up to 115x3x3 (No carbs since Saturday, running out of gas)
GH Raise BWx8 10kgx6 15kgx5x3
Chinese Arches 25kgx1 40kgx1 50kgx3
Traction
(Blessed, blessed carbs for the first time since Saturday)
12/21 - Off
12/22 (Woke up late, legs DO NOT move quickly or bouncy first thing in the AM)
Tried some jumps but the body wasn't having it. Hand wasn't digging back squatting so I went to the safety squat bar.
SSB: barx5 70kgx5 90x5 110x3 130x3 140x2 145x2 150x1x2
Did some very light snatch pulling from deficit @ 60kg. Hand feels MUCH better than last time I pulled.
Got my hand worked on again at the chiro. It still hurts like hell to get this thing adjusted, but it's getting closer.
-Just got a new pair of knee sleeves from Rehband and Jackal's Gym. This is the first time I've ever worn them and I'm not used to wearing them. I THINK they fit correctly, but it's a new feeling. They feel a little large, but I also haven't tried to clean or snatch in them yet. I have to think the fit for the Olympic lifts are a bit different than just squatting. Any thoughts on the sleeves out there, let me know.
Kneeling Jumps up to bar x3
Front Squat 60x3x2 80x2x2 100x2 120x2 130x1 140x1 150x0 150x1 130x1 135x1 140x3
-150x1 and 140x3 were recent PRs (I've done better, but in gear and about fifteen extra pounds) and also managed to spring a leak in my nose on the third rep @ 140. Might be finally starting to figure out this whole "front squatting with straps" thing, hopefully just in time to start back with normal front squatting.
GH Raise 5x5 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Cal Back Extension - 3x15
Chinese Arches - 3x w/ 35kg
Hypers and Traction
I was supposed to do some Zerchers and some other things, but since the front squat went so well I dialed back and just did my usual accessory work.
12/17
Foam rolled out IT bands/inner thigh/quads
Five minutes accumulated in bottom squat position (shoes on)
Five minutes accumulated in bottom squat position (no shoes)
Epsom Salt bath
12/18
Single Leg Box Jump 5x2
Back Squat 60x5 90x3 110x3 130x5 140x5x5
GH Raise (unweighted) 3x15
GH Sit-Up (unweighted) 3x20
Reverse Hypers 2x10
Foam Roller and some squat time
(The SSB squats and the squat accumulation time is really helping everything. Highly recommend the SSB work and 5-10 mins of squat time on your off days. I think the SSB has been very helpful with helping my posture become more upright in the hole and I highly recommend it)
12/19
Box Jumps 3x2 then Kneeling Double Jumps 3x3
-(a kneeling double jump is a kneeling jump + immediately jumping for max height like a vert test. It seems to help me with clean recovery.)
SSB Squat bar x5 70x5 90x4 110x4 120x5x3
Tried some behind the neck presses; hand still too swollen
DB Iso OH Press up to 60x8x3 (R hand) and 40x8x3 (L hand)
Iso Pulldown 4x10+10
T-Bar Row 4x12
Cal Back Extension 4x15
Weighted Plank 4x
Traction
Rolled out IT bands and Inner Thighs + a couple mins in the squat
12/20
Kneeling Jumps 2x3
Front Squat up to 115x3x3 (No carbs since Saturday, running out of gas)
GH Raise BWx8 10kgx6 15kgx5x3
Chinese Arches 25kgx1 40kgx1 50kgx3
Traction
(Blessed, blessed carbs for the first time since Saturday)
12/21 - Off
12/22 (Woke up late, legs DO NOT move quickly or bouncy first thing in the AM)
Tried some jumps but the body wasn't having it. Hand wasn't digging back squatting so I went to the safety squat bar.
SSB: barx5 70kgx5 90x5 110x3 130x3 140x2 145x2 150x1x2
Did some very light snatch pulling from deficit @ 60kg. Hand feels MUCH better than last time I pulled.
Got my hand worked on again at the chiro. It still hurts like hell to get this thing adjusted, but it's getting closer.
-Just got a new pair of knee sleeves from Rehband and Jackal's Gym. This is the first time I've ever worn them and I'm not used to wearing them. I THINK they fit correctly, but it's a new feeling. They feel a little large, but I also haven't tried to clean or snatch in them yet. I have to think the fit for the Olympic lifts are a bit different than just squatting. Any thoughts on the sleeves out there, let me know.
Monday, December 10, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 12/2 - 12/8
12/2
Snatch bar work (can't catch cleans or overhead squat yet)
Back Squat 60x5 90x4 120x5 (left hand/wrist not strong enough to keep bar on shoulders, so I junked this)
SSB Squat 70x5 100x5 125x3 135x3 145x3 155x3 (PR) / 110x4 120x4 130x4
DB Row 85x8 110x8x2 115x8 120x8
Lat Pulldown/Barbell Hip Thrust - four sets of each
Jerk bar work (can't put the bar in a front squat position but can do some limited technique work)
Cal Back Extension/GH Situp five sets of each
Reverse Hypers and Traction
12/4
Snatch Pulls - up to 130kg x 2x7 or 8 sets
Clean Pulls - up to 150kg x 2x5 or 6 sets; did some pull + hang pulls at 130kg
Back Squat - 110x5 130x5 135x5x4 (hand MUCH better than Sunday but still weak)
GH Raises - 35 reps at BW, pushed pad out to make these harder
Single Leg Glute Bridges and Reverse Hypers
12/6
10 mins lying on roller (to open up discs)
Snatch Pull 12x1 @ 110
Clean Pull 12x1 @ 140
Front Squat (w/ straps) up to 130x2 120x3x2
Posterior Chain Work
12/8
Off
So I'm admitting defeat on my hand. The healing process is clearly not being helped by my pulls and half-assed attempts at bar work and overhead squats. The best thing I can do right now is give it rest. Which means that pulling is out and a lot of upper body work is out. What can I do without putting any pressure on the hand? Well, I can front squat with crossed arms and I can squat with the Safety Squat Bar. I can do all my usual lower body work as long as it doesn't involve holding anything. I'm going to be a bit creative and try to get some upper back work done. For the next few weeks though, it's pretty much all legs and squats all the time. Not an entirely unsavory proposition, just not what I'd prefer to be working on with sevenish weeks to go until a meet. This probably means I need to step up my squats to four days a week to make up for the missing leg stimulation. Next week you'll see my basic idea for training around this injury while keeping my template about the same.
PS: I noticed that I've been getting a lot of hits from Russia and Germany lately, so "Спасибо за чтение" to my Russian friends and "Danke fürs Lesen" for the Germans out there. Drop me a suggestion or comment sometime!
Snatch bar work (can't catch cleans or overhead squat yet)
Back Squat 60x5 90x4 120x5 (left hand/wrist not strong enough to keep bar on shoulders, so I junked this)
SSB Squat 70x5 100x5 125x3 135x3 145x3 155x3 (PR) / 110x4 120x4 130x4
DB Row 85x8 110x8x2 115x8 120x8
Lat Pulldown/Barbell Hip Thrust - four sets of each
Jerk bar work (can't put the bar in a front squat position but can do some limited technique work)
Cal Back Extension/GH Situp five sets of each
Reverse Hypers and Traction
12/4
Snatch Pulls - up to 130kg x 2x7 or 8 sets
Clean Pulls - up to 150kg x 2x5 or 6 sets; did some pull + hang pulls at 130kg
Back Squat - 110x5 130x5 135x5x4 (hand MUCH better than Sunday but still weak)
GH Raises - 35 reps at BW, pushed pad out to make these harder
Single Leg Glute Bridges and Reverse Hypers
12/6
10 mins lying on roller (to open up discs)
Snatch Pull 12x1 @ 110
Clean Pull 12x1 @ 140
Front Squat (w/ straps) up to 130x2 120x3x2
Posterior Chain Work
12/8
Off
So I'm admitting defeat on my hand. The healing process is clearly not being helped by my pulls and half-assed attempts at bar work and overhead squats. The best thing I can do right now is give it rest. Which means that pulling is out and a lot of upper body work is out. What can I do without putting any pressure on the hand? Well, I can front squat with crossed arms and I can squat with the Safety Squat Bar. I can do all my usual lower body work as long as it doesn't involve holding anything. I'm going to be a bit creative and try to get some upper back work done. For the next few weeks though, it's pretty much all legs and squats all the time. Not an entirely unsavory proposition, just not what I'd prefer to be working on with sevenish weeks to go until a meet. This probably means I need to step up my squats to four days a week to make up for the missing leg stimulation. Next week you'll see my basic idea for training around this injury while keeping my template about the same.
