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

Wed 27th May: Legs let me down

Took Tuesday off as I got 4 hours sleep preparing for a meeting in work. Tonight I have work to get finished too so it was a shortened session.

Cleans: warm ups with 60, 84, 100, 125 working on finishing pull and also speed under bar in different reps. Tried 134 power clean but it looked to be just below parallel. When 134 is caught near parallel (rather than in a deeper squat position) it is a good indicator that it may be worthwhile going for broke.

Squat cleaned 143 (315lb), 152 (335lb), 156 (345lb) and then I was going to try 355lb but have done this before recently so thought I would try 360lb. Managed to rack the bar but I would describe this rack as 'beyond the point of no return'. To be able to rack the bar I had to get quite low and rocked back which made getting out of the hole hard. I could not get my chicken legs persuaded to stand up with the bar. Thought I would try 365lb to see if I could rack it but was nowhere near. 165kg is my summer target as it will be 4 plates on the bar and will look sweet.

Clip of 360lb clean (Ronnie, you may want to fast forward to 43 seconds as this was taken on someone else's camera and I dont know how to edit out the start)



Clean Pulls with Board: 3 sets of 3 with 165kg (365lb)

Clean Pulls from Knee: 3 sets of 5 with 165kg (365lb)

Pulls from the board were like deadlifts. In all my time training I have never been able to make a pull feel anything like a clean. Pulls from knee felt explosive.

Mon 25th May: Muggy Memorial Day

Wasn't overly hot in gym but humidity was kicking in. This was first week of 5's and I based my lifts off the last cycle of 5's while taking into consideration improvement made during 10 rep phase.

Bask Squat: Warm up with 60, 100, 125, 143. One set of 5 with 365lb/165kg which was surprisingly good. Two sets of 5 with 375lb/170kg. Clip is of 1st set with 375lb.



Deadlift: Warm up with 60, 100, 125, 143, 165. Three sets of 5 with 415lb/188kg. Clip is of 1st set with 415lb.



Cleans: Warm up with 60, 84, 100, 125 (nowhere near power clean level but to be expected), and then 143kg. Tried 150 twice but the previous exercises had left me a little more wiped than I expected.

I hope this heavy emphasis on building some core strength will pay off. I have done Russian squat programmes etc before but have found (1) Hard to see the positive effect on classic lifts & (2) Hard to keep the leg strength when then going back to focus on classic lifts. I really need to start hitting the 150's and that plays on my mind.

Sun 24th May: Just one of the forgettable days

I think the word pathetic would sum up todays session. I woke up feeling quite stiff in the thigh especially the outside of them. I felt quite tired all day which was possibly a combination of last weeks lack of sleep and having a few beers at a friends house while watching the emergence of probably the new Irish outhalf, Leinster's Sexton. His drop goal was immense.

Cleans: 60, 84, 100, 125. 143kg for 4 singles, all of the lifts were feeling very sluggish in the pull and also speed at getting under. I threw on 150 and racked it twice but the rack was ugly and left me pinned to the platform where I had to dump the bar. This was the first time in a month that I had failed 150. If my cleans are to get stronger I need to make 150 a routine lift.

Clean Pulls from Knee: 3 sets of 5 with 165kg. Tried these from the knee and also trying to get a little jump at the top to try and make it feel more like a clean.

So I left the gym wondering if my purple patch was now over or if today was a minor blip. We shall see next week.

Sat 23rd May: Nearing the end of 10 reps

I took Thursday and Friday off to meet a work deadline. I ended up getting 90 minutes sleep on Thursday night and Friday night was an early night.

Because this is the last week of ten reps and because of work I decided to try and blow some cobwebs out today and just go for a blast at getting 400lb/181kg for 10 reps in deadlifts. Simon from St Gabriels competed today and got a massive 242.5kg and on Facebook today Shaughnessy McDermott got 190kg for ten so I was motivated to bust my gut and try for the nice round figure of 400lb.

I knew the gym would be empty today but I was disappointed to find the stereo was gone AGAIN at the weekend and I find it very hard to get motivated in an empty quiet gym.

Deadlifts: 60, 100, 125, 143, 165, 175, 181 (400lb) for 10 reps. I just did one set of these and then left the gym.

Wed 20th May: Deadlifts

I dont have time for full workouts at moment due to a work deadline. In fact I will be taking Thursday and Friday nights off as I will more than likely have to pull an all nighter on Thursday. From looking back at my journal I have not taken a rest day in a while so not overly bothered.

Deadlifts: Warm up with 60, 100, 125, 143 and then did 3 sets of 10 with 170kg/375lb, 174kg/385lb, 170kg/375lb.

The 375 and 385 weights were both new PBs for ten reps.



I met a forum member, Simon Campbell, from St Gabriels while I was at home. He is primarily a powerlifter but is doing some weightlifting under Ronnie Whiteways watchful eye. He is a really friendly chap, weighs about 90kg and is a strong brute when it comes to deadlifts so have been emailing him to get some motivation to try and get a stronger deadlift which I hope will lead to a stronger pull off the floor. I think his best is 200kg for 5 reps which is well outside my limits at the moment.

