Hand was still a little raw so kept it light, focusing on position work. did a few snatches, singles, doubles, triples working up and down the weights.
Few light and fast squats then for a few sets of triples.
Finished off with a few light and pleasant clean deadlift triples.
This light session was very welcome after I got roped in to doing a few light circuits yesterday.
Bum strengthening and general prehab tomorrow.
I warmed up. I trained again. Snatch then clean and jerk then zombie squats. I tore a callous for the first time in about 4 years but Alex helped me to tape it up and I was able to continue training.
Not going to be much to report until after the Celtic Nations competition in Cardiff on December 7th really; I'm just focusing on positional work and mobility. I'm moving well.
Bring it on! :)
Went out to Platinum in Balbriggan to train with a friend. Different sort of a warm-up, no rolling, just lots of band work.
Worked on bench up to 50kg, not bad considering I haven't done it in almost 2 years, maybe more. Made sure I was using my back properly and shoulders felt really good with this.
Did 140kg rack pull for triple for kicks, no warming up. Needed straps for it, grip is weak today.
Next did some reverse hypers and ghr. Used to be my lower back was the only thing working in the deadlift but glutes have now passed it out.
Finished off with some control band pullups and inverted rows. Fun session, really enjoyed it and felt like it could be some use for shoulder power.
Headed to the physio then for shoulder tightness (irony is not lost on me at all) and the knee niggle. She gave me some stretches and exercises to do. Generally I'm in good nick but need more mobility work!
I'm giving up weightlifting to become a professional mobilityer!
Great day today. Felt loose even before warm-up. I put this down to some light circuit training with my sister and niece yesterday followed by some mobility work. I already spend about 2-3 hours on mobility a week but perhaps I need more.
Worked on snatch doubles today. Doubled 50kg for four sets; Another day, another pb! No misses at all and they all felt pretty good.
Next I worked up clean and jerk doubles. I doubled up to 55kg then worked on singles to 65kg. I did 3 sets. First set was a little soft and pressy, the other two were essentially good lifts but the jerk was a little delicate. I'm definitely overthinking these. Because the jerk hurt my wrist when I first started training a few months ago and then started hurting my shoulders once I'd gotten over the wrist, I'm just plain scared. I'm going to strengthen up all the positions and be patient and I will eventually get over it.
Bah, too many words; I just need to lift more!
Finished with back squat triples up to 104kg, fairly easy once I embraced the hate.
Good day overall, quite enjoyed that.
Monday: Haven't trained since Thursday so I spent a little longer warming up, foam rolling, mobility, activation etc.
Snatched up to 49kg for five doubles. I had a couple of misses along the way but these were very much a lack of concentration and rushing it off the ground. When I took my time setting up, they were great. I'm very happy with this; like the last couple of weeks doing doubles and triples, these are numbers that I never would have hit before. I continue to be amazed by my new found consistency.
Even though the knee feels fine, I'm still a little nervous of full cleans so I just worked on power clean triples. I worked up to 60kg for a few sets of triples. These are so much fun; DEE SMASH! Again, these are numbers I haven't hit before but when I lifted before, I always focused on singles and never did doubles above 80% and rarely did powers. I'm really enjoying the variation.
Finished with a few sets of front zombie squat triples at 64kg. Felt great for the upper back and shoulders. I quite like these.
Great day training, I'm happy with how things are going :)
Tuesday: Couldn't sleep last night and was weak as a kitten. Worst day ever. Had very little time to train so rushed warm-up. Rack jerked up to 58kg for doubles, got squished, knocked back to 55kg for doubles and got a mix of a few good reps and got squished and pressed out a few times. At least the shoulders didn't hurt which makes me quite happy. I'd rather be weak than injured!
Finished with 5x5 snatch grip deadlift no hook (SGDNH) at 64kg which were doable once I turned off my brain. Bah, gotta have the bad days to know when it's good!
Warm-up: check
Had a small bit of a knee twinge from the cleans on Tuesday night; think I caught one slightly off to the side so being my usual over cautious self, I decided to stick to powers today. I worked up to 47kg for four very easy sets of doubles. These were fun! DEE SMASH!