PS: I noticed that I've been getting a lot of hits from Russia and Germany lately, so "Спасибо за чтение" to my Russian friends and "Danke fürs Lesen" for the Germans out there. Drop me a suggestion or comment sometime!
Saturday, December 1, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 11/25 - 12/1
11/25
Muscle Snatch - 50x2x3 60x2 70x1 75x1 80x0
Back Squat - 60x3x2 90x3 120x3 135x5 150x2 157x2 165x5 (PR)
Front PP - 50x3x3 70x3 82x3 90x5 95x2 100x4 100x1 (forgot to do my down sets here)
DB Row - 85x8 105x8x2 115x8x2
Lat Pulldown + 4 Way Neck - 5 sets each
GH Raise 5x5 up to 25lb plate
Arches - 35kg for two sets for max time
Traction and Hypers
11/27
Pendlay Snatch Drills
Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch - 40x1x3 60x1x3 70x1x2 80x1 87x1 95x0 90x1 95x1 100x0x2
-85x3x4
Pendlay Clean Drills
Clean Pull + Abv Knee CJ - 40x1x3 70x1x3 90x1x2 100x1 110x1 117x1 122x0 (jammed the shit out of my wrist; puked a bit outside and almost passed out. Real winner of a workout. Note to self: just let it go when you get that far out of position.)
SSB Squat (can't grip anything with the wrist) 70x5 100x5 120x5x2
Cal Back Extension - 5x10
I should have tractioned after the SSB (it messes my back up sometimes) but my hand is a mess. Tomorrow morning might be a very enlightening experience with this hand. I'm very hopeful that it isn't broken and it's just really really sprained. The one other time I did this I dropped 125kg right on the palm of my hand; thought I had a spiral fracture of my forearm. This one is much farther back on the hand, so I'm hopeful it's all soft tissue. Everything in my hand just feels stretched/sprained, all the way into my fingers. It isn't super swollen or discolored, so I'm hopeful.
This also gives me a chance to test out an idea. When I iced the crap out of things, I notice that things are stiff for multiple days and my mobility/flexibility goes to hell. So here's what I'm trying, we'll see what happens: just got home a little while ago and I covered my hand in liniment (All-Pro Science Complete Relief). I'm also working it over in a bowl of very hot water and some epsom salt, alternating with bowl of ice water. The swelling is coming in a bit in my palm of all places, so I'm hopeful it's more of a big assed bruise rather than anything serious. The heat is actually going to encourage swelling, so my guess is this thing is gonna blow up like crazy. Trying to keep it active as long as I can and more Complete Relief before bed. I won't be able to keep the ice/heat combo going at work, but I'll ice it up and see what happens.
11/28 - Hoping for Sprain, but Planning for a Break
Hand swelled up like the Hamburger Helper overnight:
I'm currently alternating the hot water/ice water and figuring out what I can and can't do in the gym. Bruising is coming in hot and saucy and I'm going for x-rays Thursday afternoon. It would appear I will be doing a shit load of Safety Squat Bar work, posterior chain work, abs and plyos. Hardly the worst thing in the world, but kind of a bummer for my upper body work as that's where I really need work, relatively speaking (I need work everywhere, but you know that). I'm hoping the wrist will allow me to do some upper body pulling work with straps in the not too distant future.
11/29
Little bit of bar work, nothing special
Kneeling Jump Plyos bunch of sets
Front Squat (used straps) up to 120x3 127x3 132x3 (PR) then 120x4x2 120x5x1 (smoked these)
GH Raise worked up to 4x6 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Cal Back Extensions 4x12 w/ 10lb plate
Planks/Neck/Rev Hypers - three sets each
Traction
X-Rays: NEGATIVE. No broken hand, just very f'd up. Alternating the hot water/epsom salt with ice water seems to be really helping. On Wednesday I couldn't hold a coffee mug, couldn't button a shirt, couldn't turn my steering wheel and turn a door handle. Today I did all of those things plus did some bar work in the gym. Function and pain-free grip strength is returning real fast but the swelling is staying stubborn, especially in my palm. Still targeting next Tuesday as a return to full lifting. This Sunday is my last week of sets of five in the back squat so I'm going to aim for another PR at 170. Not being able to Oly lift is a natural deload and my squat should be raring to go as long as I can hold the bar.
12/1
Lot of warmup stuff
Bar work (ish)
Snatch Pull to 130x2x2 110x2x4
Clean Pull to 150x2 130x2x4
Rev Hypers
Function coming back real fast. Pulling doesn't bother it, but hand is still so swollen that my grip is messed up. Straps are unusable; causing too much pressure in the area. Tried compression wrap post-workout and having another thrilling day of alternating ice and heat. So satisfying ;)
Muscle Snatch - 50x2x3 60x2 70x1 75x1 80x0
Back Squat - 60x3x2 90x3 120x3 135x5 150x2 157x2 165x5 (PR)
Front PP - 50x3x3 70x3 82x3 90x5 95x2 100x4 100x1 (forgot to do my down sets here)
DB Row - 85x8 105x8x2 115x8x2
Lat Pulldown + 4 Way Neck - 5 sets each
GH Raise 5x5 up to 25lb plate
Arches - 35kg for two sets for max time
Traction and Hypers
11/27
Pendlay Snatch Drills
Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch - 40x1x3 60x1x3 70x1x2 80x1 87x1 95x0 90x1 95x1 100x0x2
-85x3x4
Pendlay Clean Drills
Clean Pull + Abv Knee CJ - 40x1x3 70x1x3 90x1x2 100x1 110x1 117x1 122x0 (jammed the shit out of my wrist; puked a bit outside and almost passed out. Real winner of a workout. Note to self: just let it go when you get that far out of position.)
SSB Squat (can't grip anything with the wrist) 70x5 100x5 120x5x2
Cal Back Extension - 5x10
I should have tractioned after the SSB (it messes my back up sometimes) but my hand is a mess. Tomorrow morning might be a very enlightening experience with this hand. I'm very hopeful that it isn't broken and it's just really really sprained. The one other time I did this I dropped 125kg right on the palm of my hand; thought I had a spiral fracture of my forearm. This one is much farther back on the hand, so I'm hopeful it's all soft tissue. Everything in my hand just feels stretched/sprained, all the way into my fingers. It isn't super swollen or discolored, so I'm hopeful.
This also gives me a chance to test out an idea. When I iced the crap out of things, I notice that things are stiff for multiple days and my mobility/flexibility goes to hell. So here's what I'm trying, we'll see what happens: just got home a little while ago and I covered my hand in liniment (All-Pro Science Complete Relief). I'm also working it over in a bowl of very hot water and some epsom salt, alternating with bowl of ice water. The swelling is coming in a bit in my palm of all places, so I'm hopeful it's more of a big assed bruise rather than anything serious. The heat is actually going to encourage swelling, so my guess is this thing is gonna blow up like crazy. Trying to keep it active as long as I can and more Complete Relief before bed. I won't be able to keep the ice/heat combo going at work, but I'll ice it up and see what happens.
11/28 - Hoping for Sprain, but Planning for a Break
Hand swelled up like the Hamburger Helper overnight:
11/29
Little bit of bar work, nothing special
Kneeling Jump Plyos bunch of sets
Front Squat (used straps) up to 120x3 127x3 132x3 (PR) then 120x4x2 120x5x1 (smoked these)
GH Raise worked up to 4x6 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Cal Back Extensions 4x12 w/ 10lb plate
Planks/Neck/Rev Hypers - three sets each
Traction
X-Rays: NEGATIVE. No broken hand, just very f'd up. Alternating the hot water/epsom salt with ice water seems to be really helping. On Wednesday I couldn't hold a coffee mug, couldn't button a shirt, couldn't turn my steering wheel and turn a door handle. Today I did all of those things plus did some bar work in the gym. Function and pain-free grip strength is returning real fast but the swelling is staying stubborn, especially in my palm. Still targeting next Tuesday as a return to full lifting. This Sunday is my last week of sets of five in the back squat so I'm going to aim for another PR at 170. Not being able to Oly lift is a natural deload and my squat should be raring to go as long as I can hold the bar.
12/1
Lot of warmup stuff
Bar work (ish)
Snatch Pull to 130x2x2 110x2x4
Clean Pull to 150x2 130x2x4
Rev Hypers
Function coming back real fast. Pulling doesn't bother it, but hand is still so swollen that my grip is messed up. Straps are unusable; causing too much pressure in the area. Tried compression wrap post-workout and having another thrilling day of alternating ice and heat. So satisfying ;)
Sunday, November 25, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 11/18 - 11/24
Low back traction has been an absolute godsend for my jammed up back. I'm fully symptom-free right now, only about ten days after I thought I'd have to stop training and get into rehab full-time. I'm going to start backing off and doing these every other workout and see how the back responds. One thing to remember is that the body adapts to EVERYTHING, including recovery means. Recovery means need to be cycled just like you cycle through training exercises/reps/sets/etc. If I tweak it again and I'm already doing traction four days a week then that's a tool that I've basically taken out of my toolbox.
