Clean and Jerk/ Power Cleans

Today I was feeling a little rough, Tired, My body was a little achy but I knew that I needed to get a training session in.
Warm up - Typical Rolling session followed by some Mobility.
Child's Pose - with and w/o T-spine Flex to allow for the Posterior Capsule of the shoulder to be relaxed. 1x10 w/ 2 sec hold followed by a cross body reach with supination of the hand to really allow the complex to open up. 1x10e with 2 sec hold. Jerks and my Teres Minor/Major have a very tight love/hate relationship. Knowing how this relationship is I did my own special warm up for my shoulders. I use a 1/2" band tied to a rack and sit back into a  child's pose with the band secured over my hand. From there I perform Bicep curls which pulls my forearm/shoulder into a some what "rack position. This motion allows the serratus to pull my scaupla onto my ribs and frees up some range of motion for my GH joint.

Bar warm up:
Iso Squat w/ bar on thigh's :30s
Clean Grip RDL- Below Knee x5
Clean Grip Pulls x5
Cleans x5
Front Squat x5
Push Press x10
Split Jerk x5

Clean and Jerk
50/60/70/80/90/100/x1
110 2x1
120 x1
130x1
140x1(85%)
145x1 (90%)
140 2x1 (85%)

Power Cleans
120 5x1
130 3x1

Power cleans felt great I wanted to keep doing cleans but my shoulders were very unhappy with the jerks. I decided I wasn't feeling great so I shouldn't keep going heavy in cleans. I have not done a Power Version of cleans in the longest time. The last time I went to max for a Power Clean from the floor I got up to 140k. That was about 4-5 months ago. I was feeling great on the 120k clean so that is when I decided to go for 130k. Video Below. Go Lift Heavy!

Snatch - Bluegrass Barbell

Training Today: Bluegrass Barbell

I was hoping that today was going to be better than yesterdays training session was. I have not been that frustrated n a while. I did my warm up a lot different today. Ben Carter the owner of Bluegrass Barbell has an amazing soft tissue mobilizing agent known as the "Rumble Roller." This roller is not your normal roller, it has small protrusions on it that dig into your muscle fibers like an army of little massage therapists. It is not be best feeling while you are on it but after you finish your muscle feels like it was just touched by a Fascial Angel.

Warm Up - Since I had a hard time turning my left glute on yesterday I decided to start out with the Bretzel 1.0, this is not a typical stretch but a movement pattern recharger. It not only stretches the quads/hip flexor but opens the pathways up for glute firing.
Single Leg RDL x10L/5R
Single Leg Squats x5e
Bar Work.

Snatch:
I did not have a lot of time to train today but with the time that I had I needed to make my lifts count.  Today I had 3 x1 @ 85% of 130 (110k)
I also could not find my lifting straps so I decided to tape up and use the Hook grip just like in Competition.
Warming up I was feeling great coming off the ground keeping the bar in tight to my body and hitting the bottom position with great posture. My glutes were firing like a recharged battery.
Attempt 1:
Felt great and hit the bottom position with no movement, turned turned the bar over, pressing and spreading it.  Video attached to watch.

Attempt 2:
Arms broke as i came off the ground which made me keep the bar in front and could not pull it over my head; Missed the attempt in front.

Attempt 3:
Felt the best in my set position, came off the ground and had great movement on the bar. I actually had the best pull of the day on my last attempt. Hit the bottom position and my eyes lite up like a kid at Christmas. I had a hard time stabilizing the bar over my head at first, but found the balance and squatting up. I had to take a small step forward and ended up dropping the bar behind me due to a wall in front of me.
It was a great training session - Short and sweet.

Rough Day

Today training was not what i had expected! I was very excited for my training session.
The plan:
 Clean pulls - Pause at knee
4x4
2x2
3x1
Front Squat:
2 Waves
3/3/3

I wish I could have gotten past my 4x4 with clean pulls. I started warming up doing my normal Mobility  Stability type warm up and was feeling good. Got some blood flowing got my mind ready for a good session. Started moving the bar and Bam! My Left Glute just did not want to work today! I could not get myself into a good set position. I had the hardest time trying to turn my glute/hamstring on the Load for my sets. I felt as if i was trying to turn my lights on in the house bit forgot to pay the electric bill... Nothing! So i decided it was time to switch it up and try and fix this situation. 3x4 Reps Straight leg Deadlifts to try and really load my hamstrings/glutes. That ended up just being a big waste of calories and an increase in frustration. Then I decided to use the Glute/Ham machine and perform some back extensions to get those glutes to light up like 4th of July.

I am not usually a huge fan of stretching, most of my training is done through a full range of motion and it is not necessary to stretch a whole lot. I do work on the problem areas pre and post training sessions but I  usually don't get a lot of time to spend stretching and rolling post lift.

