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Thanks! I'll get that extra plate soon
This block, I am doing Clean and Jerks for the first time. It's been really fun. Like all the other lifts, I'm teaching myself. Initially, I was power cleaning and jerking. But I am now doing a full clean. It's pretty ugly at the moment because I'm not under the bar enough so I'm tipping forward. The split jerk is the fun part at the moment. That position is very close to the front stance in karate which I did for 10 years. So that feels very familiar. I can feel though that my left shoulder is fighting for stability. That's the one I had surgery on 3 years ago.
I'm going getting a massage tomorrow specifically to work on my post-surgical joints -- rt hip and left shoulder. Neither are terrible in the day but tight enough that sleeping at night is getting more difficult.
The appointment is during my usual lifting time, so I'm going to lift earlier in the day. I'm never good at moving my lifting schedule around, but I suppose it beats lifting after a massage.
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On Friday morning, I guess my concentration was elsewhere, but I executed a C&J poorly and clipped my chin with the bar giving myself quite the case of whiplash. I was shocked at how bad it was despite only being 35kg and the bruise on my chin not being that bad. But then I talked the physics of it over with my brother. All I can say is that clipping the chin w a C&J is way worse that doing it with an OHP. Physics cannot be denied.
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Missed my first workout of the block on Friday. No real good excuse, but I told myself it was because we were celebrating our 10th anniversary :P
I'm at 159lb and 92cm waist. So that's 9 lbs down since the start of the cut in late July! I'm happy with that. I'm not sure about the tape measuring, I feel like I'm not doing it consistently, but I'm definitely smaller according to my weightlifting belt. I'm back to my original hole instead of 2 out from it.
Wed. I'm scheduled for a 40kg C&J! If I keep this up, I'm going to need bumpers and a better bar wouldn't hurt. Getting the bar back down from overhead isn't doing my gimped shoulder any favors. But for today, I'm going to go get that 2.5 kg plate!
EDIT:
Went to a second hand sports store and for $13 I got that 2.5 kg (really 5lb) plate I'm missing. Only came in lbs. I also got four 1.25 lb standard plates and 2 "new" dumbell handles that had more secure collars on them. I've been doing farmer walks and DB bench and not feeling like the clips I have were secure enough for my taste.
Last edited by bluebutton; 09-06-2016 at 02:54 PM.
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REFLECTIONS on this 6 week block (Aug 15-Sept 23)
Background:
I had not lifted or exercised with consistency from May 2015-Summer 2016 in the aftermath of emergency abdominal surgery. I had also gained 15 pounds in that year.
In July, I began a 6 week block of 20 rep squats followed by 3x5 OHPs. I ended at ~145 x 20 (I have metric plates but still think in lbs). That program restored my consistency and developed grit.
Goal for the training block:
Lose weight. For a while, I learned to accept the new, heavier me. But eventually, I realized there was no way that rate of gain could be healthy. I had my blood checked to make sure I didn't have thyroid issues, and I don't.
Methods:
--Food: I kept a simple weight log in a notebook; I list time, food and water intake. No counting, just accountability.
--Measurement: On Fridays and Mondays before breakfast, I weighed myself and taped my waist.
--Lifting Program from Kyle Schuant, MWF:
Squats on HLM: H, L = H-10kg, M = L w/3 sec pause
C&J: +1kg every workout
MWF rotation - DB Bench, inv row, farmer's walks
Results:
Weight from 164.5lb --> 157.5 (-7lb)
Waist from 95cm --> 87 (-8cm)
Reflections:
Well, since the goal for this block was related to the weight on me an not the weight on the bar, it's kind of neat to see that the goal was achieved. The weight on the bar wasn't anywhere near my squat PR, but since that wasn't the goal, I'm not going to dwell on it.
Clean and jerks were fun. I had never done them before, but I watched Rip's tutorial and a bunch of women's CJ events and went at it. Kyle started the weight very low, 30kg. This gave me time to practice the movement. By the end, after about 40kg, there was less room for error, and I learned that there's no grinding a quick lift. I had to go in all or nothing. That was cool when the bar was overhead, but rather intimidating when it was still on the ground.
Form issues led to two serious mishaps. Once I clipped my chin on a jerk and gave myself pretty crazy whiplash. The second time, on my last workout, I clocked my chin on the clean and managed to chip a tooth. I assume it hit another tooth.
In addition to form issues, I only have metal plates and dinged my concrete floor several times. I will not continue C&Js until I'm willing to invest in coaching and appropriate gear. Getting the bar down after a lift dinged my wonky shoulder a bit.
That same shoulder was a focus during the DB bench. Getting the bells off the floor to the start position lying on the bench was awkward, otherwise, it was a nice change of pace. I have done vastly more overhead pressing than barbell benching.
Inverted rows are what they are. I never feel I'm very good at them. We put a batwing on the last reps of sets. That's always been my MO with BW pulls like rows and chin ups. I'm better at those than getting my chest all the way up on each rep.
Farmer's walks. Misery. Kyle programmed them very heavy and aggressively. The final week was .5BW in each hand. Gah. I was initally hook gripping them, but eventually discovered a conventional grip actually worked better. I think I'd have preferred using the same heavy weight and increasing distance. But I stuck with his (awful) program.
As I told him, I have had good success with his programs each time I've followed them. I have a hard time sticking to my own programs, and I tend to program them to push myself harder than I'm able to sustain. I now trust his programming and would basically do anything he set up for me even grumbling and sending him curses internationally.
Looking forward:
My next goal is to continue to work my way down to 152lbs which is my pre-surgery weight and then to maintain that for 6 months. I'll reassess the weight thing after that. Before I started lifting my adult weight was ~145. Whether another 5% weight loss is reasonable or desirable is unknown at this point.
I start a 10hr/wk volunteering position Monday. That will change our family schedule as well as my lifting schedule. So it should figure into the next 6wk block.
Last edited by bluebutton; 09-24-2016 at 03:02 PM. Reason: Formatting
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1RM day
Sq--100kg
Press--40kg
DL--105kg
Previously set lifetime PRs
Sq--225lbs
Press--90lbs
DL--250lbs
So pretty much I'm back to where I was before my body fell apart last year. I'll take it, not going to complain. Onward and upward.
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that's remarkably good maintenance. Lets see how much further you can push it with training nowOriginally Posted by bluebutton
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Nice! Welcome back, glad to see.you are making a comeback!
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Great results!! Good luck on your next block!
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Thanks, guys!!
My big success of the weekend is building and installing a pull up bar in the garage. It's lag bolt city and cost about $40 which is more than one of those over the door things, but my house oddly enough doesn't have many good doorways for them. So for a bit more and labor, I put one exactly where I want it and we can still park both cars in the garage. The only thing I might have done differently is to hang it up a few inches higher off the ground. But I'm not going to bother with cutting and rethreading the black pipe.
Anyways, this block is squats, presses and DLs which chins. Using my recently tested 1RMs, I'll be lifting between 60-80% of those numbers for a total of 10 reps at work weight. It's an "easy strength" template which is good for transitioning to my new volunteer position and the last bit of this cut. Hoping to finish off the last 5lbs over the next month or so.
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