I am finding these days I dont have time to fill in a regular blog, particularly with a home computer (that actually came free with the car I bought) that is on its last legs. Hopefully in the next couple of months I will be purchasing a mac lap top and saying goodbye to the world of PC.

Hope to pop in once a week and give a brief account of my lifting, the battles with getting older etc

...........

Power Snatch: Warm up and then 5 sets of 2 @ 84kg
Squat Snatch: 93, 100
HPC&J: warm up and then 110, 120
Deadlift for 5s: Dont have convertor handy so 390, 400 and 410lbs

HPC&J my right clavicle pain flared up. If this takes as long to recover as last time any chances to lift well in November are over. Last time I couldnt clean or jerk for weeks and squat snatch even hurt when it was at its most painful. Looks like a few tedious weeks of back squats and deadlifts.

Gutted

Stick to program

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93, 97, 102, 106, 108X, 108X, 108X, 102, 102

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 115, 125, 131X, 131, 131X, 131X, 131X, 131X

Was supposed to have been a light night but thought I was feeling pretty fresh so decided to go the following night. Snatches were OK, equalled post dislocation PB but need to get more. From 50-60kg knew I was feeling like it was worth having a bash at a max.

Legs were busted on 131 cleans, felt like low battery life light was coming on as I was coming out cleans and nothing left for jerks. Lesson learnt, stick to the program. Need to get these jerks popping up to get the target I want in November, going to be tight if I keep arsing around.

Muggy Monday

Worked 12hr in the lab and then came to the hot and humid gym to blow out the cobwebs. My thermometer is reading 26oC as I type this and its 2315.

Snatch: worked up to 95, 97, 100.
Nothing of real note. Trying to change starting position a little to be more consistent.

HPC&J: 115, 115, 120.
So humid by time I got to bar chalk had turned to paste. Near wrecked wrist on 115 HPC when bar slipped.

SC/HC: 140, 145, 147X
145 was fairly tough but if you dont ask you dont get 147. Got 147SC and racked 147HC but chicken legs came into effect.

DL sets of 5: 170, 175, 175.
Simon Campbell and I set up a challenge up to end of Oct so trying to push these on before his back heals and he kicks my arse.

BS sets of 5: 143, 143, 143.
Took it easy with these. Left hamstring was tight after DL and was apprehensive about pushing it.

Sat Session (Day 5)

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93, 97X, 100X, 93, 95, 97X, 93X, 60, 75, 84, 93, 97, 102X, 102X, 102X, 102X, 102X, 102X, 102X, 102X, 95, 97, 100, 102X, 104X, 104X

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115X, 115, 125X.

I was still feeling wrecked and hamstrings have been feeling strangely tight. A good friend is moving to S. Carolina and he had a leaving party last night and I was feeling a little under the weather from this today. I knew this max out session was always going to be a challenge. Snatches were sluggish and I need to look at the clips but felt like I could get a better pop in second pull, finish more and I was definitely having trouble moving feet out. Anything below triple figures for snatch on a max night is a failure for me so I got rather stubborn and kept banging away until I got the 100. The 104 was overhead but sitting out front.

Clean and jerks, the 125 clean was even a struggle. The back right hand side of my right knee has been giving me a nipping feeling now in last two sessions during cleans. I was just spent and knew going through multiple attempts was going to be like flogging a dead horse.

It has been a good few weeks now since I have hit reasonable weights and I have been having a few technical issues with snatch and the jerk. I suppose it is just a period where I need to keep banging away but last few days have been hard wrt motivation.

Glad tomorrow is a rest day

Fri Session

First two days on program have left me feeling pretty beat up

P Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 84
Snatch: 93X, 97X, 97
PC&J: 60, 84, 100, 115, 115
Clean: 125, 134, 140X, 140X, 140X, 140

Day 2

DHPC/DHC/SC: 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 122, 125



DHC/SC: 134, 138, 140, 143



1C and 5FS: 134, 134, 134(4)

CDL: 6x165, 6x165, 6x165

Tough enough session. Shoulders rounding when fatigued and coming out of cleans. Ronnie wouldn't be pleased

Day 1

Designed a new program today in the comfort of my air conditioned room. Went to gym and soon realised I still was not totally back to fighting fitness and this was compounded by the unbelievable humidity. My t-shirt was soaked by the time I got to 60kg in snatch.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93, 93, 95X, 95, 97, 100

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 125, 125, 125, 125, 125

B. Squat: 2 sets of 5 with 143kg

Never felt like I got out of second gear. Was supposed to do 5 singles at 93kg. Last three snatches still wondering how I got them, felt like 'pull and hope' lifts.

C&J were all got first time and stuck with target weights and thats about all that can be said.

B. Squat was just a way to break my way back into regular squatting. Supposed to do three sets but left hamstring was very crampy after second set (and still is) so decided to call it a day. To be honest a lot of my muscles felt stiff throughout the session and my traps feel like I have been doing cleans all day long, strange feeling.

50 Days

I have had the last week off for a number of reasons and have partly spent this time thinking about what has worked and what has not over the last 10 months of training. I have designed a new programme today based heavily on the Bulgarian programme but with some additional exercises to try and strengthen up parts of my lifting. If it goes to plan I should get two cycles of it fitted in before I have a competition on the 7th November in Shreveport, Louisiana so this will be my version of the Cork and NI Opens.

Anyone wanting a copy of programme can certainly have it to study but may find it a little different as I have put a bit of a focus on cleans and leg strength to get them back up to pre-summer levels.

Fun starts tonight.

Cobweb removal

Have not trained in a week due to illness and a planned trip to New Orleans. Still not back to full health and ears feel like I am constantly in a plane at take off. Had coffee in Cafe du Monde in New Orleans this morning and then drove for 8 hours before going to the gym this evening. Had no plan, just wanted to see how I felt training.

3 reps of 1 dead hang power clean, dead hang squat clean and full squat clean: 60, 84, 100, 115.

115 is fairly regular, want 120 by Nov. This group of clean variants I find helps immensely in being able to be sharp in so many aspects of the lift

2 reps of dead hang clean and squat clean: 125, 136, 136, 140.

Not good enough, these need to see a big improvement by Nov. Need to be pushing 150s

Hang Clean: 145, 147, 150X, 150X, 150X.

Crap. Racked 165 number of months ago and now back to these weights. 150 should be and will be a walk in the park soon.

Deadlifts: 3 sets of 6 with 365lb

Have not deadlifted in a while and I now have an idea where I have regressed to so these will slowly begin to improve again. My right knee was coming in during clean pulls and deadlifts which shows how weak I was tonight.

Comments:
1 week with no training, poor diet, illness and with girlfriend visiting has left me fairly out of shape so a lot to do before November. All weights were racked but legs were like jelly fairly early in session and I dropped 1 clean 5 front squat because of this.

Going to re-jig my programme with a combo of Bulgarian and some exercises I have found in the past will address various weaknesses. Will draw it up tomorrow and start it on Wednesday and I have about 7 weeks to a competition. My opportunity to compete is extremely limited so a little annoyed I have been out sick for so long as I only have this comp to be considered for IAWLA ranking lists. Getting bodyweight down is critical, belt felt tight tonight. Also very annoyed with strength in clean and variations and also deadlifts and how much I have lost since early summer.

In essence tonight was a bit of a wake up call and hopefully I can shrug off this cold/flu and put the work I want to in before Nov.

Struggling with a cold

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 88, 93X, 97, 100X, 100, 100, 100, 100 (maybe in comp), 100X, 100X, 100, 100X, 100

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 115, 129, 136X

Cleans: 143X, 145

I felt relatively good at 2PM and decided then to do what Cathal had done on the forum. I then went and walked dog in the heat and then played 2 rounds of crazy golf in the heat and by 5PM my cold had left me feeling pretty wiped out. It was over 30C heat in gym tonight.