Softball Hip Flexor Rolling x 3 min
PVC Pipe Hip Flexor and Quad Rolling x 3 min
1/2 Kneeling Quad Hip Flexor Stretch 5x:15s
Hip Mobility work to open up my Pelvis to realign my hips and allow my glutes to both fire.

Hoping that This was a one time issue and I can make sure to turn my glutes on in every training session. Tomorrow needs to be a good day! Bluegrass Barbell tomorrow the Goal: Great Snatch session/ Clean and Jerk Session with 0-1 Misses @ 85%.

Pause Snatches and Back Squats

Warm up
Started the day out and realized that my bicep tendon (bilaterally) was going to be an issue today. With that being understood I gently rolled them on a Lax ball (not gently at all). 4" PVC pipe Soft tissue mobilization for T-Spine and Hips.
I knew that today I needed to own the bottom position in the Snatch and Back Squat. Hip mobility was a key to success today, Started rolling the feet on the PVC pipe, That led into an ankle mob on the "BOB" (the calf master, elevated board for stretching). On Bob  opened up the Gastroc/Soleus complex.
Hip Mobility Exercises:
Adductor 1/2 Kneeling Mobilization - Child's Pose  2x5e
MB Runners Lunge w/ T-Spine Rotation 2x5e
MB RDL to Squat 2x5

Lift today
Pause Snatch @ Below Knee Position
Warm up to 70%
70% 3x1 (92k)
75% 2x1 (97k)
80% 5x1 (104k)
 I started to feel a little forward when i was initiating my first pull into the pause. I was able to save some of the lighter snatches when i shifted forward. When i started to get into the 80% singles I had a hard time staying on my heels/ mid foot and would Initiate my pull early. Most of my misses ended up in front of me, which I am OK with rather than looping over my head. Still trying to get tall and keep my arms long as I entering into the violent motion of the 2nd Pull.

Back Squats:
It was my first back squat workout for a while and I knew that I was not going to PR or have a great day. Expectation for squat were low. I ended up doing 3x3 and had a good day with it for what it was.
Based of a 210k Max:
x3 @ 157
x3 @167
x3 @ 177
Bottom position felt good, still struggling with my Left ankle mobility and how it makes my glute turn off and on. The iron game is ongoing and every kilo will count on the road to nationals.

Waves Waves Waves

Training today consisted of Waves of singles.
Warm up - 4" PVC pipe soft tissue mobilization to start out with.
Upper body mobilization: Child's pose + Posterior capsule stretch 1x10e (:5)
Lower body mobilization: 1/2 kneeling Adductor Mobs 2-Way x10e
Ankle mobs - Wall knee drive w/ toe elevated x10e
1-leg squats to 12" box x5e
Bar work.

Training today consisted of working up to 70% for both Snatch and Clean/Jerk.
Snatch: Based off 130k Best

Warmed up to 70% - 90k
3 Sets of Waves
75%x1 (92k)
80%x1 (105k)
85%x1(110k)
First wave went perfect hit all three reps perfectly. Solid in the hole, paused in the catch, stabilized the bar, and then Blew the squat up.
Second and Third wave felt like a hurricane came in and blew all of my technique away. I felt as if I could not hit a snatch if my life depended on it. I had a hard time getting set, holding my positions, and my bar felt like it was the third loop on ninja at six flags theme park. But i had Clea and jerk to look forward too!

Clean and Jerk had the same wave format. Unfortunately worked called and I was only able to get through two waves.The only issue was i had to rush through my clean and jerk sets.
2 Sets: Based off 165 Clean

75%x1 (125k)
80%x1 (132k)
85%x1(140k)

I felt as if i were a ballet dancer catching my cleans on my toes. I am stretching that but I did have a hard time getting into a good catch position. Squatting the weight was not an issue and the jerks felt as if i was being stabbed in the teres major with a crocodile dundee knife. I put the pause back into my jerks since I have had a small issue with rushing the jerk. The good news is i did not miss any of my attempts today in C&J, the only issue I have is that they felt rushed technique wise. If I could rate my training session today out of 10 (being Amazing/PR) I would say it would fall in the 2-3 range.

Tomorrow is a new day and new training session! PR's are on the way, it is only week 1/day 1 of a 5 week cycle. Iron game continues.

Big Three- Teaching Power Clean

Teaching The “Power Clean”

Part 1. Pulling Position/“The Big Three”

When I think about teaching the movements of weightlifting I think about the poetry of the movement and how technical it can be. This technique can be easily taught if the right progression is applied. There are a few necessary steps that I take before getting a bar into athletes’ hands.

