Jim vs. (Power) Snatch

I tried to push the loads on the full squat snatch today, and it did not go well. So I adjusted.

Snatch
65 x 1
85 x 1
105 x 1 (power)
125 x 1 (power)
95 x 1
95 x 1
95 x 1

The only thing uglier than my 105lb rep was my 125lb rep. It was clear I needed to be working on skill, so I just stuck 95lb on the bar and got my form correct. That went well, at least.

Jim vs. Power Snatch

Wrapped up the week with an Olympic lift day. Haven’t done snatches in a while, and it’s been longer since I focused on the power snatch. And since 7×1 worked so well on Wednesday…

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

I peaked at my PR for this one, and it felt solid. I may need to move the snatch to 10lb intervals, as the weights get really light at the edges.

Jim vs. L-Sit, Weighted Pull-Ups, and Snatches

Today was supposed to be a testing day. I confess my heart wasn’t in it, but I still did pretty well.

L-sit, max time
0:22

Not much to say about that one.

Weighted pull-up, max load
75 x 1
85 x 0
80 x 1

That’s a new PR, which I’m especially impressed with as I’m carrying 10-20 lbs more than I should be; I weighed in at 202 today.

Snatch, max load
125 x 1 (power)
115 x 1 (power)
95 x 1

This one I just couldn’t get to come together at a higher weight. 125 is my max for the power snatch, though, so today wasn’t a complete loss.

Jim vs. Shoulder Press, Power Snatch

Still working my way back from being sick. Decided to go for a two-part workout today, with strength and strength/metcon components.

Shoulder press
85 x 3
105 x 3
125 x 3
115 x 3
95 x 3

That was tougher than it probably should’ve been, peaking at 90% of my 3RM. But then, shoulder press has been my bane from the start, so I shouldn’t be surprised.

Power snatch x 2, on the minute for ten minutes

Only used 95lbs for this, but still felt it. I really tried to work on keeping the bar close to my body — especially my thighs — on the pull. That went… so-so, frankly.

The other thing I changed up today was moving my stretching from my warm-up to the end of the workout. We’ll see how that goes.

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. Weighted Pull-ups, Power Snatches & Box Jumps

Haven’t done weighted pull-ups in a while, so I decided to give them a go with my new off-kilter pyramid format.

BW + 25 (220) x 1
BW + 35 (230) x 1
BW + 45 (240) x 1
BW + 40 (235) x 1
BW + 30 (225) x 1

This was easier than I’d expected, so I made sure to get my chin well above the bar each time, and go chest-to-bar when I could. The metcon, thankfully, was not so easy.

Five rounds for time of:
5 power snatches at 65% of max (80lbs)
10 box jumps

This one left my legs and back aching. I finished in 6:06, about 20 seconds slower than last time, and it was a grueling haul. Not sure why it was so much rougher — could five pounds on the power snatch make that much of a difference? — but it was.

Jim vs. Power Snatch/Overhead Squat Complex, Push-ups & KB Swings

Something of a mixed bag, today.

Power snatch + overhead squat x 2
65
75
85
95
105
115
125 (failed twice)

This is my third time doing this complex, and I still can’t get that 125. Granted, it’s my PR on the power snatch, I managed it a month back, and I’m certainly more tired on set #7 than I might be otherwise… but it’s still frustrating.

But there was good news coming.

21-18-15 of:
Push-ups
KB swings (52.5lb dumbbell)

Knocked this out in 2:45, 22 seconds faster than when I did it two months ago. That was a good way to end the workout, right there.

Jim vs. Power Snatch, 400m Run

Back to the barbells. My legs were still feeling rough from yesterday, so I decided to do power snatches rather than the full squat version. I also decided to use a slightly different pyramid structure for the load progression.

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

Set #3 was me matching my PR on this exercise, so that was cool. I think I liked the structure, but it did feel a bit weird ending on so light a load.

400m run
1:48
1:50

Craziness: I apparently haven’t done timed 400m runs on their own since August. And my times just haven’t changed that much. Huh.

Jim vs. Deadlift, Power Snatch

Another day, another opportunity to revisit the barbell movements with my new be-toed shoes.

Deadlift
225 x 3
225 x 3
225 x 3

Power snatch
95 x 1
95 x 1
95 x 1

Like yesterday’s lifts, these felt very good. (Except for the lack of socks and long pants, which meant my shins got a bit scratched up during the deadlifts.) The snatches seemed to go especially well, as did yesterday’s clean and jerks. At this point, I’m leaning towards giving the Vibrams some credit for this: I feel like I have much better balance and ankle mobility on those movements, and it’s helping.

Now, a couple of days of travel. We’ll see if I can get any good workouts in on he road.

Jim vs. the Olympic Lifts

More barbell fun.

Power snatch
115 x 1
115 x 1
115 x 1

Clean & jerk
155 x  1
155 x 1
155 x 1

Used 90% of my maxes for this one. Not sure I warmed up enough, especially for the C&Js, but I got through it.