Tried out a few rack jerks then and got up to 60kg before the shoulders said no. I just have no strength with these at the moment even at light weights because I'm too nervous about the rotator cuff twinges, even before it starts hurting. I'm overthinking them. I've still got the benefit of the positional work even if it was slower than sludge.
Can't wait to get this sorted.
I love snatches and power snatches! That is all :)
Wasn't particularly sparkly heading in to training today but I've had good days when I'm feeling crap before so I ploughed ahead with warm up and started snatching as usual. I worked on complex of snatch and two overhead squat. As per a strategic Argentinean weightlifting plan. I was taking random weight jumps of 3kg followed by 6kg. Everyone knows that the Argentineans are a fantastic weightlifting nation.
After 40kg, I started taking 2kg jumps and was great with 42, 44 and 46kg but failed 48kg twice. Was overthinking and yanked it off the floor, not controlling it at all.
Dropped back to 43kg and worked up again, 45, 47, 49 and 50kg. The 50kg was good but not as pretty or as solid as I would have liked. I had to stand up with it straight away but got the overhead squats okay. Wrists both felt a little grumpy with that so I was happy enough to leave it there.
I started warming up the clean and jerk carefully then and wrists felt fine; overhead squats have always been a bit of a challenge for my wrists, even before I injured it.
I worked up to 55kg or so on clean and jerk doubles but one of my rotator cuff muscles (probably teres minor) got very stabby. Discretion being the better part of valour, Coach Harry and myself decided to leave the jerks there and tried to just clean. This was also sore by this stage. I tried to do just RDLs but my entire shoulder joints were hurting pretty bad. I've learned my lesson with training through pain so I left it there reluctantly.
I reckon a few days off the clean and jerk and I'll be okay but I'm going to have to go to a witch doctor and get this sorted once and for all. It could be worse, at least I can still snatch.
I had very little time to train today so I did my basic warm-up and did a load of activation and stretching in between my warm up sets with the bar.
I worked on snatch triples up to 42.5kg for three triples and 45kg for three triples. These were all speedy and great. I'm very consistent with these now, it's great!
Next I went on to clean triples and worked up to 65kg for three triples. These were hard! First two sets were good but I missed the second rep of the third set and determined to finish the set, I went for it with the third rep. Baad move! I caught my finger between the bar and clavicle and squashed it reeeal good. It's not a show stopping injury but it's one hell of a boo boo. Ran out of time so left it there.
Great day, these are numbers I wouldn't have dreamed of for triples in the 'before time'. Stronger is better :)
It was late when I got to training after a busy day today.
I didn't have my usual 3 hours to train so had to get through it fairly fast and prioritise my warm-up.
Started with a snatch complex of snatch and 2 overhead squat, taking bigger jumps than I normally would. I worked up in doubles of the complex until 40kg then just singles.
All felt easy peasy. Finished with 2 sets at 44kg, a set at 46kg and a set at 48kg. Could have done more but plan was to do 44kg and didn't want to wander too far off course!
Next was clean and jerk complex of 2 cleans, a front squat and a jerk. I worked up to 3 sets at 55kg, 2 sets at 60kg and a set at 62kg.
It's weird, there was no hate and no adrenaline; I was actually feeling quite tired and unsure I'd be able to get through them but it was fine. The weights just went up and there was no drama. The jerks were a definite effort but there was no danger of missing them.
I finished with some back squats. I've had a checkered history with these due to anterior hip impingement and subsequent labral damage in my right hip. Keeping on top of the pre-hab has been a challenge and it means that sometimes I have to go a few weeks or even months without being able to squat but things have been good lately so I went for it today, feeling out the weights until I got one that felt challenging but controllable. 90kg x 5 felt grand, 95kg x 5, still easy so just threw on 100kg, did 5 easy reps and left it there.
Made sure to do a bucket load of stretching and rolling afterwards to keep the pain demons away. It's been a few hours now and so far so good :)
I feel like I've gotten away with murder!
Rest day tomorrow, I reckon I'll need it!
Summoning hate demons and getting an all time clean and jerk double pb is all in a night's work...
Warmed up with the usual rolling, glute activation hip stabilisation stuff and shoulder mobilisation.
Power snatched up to 37kg for about five easy singles. Grand.
