Jim vs. the Power Clean

Bumped things up from last time.

Power clean
105 x 1
125 x 1
145 x 1
165 x 1
155 x 1
135 x 1
115 x 1

The loads peaked at about 97% of my max. The only question now is whether to go for the new max on the clean or the clean and jerk first.

Jim vs. the Power Clean

Back into Teagle, doing more barbell work.

Power clean
95 x 1
115 x 1
135 x 1
155 x 1
145 x 1
125 x 1
105 x 1

No problems there, peaked at 90% of my max.

Jim vs. Suitcase Deadlifts, Power Cleans

Decided to try something different.

Suitcase deadlift
Find your max in 15 minutes
65, 85, 95, 115, 145, 165, 170

I switched hands each attempt, and everything from 145 on just felt ridiculously strange. After the 165, I failed twice on 175. I almost hung it up, but decided to go back and attempt 170. Glad I did.

Power clean x 2, on the minute for 10 minutes

Used 135 for this one, and it felt good. My form felt stronger and more correct than it has in a long time, maybe ever. Next time I do this one, I’m back to 145.

Jim vs. Power Cleans & Front Squats, and a “Metabolic Finisher”

And by “Metabolic Finisher”, I mean “a metcon I’d classify as ‘Nasty, Brutish, and Short’.” Judd sent some of them my way, and they rocked enough that I figured I’d not only do some of them, but I’d use the author’s terminology at least once.

But they’re seriously metcons. Anyway!

Power clean + front squat x 2
110
120
130
140
150
160
170

Haven’t done this in a while, but 170 is my Pr on the clean and jerk, so I’m happy with how this went down. Got ugly at the end, admittedly, but I did it.

Then, the finisher.

AMRAP in 3 minutes of:
KB snatches x 3 (each hand)
Goblet squats x 3
Close-grip decline push-ups x 3

Used a 35lb dumbbell for this, and got through four full rounds plus the snatches and squats of a fifth. Would’ve moved faster, but transitioning between movements took even longer than expected.

Jim vs. Olympic Lifts, 400m Run

Today ended up being a long workout, but a really good one. I’d initially intended to just do an off-kilter pyramid of the power snatch, with maybe a similar pyramid of power cleans if I still felt solid.

Power snatch
75 x 1
95 x 1
115 x 1
105 x 1
85 x 1

I still felt solid, so onto the power cleans. I widened the difference in loads for this one, which turned out to be a good call.

Power clean
100 x 1
130 x 1
160 x 1
145 x 1
115 x 1

I was glad to have a bit more leeway in the first two sets to build up to set 3, since it was 95% of my max. After that, I would normally call it a day, but I got it into my head that I wanted to run. And I felt like, for some reason, I could really go all-in on such a run. So:

400m run – 1:34

It was still 4 seconds shy of my PR, but it’s the fastest 400m I’ve run in 17 months. That’s how I like to end a workout.

Jim vs. Power Cleans, Turkish Get-Ups

Some of yesterday’s misery stuck with me til today, and combined with the growing and stifling heat in Teagle, I felt like crap going into this workout.

Power clean x 2, on the minute for 10 minutes

I only used 125, which is pretty light, but I was still soaked with sweat by the end of this. (Did I mention feeling cruddy? How about the heat?)

I didn’t go so easy on myself with the Turkish get-ups, however:

25 x 1
25 x 1
45 x 1
40 x 1
30 x 1

Set #3 is 90% of my max, and this was some rough going. Got it done, though.

Jim vs. Back Squats, Shoulder Press, Power Cleans

Holy crap, Teagle is opened, and I have returned to it. My goals for today:

1. Use a damn barbell for the first time in a month.
2. Do so wearing my Vibrams.

Thus, I went with light weights. Also, I didn’t have much time.

Back squats
135 x 5
135 x 5

Shoulder press
95 x 3
95 x 3

Power clean
115 x 1
115 x 1

Overall, they felt very good. And while I’m sure the light load helped, I felt like I was able to get much deeper into my squat than I was used to. And, my gods, I missed barbell work.

Jim vs. Power Cleans, 1k Row

Found out today that Teagle’s locker rooms will be closed from December 5 through January 20. While there are always a few weeks in that stretch when the Teagle gym is closed anyway, it’s still kind of annoying. I need to finish making those sandbags.

Power clean
115 x 1
130 x 1
145 x 1
160 x 1
175 x 1

That lest rep is a new PR for this exercise. Wasn’t sure I was gonna get it, but I’m glad I went for it.

1k row - 4:45

That, on the other hand, is my slowest 1k row since I started keeping this blog. Kind of frustrating, really.

Jim vs. Power Clean/Front Squat Complex

Since I just took a power clean workout and substituted power snatches, I decided to take the power snatch/OHS complex I’ve done a couple of times and substitute power cleans and front squats.

Power clean + front squat x 2
105
115
125
135
145
155
165

The last one is 5 lbs shy of my 1RM for the clean and jerk, so all things considered I thought this went very well.

Jim vs. Power Cleans

Another day when I didn’t have much time. But I still managed to leave the gym feeling like my ass had been kicked.

Power cleans x 2, on the minute for 10 minutes

I did the first round at 145lbs, like last time, and it simply was not working. Too hot in Teagle? Too long since I’ve done the exercise? Dunno. But I bumped it down to 135 for the next nine minutes, and still felt beaten down at the end.

Which is probably the point, I suppose.