I'm actually ditching the McCauley drills for a little while as they seem to be putting a bit of a loop into my pull. This isn't a question of the quality of the drills; it's a question of my ability to correctly execute them. So I'll go back to Glenn Pendlay's drills (snatch pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3; clean pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3). I'm also thinking about doing an unsanctioned Oly meet here in Denver in three weeks, which would be seven weeks out from Iceland. I think it'd feel good to get in front of people and feel that adrenaline pumping again instead of lifting in my little corner of the gym. It's on a Saturday, so I could train straight through it without disrupting my schedule. Something to contemplate.
11/18
Drills
B Squat 60x3x2 90x3 130x5 145x3 155x5 135x5 140x5 (heavy, but nice and sharp)
Front PP 50x3x2 70x5 80x3 90x3 95x5 97x5 85x5x2
(didn't check my notes, thought 95 was a PR; should've been 97 and then 100)
Chinese DB Row 90x8 110x8x3
Dips and Chins - 30 reps of each w/ Back Ext mixed in between sets
Hypers and Traction
11/20
2+1 Snatch 40x1x3 60x1x2 70x1x2 80x1 90x1 97x0x2 92x1 97x0x3 102x0x1 (82x1 87x1 92x1 95x1 100x0)
2+1 CJ 60x1x3 80x1x2 95x1 105x1 110x0 (these felt awful so I called it)
Clean Pull - 110x3 130x3x3 140x3
Back Squat 3x5 130kg (not easy but sharp. Bar rolling around on my back a bit says I've been slacking on upper back work)
11/22 (Happy Thanksgiving!!)
Box Snatch - 40x1x4 60x1x3 70x1x2 80x1 87x1 95x1 100x0x2 / 85x2 90x2 90x2
Box CJ - 60x2x2 80x1x2 95x1x2 105x1 112x1 117x1 122x1 / 100-105-110 2+1
Front Squat - 60x3x2 80x3 100x2 110x2 120x3 125x3 130x3
Cal Back and GH Raise - Four sets each
Hypers and Traction
11/24 (Trained at my friends' place Crossfit MHF; all weights in lbs)
Snatch up to 215x1 and four singles at 205
CJ up to 275x1, Clarked 285 real bad (misses here at 265 and 275 as well). Nice reminder that I need to train pulls a little more often, will start sneaking them in after main movements. Standing up with weights is noticeably faster, so the squatting is definitely helping.) It's becoming pretty clear that my squat (or lack thereof) is a big limiting factor in my lifts and it's very possible that I've been punching above my weight in terms of competitive lifts given my shitty squats.
Next week I'll start adding back Wednesday upper body training. I might jerk, Sotts press, overhead squat or muscle snatch as a first movement but I want to keep the pulling from the floor and bar on my back to a minimum and keep this as an upper body focused day. Nothing maximal here (even jerks), this is a day for supportive exercises, prehab and muscle/connective tissue building rather than quick lifts. My upper back is caving a bit on my back squats, which is probably because I've been neglecting upper back work the past few weeks.
I think I'm going to change up my squats for December, taking Sunday's back squat down to triples and Thursday's front squat down to doubles and start pushing a bit more in the front squat. I might take the push press down to triples as well, but probably not for a couple weeks. One way I get some extra volume in those sets of five squats and push press is to do back off sets on days in which I don't make a PR. Nothing super scientific; I take 10-15% off the bar and knock out 1-3 more sets of five. When I make a PR for a set of five, I'm usually SMOKED so potential returns from the back offs aren't worth it.
Couple nice videos here from Dave Tate to reinforce a couple of my above points; one on Recovery and one on Human Potential.
I'm actually ditching the McCauley drills for a little while as they seem to be putting a bit of a loop into my pull. This isn't a question of the quality of the drills; it's a question of my ability to correctly execute them. So I'll go back to Glenn Pendlay's drills (snatch pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3; clean pt 1, pt 2 and pt 3). I'm also thinking about doing an unsanctioned Oly meet here in Denver in three weeks, which would be seven weeks out from Iceland. I think it'd feel good to get in front of people and feel that adrenaline pumping again instead of lifting in my little corner of the gym. It's on a Saturday, so I could train straight through it without disrupting my schedule. Something to contemplate.
11/18
Drills
B Squat 60x3x2 90x3 130x5 145x3 155x5 135x5 140x5 (heavy, but nice and sharp)
Front PP 50x3x2 70x5 80x3 90x3 95x5 97x5 85x5x2
(didn't check my notes, thought 95 was a PR; should've been 97 and then 100)
Chinese DB Row 90x8 110x8x3
Dips and Chins - 30 reps of each w/ Back Ext mixed in between sets
Hypers and Traction
11/20
2+1 Snatch 40x1x3 60x1x2 70x1x2 80x1 90x1 97x0x2 92x1 97x0x3 102x0x1 (82x1 87x1 92x1 95x1 100x0)
2+1 CJ 60x1x3 80x1x2 95x1 105x1 110x0 (these felt awful so I called it)
Clean Pull - 110x3 130x3x3 140x3
Back Squat 3x5 130kg (not easy but sharp. Bar rolling around on my back a bit says I've been slacking on upper back work)
11/22 (Happy Thanksgiving!!)
Box Snatch - 40x1x4 60x1x3 70x1x2 80x1 87x1 95x1 100x0x2 / 85x2 90x2 90x2
Box CJ - 60x2x2 80x1x2 95x1x2 105x1 112x1 117x1 122x1 / 100-105-110 2+1
Front Squat - 60x3x2 80x3 100x2 110x2 120x3 125x3 130x3
Cal Back and GH Raise - Four sets each
Hypers and Traction
11/24 (Trained at my friends' place Crossfit MHF; all weights in lbs)
Snatch up to 215x1 and four singles at 205
CJ up to 275x1, Clarked 285 real bad (misses here at 265 and 275 as well). Nice reminder that I need to train pulls a little more often, will start sneaking them in after main movements. Standing up with weights is noticeably faster, so the squatting is definitely helping.) It's becoming pretty clear that my squat (or lack thereof) is a big limiting factor in my lifts and it's very possible that I've been punching above my weight in terms of competitive lifts given my shitty squats.
Next week I'll start adding back Wednesday upper body training. I might jerk, Sotts press, overhead squat or muscle snatch as a first movement but I want to keep the pulling from the floor and bar on my back to a minimum and keep this as an upper body focused day. Nothing maximal here (even jerks), this is a day for supportive exercises, prehab and muscle/connective tissue building rather than quick lifts. My upper back is caving a bit on my back squats, which is probably because I've been neglecting upper back work the past few weeks.
I think I'm going to change up my squats for December, taking Sunday's back squat down to triples and Thursday's front squat down to doubles and start pushing a bit more in the front squat. I might take the push press down to triples as well, but probably not for a couple weeks. One way I get some extra volume in those sets of five squats and push press is to do back off sets on days in which I don't make a PR. Nothing super scientific; I take 10-15% off the bar and knock out 1-3 more sets of five. When I make a PR for a set of five, I'm usually SMOKED so potential returns from the back offs aren't worth it.
Couple nice videos here from Dave Tate to reinforce a couple of my above points; one on Recovery and one on Human Potential.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 11/11 - 11/17
I've added a couple of Don McCauley's drills for the Oly lifts to my warmups. This and this are staples. This one is good, but I'm embarrassed to admit that I tweaked an ab muscle in performing it, so it's on the shelf for the time being.