Snatches around 93/97 mark was wondering if 5 at a 100 was going to be possible. Gave it a bash but got a fair number of fails and there is a technical problem creeping into my snatches which results in right side of bar being slightly further forward and I end up having to step forward with right foot to try and save lift. This is happening with more frequency and it is becoming irritating as a number of lifts with decent height in pull are being lost. I think bar is rolling out further on right side when I get ready to lift. One of the saves was pretty sweet in an ugly way will have to see if I can get it uploaded. Getting a little peeved with lack of progress in snatch, 100's day in day out, need to get moving.

Jerks were not really surprising. Legs were wiped from cleans due to cold and took some effort to pop even 129 up. 136 I just had nothing left in legs.

143 clean left me bouncing across the back of the platform, strength was there just a brain fart. 145 was OK but hardly had energy to get out of it. Left it at that, felt fairly run down by time I left.

Bulgarian Off Day

Dosed with cold so went to gym with a rather flexible outlook on what I would do

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84X, 84X, 84, 88, 93, 97X, 100, 104X, 106X, 106X, 106X

Dead Hang Clean: 60, 84, 100, 115, 125, 134, 143, 150X, 150X.

Deadlift: 3x 165, 5 x 175, 188X, 188

Press 60, 65, 70, 75X

106's were close but was having trouble with weights being a little forward. Trying to change something prior to first pull which may help reducing duck walk potential.

Knew jerks were out tonight as the cold was leaving me rather knackered and anything that was not over quickly was wiping me out so legs were feeling tired after cleans. 150's were racked but hadnt the legs tonight to come out with them. This is the start of me cranking up the cleans again.

Arkansas summer ain't over just yet. After several cool days afternoon temp was 37C today and it didnt feel like it had cooled much by the time I had got to gym in early evening.

Off for a BBQ on the balcony. Its a tough life but someones got to do it....

Bulgarian Day 1

Girlfriend was so generous as to give me her cold and it seemed to hit with a bang today. Tonight was supposed to be final day of Bulgarian program which was maxes but knew there was a snowballs chance in hell of doing that today. Tried to start a new cycle and do Day 1 but even this ended up being too much.

Snatches: 5 singles at 90% (95kg)
C&J: 5 singles at 90% (125kg)

What I did:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 90, 95X, 95, 95, 95, 95X, 95, 95X, 95X, 95X, 95X, 100X, 100X, 100X, 100.

Got 4 singles @ 95 and then started a run of misses. Was finding it harder getting enough focus/spark and thought cold was getting better of me until girlfriend said a few words that annoyed me, she seems to be good at knowing what makes me tick in the gym. Put the bar up to a 100kg and even though I was missing they were a lot closer and had some more aggression. Kept at it until I got a 100 but put some of the misses up to show the 'duck walk' attempts at 100. Decided to leave gym after this as I was pretty wiped. Going to have an early night and see if I can get this cold to move.

Bulgarian Day 21?- Take 3

Like some recipes Pete is best left to simmer/stew overnight reflecting on a poor performance in the gym. Going to see a band tonight so had bout one hour to train.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93, 97, 102X, 102, 102, 102, 102, 104X, 106

C&J: 60, 84, 100

Cleans: 115, 125, 134

Snatches took majority of time. Had literally 10-12 minutes for C&J or just C. Bit more pumped for snatches than yesterday, especially after seeing a golifter do 87kg. Have videos, may upload later. Legs very tired and stiff all day, quite surprised to equal my recent snatch PB.

Come on lads, some of us have had a below par week so lets get our lifts back up and push our PBs.

Bulgarian Day 21 - Take 2

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93X, 93X, 93, 97, 100X, 100, 100X, 100, 100X, 100, 100X, 100X, 100X, 100, 102

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 125, 134X, 134X

1 Clean and 5 front squat: 134

Cleans: 143X, 145X, 145X, 145X

100 should be a cert lift and not require a marathon session. 134 should be a regular lift now. No sharpness in the lifts, piss poor performances now for about a week. Going to add some exercises I think may hone the sharpness.

Saying in gym 'Get your stinkin' mind right' sums tonight up. Couldnt get pumped up even though I was supposed to be going to max. Very frustrating and needs to be sorted soon. Didnt help entire session was listening to belly dancing music upstairs but should be able to lift through these excuses.

Bulgarian Day 21

Supposed to do 5 singles at 100% and one single at 100% in C&J.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93X, 100X, 100X, 100X, 100, 100, 100, 102X, 104X, 102X, 102X, 102X, 120X

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 125, 134X, 134X, 136X

Clean: 145, 150X

I had a sore head all morning that led to me puking and I was in bed til about lunch time as couldnt keep headache tablets down long enough for them to take effect. I had one egg sandwich throughout the day and felt rough all afternoon but tried to go and do what I needed in gym. If it were a competition I couldnt just take the day off was my thinking. Snatches lacked a bit of spark and took a while to sort of get body to do what I wanted to do in the pull. Should probably stuck with 100 instead of trying heavier but my girlfriend was calling me a flippin fairy for not going heavier - looks like I am as I failed all the heavier attempts. C&J's legs were drained after clean and I realised it wasnt worth knocking my pan in for too long with the 130+ weights. 150 clean attempt was tragic and now need to get back into heavy cleans workout after C&J session finishes every so often.

All in all a session worth forgetting about. It was pants.

Bulgarian Day 20

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93, 100X, 102X, 102X, 102X, 102

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 125

A rocky 102 snatch


Have to go to airport tomorrow and also need to turn this bachelor pad into something another human would actually want to live in for a couple of weeks so need to take tomorrow night off. Therefore trained tonight and gave myself the goal of getting a 100kg snatch 3 nights in a row today to try and give myself a bit of a challenge. Need to start making 100 a routine lift in gym if I am wanting to improve. Lucky I had the challenge as needed something to push me when things could have went a bit 'pete tong'. Legs were feeling a little tired every time I finished my set but cant really use that as an excuse as the pull felt fine and dandy.

C&J were OK.

Friday off, Saturday is looking like a right old toughie. 5 singles at 100% on snatch and then a 100% single in C&J. Went back and checked website and doesnt seem to be a mistake so going to be a bundle of fun.

Bulgarian Day 19

Supposed to do:

2 singles at 90 in snatch
5 singles at 125 in C&J

What I did:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93, 100



C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 125, 127, 129, 131, 134



Found motivation a problem tonight. Need to get some sort of definite goal sorted as training all the time on your own with no competition in sight is tedious at times.

Snatches were OK, 84 was caught quite high so decided to push on a little past the targets weights, make hay while the sun shines I think is the appropriate saying. I am sure there will be a period coming soon where I will have a technique meltdown and struggle with weights if past experiences are anything to go by.

C&Js were tough as it was a lot warmer and muggier than usual and felt like having to suck in the air. There were other folk in the gym so couldnt have fan directed at my platform. It may sound strange but I think I would have failed 5 singles at 125 as I needed to raise the game to keep interested/focused.

Bulgarian Day 18

Supposed to:

Snatch: 82.5kg
C&J: 112.5kg

What happened:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 93X, 95, 100

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 129.

I rested yesterday, got a good nights sleep. Dont see the point in going so light in snatch but especially the C&J. Next few nights are reasonably light as well and then somewhere around Fri or Sat I have a max night depending on how rest days are planned etc.

Wanted to go to 93kg but failed it (really whats the story with the recent 93 snatches?!). Snatches still have a little problem with feet getting caught at angle rather than flat on platform. 100 was not what I would call in the groove.

C&J was OK, the 115 to 129 jump is probably a little much as the jerk was rusty but I think it is sometimes good to shake things up.

I had session finished in under an hour and felt remarkably fresh walking out.