Did my clean and jerk bar work for a bit longer than usual making sure the little people that live in my back and pull the ropes were all awake and doing their jobs to stabilise my scapulae. Did some stretching, rolling and band pulls between sets. Shoulders were feeling a little tight at rest but didn't hurt on the clean and jerk so I was able to work up to 62kg for doubles. The hate was flowing freely and even though the weight felt very heavy, it seemed to be moving fast enough. I was in a state of alertness that I rarely experience (maybe only in comp). The rest between sets was probably about 2-3 mins but it felt like ages!
This is a 2kg all time pb for doubles even from the before time and I did it for about four sets; all fairly good technique.
Finished with some snatch deadlifts, no hook grip at 62kg for about five triples, easy and nothing to say about these really except that I wish they had been squats (and they will be on Friday once my calf has finally loosened up)
I'm back home almost an hour now and still buzzing, what a great session :)
Just in case I've never said it before, I BLOODY LOVE LIFTING!
Had a fun training session with guest coach and weightlifting legend Jim Schmitz on Sunday.
Jim is a weightlifting coach based in San Francisco and was head coach of the US Olympic team three times. He was running a training seminar on the Saturday and stuck around for a bit of coaching and a chat at Capital Strength on the Sunday. I was privileged to be invited to this.
I warmed up as usual. Noticed a pretty bad knot in my right calf but it was okay during warm-up with bar.
Warmed up to 45kg for a few singles and missed most of them. Worst snatch day I've had in a while but I put it down to being a little tired from lifting the day before and the two weeks off snatching before that.
Put the snatch out of my head and warmed up the clean and jerk. I was a little slow and 'dainty' with the lighter weights but by the time I hit around 60kg, the hate was flowing and I was wide awake. Jim was very helpful with this.
I was doing well up to 66kg and 68kg clean was very good but jerk was a little slow so we left it there.
Fun day, got some great knowledge bombs from Coach Jim Schmitz. I'm pretty sure I've added 50kg to my total now!
Right calf still feeling a bit tight but I had Coach Alex dry needle it on Sunday so I expect it'll be completely better by tomorrow. It felt better as my warm-up went on and wasn't bothering me at all by the time I was up to my work sets.
Worked up to 43kg for 7 doubles which were all so easy, fast and great. Such a whoosh boom feeling!
Next I did some Snatch Grip Behind The Neck Push Presses And Over Head Squat (SGBTNPPAOHS) up to 41kg for a few doubles. These require a lot of attention but are so much fun! I'm going to do these all the time!
Finished with some floating Romanian deadlifts at 70kg for fives. This exercise is boring. No more words needed.
Great day, best snatches ever!
I stopped lifting after the Cork Open as my shoulders were a bit sore but after 2 weeks of aggressive rehab, I'm coming out of retirement!
Rehab program mostly involved rotator cuff work, mid back strengthening with lots of pulls, lots of single arm stuff, loads of stretching, rolling and bum work for hip stabilisation. 2 weeks isn't a lot for this but I will continue with most of it and ease myself back in to lifting over the next few weeks.
Today I was at a squad session that I organised in Asylum Gym in Newtonards. I love training here, lovely Gym. Owner (and top Irish lifter and coach) Neil Dougan really pulled out all the stops to make it a great day. He also took over the coaching and management so that I could lift.
After an extensive warm up, I worked up to a few easy singles on the snatch at 45kg. General all over tightness took much longer than usual to work out but once I hit my stride, I felt great, hitting some nice positions and felt quite fast under the bar. Fatigue set in quite fast though, probably due to the 2 weeks off. I underpulled and missed my 5th single forward, then immediately over compensated and missed it behind. I decided to be sensible so I left it there and went for lunch.
After lunch, we were doing the video analysis. I took my time and worked up to 41kg for a few easy singles. I didn't feel as fast under the bar as in my first session but still good reps.
Moved on to clean and jerk while I was still feeling fairly fresh. This was mostly testing out the shoulders and I carefully worked up to 50kg for singles. Shoulders felt quite good but I noticed right shoulder was feeling a little tight towards the end so I finished with a couple of hate filled clean doubles followed by a few Clean and front squat.
Great day in all, really enjoyable. I love weightlifting! :)
