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.

one on one: day nine

Getting little sleep the night before a session with Joon is NOT a wise decision. Eating poorly is even worse. My diet this past week has been awful, not only do I know it but I feel it. And whether it's because I'm anxious or lazy, my sleep does not feel recuperative. I really need to get more strict with my food and my sleep, ASAP!

Now with all that said, I don't think it would have mattered a whole lot if I had gotten enough sleep and ate well for todays session. I know I say on every post that Joon kicked my butt but he always finds a new way of just making me feel, what's the word I am looking for... ALIVE. My Quads absolutely hate him today, but deep down I am happy for the pain. He pushed me into muscle fatigue and I learned that even when I feel spent and I can't do one more rep, I can. Here is what I did today:

Tabata (20 seconds of work, 10 seconds of rest, for 8 rounds)
Row:
     87m, 93m, 86m, 77m...... 93m (we forgot what meters I rowed for my 5th, 6th, and 7th round)
DB Snatch:
     Right Arm 9, 9, 8, 9
     Left Arm 9, 9, 9, 9
Speed Jump:
     10, 10, 8, 8, 8, 8, 9, 9

Rest, then:
3 Rounds (2 min each with 2 min rest between)
     Airdyne (20 calories)
     Max Rep Clean & Jerk @ 65#
          Round 1: 8 C&J
          Round 2: 5 C&J
          Round 3: 7 C&J

My legs aren't feeling as sore as they were right after. I seem to recover quite quickly from my sessions/WODs. But I have noticed today that my Quads and IT Band are fairly tight and I need to roll them out more often. I can't slack off with the mobility work if I want to continue to see progress in my training.

Photo was taken from Pinterest.