Welcome Back

It has been a little while since I have been able to post! Update: I have had two back injuries that have set me back. 1 was in my last lifting meet- grade 2 muscle strain of my Lumbar Erectors (Painful).
2. was a non weightlifting injury that led to a Spondy.

Training:
Clean and Jerk: Goal clean and Jerk 130k for 1 Solid Single .
Goal was achieved yesterday, was able to work up to130k for a solid single that felt great. Today I am quite sore but i think i will manage just fine.  Looking to get back under the bar while traveling around the US with my teams.

New Phase - Day 1

Today was day #1 of the new phase "Road to Nationals." I am not sure if I was still sore from my Saturday session but my body is still sore and will be for the next 8 weeks. Today started with some snatch dubs at 80% with some Box jump fun to top it all off. I would have to say I forgot how fun/hard box jumps are. It has been a while since I have done a non loaded explosive exercise such as a box jump. Moving my body Vs. Moving an external load was a much different shock to my body. I would have to say that I am going to be sore tomorrow and I am very excited about that.

Training Today:

Snatch 6x2 @ 80% 102k

Box Jump 6x3 @ 42"

Hanging Leg raises 3x10

Snatch felt great today, had a great pull and focused on getting my shoulders back behind the bar for the pull. I was able to go 12 for 12 with the lifts today and everyday that I can go without a miss is a win in my book. Box jumps felt great I do believe that next time I will be able to jump to a higher box.

Another day of training down and one step closer to the goal!

Stress Reliever

Sometimes there nothing that can  help relieve than a great training session. Today was one of those days. This week was long, stressful, and tiring but I knew that today was going to be a deciding factor into how my next 8 weeks was going to stack up. The training session consisted of solitude with a little bar slamming mixed in. There really is nothing that compares to the feeling of snatching and Slamming the bar to the ground to help decrease stress levels.
Today was a lighter training session.

Training:
Snatch 5x1 @80%
Clean and Jerk 5x1 @80%
Back Squat - Heavy Triple

Snatch
5x1 100k

Clean Jerk
5x1 125k

Back squat  x3
120x3 Warm Up
160x3
170x3
180x3

Overall the training day felt awesome and was well needed. Having missed two days of training this week I was in need of a good session. Weights felt light, Bottom position felt great, Jerk felt spot on today, and back squat felt somewhat easy.

Solitude is key sometimes

Good Eye! Seeing the little things

Today I was able to get a training session in. I was unable to train the past two days due to my schedule. Today the focus was on getting some good reps in at 80%. I am lucky to have a coach who can see small things that I am doing wrong in my lifts. Today while snatching he noticed that I was not getting my shoulders behind the bar during my second pull. I was getting over the bar great but my shoulder stayed on top of the bar rather than behind it. This minor few degrees was causing my to loop the bar slightly. The small loop could have been the reason why I missed my 125k snatch in the meet. I give the credit to Ben Carter for seeing this minor compensation I was doing.

Snatch
3x1 85% 90k
Worked on Pulling bar in tight to the body and shoulders behind the bar. Once I was able to feel what my Coach was telling me I had some great reps. I was finally able to Pull with my heels on the ground getting a better vertical movement of the bar and faster movement under the bar as well.

Clean and Jerk
3x1 80% 125k

Cleans felt great and very easy! The new jerk grip is coming along just fine. I am starting to get much more comfortable with the wider grip and more stable as well. I know that big this are coming for me. as long as I can stay patient, determined, and disciplined.

Teaching The Power Clean Part 2

Part 2: Teaching the Movement

Olympic Weightlifting includes the "Snatch" and the "Clean and Jerk." These are explosive lifts involving maximal loads, which are moved at high velocities. It is common for athletes to lift loads that are well beyond their body weight, which creates a need for well-developed training routines to avoid injury while maximizing production. There are, of course, several methods that can be followed to develop effective and efficient Olympic Movements (Snatch/Clean and Jerk) and no one method is necessarily the "right" approach. When teaching these lifts to athletes who are utilizing the movements to increase the ability to create high levels of force rapidly. The most effective methods, however, focus on four priorities: Time, The "Big Three” (Part 1), Technique and Tuning.

Time:

Great weightlifting coaching is patient. New athletes need to spend time with an "empty" (no added weight) bar for weeks or months. The movement of the bar in Olympic lifts needs to be practiced and perfected before any significant weight is added. Both the lifter and the coach need to be confident the bar will travel along a strategic path every time. Otherwise, the athlete will hesitate, over exert or push vital joints out of alignment.