11/11
Shoulder complex from NBS Fitness (my standard shoulder warmup)
Front Push Press - 40x5 60x5 75x4 85x4 90x4 95x3 100x1 105x1 110x0 80x10
(I'm no good at grinding out push presses at max weights; when I'm done, I'm done)
Chinese Row - 85x10 105x10x3
Lat Pulldown 4x10
Low Back Traction - strong band and medium band from Elitefts
11/13 (examples of today's snatch and CJ exercises here; I'm using the power jerk off and on)
Agile 8 Warmup/Shoulder Complex
Snatch - Two Pulls + Snatch: 40x1x3 60x1x2 70x1 80x1 90x1 95x0 95x1 100x1 105x0x2
Down Sets - 85x1 90x1 90x1
CJ - Two Pulls + CJ: 50x1x3 70x1x2 90x1 100x1x2 110x0 110x1 115x0 115x1
Down Sets - 95x1 100x1 105x1
Back Squat 3x5 120kg (nice and fast, just grooving after a week off)
Cal Hypers 4x10 40lbs
Rev Hypers - bunch
Low Back Traction
11/14 Off (being super careful with the back this week)
11/15
McCauley Drills - Snatch
Snatch - Box Just Above Knee: 40x2x3 60x2x2 70x2x1 80x2 90x1 97x1 102x0x3 100x0x1 100x1 102x0x2
Down Sets - 85x2 87x2 90x2
McCauley Drills - Clean
CJ - Box Just Above Knee: 50x2x2 70x2x2 90x2x1 100x1 110x1 120x0x2 120x1
Down Sets - 100x2+1 105x2+1 (only took two down sets; gassed)
Front Squat 60x3x2 80x3 100x3 115x3 120x3 125x3 (heavy, but nice and sharp)
GH Raise - 5-6x5, w/ 2x5 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Rev Hyper - 3x12
Band Traction
11/17
Snatch 40x2x3 60x2x2 70x1x2 80x1 90x1 95x1 (switched platforms) 95x0 100x0x3 (tried these eyes closed, then went back to other platform) 70x1 80x1 90x1 97x0
CJ 50x2x3 70x2x2 90x1 105x1 115x1 122x1 127xFJ 127xFJ
Hypers and Traction
I got jammed up by the high school kids in the gym and kinda f'd up my snatch work. Still good day with the CJ and good training with the snatch, if not accurate pulls. I probably should have just done some pulls and moved on to CJ, but that's all good.
11/11
Shoulder complex from NBS Fitness (my standard shoulder warmup)
Front Push Press - 40x5 60x5 75x4 85x4 90x4 95x3 100x1 105x1 110x0 80x10
(I'm no good at grinding out push presses at max weights; when I'm done, I'm done)
Chinese Row - 85x10 105x10x3
Lat Pulldown 4x10
Low Back Traction - strong band and medium band from Elitefts
11/13 (examples of today's snatch and CJ exercises here; I'm using the power jerk off and on)
Agile 8 Warmup/Shoulder Complex
Snatch - Two Pulls + Snatch: 40x1x3 60x1x2 70x1 80x1 90x1 95x0 95x1 100x1 105x0x2
Down Sets - 85x1 90x1 90x1
CJ - Two Pulls + CJ: 50x1x3 70x1x2 90x1 100x1x2 110x0 110x1 115x0 115x1
Down Sets - 95x1 100x1 105x1
Back Squat 3x5 120kg (nice and fast, just grooving after a week off)
Cal Hypers 4x10 40lbs
Rev Hypers - bunch
Low Back Traction
11/14 Off (being super careful with the back this week)
11/15
McCauley Drills - Snatch
Snatch - Box Just Above Knee: 40x2x3 60x2x2 70x2x1 80x2 90x1 97x1 102x0x3 100x0x1 100x1 102x0x2
Down Sets - 85x2 87x2 90x2
McCauley Drills - Clean
CJ - Box Just Above Knee: 50x2x2 70x2x2 90x2x1 100x1 110x1 120x0x2 120x1
Down Sets - 100x2+1 105x2+1 (only took two down sets; gassed)
Front Squat 60x3x2 80x3 100x3 115x3 120x3 125x3 (heavy, but nice and sharp)
GH Raise - 5-6x5, w/ 2x5 w/ 10kg plate behind head
Rev Hyper - 3x12
Band Traction
11/17
Snatch 40x2x3 60x2x2 70x1x2 80x1 90x1 95x1 (switched platforms) 95x0 100x0x3 (tried these eyes closed, then went back to other platform) 70x1 80x1 90x1 97x0
CJ 50x2x3 70x2x2 90x1 105x1 115x1 122x1 127xFJ 127xFJ
Hypers and Traction
I got jammed up by the high school kids in the gym and kinda f'd up my snatch work. Still good day with the CJ and good training with the snatch, if not accurate pulls. I probably should have just done some pulls and moved on to CJ, but that's all good.
Saturday, November 10, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 11/4 - 11/10
Taking it down a bit this week. My back is seriously acting up, I believe due to some very poorly executed push presses. I've finally realized that my back can't take long sets from the back. It isn't the press, it's bringing the bar back down without wrecking my spine. Upper back is really tight and stuff, lower back is a mess. I think some therapy and removing some of the extra work will get everything back on track. I'm sticking to my usual schedule, but pushing Wednesday back to a true "upper body" day rather than mixing in muscle snatches, push presses or anything like that. Lots of pulling and abs, little bit of pressing assistance.
11/4
Muscle Snatch up to 70x2
B Squat 60x4 90x3 110x3 125x3 140x5 145x5 (heavy but not ball busters; building the squat back up)
Front PP 50x5 50x3 70x3 82x3 90x5 95x5 (PR)
-I was short on time so I went complex rather than upper body work.
Javorek Complex 50kgx3
-High Pull x6
-Muscle Snatch x6
-Back Squat to Push Press x6
-Good Morning x6
-Bent Row x6
11/5 - Chiropractor
11/6
Snatch doubles from High Hang
40x2x2 60x2x2 75x2 85x2 92x2 97x0x2 100x0
Down Sets (no foot movement) - 82x3 85x3 87x3
Clean, Jerk, Clean, Jerk
50x2x2 70x2x2 90x2 105x2 112x2
Down Sets (3+1) - 92x1 97x1 102x1
Back Squat 125x5 127x5 127x5 (fast, felt light and sharp)
Rev Hypers 4x15
11/8
Chins and Dips x50 each
Handstand Pushups 4x5
Chest Supported Row 3x12
Dips x25
Reverse Hypers - a ton
(Back is flared up so this is really turning into a legit deload week. Lots of therapy and prehab.)
11/10
Dips and Chins - 50 each
Reverse Hypers 3x15
Chiro
Back is still cranky, but pain-free. Starting back to regular training on Tuesday (11/13) and adding in some post-workout band traction to take down the compression. I haven't had to use it for a long time...which really means I've forgotten it/skipped it. Donnie Thompson made a couple excellent vids of band traction here. Elitefts has some info on traction for the shoulder in their rehab/prehab section here.
One quick word on traction: traction isn't a panacea or a cure-all. It's another tool to keep in the box. If you have some tight hips, shoulders, etc then it can be immensely helpful. But consider your training, competitive and injury history and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Personally, I can't do much single leg hip traction because it really tugs at my surgically repaired back. They aren't magic, but they provide some serious relief for some people with bulges, herniations or just jammed up joints. In 99% of cases (injury, training, etc), Movement is Medicine.
11/4
Muscle Snatch up to 70x2
B Squat 60x4 90x3 110x3 125x3 140x5 145x5 (heavy but not ball busters; building the squat back up)
Front PP 50x5 50x3 70x3 82x3 90x5 95x5 (PR)
-I was short on time so I went complex rather than upper body work.
Javorek Complex 50kgx3
-High Pull x6
-Muscle Snatch x6
-Back Squat to Push Press x6
-Good Morning x6
-Bent Row x6
11/5 - Chiropractor
11/6
Snatch doubles from High Hang
40x2x2 60x2x2 75x2 85x2 92x2 97x0x2 100x0
Down Sets (no foot movement) - 82x3 85x3 87x3
Clean, Jerk, Clean, Jerk
50x2x2 70x2x2 90x2 105x2 112x2
Down Sets (3+1) - 92x1 97x1 102x1
Back Squat 125x5 127x5 127x5 (fast, felt light and sharp)
Rev Hypers 4x15
11/8
Chins and Dips x50 each
Handstand Pushups 4x5
Chest Supported Row 3x12
Dips x25
Reverse Hypers - a ton
(Back is flared up so this is really turning into a legit deload week. Lots of therapy and prehab.)
11/10
Dips and Chins - 50 each
Reverse Hypers 3x15
Chiro
Back is still cranky, but pain-free. Starting back to regular training on Tuesday (11/13) and adding in some post-workout band traction to take down the compression. I haven't had to use it for a long time...which really means I've forgotten it/skipped it. Donnie Thompson made a couple excellent vids of band traction here. Elitefts has some info on traction for the shoulder in their rehab/prehab section here.
One quick word on traction: traction isn't a panacea or a cure-all. It's another tool to keep in the box. If you have some tight hips, shoulders, etc then it can be immensely helpful. But consider your training, competitive and injury history and LISTEN TO YOUR BODY. Personally, I can't do much single leg hip traction because it really tugs at my surgically repaired back. They aren't magic, but they provide some serious relief for some people with bulges, herniations or just jammed up joints. In 99% of cases (injury, training, etc), Movement is Medicine.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 10/21 - 10/27
“Reality's all you've got. But here's the real secret, the real miracle: it's enough.”
― Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality
By popular request, I'll start slipping in some of my diet as I've been getting some hits on Twitter asking about Carb Backloading.
10/21
Back Squat 60x3x2 90x3 110x2 125x2 140x2 150x5 130x5 135x5
(150 felt shitty, didn't warm up enough; not enough reps)
Front Push Press 50x3x2 75x2x2 87x2 92x5 97x4+1
Iso DB Fat Gripz OH Press 3x8 60lbs
DB "Chinese" Row 100lbsx8 110x8 115x8x2
GH Raise/Lat Pulldowns
Cal Back Ext/Curls for the Girls/Four Way Neck
10/23
High Hang Snatch (Max Double) 50x2x2 60x2 70x1 80x1 82x1 90x1 95x1 100x0x2 (made one @ 100) 97x0x1 - Down Sets 80x3x3
High Hang CJ (Max Double - Clean, Jerk, Drop, Clean, Jerk) 60x1x2 80x1x2 95x1 105x1 110x0x2 95x1
Down Sets (Three Cleans + Jerk the last rep) 90x1 95x1 100x1
Safety Squat Bar Squat 3x5 @ 120
BB Rollouts + Cal Back Ext - 5 Sets each
Weighted Planks 2x10+10
DB Side Bend 2x10
10/24
Light High Hang Clean Work (my timing is off, going to the toes way too early)
Behind Neck Strict Press 50x5 55x5 52x5 52x5
Chins 4x5
Axle Pendlay Rows 4x10 + Four Way Neck x100
10/25 (low "box" is 25kg plates, bar at about mid-shin)
Lower Box Snatch 40xsome 60x2x2 70x2 82x1x2 90x1 95x0 95x1 100x1 105x0x2 102x0x2
Down Sets 85x2 87x2x2
Lower Box CJ 50xsome 70x2 90x2 100x1 110x1 117x1 122xFJ 122x1
Down Sets (2 Cleans + 1 Jerk) 100x1 105x1 110x1
Front Squat up to 115x3 120x3x2
Cal Back Ext 5x10
Hanging Leg Raises and Reverse Hypers
Nutrition:
Wake-Up @ 520am
Coconut Oil/Whey Isolate in a two shot Americano at 6:30
Another one at 9am
11am: Salad from Noodles and Co, Cioppino Stew, string cheese, 5g fish oil, 10g creatine
3pm: Coconut Oil/Whey/Coffee during training
6pm: PWO Shake: Two scoops of Muscle Feast Anabolic Recover w/ 5g creatine and leucine
Hourish Later:
Small bag of Surf Sweets Gummi Bears
One small spotted banana
30g Whey Isolate w/ Leucine and Creatine
Half a baked yam
Little bit of homemade chicken korma
Hourish After That
S'more/Chocolate Chip Cookie (gluten free, from my friend Claire at Simply Sweet Justice. Will post recipe when she posts it)
Small Bowl of Rice Krispies in Raw Milk (poor planning; ran out of cereal)
Shake w/ Leucine
10/26 - Off-Day Sample Nutrition
5:20 wakeup
One coconut oil/whey/coffee during the day, then mainline green tea the rest of the day
(I avoid coffee during off days after the first one to keep the caffeine down and diversify my sources. Plus green tea is wicked good for you and I'm fighting getting sick. If I'm blasting coffee and I miss a night or two of sleep, it fries it pretty quick. Plus our coffee at work is awful, so I prefer to make it at home in my Aeropress)
11:30am Cioppino + fish oil, string cheese and small salad
4:30pm Three eggs over easy in coconut oil and some leftover homemade barbacoa.
8:30pm More Cioppino and an epsom salt bath
10/27
Snatch 40x2x2 60x2x2 75x1x2 85x1x2 92x0x3 92x1 97x1 102x0x3
(bar kept getting too far out in front on 92. All wasted lifts.)
CJ 50x2x2 70x2x2 90x1x2 105x1 115x1 120x1 125x1 130x0x2
Clean Pulls 130x2x2 135x2 140x2 145x2 150x2
I'm being more mindful of my warmups. I'm guilty of coasting through them instead of really ripping them up, so I'm focusing on snapping them off. It definitely made me a little inconsistent as I got to limit weights, but I think it'll pay dividends in the future.
10/27 Nutrition
7am wake-up
Coffee, slug of coconut oil, creatine and whey
Coffee only pre/during training
Train 9-11:30am
Isolate/Creatine/Leucine PWO shake
90mins PWO(?): Chipotle Salad
330pm: Garbanzo Greens Salad w/ all the veggies
7:00: Whey/Leucine shake, baked yam, another smore/choco chip cookie/adobo chicken w/ 5g fish oil
8:30: Whey/Leucine shake, bowl of Cocoa Krispies in raw milk, choco chip cookie
10:
My longest sets of squats are sets of five and everything else is in a very low rep range, so I'm not really blowing through glycogen. My biggest mistake on my first go round of CBL was definitely overdoing my carbs; my backloads are pretty tame compared to what you'll read some people putting down. I also keep things as gluten free as possible, which was biggest mistake #2. Wheat and I are not friendly, especially in concentrated doses. About the only pastries that I get after during a backload are turnovers, baklava or Udi's Gluten Free muffins. Tip on the Udi's: DO NOT buy the ones from the freezer. Get the ones sitting out in the bakery section.
I'm also staying off the scale. I'll start sweating making weight (94kg = 207lbs) when I'm closer to meet day. When I hit the scale consistently, I tend to get fixated on the number rather than paying attention to my lifts and the mirror. In lieu of the scale, I'm using a pair of jeans as my "Fatass Barometer". Yes, dudes evaluate the fit of their jeans. I have a pair of 34" waist jeans that fit perfectly when I'm on point. If those start getting tighter, I know I need to either scale down my backloads or do more work.
― Brad Warner, Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality
By popular request, I'll start slipping in some of my diet as I've been getting some hits on Twitter asking about Carb Backloading.
10/21
Back Squat 60x3x2 90x3 110x2 125x2 140x2 150x5 130x5 135x5
(150 felt shitty, didn't warm up enough; not enough reps)
Front Push Press 50x3x2 75x2x2 87x2 92x5 97x4+1
Iso DB Fat Gripz OH Press 3x8 60lbs
DB "Chinese" Row 100lbsx8 110x8 115x8x2
GH Raise/Lat Pulldowns
Cal Back Ext/Curls for the Girls/Four Way Neck
10/23
High Hang Snatch (Max Double) 50x2x2 60x2 70x1 80x1 82x1 90x1 95x1 100x0x2 (made one @ 100) 97x0x1 - Down Sets 80x3x3
High Hang CJ (Max Double - Clean, Jerk, Drop, Clean, Jerk) 60x1x2 80x1x2 95x1 105x1 110x0x2 95x1
Down Sets (Three Cleans + Jerk the last rep) 90x1 95x1 100x1
Safety Squat Bar Squat 3x5 @ 120
BB Rollouts + Cal Back Ext - 5 Sets each
Weighted Planks 2x10+10
DB Side Bend 2x10
10/24
Light High Hang Clean Work (my timing is off, going to the toes way too early)
Behind Neck Strict Press 50x5 55x5 52x5 52x5
Chins 4x5
Axle Pendlay Rows 4x10 + Four Way Neck x100
10/25 (low "box" is 25kg plates, bar at about mid-shin)
Lower Box Snatch 40xsome 60x2x2 70x2 82x1x2 90x1 95x0 95x1 100x1 105x0x2 102x0x2
Down Sets 85x2 87x2x2
Lower Box CJ 50xsome 70x2 90x2 100x1 110x1 117x1 122xFJ 122x1
Down Sets (2 Cleans + 1 Jerk) 100x1 105x1 110x1
Front Squat up to 115x3 120x3x2
Cal Back Ext 5x10
Hanging Leg Raises and Reverse Hypers
Nutrition:
Wake-Up @ 520am
Coconut Oil/Whey Isolate in a two shot Americano at 6:30
Another one at 9am
11am: Salad from Noodles and Co, Cioppino Stew, string cheese, 5g fish oil, 10g creatine
3pm: Coconut Oil/Whey/Coffee during training
6pm: PWO Shake: Two scoops of Muscle Feast Anabolic Recover w/ 5g creatine and leucine
Hourish Later:
Small bag of Surf Sweets Gummi Bears
One small spotted banana
30g Whey Isolate w/ Leucine and Creatine
Half a baked yam
Little bit of homemade chicken korma
Hourish After That
S'more/Chocolate Chip Cookie (gluten free, from my friend Claire at Simply Sweet Justice. Will post recipe when she posts it)
Small Bowl of Rice Krispies in Raw Milk (poor planning; ran out of cereal)
Shake w/ Leucine
10/26 - Off-Day Sample Nutrition
5:20 wakeup
One coconut oil/whey/coffee during the day, then mainline green tea the rest of the day
(I avoid coffee during off days after the first one to keep the caffeine down and diversify my sources. Plus green tea is wicked good for you and I'm fighting getting sick. If I'm blasting coffee and I miss a night or two of sleep, it fries it pretty quick. Plus our coffee at work is awful, so I prefer to make it at home in my Aeropress)
11:30am Cioppino + fish oil, string cheese and small salad
4:30pm Three eggs over easy in coconut oil and some leftover homemade barbacoa.
