nburge's training log

[jpez]

Great progress and stats Neil! Also looking forward to following your new routine!

[markg]

I'm looking forward to seeing you in the Olympics.

[nburge]

Is it the leotard you want to see the most Mark? You can tell me.....

[markg]

Hadn't thought of that, but now you mention it...

[Vlad]

Good summary of the progress. You have acheived very impressive numbers in 11 months! I am sure they will all go up with the Oly training. Good luck!

[guru]

Good luck with the Oly lifting program. Are you going to start a fresh log for a fresh start?

[nburge]

Not sure Guru - I'm quite fond of this log here, and don't really know whether there's a point in proliferating nburge logs around the place! Bloody annoyed today - another massive dump of snow overnight has meant a rather treacherous cycle ride to work. Normally I'd just work from home, but the training has dragged me into town... hopefully the trainer turns up.

[guru]

Not sure Guru - I'm quite fond of this log here, and don't really know whether there's a point in proliferating nburge logs around the place!

Your call, but I would think that a log is too long if it has > 50 pages. Of course, that's just me.

Bloody annoyed today - another massive dump of snow overnight has meant a rather treacherous cycle ride to work.

This was forecast, wasn't it? Spoke to my brother on Sunday (he's in Liverpool) & he mentioned it. Quite some winter you guys have over there. Mumbai is hot like it's summer.

[nburge]

I guess it depends on the purpose of the log. If I'm going to chart my new progress on a new regime then perhaps I ought to outline it in a new log. But if I'm just generally looking at my progress since starting here then this log is a better guage. Those 50+ pages represent a huge amount of effort, learning, failing and re-trying on my part, so I am actually quite attached to them.

[groundskeeperwillie]

Hi Neil
Good luck with the new program dude (if luck has anything to do with it), I'm sure you'll kick major tushie!
As for the log, and it's only my opinion of course, I wouldn't start a new one either.

gkw

[nburge]

Righto - the wise words of GKW have spoken, this log will do for me. Anyone interested in what I'll be up to over the next few months will also be somewhat disappointed - GIles hasn't written the programme yet because he wanted to see what I could do today and clarify my training options at the commercial gym. He'll send it over sometime this week hopefully - he's told me to do whatever I like this Friday and start this programme on Monday. Essentially it's going to involve Snatches and Clean and Jerks at BGWLC, and lots of them. 7x2 for each, and because I'm only there once per week I'll need to take a break after that then come back for another round of 7x2 for each on the same day. I'm contemplating signing up for another night there too - I can either go Monday or Saturday (maybe some fridays) which would mean I can split these sessions over 2 nights instead. I need to do this number to ensure I get the form down.

The rest of the training is going to be front squatting - every session - so I need to workout what my front squat ought to be based on my back squat, plus have a good read through SS again to ensure I've got them just so. Added to that will be snatch pulls - basically you take a snatch grip and do the first part of a powerclean, pulling the bar high but not racking it. I need to get some straps for this to ensure I can take the weight right up. They are a bastard. I'll be doing push presses and powercleans (perhaps just cleans) too. Just to make sure I have fun he's going to chuck in some overhead squats for good measure. Will post the exact routine when I get it.

Tonight I got back into the routine of snatching and clean and jerking. No attempt to hit very heavy weights for reps, just to work on volume for the practice and to get back into it. So the usual warmups of lifting the bar from the floor and bouncing it off my thighs, overhead squatting, snatch pulls and snatch balances with the bar for 3x5. After which I moved to snatches:
Bar only 3x3
30kgs 2x3, 32.5kgs 2x3, 35kgs 2x3, 37.5kgs 2x3, 40kgs 2x3
Singles: 42.5kgs, 45kgs, 47.5kgs, 50kgs, 52.5kgs - 0,1, 55kgs, 57.5kgs 0,0 - failed at this weight. I'll be working with 45kgs from now on. I also need to raise the goal on my snatch as it seems I seriously underestimated this.
Clean and Jerks 2x2 of each of the following: 40, 42.5, 45, 47.5, 50, 52.5, 55, 57.5 and 60kgs
Singles of: 65kgs, 70kgs, 75kgs, 80kgs - 0,0,0,1 - just 5kg short of my best here. The clean here was caught at the bottom position of the front squat, or a clean followed by a front squat performed - Giles seems to enjoy sadism on this front.

Technique will help with both of these lifts - the key area is ensuring I get the correct hip drive through my thighs and into the bar. I can do this just fine on powercleans as it stands, but co-ordinating this into a snatch is hard, and it is curiously hard to get that when the weight gets heavy too - bizzarre as this is the only way you'll ever get a decent amount of weight above your head. Hand position from holding the bar on my front shoulders is also a problem for the subsequent jerk at higher weights.

This was a great session, reminded me just why I love the BGWLC too. A new batch of trainees turned up, which made me smile as one of them dropped out straight away. He complained to Giles that he'd signed up for a weight training class and there weren't any machines for him to work out on in the whole building! I thought it was brilliant. Giles briefly explained what weight lifting actually was, then sent him back to the office for a refund.

I think Oly lifts suit my mentality better too - I prefer short periods of more intense activity than longer, grinding sessions. You get really tired from Oly lifting (as you do from powerlifting) but can do so in shorter bursts of action. This is probably why I like things like tabatas and the bear too. That said this is going to be brutal in volume terms- today I did 49 reps of snatches and 44 reps of clean and jerks - I am about to go and enjoy some sleep to get over it.

[AD69]

Wow, that's one tough session, and excellent that you need to increase your snatch (tee hee) goal.

FWIW, I'll be going on Monday's, as Martin has switched to taking that night. I think you'll really benefit from concentrating on the weightlifting, and if you can go two nights a week, it means you only have one session in a commercial gym where you can't dump the weights.

Have to laugh about the "weightlifter" on machines. But if that's what he was looking for, its better he finds somewhere else than take a place off someone who wants to lift properly.

[nburge]

Cool - I'm in two minds about it, if I could pay for 5 visits rather than 10 it would make more sense (as I really doubt I'll use the lot of them) but then again it's only another £44 and it supports the club, so I should probably pay for it. Basically that's less than I would have spent on any of the nights I'd normally have gone out drinking, so it's not like I can't conjure up the money.

Re: the weightlifter - I probably shouldn't laugh really, that's what I thought weight lifting was about this time last year. Although I was slightly more open minded about trying new things...

[markg]

Good luck getting the big snatch

Do you know anyone who already has a big snatch, who could show you what one looks like...?

You have my respect for getting another session in mate. I blew mine off (tee hee) last night, as the roads were proper icy. There goes my consistency. Hopefully you'll fare much better (than I have been) in the coming weeks.

[nburge]

Thanks Mark - I get like that occasionally, when I first started SL I was uber-dedicated and hunted high and low to ensure I got access to my three training sessions per week. Yesterday I really wanted to get into my new routine, and I'm probably going to remain like it for a while longer. It's usually periods where I can't train for one reason or another over a few weeks that knocks my enthusiasm and dedication out of the window.

As it stands I hope to be able to grapple with the big snatch more than once per week, and the more I get stuck into the snatch, the easier I'll find it to get my confidence up and get right up underneath it. There will be a lot of work involved, but I'm sure I'll be able to get it up eventually.