Hodge Podge of skills

September 21, 2010 at 7:38 pm (Workout)
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25# Kettlebell Arm bar (lay on your side with KB straight up in the air and rotate toward your chest); 3 per side;

25# Kettlebell Windmill x 3/side;

Loaded and unloaded scuba tanks (from storage unit to the garage at home);

50# Kettlebell potato squats (focus on upright back position at bottom of squat); 5 reps;

65# Barbell Snatch & two Overhead Squats x 5 sets;

I’ve not done a barbell snatch in months and never in my Vibrams Five Finger shoes, so I kept my weight light and my sets low.  I was able to grip the bar closer than I’ve ever done before in the snatch and OHS position, thanks I believe, to the kettlebell shoulder work I’ve been doing.   I used to grip all the way out at the end of the bar by the plate.  Now I can use the “normal” groove mark about 10 inches inside the plate…. NEVER been able to do that before!!!! Woo Hoo!!!

The VFF’s feel pretty good for barbell lifts.  I can tell without my weightlifting shoes that I still have ankle/shin flexibility issues to work on though.

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Rowing and Barbell Snatch Movements

August 31, 2010 at 8:46 pm (Workout)
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Rowing, 250m x 4 (2:49, 2:29, 2:11, 1:51)

Snatch Grip BTN, Push Press

Snatch Balance

Snatch

50# Kettlebell Pushpress x 5 x 3 (per side)

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Rowing and Snatch Lifting Practice

November 5, 2009 at 8:32 pm (Workout)
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Warmup:

250m x 4 with 30 second rest intervals

5 minute Row: 1052m

Ankle/Achilles stretches

PVC Stretches

Workout:

2 hours of Snatch Practice…. flexibility at the bottom of the lift is not my friend, and it may not be in time for the “practice meet” in Columbus 9 days away… but I’m going to push as if I can do it and see how close I can get!!

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Snatch Workout and Associated Skills

July 28, 2009 at 8:58 pm (Workout)
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Warmed up at home:

250m x 4 (30 sec rest)
1st leg: Focus on light wattage, stroke rate around 27 spm
2nd leg: Focus on higher wattage, stroke rate around 17 spm
3rd leg: Focus on “medium” wattage, stroke rate around 29 spm
4th leg: High wattage, stroke rate around 24 spm

At the Club:

Snatch Balance, Snatch Drop, Overhead Squat (performed one after another as a triplet) x 5

Snatch Footwork x10 (rise on toes in jumping position and drop and slide feet into squat position

Hang Snatch (starting above knees) x 3 x 5

Hang Snatch (starting below knees on one box) x 3 x 5

Romanian Deadlifts x 5 x 3

Even though weight was increased on most subsequent sets after the first one, the focus remained singularly on technique.  On some of the sets of Snatches at the end, it started to feel like I was starting to “get it”.  I hope to keep building on that.

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Olympic Weightlifting

July 16, 2009 at 10:58 pm (Workout)
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  • Snatch Balance
  • Snatch Drop
  • Overhead Squat
  • Triplet of the three above
  • Hang Clean “Shrugs” (explosively)
  • Front Squats
  • Romanian Deadlifts

I don’t remember the weights or reps used.  Waited too long to write them down and memory fails me, but it was a tiring 90 minute workout.

In general, I’m feeling better about my upright posture in the front squat and overhead squat, but need to focus more on my ankle flexibility now.

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Working on the Snatch

July 1, 2009 at 10:01 pm (Workout)
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Tonight’s skills practice at the Cincinnati Weightlifting Club continued to work on the Snatch.  My shoulders were tight after some of the ring pushups and pullups that I squeezed in yesterday, but they eventually loosened up.

I am one session ahead of Penny, so while she focused more on stuff I did last session, I spent most of the time on overhead squats and hang/shrug snatches.  A couple of things I was working on: keeping my feet from going too wide when I “jumped” into the Snatch squat; keeping the pull/shrug flat up my chest then “snapping” my wrist and pulling myself under the bar.

Gotta keep working the timing and balance, all the while, keeping my shoulder blades pulled back and stretching the bar lengthwise.

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Weightlifting Skills Practice

June 29, 2009 at 9:25 pm (Workout)
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Tonight was more Oly Weightlifting skills practice at the Cincinnati Weightlifting Club.

The first half of practice, I focused on Overhead squats with a tight core/back arch, good shoulder/hand positioning, nice upright back.  I have some inflexible ankles right now, so by slipping a small weight under each heel, I can get the positioning a lot better.

The 2nd half of practice was spent working on the bottom of the snatch, from the top down.  So I did some “jump” shrugs… not jumps really, but just “driving through the heels” and imparting some momentum to the bar.  Next, the “Snatch Deadlift” position.  This differs from what I’m used to with the “Powerlifting Deadlift” start position.  The knees get spread more at the bottom, and rather than the vertical shins I’m used to, the shins go a bit more over the bar with the butt closer to the ground.  I guess it makes sense… the Snatch is a great deal less weight coming off the ground than what someone’s Deadlift PR would be.

The technical nuances of the lift are way beyond anything I’ve yet encountered since getting into barbell lifting about 6 months ago.  I’m starting to see why I’ve read that someone never perfects the Snatch or Clean & Jerk, they just keep practicing the lifts and cleaning up their technique.

Good stuff!  I like the focus needed so far!

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1000m Row, GHD, Cleans, Press

May 11, 2009 at 12:25 am (Workout)
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Bob:

Warmup:
4 Rowing Intervals (250m, 30sec rest) 2:50/500 pace

2 Rounds:
10 GHD Back Ext
10 GHD situps

15 Cleans 65#
10 Presses 65#

10 Steep angle Ring Rows

Workout:
1000m Row

Time: 3:50 (I couldn’t let Penny’s 4:02 PR last night stand over mine that long… lol)

10 Cleans 65#

Penny:

Warmup:
250m Row
GHD
Green Band pullups (4, 4, 3)
Squats
Knee Pushups

Workout:
15 Snatch 65#

Time: 2:45

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Feb 21st

February 21, 2009 at 6:22 pm (Workout)
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Warmup:
500m row
1 Round of:

GHD Back Extensions (10 reps)
GHD Situps (10 reps)
Overhead Squats (10 reps)
Ring Rows (10 reps)

Skill Development:
5 step Snatch progression
Worked on Overhead Squats some more. Definitely seeing a big improvement in these as my hip flexors and shoulders are getting stretched out better!

Workout of the Day (WOD): (Scaled)
“Joshie” (a Hero workout named after a soldier that fell in Afghanistan)
3 Rounds of:
21 Snatches (Bob 45# Barbell; Penny 20# Barbell)
21 Jumping Pullups
Bob’s Time: 9:16
Penny’s Time: 10:09

Penny practiced L-sit progressions between two benches, and I held L-sits on the Rings and then the Pullup bar 30 seconds at a time for a couple of times each.

This was the first time we did a CrossFit workout together, so I know that my time was a lot better with her there pushing me than it would have been had I been with a group of strangers. Knowing how close she was, I stayed fairly anaerobic on the last round, something I definitely wouldn’t have done on my own. Nice job baby! You did great and motivated the hell out of me!

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