First, I need to understand the athlete and their training age. Training age is determined by past training. A college freshman or high school freshman could have similar or very different training age based on ability. That training age of an athlete will dictate if the starting point is a broomstick or a barbell.

The second step in teaching the power clean is to break the movement down into smaller sub-movements. I teach from the top down and go in a progressive order with each athlete. The first step to teaching the sub-movements is to teach the proper Pulling Position:

Pulling position/ “The Big Three”

1.     Stance  - Feet/Legs

2.     Grip – Clean/ Snatch

3.     Posture  - Body Position/ Head-Foot

1.     Stance

When explaining stance, it is important for the athlete to understand how the stance can help dictate vertical force of the barbell. That vertical force comes from the legs, and if the stance is too wide then there will be a decrease in vertical force production into the barbell. As an athlete their stance should be similar to their jumping position. The general starting stance will be anywhere form Hip to Shoulder width but no wider than the shoulders.  

2.Grip

When explaining the Grip to athletes I like to place the bar in the “Rack Position” (which will come in a future blog) and then have them bring the bar down to the Quads/Hips, Which is now their “Clean Grip.” It is vital to me that each athlete understands how the grip will transfer into the rack position. That transfer needs to be first correct, fast, and comfortable. The bar should rest on the quads in the athletes’ hands at a certain point. Note that each point may or may not be the same for each athlete. This position is known as the brush point that an athlete will feel when pulling. Having an understanding of where the grip is and how the bar must pass during the power clean will help in the learning process over time. I like to teach the Hook Grip as early as possible to get the athlete more accustomed to how that feels on the hands. The earlier the athlete can understand the benefits of the hook grip and how it relates to force production into the barbell.

3. Posture

Posture is the most important part about teaching the movement. If an athlete has poor posture to begin with it will be hard to get their body into the proper position to apply the adequate force to perform the entire movement. Improper positioning can result in movements of the barbell that are not desired and can cause injury. It is vital to correct any posture alignments to ensure the movement has the opportunity to be flawless. The alignment of posture should be as so: Neck packed into cervical neutral, scapulae retracted, arms extended and relaxed, first two knuckles down (hook grip), hips slightly flexed, and knees slightly flexed with the bar resting in the hand and on the thighs. There is a long complicated list but it is a simple position to feel and get into. There is a certain feel to this position; the weight should be in the heels and the mid foot with the whole foot in contact with the floor. When the weight is in the mid foot/heels the glutes should be active and loaded in preparation for the eccentric/concentric movement.

 To get into a proper pulling position the athlete must follow “The Big Three.” If there is an issue with getting into the position soft tissue mobilization may have to come into a bigger play.  Pictures below will show exactly how to set an athlete into the correct pulling position. 

Bluegrass barbell

Great training session at bluegrass barbell/ Crossfit Louisville! It was a special day my lovely wife trained with is today and learned how to snatch finally and was surprised on how fast she picked up the technique Shout out to all the people who trained today it was a great session, Caleigh, Dan, Ben, mike, and Tom.
Warm up:
Soft tissue mobilization using a rumble roller. Child's pose with posterior capsule stretch, iso squat hold using a rack for stability-:30s
1-leg squats 1x3e
Bar work x3 min

Lift today
Snatch work to 85% 3x1
Today 110k 3x1 a little frustrating I missed all 3 attempts.
It was just a little but annoying because all the attempts felt great just wasn't strong in the hole.
Clean and jerk
Work to 85% 3x1
140k 3x1
First attempt jerk felt rushed so I switched to a pause in my jet. Paused in dip to stay loaded and to keep my torso vertical. Rep 2/3 felt much better. Rep 3 is on my YouTube page if you want to check it out.
The training session took about 90 min so I was not able to fit squat in today. Just finished programming for the next 5 weeks and hoping for great numbers to come out of this training cycle. To make it to nationals I need to get a total of 283 (275 as if now) . If I have an on day that can be very easy to manage! Always an up and down path on the iron game but I am excited to be on for the ride!

Friday training

Today was a great day if training it was lighter volume but great quality.
Warmup:
Mobility work spent about 10 min total. Started off with a great exercise created by Gray Cook called "the Bretzel 1.0" this exercise is amazing in many ways. works on the breathing pattern, quad/hip flex stretch/ abductor stretch and T-spine rotation all in one. Adductor mobility 2x10e, child's pose to cobra x5e w/ posterior capsule stretch.
Ankle mobility - wall knee drive x10e foot flat and toe elevated.
Activation:
1-leg squat to 12"box 2x5e
Glute ham 45 degree isometric sit up 2x:20
Back Extension x20
Bar work

Training:
Cleans pause at knee 2sec
Warm up to 70% of 1RM (115k) x1's
70% 3x1
75% 2x1
80%5x1

All lifts felt great bar path was exactly what I was looking for. Got great trie extension and moved under the bar fast.
Accessory work
1leg squats to finish off 2x5e
Bi/tri complex.
All in all great day not too sore or tired and looking forward to a big training session tomorrow at Ben Carter's gym. Bluegrass barbell/Crossfit louisville snatch/clean and jerk work up to 85% 3x1 for both and hopefully some back squat!