On another note I was in communication with Frank Rothwell by email. My respect for this guy goes up everytime I speak to him. The guy was simply a beast and it is little wonder he represented Ireland at the Olympics. I have included an excerpt from his reply:

My best Clean was 177.5 Kg which I did on a training week end at Tony Ford' s gym in 1971. I then loaded 180 Kg but missed three times. I weighed 87 Kg. ( I never made the 90 Kg bodyweight limit as I always had great difficulty in keeping my bodyweight up)
I never had any trouble cleaning weights. I did a lot of power cleans and heavy clean pulls in training. I used a very ''pure'' style in the power clean (a long pull and very little dip, see attachment) I did 160 Kg in this style.

A 160 power clean just blows my mind. The 161 I did a few days ago pinned me to the floor. Much work to do to get anywhere near his standard in cleans.

So all in all between Simons and Franks emails I am determined to quit being such a pussy and actually try lift something of worth in the next 12 months.

The 'Gruellers'

With my current phase on this programme I think there is one exercise every night which is without a doubt more gruelling than the rest. Typically at the moment it is sets of 10 rep back squats or sets of 10 rep deadlifts. The deadline for the grant I have to help review has been moved to this Friday for the initial meeting so there is a snowballs chance in hell of me completing my usual programme for the next few nights so it will be pretty much completing the 'gruellers' and leaving.

Back Squat:
Warm ups with 60, 100, 134 and then 1 set of 10 with 154kg (340lb) and then two drop down sets of 10 reps with 145kg (320lb). I dont think I completed the drop down sets last time so slight improvement.

I am glad tonight was just back squats as the third set left me wiped. My legs felt really funny after the third set and got extremely stiff which was weird, never experienced that before.

I asked Billy Caball what the heaviest official clean was from an Irish lifter. Although not strictly the heaviest clean since they are clean and jerk records I would love to get 172kg in the future.

Hello Peter,
AS well as Don Coates, Paul Friel did 171 at Beechmount on 10 March 1984. Frank Rothwell did 170 in 1970. (Of course these were official clean and jerks).
Kind regards,
Billy.

Mon 18th May: Simply chuffed to bits....until tomorrow

I didnt sleep well last night but was glad to hear my Dad had came through his operation well. I felt groggy through the morning but by 4PM I was beginning to feel fired up for a big session.

Clean: Warm up with 60, 84, 100, 125 and 134. 125 is probably the highest I have ever caught it so I decided to try a 134 (295lb) power clean and see how close it was by video.



Given it was close to a power clean I decided to go on ahead with squat cleans with 143kg (315lb), 152 (335lb) then jumped to 159kg (350lb) as my previous best clean was 345lb and after this I attempted 161kg (355lb).

350lb/158kg clean


355lb/161kg clean


Felt a slight twinge in the right side of my back so left it there. Would have loved to see if I could have racked 365lb which would have been 3x45 and 1x25lb plate on each side of the bar.

365lb/165kg deadlift: 3 sets completed. Find this part hell on toast but think it is making a difference. Would help if I had a third lung though.

Pretty chuffed with how it went tonight, I think this programme which is a mixture of high rep back squats, high rep deadlifts, clean pulls and frequent heavy clean nights is how I progress with cleans best. Still to figure out how snatches and jerks can move up!

Sun 17th May: Classical Lifts Day

Did not sleep great last night, fell asleep this afternoon on the couch. Gym was empty tonight and again for the second night in a row the stereo was missing.

Snatch
Warm ups with 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 84. Then did 3 sets of 2 with 90kg (200lb). Pulls felt sluggish in all the snatches and my usual power snatch limit was lower today and I was having to sink into squat earlier in the session. Need to start doing some work on power snatches. Took some videos from behind and side on to look at a few problems. Think my right foot has a tendency to go AWOL when racking the bar. Main thing to take from this session was right wrist does not seem to have reacted badly to snatches.

C&J
Technique night. 60, 84. Worked with 6-7 sets of 2 reps of C&J at 100kg which Ronnie suggested to work on getting hands out consistently (felt this was not happening with left hand seeming to pop out further) and also trying to pause in receive position to get out of habit of running with bar.

Was supposed to front squat tonight but was getting a sore head throughout the session so decided to call it a day. Can't seem to shift this cold that has been with me for last 2-3 weeks.

Training next week may have to be shortened to squats and one lift each night as a few of us have been assigned to review a 6-700 page grant. Last year this resulted in a few nights with little sleep which I am trying to avoid this year.

Sat 16th May: 'If you can get it to your hip..........

.....you should be able to clean it'. This was one of my favourite quotes from George Whiteway, a coach I always loved to train with as he always told you how it was. You could get a PB and he would say it was OK and then list all the points you needed to work on. Just what I like/crave in a coach, brutal honesty.

Today was supposed to be a rest day from the gym but I have been in poor form since hearing news from back home which is compounded by the fact that I am currently in Arkansas until I at least get one paper out. The only upside of being in foul humour is I tend to take it out on the bar in the gym.