8:30pm More Cioppino and an epsom salt bath
10/27
Snatch 40x2x2 60x2x2 75x1x2 85x1x2 92x0x3 92x1 97x1 102x0x3
(bar kept getting too far out in front on 92. All wasted lifts.)
CJ 50x2x2 70x2x2 90x1x2 105x1 115x1 120x1 125x1 130x0x2
Clean Pulls 130x2x2 135x2 140x2 145x2 150x2
I'm being more mindful of my warmups. I'm guilty of coasting through them instead of really ripping them up, so I'm focusing on snapping them off. It definitely made me a little inconsistent as I got to limit weights, but I think it'll pay dividends in the future.
10/27 Nutrition
7am wake-up
Coffee, slug of coconut oil, creatine and whey
Coffee only pre/during training
Train 9-11:30am
Isolate/Creatine/Leucine PWO shake
90mins PWO(?): Chipotle Salad
330pm: Garbanzo Greens Salad w/ all the veggies
7:00: Whey/Leucine shake, baked yam, another smore/choco chip cookie/adobo chicken w/ 5g fish oil
8:30: Whey/Leucine shake, bowl of Cocoa Krispies in raw milk, choco chip cookie
10:
My longest sets of squats are sets of five and everything else is in a very low rep range, so I'm not really blowing through glycogen. My biggest mistake on my first go round of CBL was definitely overdoing my carbs; my backloads are pretty tame compared to what you'll read some people putting down. I also keep things as gluten free as possible, which was biggest mistake #2. Wheat and I are not friendly, especially in concentrated doses. About the only pastries that I get after during a backload are turnovers, baklava or Udi's Gluten Free muffins. Tip on the Udi's: DO NOT buy the ones from the freezer. Get the ones sitting out in the bakery section.
I'm also staying off the scale. I'll start sweating making weight (94kg = 207lbs) when I'm closer to meet day. When I hit the scale consistently, I tend to get fixated on the number rather than paying attention to my lifts and the mirror. In lieu of the scale, I'm using a pair of jeans as my "Fatass Barometer". Yes, dudes evaluate the fit of their jeans. I have a pair of 34" waist jeans that fit perfectly when I'm on point. If those start getting tighter, I know I need to either scale down my backloads or do more work.
Saturday, October 20, 2012
The Training Week That Was - 10/14-10/20
10/14
B Squat 135x2 145x5 150x5 155x5
Front Push Press 60x3 70x3 82x5 87x5 92x5
Iso DB Press w/ Fat Gripz 55x8 65x8 60x8
Chinese-style DB Row 95x8 100x8 110x8 115x8
Lat Pulldown/GH Raise superset
Back Raise/Neck/YWLT Raise/Curl (for the girls) superset
10/16
Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch 60x2x2 70x1x2 82x1 90x0 90x1 95x1 100x0x3 - 82x3x3
CL Pull + Abv Knee Clean 60x2x2 80x1x2 100x1 110x1 120x0x2
Pull+Abv Knee Pull+Abv Knee Clean 100x3
(This explains a lot about where my mind was: I actually cleaned for singles up to 115 before I realized I was supposed to be doing doubles, so I started over. Genius at Work)
Back Squat 110x5 120x5 125x5
Back Raise 5x10 - 40lbs
Ab Wheel 3x15
Rev Hyper 2x12
10/17
Behind Neck Strict Press 3x5x50
Chins - 25 reps
Lat Pulldown 4x10
KB Split Press 16x5 20x5 24x5
Fat Grip Batwings
10/18
Low Box Snatch 60x2x2 75x1x2 87x1 95x1 102x0x2 100x1 105x0x2 - 85x2 87x2 92x2
Low Box Clean 60x2x2 85x1x2 97x1 105x1 115x1 122x0x2 120x1 122x1 125x0x5 - 100x2 102x2 105x2
F Squat 112x3 117x3 120x3 125x3
Rev Hyper 2x20
10/19 (had to train four days straight because I have a charter exam for work all day Saturday)
Snatch up to 82x1 then 6x2 Snatch Pulls 90x2 100x2x2 110x2 115x2x2
Clean to 112x1 then 5x2 Clean Pulls 110x2 120x2 130x2x3
OH Squat (muscle snatch it up) 3x5@50 1x5@60
Trying to fix my clean pull as it has been going shitty for some time now. I still have fifteen weeks to go til Iceland, so plenty of time to fix it and get things in gear.
B Squat 135x2 145x5 150x5 155x5
Front Push Press 60x3 70x3 82x5 87x5 92x5
Iso DB Press w/ Fat Gripz 55x8 65x8 60x8
Chinese-style DB Row 95x8 100x8 110x8 115x8
Lat Pulldown/GH Raise superset
Back Raise/Neck/YWLT Raise/Curl (for the girls) superset
10/16
Snatch + Abv Knee Snatch 60x2x2 70x1x2 82x1 90x0 90x1 95x1 100x0x3 - 82x3x3
CL Pull + Abv Knee Clean 60x2x2 80x1x2 100x1 110x1 120x0x2
Pull+Abv Knee Pull+Abv Knee Clean 100x3
(This explains a lot about where my mind was: I actually cleaned for singles up to 115 before I realized I was supposed to be doing doubles, so I started over. Genius at Work)
Back Squat 110x5 120x5 125x5
Back Raise 5x10 - 40lbs
Ab Wheel 3x15
Rev Hyper 2x12
10/17
Behind Neck Strict Press 3x5x50
Chins - 25 reps
Lat Pulldown 4x10
KB Split Press 16x5 20x5 24x5
Fat Grip Batwings
10/18
Low Box Snatch 60x2x2 75x1x2 87x1 95x1 102x0x2 100x1 105x0x2 - 85x2 87x2 92x2
Low Box Clean 60x2x2 85x1x2 97x1 105x1 115x1 122x0x2 120x1 122x1 125x0x5 - 100x2 102x2 105x2
F Squat 112x3 117x3 120x3 125x3
Rev Hyper 2x20
10/19 (had to train four days straight because I have a charter exam for work all day Saturday)
Snatch up to 82x1 then 6x2 Snatch Pulls 90x2 100x2x2 110x2 115x2x2
Clean to 112x1 then 5x2 Clean Pulls 110x2 120x2 130x2x3
OH Squat (muscle snatch it up) 3x5@50 1x5@60
Trying to fix my clean pull as it has been going shitty for some time now. I still have fifteen weeks to go til Iceland, so plenty of time to fix it and get things in gear.
Friday, November 25, 2011
My Trip To Bulgaria...and I didn't even get a passport stamp
One of the most hotly debated topics in athletics is the "Bulgarian" method. Developed by Ivan Abadjiev, the premise is to take maximal attempts in the classic lifts (snatch and clean and jerk), as well as the front squat, as the vast majority of your training. This runs counter to many of the generally accepted truths about weightlifting training regarding CNS burnout, injury, accomodation from limited diversity of movements, etc. Despite these reservations, it seems to be working pretty well for many of the Eastern European champions of the past 30-40 years as well as lifters of California Strength and Average Broz Gym. Me being a glutton for punishment, I decided to give it a shot for this meet cycle, from mid May to mid December.
Note: David Woodhouse wrote an extremely good article on Abadjiev on Weightlifting Exchange, found here. There is also a translation of the Bulgarian documentary School of Champions as well as a lecture (with English notes) from Abadjiev found here. These resources formed the basis for my initial training thoughts and I borrowed some ideas from Cal Strength and Average Broz along the way.
The whole thing became an amalgamation of ideas. My goal every day was to get a max snatch, a max CJ and a squat. I used snatches and cleans from the box, the power lifts and the classical lifts as well as the front and back squat. Including presses and jerks, I believe I used around 10 barbell exercises in total during the 24-odd weeks. I still did a very small percentage of supportive work (lots of pullups, a little ab work and some Prowler).
The theme for this training was this: "To Get Through It, You Have To Go Through It". Simple concept, but not easy. These methods go against everything I'd read from the Russians, everything I had learned during my undergrad and CSCS as well as what I'd learned from listening to the US coaches speak. On the other hand, I'm a great believer in Knowledge Without Mileage = Bullshit (thank you Henry Rollins). If I don't "go", I'll never "know". So I went.