Knuckle on thumb is hurting possibly from a lot more hook grip snatches. Knees are a little creaky/stiff/painful which I find worrying as this is first time I have felt this and I always swore I would stop before doing myself long term damage. Blisters have cleared up through the use of straps.

Bulgarian Day 17 - The Sequel

I sat and stewed all day about last nights session. It felt like one of those movies/cartoons where the guy has a little devil one shoulder (possibly called Broz) saying 'Stop being a pussy and go sort it out' and an angel on the other shoulder saying 'Rest, you may get injured, you are tired and just leave it until Monday'. The angel was winning until 2200 when I started reading everyones blogs. Sean and Colin were battling for front squat PBs, Robbie was practising his TV sports presenting skills, Brendan is getting back into lifting and losing weight and then Barry was having a tough session and before I knew it my oven baked pizza was burning which ended up making the the little devil eventually win.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 90, 95X, 95X, 100.





C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 129.



Snatches were still sluggish, felt like I had to emphasize extending in the pull as my speed under the bar felt like I was movinng through treacle. After the second 95 fail there was a fair bit of swearing but since I am my coach at the moment the lifter took it well, I think I am my worst critic. 100 felt like my shoes had a semicircular sole as I was rocking all over the show.

Cleans were sluggish but was more worried about nailing the jerks.

Tough weekend but hopefully in the long run the number of lifts above 90% will show through in my lifting.

Angel will win tomorrow, it is definitely a rest day plus I have ran out of training gear and need to get it all washed (good excuse eh?).

I am off to eat a charcoal encrusted pizza.

Bulgarian Day 17

Target was 90kg snatch and a 127kg C&J.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84X, 84X, 84, 88X, 88X, 88, 93X, 93X, 95X, 95X, 84X, 84X, 84X, 84X, 84X, 84X, 84X, 84, 90X, 93X, 93X, 93X, 93X, 93X, 93X, 90.

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 102, 115, 127X, 127X, 127X, 127X, 127X, 127X, 127X, 120X, 122, 127X

Miserable night. Yesterday left me a little more tired than I expected and I seemed to be having trouble as usual with sub max night mentality. Snatches were popping up but were often forward or I was getting my feet caught up in all sorts of weird positions. In short I was spent from yesterday and lacked spark tonight.

Positives are I cleaned all the weights and I can now find X on the keyboard probably blindfolded.

This is the first night I have failed to reach my target in this cycle. Such a frickin' pussy.

Bulgarian Day 16

I may train using a Bulgarian program in Arkansas but I am a citizen of NI, have a NI passport and have every intention of returning there. An email I received today annoyed me and the beauty of the 6 hour time difference is I can stew on these things and then take it out in the gym.

Supposed to do:

Snatch: 2 singles @ 90
C&J: Single at 120

What I did:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 88, 93X, 97, 102, 106X, 106



C&J: 60, 84, 93, 102, 115, 129X, 129, 136, 140, 145X, 145X, 145X.







By the time I got to the gym I was pretty fired up. I knew what I wanted to get tonight. Snatches were OK, as usual 93kg was a fail, like the good old days when Laurence and I would battle it out in competition he would be amused when I nearly always missed the last warm up before going on the platform to sort it out. 106 first attempt was just a little slow, second was nailed but needed rock bottom squat.

C&J were OK. 129 fail was out in front and was a load of rubbish really. 136 was rough and 140 was fairly sweet. 145 cleaned three times, first two jerk attempts were getting closer, third jerk never happened.

BW has come down to 80kg. There's life in the old dog yet.

Bulgarian Day 15

I had to get a draft for my section of our institutes grant finished for today, this resulted in four hours sleep last night and I felt like crap all day. A number of events happened today that resulted in me going to the gym. Trevor Coen reminded me to watch Barry's John Broz interview, Barry was talking about Kirkbride and how he came to gym after a day of hard labour and a relative of mine started the second course of her 'cocktail party' today as she so eloquently put it and was feeling the effects of this which always puts me in a mood.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88, 93X, 95, 100, 104

93kg failure has happened a few times now and seems to shock me into wising up a bit. 95kg was a mini duck walk. 100 was OK, 104 felt out in front at bottom and had to sit for ages until I felt confident I wouldn't lose it when standing up. Warm ups felt a little sluggish was surprised to hit 104.





C&J: 60, 84, 93, 102, 115, 127, 134, 138, 143X, 145X

Knee was sore from 60kg so not sure what I did to it but the remaining reps never made it feel worse so I ploughed on. Have added a single at 93 while cutting out doubles in the jerk at weights above 60. Just looking to stay fresh. Played about with lifts in 110-130 range to try and stay fresh without feeling undercooked. Glad to hit the 138. 143 clean was OK but have noticed a few times recently getting light headed at heavy weight, not sure why. 145 clean I made life difficult with.





Will never understand my body. Some nights like tonight really leave me baffled, I should have went to bed but ended going to gym and putting in a fairly reasonable session. Other nights you feel refreshed and come into gym and make a pigs ear of the lifts.

Been thinking of certain thigs a lot recently and I think my new motto is 'Dont live in a world of excuses'. I tend to say well I train on my own, there was no stereo, there are no competitions to look forward to, its too warm, I haven't slept well but all this seems to do is allow me to accept poor performances. I am becoming better at self motivation but it is definitely a work in progress.

Bulgarian Day 14

Supposed to do:

Snatch: 77.5
C&J: 107.5

This is what I did:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88, 93

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 110, 120, 129

B. Squat: Worked up to 5 singles with 154kg

Felt wrecked in work and had thought of leaving this session until tomorrow. When I arrived at the gym the 40kg snatch actually felt a lot sharper than I expected. Since I plan to have a rest day tomorrow I decided to push on a little as the main reason this day is light is to rest up for the next days max session. Both lifts there was more in the tank which felt good given yesterday was an impromptu max day. This was first day back to squatting so took it easy as right hamstring was feeling a little tight and I was feeling wiped out and seemed to be sweating and feeling the heat more than usual.

Gym Temp: 92F

Bulgarian Day 13

Supposed to do the following

Snatch: 92 single
C&J: 122 single

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88, 93X, 97, 102, 106X (see clip), 106X



C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 110, 120, 129, 136, 140X



Session went OK, although I walked into an empty gym, stereo was not working, thermometer was sitting at about 90F and it ended up being a mentally challenging session. It was one of those days when you question why you lift and fortunately I got a reasonable answer during training. I had a webcam conversation earlier in the day which had been playing on my mind so I decided to let it out on the bar and go for broke. I have no idea why I missed the 106, I think I can count on one hand number of times I have missed a snatch when already out of the hole. In a word, stupid. Cleans felt sharp and jerks were not as forward as usual. Was tired of fannying about with 134's so jumped from 129 to 136 and got it. 140 clean was OK but felt light headed so ended up dumping before jerk.

Its nights like tonight I am thankful of the developing 'blog network'. Reading other blogs and seeing lifters push on really helps and you soon realise you can train in a world of excuses or push on.

Bulgarian Day 12

Supposed to do:

Snatch up to 85kg single
C&J 5 single at 115kg

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 84, 93X, 84, 88, 93X, 95

C&J: 60, 84, 93, 100, 115, 115, 115, 115, 115

Morning session, never feel the same pop in the morning. Had too much breakfast but needed to eat as I hadnt eaten since lunch day before as I went to bed early not feeling too hot the night before. Still cant get out of second gear in these sessions where I have to only do 80%, power snatch/clean weights end up having to be squatted etc. Tried to remedy this by deciding to go up in snatch a bit but the weights were being ground out and didnt feel terribly smooth. 84 to 93kg jump in snatch is a jump I would do on a good day so was getting a bit ahead of myself today since I felt a bit sluggish. Decided to just stick with 115 in C&J which is a piddly weight but tried to work on better vertical drive which may have improved slightly.