Recovery  DAY

Today was a busy day at work but for my off day I was blessed to have a friend who is taking a a Massage Therapy course. Lucky for me he has to log hours of Massage practice. That means that I got to be a test subject for him. Justin Roethingshoefer did a great job releasing some of the tension that i always seem to carry in my Upper Traps and Erectors  As he dug his hands deep into my fascia is could only think about how painfully awesome it was feeling. It always helps knowing that i was getting a free massage. To you Justin I say Thank You it really helped me feel ready for some tough days.


Recovery days always need to be about realigning your central nervous system. There are two curves of training. The curve of readiness (most important) and the curve of preparedness (skills). This massage has enabled me to hopefully be "ready for a big day tomorrow and Saturday"

Also I was lucky enough to have a representative from EC3D Compression company come into work today and lay their product line out and allowed us to try them out. I have been a fan of compression garments for training and recovery. I am excited to try out my new compression training socks to see how it will help me recover from rep to rep and set to set. Going to be a fun ride.

Training: Light Day with some Technique work for snatch
Very sore coming into work today! Have not felt my hamstring sore like that in a while. Took some extra time today getting warmed up. Spent more time decreasing the density in my hamstrings and back. Did some more intense Hip mobility work. Band distraction work to help open me up and keep me in posture.

Lift today:
Light snatch bar work - grooving the movement patterns of the snatch. Took it slow and steady to make sure i could "Feel" all of the positions. My philosophy is the lifts- "It is a Movement not an Exercise."
I want to make sure I can feel all that is going on with the bar and my body so when it comes down to lifting maximally i can lift by instinct.

Snatch Pull -Pause @ knee + Hang Snatch Below knee (x2)
Started at 40k worked up to 80k on that.
Started to feel good but due to being sore i had a hard time getting into a correct receiving position in the hole.

Snatch Pulls
4x4
2x2
Did some pulls to get the most out of today and the technique i have been trying to correct. Pulls felt great i could slow down and not rush through them. Had some good "Pop" o the bar today even with the movement being slowed down.

Finished with some Hip Mobility work again. Band Traction for the hip. Inverted with a 1-3/4" Jump Stretch Band to get my left glute turned back on.

Accessory work
2 Sets
Snatch Grip Inverted Rows x10
Eccentric Sub Scapular Chin UP x1 Max ECC

Training:
Warm up- 4" PVC Rolling - Much more dense to help get the pressure out of my spine. T-Spine to be exact.
2 Sets
Glute Ham Overhead Sit ups - (Anti-Extension work) Flexed Hips not spine x20
Back Extension - x20
Mobility series - Downward dog - Elbow to instep (runners lunge)- Push up x3e
Bar work - Clean Grip Series

Lift:
Clean -Below Knee-Hang + Push Jerk
Started at 60k for warm up.
60x3
70x1
80x1
90x1
100x1,1
110x1,1
120x1,1
130x1,1
Still working on my new technique and staying over the bar and relaxing my elbows on the second pull.

Front Squat (knew it would be rough have not squatted since christmas)
 2x3-2sec pause at bottom 140k

Good Mornings
3x5 60k
Clean Grip BN OH Press
3x5 60k

DB RDL
3x10 105's

It was a long workout and had to leave a couple times to coach but was able to finish the whole training session. I could feel that i have not squatted in a while. Tomorrow is a new day and going to be a a new training session.

Today: 1-14-13
Snatch Day:
Warm up:  Always warm up with the bar.
Simple Barbell complex always gets me warmed up.
Wanted to see how the new technique was treating me so I decided it was a Max day.
Goal 120k Snatch
 Here is how today went:  I had 60 min to train.
70x3
80x2
90x1,1,1,1 (all Makes)
100x1,1,1 (2 for 3)
110x1  (angry Make)
115x1
120x1 Miss

I attempted 100k about 3 times and it only really felt right 2 of those times. Some times you just get a little angry and pull the crap out of the bar and it seems to work.

The goal was to see where I was at in my training and how the long narrow road of Snatching 140 was going. Well I was slightly off the path over the holidays but redirected my footsteps when I got back in the Gym. Going to be a rough road but it is not always going to be bliss in the iron game. Tomorrow is a new day and going to be one step closer to getting to the goal. Every Kilo Counts!