Results: the first month or so was great. I set a new clean max at 130kg and a new snatch record at 100kg. I equalled this 130 clean 5 separate times over the first 5 weeks. I matched my snatch record twice and surpassed it twice, hitting 102 on two separate occasions and having a couple near misses at 105 and 107, along with a miss at 107 that nearly decapitated me. My back squat reached a PR of 190kg, suprassed later in the cycle at 195kg. My back jerk topped out 140kg, which I later surpassed at 142kg. I set records in the power snatch, topping out at an ugly 95kg. My power CJ topped out at a pretty ugly 125kg. Oddly enough, my front squat actually regressed to 140kg; I've done a triple at 160kg in the past. My push press topped out around 110kg for a set of 5 and I did multiple sets of 5 at 100kg.
So the first month looks great right? PRs, records, velvet ropes parting, champagne falling from the heavens! Around week 5-6, while all this is happening, my body was slowly descending into the Smackdown Hotel. My CNS went to hell. I noticed when speaking that my words wouldn't quite come out right. This isn't really a new problem, but it's usually for something I say rather than not being able to finish a sentence. I couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours a night for weeks in a row. My joints got brutally stiff when I trained, even worse if I skipped a day. My waking HR, usually in the mid 40s, started getting up into the 60s. I noticed myself getting short and snappy with people and my eyes were pretty much constantly hurting and bloodshot.
This is part of the beauty of the system: you're programming/brainwashing your body to perform a limited number of motor tasks. Accommodation becomes your best friend. After that first month, despite feeling completely awful and sickened by the sight of a barbell, I was still hitting 90-100% of my max snatch and CJ each and every workout. My squats also stayed high, but the drop was a bit more pronounced since I always performed the squats at the end of the workout. I didn't need to warm up with anything besides a set of reverse hypers, some pullups and bar work. Had I tried to introduce brand new stimuli here (sprinting, strongman, etc), there is no doubt I would've become injured. The fact that you have limited biomechanical means to stimulate the organism removes that aspect of variation. The loading becomes the sole means of stimulation as the body has become accustomed to the movements.
This is probably one of the most psychologically damaging aspects of this style; the monotany creeps into your psyche. I have anecdotally read that many of the athletes did not fail physically, but rather psychologically. One must also understand the conditions these athletes operated under were far different than the conditions of US-lifters; for these lifters, their total was their livelihood as well as the livelihoods of their families. The comparison is not "apples to apples", so I hesitate to use this as support for the physical demands.
After progress stagnated around week 6 or so, there was a point where I could've made a different decision. In looking at my log, I see that this was an excellent time for a deload, maybe keeping frequency but only working to 80-85%, anything to take my foot off the gas. BUT, in my limited research, this was something that every source seemed to agree on: when you reach this point, you had to keep going. The key was to drive through the "dark times" as this was precisely the time where the body is retooling. So I kept going. I upped my use of the back squat as a means to increase the absolute loading and kept driving hard for new maxes.
At this point, I was basically alternating the following 7 days a week:
Pwr Snatch, Full CJ, Back Squat
Full Snatch, Pwr CJ, Front Squat
I was still hitting my 90% minimum, but it was getting more and more difficult and I was moving further and further away from my all time PRs. Some technical flaws started becoming a little more evident; I started leaving the bar in front on my snatch, catching it low on my clean and not getting my heels to the ground. Trying to catch a snatch or a clean is tough enough; try doing it on your toes! I also had a slight scare with my back during this time and I dialed down the intensity for a few weeks. This didn't help and I think it may have thrown my body into all sorts of jacked-upded-ness (write that down).
The past few weeks I've dialed things down as I'm getting ready for a meet on Dec 10. I will still take maximal classical lifts and squats leading up to the meet, but at a reduced frequency and I'll probably add some lower level power lifts (something along the lines of a dynamic day ie 10-12 reps of each at around 60-70%) to groove the lifts and get my CNS snapping. Something I read from Medvedyev that has stuck with me: highly skilled athletes have the ability to tense their muscles faster than others, but also the ability to relax their muscles quicker than others. Think of an Oly lifter like Ronny Weller, who doesn't set up the lift so much as drop and go. That ability to tense is what Louie Simmons references when he expounds on the benefits of dynamic squatting off of a box. Squatting on a box requires you to generate a ton of muscle tension quickly with no room for the stretch reflex to use elastic energy.
So, as I sit here, assessing the last few months and debating where my training should go after this meet, what did I learn?
1. Intensity is King. Periods of maximal and submaximal loading (90-100+%) are beneficial/necessary and something that I hadn't done with regularity since I was previously using my interpretation of the conjugate system. If you're a proponent of using blocks, maybe program 2-3 weeks of a limited exercise range and 90-100% lifts, especially around 4-6 weeks outside of your meet date. Use Prilepin's chart and aim for 4-7 lifts over 90% of your max for that day. Read that again; your max ON THAT DAY, not your absolutely maximum. This goes along with some re-reading I'm doing from Medvedyev and Siff, essentially stating that the average weight of the barbell lifted has a high correlation to making new records. Implication: more repetitions performed at a higher %. I also found some interesting info on 90-100% lift guidelines, but I haven't fully fleshed those out as of yet.
2. Waving Works. Many of my best results in the snatch and CJ came after missing weights multiple times. I would work up to a couple misses in the snatch, then drop 20-30kg and work back up. The first time I made 102, it was on a third wave where my initial miss had been at 90 and second wave miss had been at 97. I believe it was my 5th or 6th miss of the session before I made it. The CJ is a little different and I only used one wave since the load on the barbell (as well as complexity/CNS impact) is much higher than the snatch. Also: I'm much more comfortable snatching than cleaning. I haven't tried waving squats, but for the quick lifts (the Oly lifts as well as the jerk) the response was very positive.
3. Ignore Recovery Methods At Your Own Peril. As I tweeted a few days ago, the Russian lifters averaged 400-500 hours of restorative work per year. This equates to 65-82 mins PER DAY of restorative work. I did nearly nothing as far as restoration outside of eating, sleeping, supplementing (very bare bones: protein powder, fish oil, creatine, multivitamin, mineral supp, curcumin) and some foam rolling. Massage, epsom salt baths, contrast shower and many other means can be done to assist in recovery. I wanted the "full effect" and I ignored some of these methods intentionally to see how the body would respond. Maybe not the smartest idea, but one of my themes of this block was to Trust My Body to be smarter than me and find a way.
I say that with a caveat: recovery methods need to be cycled. The point of training, after all, is to irritate the organism to the point that it adapts to imposed demands. Going overboard with recovery can actual blunt the training effect. Medvedyev addresses this in stating that recovery should be emphasized on "rest" days, or days in which fundamental loading is minimal or non-existant (ie GPP days) so as not to interfere with the training effect from fundamental loading sessions. Even in the weekly training cycle, the Russians are making a reference to a High/Low methodology (introduced to my by James Smith of Power Development Inc).
4. Eating Patterns Matter. A modified Warrior-style of nutrition works incredibly well with this type of training. Michael Keck gave me some ideas that I put into practice during this cycle. Never once did I come into a workout feeling hypoglycemic or cloudy from my eating; I was always just a little hungry and on edge. I carried out this style of eating through the entire span of this cycle, starting out weighing 223 and currently sitting at 208 as I type this (with a belly full of Wahoo's Fish Tacos). The weight loss came with no real cardio and I see how this style, coupled with morning track work or cardio, can yield great body composition results. For my purposes, it kept me feeling edgy and sharp both in the gym and in my career. I anticipate using this style for the forseeable future; Thanks Mike!
Do I think the Bulgarian system "works"? Obviously. It has produced (and continues to produce) great results in the world of weightlifting.
Is it the best system for a 31 yr old professional with long hours in a fairly high stress job? Maybe, maybe not. I definitely didn't set myself up for success, but I had a plan and excluding the one setback with my back, I executed it about as well as I could have hoped. Win, lose or draw, it has been an excellent learning experience, one that makes me a better lifter and gave me a deeper knowledge about my body and its abilities.
The proof comes in two weeks.
Note: David Woodhouse wrote an extremely good article on Abadjiev on Weightlifting Exchange, found here. There is also a translation of the Bulgarian documentary School of Champions as well as a lecture (with English notes) from Abadjiev found here. These resources formed the basis for my initial training thoughts and I borrowed some ideas from Cal Strength and Average Broz along the way.