Off out for the rest day and it feels like an oven already!

Gym Temp: 35C

Bulgarian Day 11: Two for the price of one

5 hours sleep last night. Knackered. Came home from work and got a quick 45 min sleep before heading to gym to do what I consider one of the toughest nights of the program. Supposed to be 5 singles at 97% in both snatch (97kg) and C&J (127kg). Below is what actually transpired:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88, 93, 97, 100X, 100X, 100, 100X, 100, 100, 102X, 104X, 104X, 104X

All fails were up and locked out but were either a little too far forward or one had me rocking on heels and I sat for what seemed like an eternity fighting it before losing it forward. 97 felt easy enough so I decided to try and go up for the singles, found they were a little inconsistent but as usual stubborn streak kicked in. Felt the 104 was there but just lacked a little sharpness. First 100kg attempt I went back to practising my circus act, was like old times when I used to 'duck walk' as some lifters described it



C&J: 60, 80, 100, 110, 120, 129, 129, 129X, 131X, 131X, 131X, 131, 131, 134.

Realised snatches maybe took a little more out of legs as from 120 onwards the cleans were a little sluggish. All jerk fails were lost out in front and really need to focus on vertical drive. After the three consecutive fails at 131 got annoyed with myself, especially as I want to get back to hitting 140's and missing ten kilo less is just not going to get me there anytime soon.

9 months of ups and downs

I plotted my Sinclair values for last few official and unofficial competitions to try and get an idea of my lifting and to try and help motivate me to push on. Motivation I think is always a bigger problem with lifters training on their own and with Arkansas having so few competitions within driving range I find having a target to train towards is quite difficult.

Louisiana Governor Games 1st November 2008
Hillbilly Classic 17th January 2009
Irish Seniors 25th April 2009
Jul Online Comp Will check later
Aug Online Comp 8th August 2009



Louisiana Governor Games was first competition after dislocation (approximately 12 months has passed) and I was still power snatching.

Hillbilly classic I lost too much weight and felt weak at competition but interestingly this has been my best Sinclair performance in last 9 months.

Irish Seniors I put weight on to get into 85kg class which lowered my Sinclair value as weights never really went up.

July online competition was first competition after spending a while just doing a lot of cleans so jerks were down and this affected total lifts.

August has shown some slight improvement and I now feel I am on a good programme and that improvements from now onwards will be a steady hard slog.

I would like to get to over a 300 Sinclair value again and I have plotted (red line) a potential path to attaining this if I use the monthly online comps to get small improvements over the next quarter.

Over next quarter I would like to stay in 85kg class but become lighter (reduce fat %). I think I can put a 3-4 kilos on snatch and the C&J should hopefully get into 140 range soon once I get through a couple of cycles of this Bulgarian programme. Thats the plan so we shall see how work and injuries factor in.

Bulgarian Day 10

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 75, 84, 88, 90

Supposed to do 2 singles at 85kg but just pushed it up a little.

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 115, 125

Tried to work up to the 125 single as quickly as possible. Only other change was each weight I tried to work on getting into quick squat position rather than power cleaning the weight.

Back Squat: 60, 100, 125, 143, 165, 170X

Portadown posse have motivated me to get back into squatting. Lost a fair bit of leg strength since I last squatted, used to get 3-5 reps for 165kg. Much work to do. Was quite tired when I walked into gym and was glad there were other people there for a change.

Taking tomorrow off as hands and shins are beginning to blister/cut up. Clavicles are also a little raw from heavy jerks rubbing off damp t-shirt and my right elbow hurts when fully extended in snatch. Other than that I am grand :)

We hope to have attempt number two at fixing the concrete floor under the main platform tomorrow. First attempt was not deep enough and we did not leave concrete long enough to harden so it has already broken up.

Back to the Bulgarian Program

Back from Vermont and back to the oven that we call the gym in Arkansas. How quickly I forgot about the heat! Was quite tired and was just going to come into the gym and do some medium weight snatch and C&J even though this was online competition weekend.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88X, 88, 93, 100, 102

This was a little weird. Usually after a week of no lifting I need a few days to get back into the groove but with the empty bar and 40kg lifts I felt quite loose and was getting into good low squat positions. 60-80kg range (where I normally get a good indicator of how maxes will go) was nothing special but thought I may be able to grind out a max by compensating for average feel of pull with the low position I was getting. Got 100 and was going to stop until I flipping well deleted the video by accident when trying to crop it a little so decided to try 102 as I thought I may be complacent trying to get 100 again.





C&J: 60, 84, 100, 115, 125, 129, 134X, 134X, 134X, 134

I was beginning to tire during these so cut out the 110 & 120 normal lifts and did 115. Cleans were ugly and 134's were causing me to have to dig a little deeper than they should. Was regreting making this a max night but after the third fail I got extremely annoyed with the lack of pop in the jerk and my stubborn streak kicked in.



Deadlift: 315lb, 365lb, 405lb, 455lb X, 465lb X.

465lb is required to beat 'Blogger G' recent max of 210kg. Not sure why I tried these as legs were fried from C&J's. 465 didnt leave platform and brought me back down to earth. More work required to beat the big golifter.

Temp: 32C

Still to clean in Vermont

Found a gym on this small campus. Not very well equipped and I dont have weightlifting shoes, belt, chalk, straps etc with me as I could find nothing on a google search prior to leaving.

Back Squat: 9 singles at 143kg and then one final single at 152kg

Quite weird squatting in trainers. I think this must make my gluteus whatimus muscles in my ass work more as I am feeling them now. Just went to this weight as I was not sure how back would react without a belt. Also the squat rack looked fairly flimsy and was not bolted to the floor and kept sliding towards the rather large mirror.

Pull Ups: 3 sets of 5 with bodyweight

Chin Ups: 3 sets of 6 with bodyweight

Abdominals: 3 sets of ten

Used the exercise they sometimes do in the Arkansas S&C gym. Works fairly well but not sure of the exact name for this exercise.

Funniest thing was when one guy walked in and asked me if he could used the pull up bar while I was squatting. I dont think the top of his head went below the bar on any of the reps. I was close to saying something but bit my lip.

Off to eat and then an evening of presentations.

Short and sweet

I have to go to a conference and need to catch a 6AM flight. Its midnight, still to iron clothes, pack and finish an experiment, looks like I will be having little of that sleep supplement 'golifters' talk about. Been in work all day and did not have time to follow Bulgarian programme so just went in and did dead hang cleans and then kept loading bar after they finished for deadlifts.

Dead hang cleans: 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 125, 134, 143, 152, 156X





Racked 156 but pinned to platform.

Deadlifts: 174, 183, 197, 206.





206 I think is a PB. Not sure where it came from as not deadlifted in at least a month. Was better at channeling stuff that is stressing me out at the moment into the bar.

No lifting until next Saturday, the state I am going to is like a weightlifting desert.

Bulgarian Day 7

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84X, 84, 88X, 88, 93X, 93X, 93X, 93

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 125X, 125X, 125

As Forrest Gump would say 'My momma always said, "Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.' My head was elsewhere tonight and if it were not for the stubborn streak in me I would probably have walked out of the gym a lot earlier in each of the lifts.

Bulgarian Day 6

12 hour day in lab and did not get to gym until 2320 and managed to get session finished by 0030. Not sure if I will be able to train next week as my job seems to be taking to me another weightlifting desert, Vermont, so was a little more motivated not to go to bed and to get this session done.

Power Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 5 sets of 2 with 80kg.

I was feeling sluggish from last night but thought I scraped by until I reviewed video clip of last set and I think everyone was caught just below parallel. Disgusted. Need to work on getting more height on bar and stop relying on speed under.