I decided to go in to the gym and do some dead hang cleans which for some reason I find I can work hard at but do not leave me feeling much fatigue. These are one of my favourite exercises and I feel they really help develop the speed under the bar and also give you the confidence that after a heavy pull on a near max clean where you are questioning if you can get enough height on it you know you should be able to still rack it. I performed better than expected given the gym was empty and the stereo for some reason was missing meaning it felt like I was training in a library. I have attached my last three attempts:

335lb/152kg


345lb/156kg attempt 1


345lb/156kg attempt 2

Fri 15th May: Summer is coming

The last fortnight has been quite stormy with a lot of rain. Today was the first day of heat and the humidity was noticeable in the gym. Its going to take a while to get used to the heat in the gym, which lacks air conditioning. It was 80F at 2030 in the gym.

I gave the wrist a little longer to recuperate and therefore avoided snatches. I can still see some swelling in the right wrist. I wanted to have a short session so did the following:

Cleans:
Warm up with 60, 84, 100, 125, 134, 143, 152 (335lb). The 125 felt like quite a high power clean but 134's need to become almost power clean height before I know I am in PB range. This was the first time I jumped from 143 to 152 and it was fairly tight. Glad to be hitting 150's regularly but how I managed 157.5 while in St Gabriels when I was home visiting baffles me as 150-152 is pinning me to the platform.



C&J:
Trying to alternate my technique so did 5-6 sets at just 100kg working on cleaning the bar and getting a sufficient pop at the finish of the clean to allow hands to move out. Also worked on trying to get the distance hands moved out to be consistent between lifts and also equi-distant on both sides. Was finding it harder with wider jerk grip to get a vertical dip, or at least that what I felt. Also need to work more on Ronnies coaching tip of getting head through as he has noticed from the videos I seem to have to recover quickly as bar is slightly out front. Much to do!

Thurs 14th May: Training until I crawled out of gym

Various events away from the gym this week have been playing on my mind and leaving me feeling rather frustrated. I think tonight I tried a little harder than usual to get rid of some pent up energy.

Back Squats:
I forgot tonight was belly dancing night in the upstairs room in the gym so I had to 'endure' some pretty wacky music while doing back squats. Warm up with 60, 100, 125, 143 and then 1 set of 10 with 340lb (154kg) then drop down to 320lb (145kg) for set of 10 and final set could only manage 8 reps with 320lb.



Cleans:
These were really supposed to be a warm up to deadlifts but given my frame of mind I decided to go for broke and see what was left in the legs.

Warm up with 60, 84, 100, 125, 134, 143. Was not in the mood to leave with just 143kg but it had felt heavy but the best way I find to overcome this these days is to put more weight on the bar and 'force' yourself to take the next weight. I missed first single at 330lb (150kg) in what I describe as a coke can dispenser in a machine, it seems to come down, slip off shoulders and then pop out front.



So I dug in and got the second single at 330lb (150kg). Don't think Ronnie will be impressed at all with the way I racked the last rep.



Deadlifts:
After cleans put on 365lb (165kg) and managed 3 sets of 10.

One more week of tens after this week is completed. Find tens rather tough, especially on back squats where after completion of first set I find my legs are tired and the next two sets at a lower weight really have to be ground out.

Tues 12th May: Max Clean Night

Snatch:
Letting wrist recover tonight so left out the snatch section of tonights programme

Power Clean:
60, 84, 100, 110, 120, 125

Squat Clean:
134, 143, 150, 150, 152 (335lb)
Pulls felt slow and that I was relying heavily on speed under bar.







Clean Pulls from Knee:
2 sets of 5 with 365lb

I love watching this guy lift, he seems to be making steady progress and I wish I could clean with the ease he does.



Before I quit lifting I want to try a double clean, it looks crazy but fun!

Mon 11th May: Operation Chicken Legs

Back Squat:
Warm up with 60, 100, 125, 143 and then 1 set of 10 with 150 (330lb), 2 sets of 8 with 145 (320lb). 1st set left me wiped out and could only manage 8 reps for last two sets.


Deadlift:
Warm up with 100, 125, 143 and then 1 set of 8, 1 set of 9 and finally 3 rd set i managed 10 reps with 165 (365lb).

Sun 10th May: Classical Lifts Night

Wrist still hurting from muscle snatches on Friday

Snatch:
40x3, 50x3, 60x3, 70x2, 84x1, 5 singles at 88.5kg (195lb)

C&J with emphasis on changing jerk technique:
60x2, 84x2, 100x2, 110, 5 singles at 120kg


Cleans (singles) to safe max:
134, 145, 147.


Front Squat to 3RM:
60, 84, 100, 125, 150 (330lb)

Saturday 9th May: In the beginning

I set up this blog to allow me to show my training programme and video clips to coaches back home in Ireland and also it will help me keep a record of my lifting that I can't lose as easily.

I am now on the wrong side of 30 so any ambitions I have in lifting I need to get completed in next few years before people start using that dreaded term "Masters lifter' to describe me. One ambition was always to try and get a 160-170kg clean at a bodyweight of around 77-80kg. While I will still be snatching and jerking with the aim of improving my competition totals I hope to focus more on cleans.