week one: completed

It has been an incredible week, and yesterday I made some amazing advances with my lifts! I completed my first week of the starter program via Catalyst Athletics, with much to be happy about and a better understanding of where I am weak. I have been moving non-stop since Sunday and I am not as sore as I was expecting to be. I know it is not from a lack of pushing myself, as I did weights that I didn't think I could do and supplementing my program with other "work in progress" stuff. My shoulders and lats are probably the most sore, but even than I could go lift more without any hesitation. I feel that becoming strict with myself with stretching and mobility work everyday is a huge reason why I am feeling better than just ok.

Yesterday, the last set for week one was finding my single heavy (1RM) of the Snatch, the Clean & Jerk, and the Front Squat. Firstly, the Snatch is where I am weakest, actually any movement where I have the bar over my head and having to squat is a weak movement for me. I know that the very last time I did a Snatch was on September 16, 2013 and I could only do 55#. Now for those of you reading this that do not know what these movements are, a Snatch is where I lift a barbell from the ground to overhead as fast as I can while receiving it in a squatting position. This takes a lot of control and balance, and as you can imagine the heavier the weight the harder it becomes. Because we do more Power Snatches and Muscles Snatches in the WODs (no squatting), I never get enough practice with the movement. This is by far the most challenging and the hardest of movements but I know if I keep at it I will get better at it. Anyway, I managed to PR my Snatch exactly 16 months after doing it last time and got 65# and if felt really good. I didn't struggle to get the bar up or hold it in the bottom of a squat. I did try to do 70# and just couldn't get the squat to stick without dropping the bar.

My next movement was the Clean & Jerk. I have never done the Clean & Jerk until I started this program. In our WODs we only ever do the Power Clean & Jerk, and even this is a rarity. I didn't even know there was a difference between the two until I went through the videos on Catalyst Athletics. I had no idea how much I could Clean in general and I knew that the heaviest Split Jerk I have done in the past was 105#. Combining the two together was going to be interesting. Earlier in the week I did the program with 85# and last night I established my 1RM being 105#.  I feel that the Split Jerk can definitely go heavier but given that my Power Clean 1RM is only 115# and I couldn't even Clean that amount, I think it will take some time before I can get past this weight.

The last movement was the Front Squat. My last PR was in September of last year when I did 115#. And because I know I let the weight mess with my head, I worked up to 105# and than began adding weight without calculating how much was on the barbell. I kept adding the weight in increments of 10# so that I didn't waste time or tire myself out before reaching my true 1RM. In the end I ended up having a 35# PR at 150#. I honestly think I could have gone further but by this point my wrists and elbows were done and I didn't want to risk hurting myself. I am beside myself and incredibly proud of my accomplishments.

I am taking today and tomorrow off, giving my body a much needed break but still focusing on stretching and mobility work. I want to be prepared for next weeks program where the reps will go up and possibly some of the weight will too.

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

feeling good

I officially have two days down in my first week of programming for Olympic Weightlifting. I'm not as sore as I suspected I would be but we'll wait to see how I feel after Friday. Today I worked on the Snatch, it's been a very long time since I've done a regular Snatch. I went sort of light since I am not sure how much I am capable of doing. I will find out this Friday, but I am sure I will PR the Snatch and I am hoping the Front Squat too. I am feeling quite strong today.

I have also been working on my planks, and I am pleasantly surprised by how quickly I have gone up on my times. Today I accomplished a 1 min 20 sec plank, and this with something being placed on my back for about 20 of those seconds.

I am learning a lot already just from the Catalyst Athletics site alone, than you add the info I have been getting from others and it is incredible how much there is out there. My session today with Joon ended up being an hour long talk about my new objectives and goals. It was a very productive talk and it most certainly inspired me and gave me focus. I am looking forward to what is to come and to see progress!

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

day 6 & 7/30: resting squat challenge & pr's

Last night my knees were pretty sore from all the pounding it's taken this past week. While at a sports bar checking out the Portland Timbers game, I finally had to stand up from my stool and just stand. I didn't get a lot of resting squat in yesterday but working on more of it today. The knees aren't as sore today either.

Yesterday while at the CF Open 14.2

At home after an Olympic Weightlifting class & Tabata Sit-ups

Every Sunday I attend an Olympic Weightlifting class at my box to fine tune the movements. We work on Snatches, Cleans, and Jerks. Today I managed to PR on my Clean & Jerk. My snatches are getting better too! And on Friday, while doing the CF Open 14.2, I PR on the OHS. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it!

day 3/30: resting squat challenge & understanding the snatch

Now I know I didn't do an accumulative 30 minutes of a resting squat today, I'm pretty sure it's more like 15, maybe 20 minutes. I have a great reason though, my legs are crazy sore! And it didn't help that in today's WOD we were working on a 1 heavy rep on power snatches and then snatches for 20-15-9. But here's the amazing thing, today I finally got a grip on the snatch. I haven't been able to get beyond a 55# power snatch and a 35# snatch. After attending an Olympic Weightlifting class at the gym on snatches and then tonights more in-depth breakdown, something in my head just clicked. The weight didn't feel as heavy as it normally does. My 1 heavy rep on the power snatch tonight was 75#, a PR! And after some practice on the snatches, I can comfortably do 35# (which is what I did within the WOD) but I know I can do 55#, it's just sloppy and I wanted to focus on technique tonight. I feel amazing! After the WOD tonight I had to complete my Tabata Squats for the the March challenge, so a few others who are in the challenge as well joined me for 4 minutes to get them done. I got 85, I am pleased with that number.

Anyway, after all that, I worked on my resting squat and I felt incredible. My hips are definitely opening up and my knees are feeling less strained/pained. They are exceptionally sore this evening but still functional! I am making progress!

Using 10# bumper plates under my heels.