There are four phases (Movements) to every Olympic lift:

1.   Pulling Position to Eccentric RDL.

2.     Eccentric RDL to Pulling Position.

3.     Pull (Clean/ Snatch)

4.     Catch (Transition from Pull to Receiving bar)

Each phase must be mastered through patient rehearsal before it can be integrated with the others in a fluid lifting motion. The most effective way to master each phase is through time with the bar. Just as a computer takes time to load new software, it takes time to load the patterns of motion into the lifter's muscular hardware. Over time, these patterns of motion will be imprinted in the mind and muscles of the athlete with each and every practice run.

The bar is a lifter's best friend. It is the connection point between the weight and the athlete's body. The athlete will "feel" the balance and shifts of the weight through the round metal so every successful lifter develops an intimate relationship with the bar. This can only be discovered through time and repetition.

The Big Three:

The process of developing an Olympic weightlifter begins with teaching “The Big Three.”

1.     Stance:

2.     Grip:

3.     Posture:

When, and only when, the athlete understands and can demonstrate proficiency with the big three should he/she proceed to learning the lifting technique.

Technique:

The goal throughout the lifting motion is to keep the bar as close to the body as possible. The bar becomes an extension of the athlete as he/she learns to load the appropriate muscles in preparation for each phase of the lift. Proper technique will equip the lifter to make progress with less effort and fewer injuries. Poor technique will fatigue the athlete while increasing the possibility of doing damage. There are four phases to every Olympic lift and every phase has a prescribed technique that enables the lifter to overcome gravity and produce power.

Phase 1: Pulling Position to Eccentric RDL.

The pulling position or Big Three is the beginning stance of every lift. Spreading the chest, gripping the bar, and inhaling to create stiffness the athlete has prepared the body for the lift. The movement is initiated by driving the hips back into hip flexion eccentrically loading the hamstring keeping the bar tight to the legs and chest over the bar reaching the top of the patella. If an athlete has not developed either the skill or the discipline to load into the correct starting position, there can be complications with the lift and the lifter should be discouraged from progressing further into the lift until this phase is mastered. Failure to load the posterior chain can cause anterior shifting of the barbell and the athlete, which can lead to failure in the lifts or injury to the athlete.

Phase 2: Eccentric RDL to Pulling Position.

Once the athlete can properly hold the RDL position it is vital to reverse the pattern back to the hips. Once the athlete must slide the bar back towards the hips using the hamstring and glutes to extend the hips. If the athlete does not possess the necessary strength to hold the chest over the bar and maintain a tight torso during this movement complications may occur during the lift. The hamstring and glutes must be the prime movers in this portion of the lift. When this movement is done correctly the athlete should hold their chest over the bar as it slides back towards the hips. The shoulders and hips are moving as one unit during this lift allowing for momentum to build for the explosive portion of the lift. This is where most of the complications develop. It is common for athletes to shift their knees anteriorly when the bar is being transferred back towards the hips, which transfers the load into the quads instead of the hamstrings. The weight shifts away from the glutes and hamstrings causing the bar to loop away from the body during the lift increasing the risk of injury for the athlete.

Phase 3: Pull (Clean)

When the athlete is able to hold the full RDL position, it is time to teach the fun part of the movement. The athlete shifts back into the “Pulling Position” with the glutes, hamstrings and shoulders loaded and ready to move the bar violently and vertically. The bar is then put into motion with an explosive Triple Extension of the hips, knees, and plantar flexion of the ankle. Once the athlete has mastered the movement of the Pull it is vital to review how the bar travels from the RDL into the Pull. If there is a pause between the movements there will be a decrease in bar momentum and decrease in force productions. Keeping the bar close to the body while extending the hips to the pulling position then violently “Pulling” the bar vertically will increase the athletes ability to move higher loads safely. This transition from the RDL to the Pull is termed the “Second Pull.”

Phase 4: Catch (Transition from Pull to Receiving bar)

The catch is the hardest portion of the movement for an athlete to learn. It will take time and many repetitions for the athlete to transfer the bar to the chest (Clean and Jerk) or overhead (Snatch). The catch is formulated by a series of motions that must occur simultaneously.  As the bar is accelerating vertically the athlete "pulls" his/her body under the bar. During this transition the feet of the athlete will shuffle from the pulling position to a receiving position.