Clean and Jerk: 60, 84, 100, 110, 5 out of 6 singles at 120kg were successful.

Starting to feel the time of day by this stage so it took a lot of focus to try and stay sharp in the drive of the jerk. Had a brain fart on 4th rep and pushed bar out front. Was livid with myself for doing it and having to waste energy doing an extra rep.

I think I hear my bed calling, will upload videos tomorrow possibly.

Bulgarian Day 5

The session I love to hate. Hate it because it is quite a grueller and love it because it teaches you mental focus and not to get complacent. You cannot get into the frame of mind that the last single you completed at the target weight was easy because if you dont go balls out for the next one you are likely to fail.

Snatch: 5 singles at 97%; 40, 50, 60, 70, 80 84, 88, 92, 97, 97, 97, 97, 97 (215lb).

Quite pleased to get 5 consecutive successes which is rare for me, usually take 6-7 reps to get the 5. Right elbow was hurting and right gammy shoulder just want entirely as comfortable as usual but they seemed to hold up.

C&J: 5 singles at 97%; 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 127, 127, 127, 127 (280lb), 134X, 134X.

These were popping up at the start and I should have listened more to my legs which were tiring rather than get to adventurous. Tried 134 twice but lost it in the jerk.

It was max hang clean day for the athletes in the gym. The bigger guys did OK but the one who impressed me the most was a girl who must have been about 13 of slim build who hang cleaned 40kg. We didnt push her given her age and as she was already in PB territory but there was definitely plenty more left in the tank.

Little Rock Sweat Sevens Tournament

Went out on Saturday to watch Little Rock play in the tournament they host at their complex called the Sweat Sevens Tournament.

To cut a long story short they were dropping like flies and had one final pool match to play and were already assured to be in the final. They started looking for 'old boys' to fill in for the final pool match to allow the players to rest for the final. So a number of us were roped into playing. I ended up wearing some French guys boots, my swim shorts, someones sweaty shirt and no gum shield. I think we surprised a lot of folk by actually making it a competitive match and we only lost by 19-12. I managed to score once from a 15's forward move, we had won a penalty 10m from their line and did a forward drive, scrum half passed to me and I managed to sell my opposite number a dummy pass, side step and sprint the.....ahem....5m to the line and score.

Amazing how a 7's match last 14 minutes and I can end up feeling like I had spent a day on a bike going up mountains with Contador.

Bulgarian Day 4

I never knew when I got a blister at the base of my thumb earlier this week that I had somehow signed up for a two for one offer. There has been a blister forming under the new skin of the old one and it decided to make this session more of a lesson in not being a pussy than a weightlifting session.

Snatch: 40, 40, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 91 (200lb).

Just squat snatched these and took a few sets at start for me to get blistered hand to comply with my need for a hook grip.

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 110X, 120.

The 110 was an ugly clean and could not get hand comfortable in rack with the blister. The 120 was completed first time after cursing myself up and down for wussing out on the 110.

Pull Ups: Worked up to one rep with a 35lb plate.

Golifter, Robbie, has some lifts in their gym they challenge each other with and one of these is pull ups. Had a bash tonight, with BW I think that adds up to about 97kg total so getting my ass kicked at the moment! Will get video up tmw, my bed is calling

Bulgarian Day 3

Had no idea how this session would go after how rubbish Tuesdays's session felt. Tonight was max night which is relatively common in this programme compared to some others. Colin Bell emailed out of the blue today with a youtube video he had uploaded (from a videotape - how old am I?!), turned out to be me snatching my all time snatch PB at something like a 75.5kg BW which I never knew existed. Amazing how my technique has changed and how I have not improved since 2002. Maybe it helped focus me for tonights session.



Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88, 92, 100, 102X, 102, 104 (230lb).



230lb was being caught low and was a 10lb increase over recent snatch max days so left it at that.

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 125, 129, 134, 140X (felt light headed after clean).



Never bothered attempting 140 for a second attempt. Have to head back into lab tonight so in a bit of a rush.

Gym Temp: About 30C, we had a couple of days thunderstorms and lower temps but getting back to usual temps.

Tuesday Session

Was tired and this was one of the easier sessions which at times I have trouble staying focused for and get complacent. The gym was empty except for a belly dancing class upstairs so endured a night of crazy music and I swear they must burn incense up there:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84 for 2 singles.
These were easy enough although tiredness and general fatigue meant instead of powering them I ended up going into a full squat. Blister at base of thumb finally burst during one lift and snatches felt a lot more comfortable after the pressure had been relieved.

C&J: 60, 84, 92, 100, 110, 120X, 120X, 120, 120
Cleans were a doddle but felt like an old man in the jerk. I think this programme with it regular jerk sessions (I hope) will help shoulder flexibility. Cant believe I missed 120 not once but TWICE so by the third one I was a little annoyed. This sometimes happens when I know I am not going heavy I tend to switch off.

Rest Wed night and training max night on Thursday night. One of the favourite sayings from the coach to the kids in the gym is 'Get your stinkin' mind right' and I will need to follow this or my C&J is going to be tragic.

Bulgarian Summer

Not sleeping well at the moment and came home from work and Simon Campbell happened to be on msn and we got chatting and he inspired me to get my lazy ass into the gym.

Harry is probably going to kick my ass but after much consideration over the past couple of weeks I have decided to go back to a Bulgarian programme (available at Mikes Gym website) I did last summer. I have a number of reasons for reverting to these which I will set out and if anyone wants to comment feel free as the only way we all improve is through open, honest and (importantly) courteous discussion:

1. The programme I was on I felt led to improved muscularity but I never felt it translated through to the lifts.
2. Always felt undercooked by the time I got to competition as I had not had enough time to drill the classic lifts.
3. Its so hot here at the moment that doing a lot of reps leaves me feeling drained quite quickly.
4. When I did this programme last year I managed a 325lb C&J at a lighter bodyweight than my fat ass is at the moment.
5. I have a sore neck/clavicle which makes lowering a heavy weight back to shoulder rather painful.

Tonight should have been a night that I would have been able to cope with OK but I managed to do a good job of making it look really tough, something I have a knack for at times. Was supposed to 5 singles at 88% or thereabouts I think:

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 86X, 86, 91, 91, 91, 91, 91.

Right foot was not planting well, often landing on edge of foot and on a couple of the 91 singles I was going back to a bit of a 'duck walk' which was something I was proficient at years ago although no one else seemed particularly keen to copy it.... Gammy shoulder was hurting at the back for some reason but ploughed on anyway

C&J&R: 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 120, 120, 120, 120

These were tough as I was tired which was even coming through in powercleans which were borderline. Jerks were being pushed out front causing me to walk/run to recover so gave them the title C&J&R.

Got what was done on the programme, thats all that can be really taken from todays work out.

Max Day

Going to start doing max days regularly on a Saturday if possible. Havent slept well in past two days so wasnt expecting much today which was probably the wrong attitude to go into the gym with.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88, 92, 97, 100X, 100X, 100X, 100X.

100kg misses were pretty damn close. I was just missing a little sharpness getting under the bar. Felt there was enough height on all four misses.

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 127X, 129, 134X

134 kg is still elusive at the moment. Need to get it back soon as it should be a 'walk in the park' lift in my opinion. My neck/clavicle is troubling me slightly. I am debating at the moment whether to go back to the Bulgarian programme with maybe some extra deadlifts and pulls or whether to stick with this programme I am on at the moment. Next week I will definitely be back to including squats, pulls and deadlifts as the lack of them recently due to injury is beginning to really show in my lifts.

Gym Temp: About 30C

Barry K 20 rep challenge

Last night got 3hr sleep trying to get a work deadline ready for a 9AM meeting. Got home after work, went to sleep for an hour, had a snack and then threw two cups of coffee down my throat and got to gym about 2330. Given the lack of sleep and the late hour I decided to shake things up and have a more fun filled session rather than struggle through what was set out for today on the programme.