The whole thing became an amalgamation of ideas. My goal every day was to get a max snatch, a max CJ and a squat. I used snatches and cleans from the box, the power lifts and the classical lifts as well as the front and back squat. Including presses and jerks, I believe I used around 10 barbell exercises in total during the 24-odd weeks. I still did a very small percentage of supportive work (lots of pullups, a little ab work and some Prowler).
The theme for this training was this: "To Get Through It, You Have To Go Through It". Simple concept, but not easy. These methods go against everything I'd read from the Russians, everything I had learned during my undergrad and CSCS as well as what I'd learned from listening to the US coaches speak. On the other hand, I'm a great believer in Knowledge Without Mileage = Bullshit (thank you Henry Rollins). If I don't "go", I'll never "know". So I went.
Results: the first month or so was great. I set a new clean max at 130kg and a new snatch record at 100kg. I equalled this 130 clean 5 separate times over the first 5 weeks. I matched my snatch record twice and surpassed it twice, hitting 102 on two separate occasions and having a couple near misses at 105 and 107, along with a miss at 107 that nearly decapitated me. My back squat reached a PR of 190kg, suprassed later in the cycle at 195kg. My back jerk topped out 140kg, which I later surpassed at 142kg. I set records in the power snatch, topping out at an ugly 95kg. My power CJ topped out at a pretty ugly 125kg. Oddly enough, my front squat actually regressed to 140kg; I've done a triple at 160kg in the past. My push press topped out around 110kg for a set of 5 and I did multiple sets of 5 at 100kg.
So the first month looks great right? PRs, records, velvet ropes parting, champagne falling from the heavens! Around week 5-6, while all this is happening, my body was slowly descending into the Smackdown Hotel. My CNS went to hell. I noticed when speaking that my words wouldn't quite come out right. This isn't really a new problem, but it's usually for something I say rather than not being able to finish a sentence. I couldn't sleep more than a couple of hours a night for weeks in a row. My joints got brutally stiff when I trained, even worse if I skipped a day. My waking HR, usually in the mid 40s, started getting up into the 60s. I noticed myself getting short and snappy with people and my eyes were pretty much constantly hurting and bloodshot.
This is part of the beauty of the system: you're programming/brainwashing your body to perform a limited number of motor tasks. Accommodation becomes your best friend. After that first month, despite feeling completely awful and sickened by the sight of a barbell, I was still hitting 90-100% of my max snatch and CJ each and every workout. My squats also stayed high, but the drop was a bit more pronounced since I always performed the squats at the end of the workout. I didn't need to warm up with anything besides a set of reverse hypers, some pullups and bar work. Had I tried to introduce brand new stimuli here (sprinting, strongman, etc), there is no doubt I would've become injured. The fact that you have limited biomechanical means to stimulate the organism removes that aspect of variation. The loading becomes the sole means of stimulation as the body has become accustomed to the movements.
This is probably one of the most psychologically damaging aspects of this style; the monotany creeps into your psyche. I have anecdotally read that many of the athletes did not fail physically, but rather psychologically. One must also understand the conditions these athletes operated under were far different than the conditions of US-lifters; for these lifters, their total was their livelihood as well as the livelihoods of their families. The comparison is not "apples to apples", so I hesitate to use this as support for the physical demands.
After progress stagnated around week 6 or so, there was a point where I could've made a different decision. In looking at my log, I see that this was an excellent time for a deload, maybe keeping frequency but only working to 80-85%, anything to take my foot off the gas. BUT, in my limited research, this was something that every source seemed to agree on: when you reach this point, you had to keep going. The key was to drive through the "dark times" as this was precisely the time where the body is retooling. So I kept going. I upped my use of the back squat as a means to increase the absolute loading and kept driving hard for new maxes.
At this point, I was basically alternating the following 7 days a week:
Pwr Snatch, Full CJ, Back Squat
Full Snatch, Pwr CJ, Front Squat
I was still hitting my 90% minimum, but it was getting more and more difficult and I was moving further and further away from my all time PRs. Some technical flaws started becoming a little more evident; I started leaving the bar in front on my snatch, catching it low on my clean and not getting my heels to the ground. Trying to catch a snatch or a clean is tough enough; try doing it on your toes! I also had a slight scare with my back during this time and I dialed down the intensity for a few weeks. This didn't help and I think it may have thrown my body into all sorts of jacked-upded-ness (write that down).
The past few weeks I've dialed things down as I'm getting ready for a meet on Dec 10. I will still take maximal classical lifts and squats leading up to the meet, but at a reduced frequency and I'll probably add some lower level power lifts (something along the lines of a dynamic day ie 10-12 reps of each at around 60-70%) to groove the lifts and get my CNS snapping. Something I read from Medvedyev that has stuck with me: highly skilled athletes have the ability to tense their muscles faster than others, but also the ability to relax their muscles quicker than others. Think of an Oly lifter like Ronny Weller, who doesn't set up the lift so much as drop and go. That ability to tense is what Louie Simmons references when he expounds on the benefits of dynamic squatting off of a box. Squatting on a box requires you to generate a ton of muscle tension quickly with no room for the stretch reflex to use elastic energy.
So, as I sit here, assessing the last few months and debating where my training should go after this meet, what did I learn?
1. Intensity is King. Periods of maximal and submaximal loading (90-100+%) are beneficial/necessary and something that I hadn't done with regularity since I was previously using my interpretation of the conjugate system. If you're a proponent of using blocks, maybe program 2-3 weeks of a limited exercise range and 90-100% lifts, especially around 4-6 weeks outside of your meet date. Use Prilepin's chart and aim for 4-7 lifts over 90% of your max for that day. Read that again; your max ON THAT DAY, not your absolutely maximum. This goes along with some re-reading I'm doing from Medvedyev and Siff, essentially stating that the average weight of the barbell lifted has a high correlation to making new records. Implication: more repetitions performed at a higher %. I also found some interesting info on 90-100% lift guidelines, but I haven't fully fleshed those out as of yet.
2. Waving Works. Many of my best results in the snatch and CJ came after missing weights multiple times. I would work up to a couple misses in the snatch, then drop 20-30kg and work back up. The first time I made 102, it was on a third wave where my initial miss had been at 90 and second wave miss had been at 97. I believe it was my 5th or 6th miss of the session before I made it. The CJ is a little different and I only used one wave since the load on the barbell (as well as complexity/CNS impact) is much higher than the snatch. Also: I'm much more comfortable snatching than cleaning. I haven't tried waving squats, but for the quick lifts (the Oly lifts as well as the jerk) the response was very positive.
3. Ignore Recovery Methods At Your Own Peril. As I tweeted a few days ago, the Russian lifters averaged 400-500 hours of restorative work per year. This equates to 65-82 mins PER DAY of restorative work. I did nearly nothing as far as restoration outside of eating, sleeping, supplementing (very bare bones: protein powder, fish oil, creatine, multivitamin, mineral supp, curcumin) and some foam rolling. Massage, epsom salt baths, contrast shower and many other means can be done to assist in recovery. I wanted the "full effect" and I ignored some of these methods intentionally to see how the body would respond. Maybe not the smartest idea, but one of my themes of this block was to Trust My Body to be smarter than me and find a way.
I say that with a caveat: recovery methods need to be cycled. The point of training, after all, is to irritate the organism to the point that it adapts to imposed demands. Going overboard with recovery can actual blunt the training effect. Medvedyev addresses this in stating that recovery should be emphasized on "rest" days, or days in which fundamental loading is minimal or non-existant (ie GPP days) so as not to interfere with the training effect from fundamental loading sessions. Even in the weekly training cycle, the Russians are making a reference to a High/Low methodology (introduced to my by James Smith of Power Development Inc).
4. Eating Patterns Matter. A modified Warrior-style of nutrition works incredibly well with this type of training. Michael Keck gave me some ideas that I put into practice during this cycle. Never once did I come into a workout feeling hypoglycemic or cloudy from my eating; I was always just a little hungry and on edge. I carried out this style of eating through the entire span of this cycle, starting out weighing 223 and currently sitting at 208 as I type this (with a belly full of Wahoo's Fish Tacos). The weight loss came with no real cardio and I see how this style, coupled with morning track work or cardio, can yield great body composition results. For my purposes, it kept me feeling edgy and sharp both in the gym and in my career. I anticipate using this style for the forseeable future; Thanks Mike!
Do I think the Bulgarian system "works"? Obviously. It has produced (and continues to produce) great results in the world of weightlifting.
Is it the best system for a 31 yr old professional with long hours in a fairly high stress job? Maybe, maybe not. I definitely didn't set myself up for success, but I had a plan and excluding the one setback with my back, I executed it about as well as I could have hoped. Win, lose or draw, it has been an excellent learning experience, one that makes me a better lifter and gave me a deeper knowledge about my body and its abilities.
The proof comes in two weeks.
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