The receiving position is stable and allows the body to receive the force of the barbell. The elbows will be parallel to the ground with the hands slightly outside of the shoulders. The shoulders will be placed into external rotation and shrugging against the bar to create separation. The bar should be resting on a pillow of muscle created by the anterior deltoid creating separation fro the clavicles. The torso should be rigid with the core braced for receiving the load. Hips and knees are flexed with the feet flat. The load of the barbell should transfer from the chest to the heels if the body is in the correct receiving position.

A common misconception is that this motion requires jumping to get into position. When the athlete reaches full extension the bar will become weightless. From there the athlete actively pull themselves under the bar shuffling the feet in the process to the correct position of stability. When transitioning into the catch position it is vital that the elbows rotate into the correct position with extreme speed. Slow elbow motion around the bar puts undue stress on the wrists making them vulnerable to injury. The torso must remain rigid throughout the entire movement and as close to vertical as possible to absorb the forces that are generated by the accelerated bar. These forces are transferred from the bar through the body and to the ground. If the torso becomes lax or twists, there is a greater chance for injury and a loss of momentum with the bar, which will make it harder to transition to the clean.

Tuning:

Once the athlete has mastered each portion of the movement, weight can be added and gradually increased. As progress is made, bad habits will be discovered and weaknesses in the technique will become evident. Persistent adjustments will guide the athlete on a path of consistent progress. Making video tapes of lifts and asking others to review your technique will create an atmosphere of continual progress. The ultimate goal is to be able to perform the same movement whether there is 10k or 110k on the bar. Since every lifter is an imperfect person, there will always be room for improvement but every athlete can "tune" their technique to add strength and increase their personal records year after year.

Part 3 Coming Soon.

Unload/ Snatch Today

This week is going to be a transition week for myself and the other lifter at Bluegrass Barbell. Coming off the "High" of competition you are always eager to get into the gym and hit that next PR! Well that is where a good coach comes in. Coach Ben Carter does a good job at reeling us all back in and allowing adaptation to occur. With the constant "Push Push Push" of Weightlifting there needs to be a time for that stimulus to turn into success. Unloading weeks will allow the body to "Super-compensate" to the stress that is placed upon it. This is where the General Adaptation Syndrome  (GAS) coming to place. With any high level of training the body will adapt to the stress placed upon it. There will be a point where the body starts to be negatively impacted by this stress. When this happens there needs to be a point in training where the body must rest and allow adaptation to occur.

Last week and this week are both two types of deload weeks. Last week was a short taper week to allow my body to feel weight but focus on moving weight with higher velocity. This week is a back off week with Load, the volume is moderately high but with a focus on the quality of each movement.

Training today:
Snatch 6x3 @70% 
6x3 @ 92k
Today was a fantastic day of training. Managed to get by without missing a rep today, which is very exciting for me! I have been struggling with the placement of the snatch, the movement off the floor and how my body is interacting with the bar. I was able to manage my bar path, sweeping the bar in tight to the body and finishing my pulls with each rep.

Snatch Pulls 6x3 @85%
6x3 @ 110k
Pulls felt great today, weight in the heel and mid foot coming off the floor, Lats tight, and a clean brush at the hip for the 2nd pull.

Each day is a day that can be chalked up as a learning experience in the race of life. I look at each day as a chance to get better and impact myself and the other lifters around me.

Bluegrass Barbell Open

   Today was a great day of weight moving, bar slamming, PR setting Weightlifting. I had a great time competing today with some fellow lifters. We had a packed house with a great crowd to support the lifters . I had the pleasure to battle back and forth with some great liters. Wil Fleming, Jacob Flint, and myself battled in the snatch and clean and jerk. Had a great time lifting with those guys. It ended up that Jake got the best lifter award going 5:6 with some massive PR's and a Qualification to nationals.

My goals going into the meet today:
Snatch 120/125
Clean and Jerk 160/165

Outcome
Went 2:3 Snatch 117/ 122/ 125 Miss
Clean 1:3 155/ Missed 161 Jerk Behind/ Missed 161 Jerk in front.
Total 277

 I am not mad about not qualifying for nations today. I got a Meet PR in the Snatch with 122k, opened the Clean and jerk with a 3k increase from last meet. Switched my jerk grip 3 training session ago and only jerked twice with heavy load, so all in all I am very happy with how today went. Going to get back to lifting some heavy weight and getting those PR's I have been searching for. Only time can make me  the lifter I know I can be... and time is all I have.

Videos Below from today.

122 Snatch

155 Clean and Jerk

161 Clean and Jerk- Miss Behind

161 Clean and Jerk -Miss Front