Barry K 20 rep 100kg challenge: This felt like a fun challenge until about the 6th or 7th rep when I realised a third lung would have been handy. Managed to struggle through.

(Got it videoed but wont seem to upload to youtube at the moment)

Idea for this came from Barry K's last trip away when one of the foreign lifters did this. We did some exercises like this in St. Gabriels with Laurence every so often to mix things up. One was seeing what weight you could do for ten reps in squat snatch. Another was a pyramid which was quite tough.

Cleans: 125, 134, 143X, 143X, 143, 143X, 143.

Trying to get my cleans back to where they were. Pulls and leg strength have weakened significantly due to forced inactivity in exercises that would work on these. I also found the groove is just not completely there yet and the mental cues I take during the lift are off a little.

Report Card: Showed progress but could do better

Push Press: 190lb for sets of 10, 9 and 7.



Glad to get one set of 10 which is a small PB. Annoyed to drop off in the next two sets. Maybe I should follow the programme a little better and for second and third sets do the drop down sets that are set out on the programme rather than staying at the same weight.

Clean and push press: 205, 225, 235X, 240X, 240X, 240 (109kg), 245X





Glad to get a small PB. Annoyed to miss the 245 and to take three attempts to get the 240.

Cleans: 125, 134, 134, 134, 140.



The last couple of months of niggly injuries have reaffirmed my previous observations that once I walk away from the bar it feels like my muscles start wasting away. These cleans were horrible both in the pull and the speed of the pull under and the rack. The shake of the head after struggling to get out of 140 just says it all. Must try and get back to consistent squatting, pulls and deadlifts before I become a complete pussy at cleans and have to change the title of my blog.

If only the lightening were how my lifts felt.....

Was tired, we had a big thunderstorm in the early hours of the morning and from about 0200-0330 I could not sleep. I eventually got up and watched the show from the living room window and got some footage. I dont think I have ever seen as much lightening, looked like a strobe light at times.

Hang Snatch for 5's: Warm up and then target sets with 190, 190, 190 & 190. Each set I managed to lose at least one out front but recover it by time it got to knee to finish set. Due to this I had a stubborn fit and tried a 4th set but the same thing happened. Will have to stick with this weight for next session. They were not 'smooth and in the groove' tonight and they all felt like they were muscled into position.

Muscle Snatch: 60, 70, and then singles with 75, 77X, 77. These were a struggle too and again there did not seem to be the same sharpness tonight.

Body feels/looks like it has lost a bit of weight. Tired now, but have to head back to lab.

Snooze ya lose

Not sure this title is correct. Machine in work was playing up so was in for 12 hours today and did not get back to apartment until 2030, had a Chinese etc and was debating whether to leave gym tonight. At 2230 I got a fit of guilt and remembered the good old days when I never missed a session so I arrived at gym at 2245 wondering if it was still a good idea.

Push Press: Tried a heavier target for ten reps of 190lb. Should not have bothered. Got 7, 8 and 9 reps as I got progressively annoyed after each set.

Clean and push press: Recent best was 235lb, struggled to get 225lb and gave gammy shoulder a right battering with 205lb when bar slipped off shoulder as I was starting the drive for the jerk.

By now I was pretty fed up so thought I would go back to an old favourite, hang cleans, realising I hadnt the legs for back squats and wanted to test neck twinge with a heavier weight. Worked up to 330lb which I failed three times. Before the recent collection of niggly injuries 330lb hang clean would have been a walk in the park. Annoying how quickly I regress when injured. Neck felt OK so I may start to include more pulls, deadlifts and cleans into workout again. The end of the video below sort of sums up how I felt during this session, this was the 3rd time the bar won the battle and left me on my ass.



So should I have went to bed and snoozed and lost a session or was it worth going to the gym late and losing so many weights?

The battle with the bar continues tomorrow.....

Gym Temp: Bout 30C but thunderstorm earlier really kicked the humidity up a notch.

'You Lift You Tube' Competition Results - 1st Month

Colin
Snatch 82.5
Clean and Jerk 100.0

Brendan
Snatch 75.0
Clean and Jerk 105.0

Sean
Snatch 60.0
Clean and Jerk 80.0

Pete
Snatch 100
Clean and Jerk 130

Anyone else can compete as well if they feel it will help their lifting. Its just an informal comp inspired by Colin and Brendan' efforts to get lifters in their area together every so often for lifting.

1. No youtube video, no recorded lift.
2. Lifts must be from that Saturday to try and keep competitive pressure.
3. Total weight from two lifts, snatch and C&J, only.
4. Unlimited attempts

Looking forward to August!

Fri 10th July: First online competition day

Colin, Brendan, Sean, Trevor and I all lift on our own in different venues and are in regular contact trying to motivate each other into pushing on with our training.

Recently we came up with the idea of having one Saturday each month where we would go to max in snatch and clean and jerk in our respective gyms and post videos of our max lifts on youtube.

The person who improves the most compared to their previous months lifts is the winner which allows lifters of different standards etc to be able to push each other on.

Snatch: bar, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88X, 88, 93, 97.5, (220lb) 100.



100kg was tough and I didnt feel I hit the bottom position very well and was feeling the strain in the gammy shoulder as I rocked back a little. Reasonable weight but the squat snatches were a little rough which is why it took two attempts to get the 88kg. Should iron itself out with more squat snatching

C&J: 60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 125, 129, 134X, 134X, 134X, 134X.





Cleans were easy enough and was trying to rack the bar better which I have been difficulty with in the heat. Focused on coming out of the clean and getting a little pop up and making sure bar was securely racked behind clavicles. Also was trying to work on a better vertical dip and drive although the 134kg fails were possibly due to that and not driving through under the bar. Relatively content with tonights lifts. This was the first heavy night of overhead lifting I think since I came back from NI.

Must express my thanks to Trevor Coen. Was having difficulty racking or jerking weights in this heat and he suggested to keep the t-shirt on to soak up the sweat. Some times it is the simple things we overlook but it definitely seemed to be helping.

The hole in the concrete below the platform I train on


Gym Temp: 32oC

Thurs 9th Jul: A 'hole' lot of pressing

Push press: 185lb for 10, 175lb for 10, 175lb for 9



Glad to be using a heavier weight for one set, long overdue. Annoyed I could not finish the third set



1 power clean and immediate push press: 135, 185, 205, 225, 235X, 235, 240X

Glad to get the 235lb lift but still about 10 kg off my best ever. I think I got 117.5 in St Gabriels years ago...at a lighter bodyweight too.

During the session I noticed the left hand side of the platform had a large dip causing the bar to roll and when dropping weight back to the platform it was a lottery as to which way the bar was going to bounce. After finishing the second exercise I then spent a while investigating the cause of this and found out the concrete under the platform was broken up forming a hole about 30cm in diameter. Looks like I will be spending part of this weekend making concrete and filling a hole.

Gym Temp: 32 oC

Wed 8th Jul: Snatches

I was pleasantly surprised I was able to perform tonights workout as my gammy shoulder had flared up since Mon night's session and was giving me pains that I have not had since it was in a sling after dislocating in Nov 07. I was in two minds whether to make it a cleans night but decided to see how the empty bar went and I found I was not getting the sharp shooting pains I was getting even earlier doing routine things such as opening doors. Weird.

Hang snatches: Sets of 5 with 170 (77kg), 170 (77kg) and 175 (79kg). These went OK so I put on 185 (84kg) for an extra set. These went surprisingly well.



These are meant to be power but I am being a bit more flexible so I can go a little heavier and also feel a little more confident I am racking them safely for my shoulder.

