Tank climbs Mount Olympus 2012

[tank]

lol

[miked96]

Nice session! If you work on the lifts and drive your squat strength up then they are going to improve.

[tank]

Originally Posted by miked96

Nice session! If you work on the lifts and drive your squat strength up then they are going to improve.

thanks mike. starting really low and focusing on technique 110%. depending on my energy level after the classic lifts, i may start adding the overhead/front squatting back into the sessions.

[miked96]

I wouldnt worry about the overhead squat. Right now the lifts arent going to be real big strength drivers for you. They still arent for me either. The practice on the classical lifts is mostly going to give you the technique work you need and the back squat is going to give you the strength to lift more on them.

[tank]

Originally Posted by miked96

I wouldnt worry about the overhead squat. Right now the lifts arent going to be real big strength drivers for you. They still arent for me either. The practice on the classical lifts is mostly going to give you the technique work you need and the back squat is going to give you the strength to lift more on them.

really? so, i should alternate front and back squatting instead?

[tank]

Session A

Technique training/Warm-up
Some bodyweight front squats, limb rotations, snatches and C&Js with a bar only. Jump-Rope.

Snatch 1
115 x 2
95 x 2
95 x 1
95 x 1

Clean and Jerk (Split) 2
95 x 1
115 x 1
115 x 1
115 x 1
135 x 1
135 x 1
135 x 1
135 x 1

Front Squats 3
135 x 5
135 x 5
135 x 5

Behind-the-Neck Snatch Grip Jerks 4
45 x 3
45 x 3
45 x 3

Drop Snatches 5
45 x 3
45 x 3
45 x 3

Conditioning/Cool-down 6
Jump-Rope and some spinal decompression stuff.


1) Snatch: I identified a technique issue concerning my lockout at the top. I wasn't rotating my shoulder blades back and up, squeezing them together, nor was I truly jerking in the sense that I was catching the bar and pressing it to lockout. I'm very happy this happened because it verified a few things; I understand what I should be doing, I am paying close attention to what I am ACTUALLY doing, and because of these two things I'll know how/what to correct.

2) Clean and Jerk (Split): My form felt better after doing a few reps. I think this lift more than the Snatch is technically dependent on heavier weight being lifted and that's why it seems like it's giving me more trouble. Basically, my form felt like it improved once 135 was on the bar. Learning, lifting, loving.

3) Front Squats: Did these out of a rack, held in a C&J racked position.

4) BTN Snatch Grip Jerks: These were for practicing rotating my shoulder blades up and backward, squeezing them together and performing the Jerk without pressing. I'm satisfied with these, so I'll probably keep them and slowly increase the weight.

5) Drop Snatches: These were for practicing the combination of dropping into the catch position while correctly getting under the bar, rotating my shoulder blades back and up and locking out the elbows without pressing the bar.

6) Conditioning/Cool-down: I think I'm going to start doing my jumping-rope to warm-up at the beginning of the training session, like I did today. I feel like doing it at the end doesn't contribute to cooling down and that it is more useful as a warm-up for several reasons on which I won't elaborate so I don't bore you to death.

This was a really good session all-around. It was really reassuring in a number of ways. I want to be able to use 115 for Snatch and 135 for C&J for all sets for simplicity's sake, but I need to remember to not do so if everything isn't clicking. Tomorrow should be just work on the classic lifts with an emphasis on the Snatch!

[BendtheBar]

1) Snatch: I identified a technique issue concerning my lockout at the top. I wasn't rotating my lats forward nor was I truly jerking in the sense that I was catching the bar and pressing it to lockout. I'm very happy this happened because it verified a few things; I understand what I should be doing, I am paying close attention to what I am ACTUALLY doing, and because of these two things I'll know how/what to correct.

Glad it happened to because I learned something.

Nice to see you getting in a groove with this. How long are the sessions taking?

[tank]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Glad it happened to because I learned something.

Nice to see you getting in a groove with this. How long are the sessions taking?

thanks. i'm outta there in about an hour. a little less especially if i'm just doing the classic lifts.

[tank]

Originally Posted by BendtheBar

Glad it happened to because I learned something.

Nice to see you getting in a groove with this. How long are the sessions taking?

reading my quote in your post made me realize how incorrectly I worded my point...


lats should be forward and "activated" in the set position and until the bar is overhead. once the bar is overhead, the shoulder blades are rotated backward and up (quite opposite my original post) to provide a strong support for locked-out arms/elbows.

[bruteforce]

nice work in here tank!