S. Pull from board: 3 sets of 10 with 275lb (125kg).



Not sure if it is the heat or I am just being a pussy but I am really sucking in the air after 5 reps and making these hard work. I usually end up losing a bit of form just to get the set completed

Muscle Snatch: 165 (75kg), 175X (79kg), 165X (75kg)





Legs were beginning to go, well they were gone after the deadlifts really. These muscle snatches are going nowhere and my PB of 185lb (84kg) feels like a life time ago.

Gym Temp: 32 oC

Mon 6th Jul: Back to the old school

Push Press with 175lb: 10, 9, 6

1 clean and immediate push press: 225, 225, 235, 240X, 245X, 245X

The exercise is a power clean and from the racking of the bar with a slightly bent knee you continue to drive up into a push press. I used to do these with Laurence and I am trying to go back to some exercises that I performed when my jerk was strongest. Unfortunately the exercise which I think brought my jerks on the best, jerks from racks with two spotters, cannot be done here.

Back Squat: 4 sets of 3 with 315lb. Was going to do ten sets but right hamstring tightened up so I just left it.

This left me quite tired by this stage. Need to rank lifts by importance and do them as heat has a tendency to sap me. My gammy shoulder is feeling quite sore and 'clicky' now. Feeling pretty weak these days and lacking motivation.

Tues 30th Jun: Primarily Snatch

Little cooler due to a cold front which caused a thunderstorm in afternoon. Cool but more humid.

Hang Snatch: These are supposed to be power snatch but 4th and 5th rep were either borderline or squat snatches. This was the first time I had squat snatched from the hang position as I feel it is the most risky for my shoulder as the potential to swing is greatest. Warm up bar, 40, 50, 60, 70.

Set of 5 with 170lb/77kg then two sets of 5 with 165lb/75kg

Snatch Deadlift: Tried these from a ~2 inch block after an email a while back from Eamonn. Three sets of 10 with 275lb/125kg. Really tough tonight for some reason.

Muscle Snatch: Tried to replicate last muscle snatch session as legs were busted from deadlifts. Took about 8 attempts to get 4 successful singles at 165lb/75kg.

Temp: ~80F

Didnt feel too well leaving work and was contemplating not training and the heat in the gym (~90F) just seemed to make it worse.

Push Press: 80kg /175lb for sets of 9, 7, 8. Not overly impressed with this weight as PB is 190lb. My overhead strength seems to have dropped from the focus earlier on cleans.

Cleans: 84, 100, 115, 125, 134. 134kg was sluggish which isnt surprising as this seems to be the first thing that goes (speed under bar) when feeling under the weather. Slight pain when racking the bar and yet again the heat was causing me to be sweaty causing racking of bar to be slippy (possibly maybe also trying to protect the neck as well?). I have no idea at present how I am going to overcome this problem for the next few months.

Deadlifts: 3 sets of 10 with 170kg/375lb. These were incredibly difficult and ended up after each set having to lie on platform trying to suck the air in.

Lessons from today: Remember to bring programme and also I need to keep an excel file of all my PBs with different sets consisting of different reps. I find it hard to push myself not knowing if what I am doing is close to a PB. Still need to look back and find 10 rep deadlift PB.

Still need to get better routine sleep and also my appetite has been down a little recently which probably isnt helping. Positives may be that my knee seems to be back to normal so may try incorporating back squats back into the programme.

Snatching in the heat

I decided to split the weekend session into two and do first half tonight. Walking to work today at 0845 I was sweating which is a good indicator it is going to be a hot one.

Arrived at gym armed with my thermometer and took a pic of the thermometer once it began to settle at the room temperature:



Snatches: worked up to 185lb/84kg. Then did 12 singles at 84kg. Took about 15 attempts.

Nowhere near the same speed or height as usual, I was attempting 80kg muscles snatches earlier this week. Also feet were all over the place, not a quick equidistant movement and right foot seemed to be angled out further in a good few. Took video of about 4 to 5 snatches at 84kg so will look to see how they look.

Still assessing what is best way to train this summer. I think it will have to be something based on a lot of singles. My cleans and also my jerks are suffering due to the fact I am sweating so much the bar is slipping on my shoulder. Reps are definitely not going to be able to happen.....snatches may improve though!

I am writing this at 2200 and my digital thermometer is saying outside temperature is 31 oC. The small thermometer in the gym was reading 93-94F while I was training and I was feeling it tonight.

Push Press > 175lb (80kg)> 8 reps, 7 reps, 7 reps.
Deadlifts > 385lb (175kg)> 8 reps, 8 reps, 8 reps.
1C&XJ > 225lb (100kg) > 3 reps, 2 reps, didnt even bother with third set
Pull ups > BW (80kg?) > 3 reps, 3 reps, 5 reps.

Push press and deadlifts were average. Push press is down from last cycle and I seem to tire quickly during each set.

C&J I warmed up with 60kg and kept feeling dizzy after racking the clean and having to dump it. Took five minutes rest beside the fan but it was becoming evident my legs were wiped with either the training or the heat. Also after a few reps I have sweated so much trying to bring the bar back to the shoulder was a problem and slipping off - was this how I hurt my neck?

Pull ups are coming on slowly, the neck injury seems to be aggravated by them.

Was supposed to back squat tonight but given that I am still hobbling around with a pain at the back of the right hand side of my right knee it seem silly to even attempt them.

Speaking to a few people in work who think this is abnormally warm for June and they think it does not bode well for the rest of the summer. I hope they are wrong but my jaw dropped when they said the last few summers have been mild.

Tues 23rd June: Snatchalicious

Today was primarily snatch work:

Hang Power Snatch: bar, 40, 50, 60, 70, 5x75, 4x75, 5x75

Snatch deadlift: 3 sets of 10 with 125kg

Muscle Snatch: Worked up to 3 singles with 75kg.

Wide grip pull ups: 3 sets of 3 with bodyweight. I always take these easy when getting back into them as I am always a little worried how shoulder will respond with the little jerk at the bottom of each rep. Sore neck was getting aggravated with this.

Temp: 90F

Monday 22nd June: Baptism of Fire

Started back training regularly tonight. Walked into gym at 2000 and it was 95F and by the time I left at 2130 it had managed to make it down to 91F. I think my chin had burst a water main.

Back Squat: 3 sets of 7 with 325lb.

Power Clean: 5 singles with 275lb (neck was feeling it at this weight so just stuck with power cleans)

Deadlifts: 3 sets of 6 with 375lb.

Lifts are down due to 2 weeks sort of farting around and also need to get used to this heat and begin to train smarter.

Need to work on better sleep, eating, protein straight after sessions and getting back to regular training.

Hopefully within a week I will be able to complete the sets above at the same weights for the required 10 reps as the weights above are about 15-30lbs off my ten rep PBs. Such a pussy!

Tues 16th June: Getting back

Took time off at the weekend to try and rest sore neck and also a few niggles and general stiffness. Went to our local rugby fundraiser and ended up playing touch rugby on and off for a couple of hours in the 30+C heat. It was great craic but have been feeling the effects of not running for last 18 months!

When you sweat walking into work at 0830 you know it is going to be a warm day.

Gym was about 90F/33C

Back Squats: 60, 100, 125, 143, 1 set of 10 at 147kg, 2nd set of 6 at 147kg.

Sets of hang snatch above knee, below knee and from floor with 40kg. Did 4 sets of this with 40kg and will see how neck reacts O/N and may also try and use this time to correct shoulder positioning during pull.

Thurs 11th Jun: Back Squats

Sore neck still, feels like this one is not going to heal too quickly. Still feeling it during normal day activities.

Back Squats: Warm ups with 60, 84, 100, 125, 143, 165. Then singles with 174, 184 (405 lbs), failed 190 (420lbs).

184 felt OK and light enough coming out of racks. 190 was probably too big a jump but it would have equalled Simon Campbells PB. 190 felt heavy coming out racks. Probably should not have tried a max tonight, it has been over a week I think since I did back squats because of a minor back strain and if I take that long off the bar always starts to feel heavier. If I dont lift heavily regularly I drop off quickly so I am wondering what I will be able to clean by the time my neck heals.

Tues 9th Jun: Gain Drain

I have a sore neck and I am not sure how I got it. I woke up last week one day and it was there. It probably did not help going to max on hang cleans last week after finding my neck was sore.

Today I tried a 60kg C&J and it hurt bringing bar back to shoulder for a second jerk so I reverted to cleans. 125, 134 and 143 were uncomfortable to rack. Tried front squats and 143 was hard to squat with. Tried some pulls with 165 and they were having to be performed very slowly to try and not aggravate the neck.

So....looks like I will be doing back squat, back squat and more back squat for next while until whatever is annoyed in my neck decides to calm down. I try back squats tomorrow to see if lower RHS back stiffness is away.

On a positive note I was speaking to gym owner and there is a guy an hours drive away who is a good lifter who wants to train here. In 2008 at USA Seniors he snatched something like 140 and C&J'd 165 in 94 kg class. This guy is seemingly looking to move closer to Little Rock and get back down to 85kg class and put in some training. Will be refreshing to train with someone especially if he is going to open a 6 pack of whipass on me the nights he trains.

Sun 7th Jun: Waste of time

Still felt a bit ropey from yesterday and other events conspired to make this a poor session. I had to go to not be labeled a 'you know what' by Sean. The only time available to me was mid-afternoon in 34C heat (or so my digital thermometer read) and I had to rush back to hear the latest news from back home.

Snatch: Bar, 40, 50, 60, 70.

That was it. From even snatching the bar I felt sluggish and tight also in the shoulder and the receiving position just felt uncomfortable. With the 70kg weight I felt a sharp pain in my gammy shoulder and thought I had done something seriously wrong to it. I decided to call it quits

Cleans: 60, 84, 100, 125, 143.

These were originally supposed to be jerks but after hurting shoulder in snatches I decided it was probably wise to give jerks a miss. 125 was a limit power clean and 143 felt like a deadlift and was hurting whatever I have done to my neck. By this stage I was late to get home so I decided to call it a day.

Sat 6th June: Forced Rest Day

Had a sorehead all day and when this happens it usually gets worse until I end up throwing up. Probably a cloud with a silver lining as I have a stiff back and the RHS of my neck is quite sore since last week.

Gym owner phoned to say a top US lifter is either in town for a while or for good and was looking a place to train with bumpers. If I heard his name right he seems to be snatching 130-140kg and C&Jing 160+kg at 94kg class. Looking forward for someone to train with if he decides to come and our training times work out.

Need to get back soon, Brendan's cleans are improving. His brother, Sean, has now also decided to start training so there is a good little group of guys pushing each other on. Both of them have blogs. We are also trying to get a bit of fire into Colin Bell's belly to get him pushing his lifts on too.

Also in last couple of weeks we have had two guys enquire through the forum that are interested and are from Belfast area and I have got them in contact with Ronnie. So more people young and not so young looking to get interested in lifting in NI which is refreshing.

4th June 2009: Today was a bad day

I am experiencing life can be cruel and throw your family a curve ball. I was in foul humour from last nights pathetic cleaning and todays news was just the pits. Tonights session had little to do with lifting and more about blowing off some steam.

Power Cleans: 60, 84, 100, 125, 134 (295 lb)
Cleans: 143, 152 (335lb)

Tonight was not supposed to be hang clean night for classes but they must have had a change of plan so ended up helping coach them and when I got round to 345lb I was off the boil.

Dead hang clean: 100, 115, 125, 134, 143, 152, 156, 161, 165 (365 lb) fail.

161kg Dead Hang Clean


165kg Dead Hang Clean - anyone got a set of legs I can borrow?


Racked 365lb but didnt have the legs to come out.

Wed 3rd June: Character building

Tonight was tough. Was tired, lethargic, lower back stiff, knees felt tight and hands were beginning to blister from the humidity I think.

Snatch: 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84, 88, 93 miss, 93, 95, 97.5 (215 lb) for 3 singles.

Snatches were feeling very slow, tried to work on extension as I think I am not finishing and should be power snatching more. Everytime I snatch these days I just think about what I used to snatch and also what I am power cleaning at the moment which just leads to me becoming increasingly irritated. Lower back always stiffens up on snatches during this period of deadlifting and back squatting.

Clean and power jerk: 60, 84, 93 for 3 sets of 3.

I have always been poor at power jerk and Jim Power a 62kg lifter used to kick my ass.

Clean: 100, 125, 134 miss, 134, 134, 134 miss. 'WTF' would about sum it up.

Life is tough outside the gym at the moment, maybe it is playing on my mind.

Mon 1st June: Hot, Hot Hot

Last night I got 4.5 hours sleep, came home from work today with a stinking sore head so took some tablets and went to bed for 45 mins. Woke up threw a coffee down my throat and went to gym. On way to gym I dropped a Red Bull Can in the car and possibly due to the can sitting in the car all day in the heat it blew open at the bottom and I ended up having Red Bull spraying everywhere in the car and having to try shotgun a can of Red Bull while driving.

Back Squats: 60, 100, 125, 143, 165, 5 reps at 175kg/385lb. Needed a slight touch on the 5th rep. Back was feeling quite tight and I think I have a mild strain on lower right hand side of back. 2 sets of 4 with 167kg/370lb, couldn't manage the 5th rep.

Cleans: 60, 84, 100, 110, 125, 143. 143 was tough and the heat is making me sweat so much the bar is slipping off shoulder during racking.

Deadlifts: 165, 183kg (405lb) for 3 reps. The deadlifts were troubling back and the heat had sapped my energy.

Hopefully my body can get accustomed to the heat soon. This year seems to be worse as we had poor weather in May and there has been no gradual increase in temperature before the heat we have been experiencing this weekend.

Off to get this grant review finished and hopefully (touch wood) this will be the end of it.

Sun 31st May: Its Heatin' Up

Ronnie has been at me to try and have a more complete programme where I work on snatches and jerks as well.

Power Snatches:
Bar, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84

Squat Snatches:
88, 92 and 3 singles at 100kg



C&J:
Worked up to 110kg but was not feeling well. There was a noticeable increase in temperature this weekend and it must have been over 30 oC in the gym. Was having trouble racking the bar due to sweat.

Cleans:
125, 143. Tried 152 twice but the bar slipped off shoulder twice.

Dead Hang Power Cleans:
100, 110.

Left the gym, cleans were not happening and headache was getting worse.

Fri 29th May: Where did my back go?

Back Squats:
Warm up 60, 84, 100, 125, 143, 165,
172 (380lb) for 1 set 5
167 (370lb) for 2 sets of 5

Felt like lower back was not keeping the rest of back upright and I was dipping forward more than usual



Cleans: Sometimes warm up with cleans for deadlifts to keep an explosive element in the programme. Warm ups with 60, 84, 100, 125, 143. Pleased to get 143 after tough back squats.

Deadlifts: 165, 183 (405lb)

1 set of 5 with 192kg (425lb). Tough enough and taking too long between reps.


Tried a single at 201kg (445lb). Was OK but like back squats lower back seemed to be not there today. Lower back was stiffening up and I did not see point in going heavier with a slow deadlift that may possibly leave me having to take days off to rest back.



How do people my bodyweight clean AND jerk this weight I will never know.

Left the gym feeling OK I had progressed 5 rep PB back squat slightly and also slightly progressed the 5 rep deadlift too. It has been a tough week in work with 2-3 night of 4 hour sleep periods to get work deadlines met so I suppose I should account for this.

Adios,

Pete