Rational fear of heavy weights

[J-Mo]

11/10/2016

PS and squat

Power snatch
125 lb x 1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1,1...
I did a bunch of these—Knees out, hips close to bar, tension in lats and upper back, bar dragging up thighs throughout pull. Felt really strong despite feeling shitty this morning.

Squat
245 lb x 5,5,5
I watched a bunch of videos of my squats over the past few years, and I realized that I have actually changed my form. I used to squat (Form#1) in a way where my knees would come forward a bit at the beginning of the descent. Then, they would stop coming forward, and the rest of the descent would consist of me sitting back with my hips. This changed over time to Form#2 where my knees come forward throughout the entire descent. Looking back at the videos, the movement looks much shorter and more simple in Form#1. So, I worked on relearning Form#1 during the session today—it felt a lot better. Form#2 feels like I have to delicately coordinate my ascent (and descent) in order to prevent the bar from coming forward or backward. On the other hand, Form#1 feels like I can just drive with my legs and hips as hard as possible, and the correct movement pattern just kinda follows. Data is useful

Pull-ups
bdwt x 6,6,6
My favorite number

[J-Mo]

11/11/2016

Intensity press and PC

Press
133 lb x 1
Ugh. I was hoping for at least 3. I hate my life

Power clean
192 lb x 1,1,1,1,1,1
192 felt smooth, but I couldn't convince my body to go for 198.

Clean pull
227 lb x 2
I threw on some 25s and did a couple of pulls. I kept the form that I use for power cleans and was amazed at how weak it felt. I have changed my power clean form over time to be much more upright (eliminating the stripper pull), and I think that this does not load my hips sufficiently. If you watch Chen Lijun, Ou Lingli, or Mo Yongxiang, you can see how much the strongest lifters in the world care about hips rising faster than shoulders when pulling off the floor. Cleans are light enough that it doesn't matter too much, but the clean pull really showed that I'm not using a movement where I am very strong. So, I need to rebuild my clean. Oh well. Tiger Woods rebuilt his golf swing twice when he was already the best in the world.

[J-Mo]

11/13/2016
Zone 2 cardio and chins

Zone 2 cardio
30' on stationary bike w/ HR at 130 bpm

Pull-ups
Bdwt x 5,5,5,5,5
At a hotel in Portland for the weekend. I did what I could

[J-Mo]

11/15/2016
bdwt ~ 210-214 lb

Volume press & PC

Press
110 lb x 5,5,5,5,4
Stopping each rep at bottom. My hip action hasn't been good on presses, but these were light enough that it wasn't a problem.

Power Clean
187 lb x 1,1,1,1
177 lb x 2
Feet closer together and hips higher at start (but knees still out wide). Allowing hips & knees to move back during initial pull from floor (shins moving more vertical). Movement felt powerful, but the bar didn't feel as snug to my body as I would have liked. I forgot to bring gatorade this morning, so I hadn't gotten any nutrients for >12 hr and was exhausted.

Curls and back extensions

[J-Mo]

11/16/2016

PS and squat

Power snatch
125 lb x 1,1,1,1,1
Felt pretty solid. The UW gym has this strange setup where squat racks are right next to platforms. So, when you are on the platform, you often find yourself staring directly into the eyes of someone who is squatting ~3 ft away from you. I don't mind it when I'm squatting, but the quick lifts are way more complicated and require much more concentration. So, it is pretty distracting. I probably could have gone heavier if I weren't across from two bros screaming at each other to grind through ugly sets of 185 lb squats. Oh well

Squat
265 lb x 5,5,5
I need to amend what I said earlier. My optimal squat form (Form #1) initiates with me moving my knees a little forward and OUT, then sitting back kind of between my knees. So, the 'knees out wide' theme applies in squats as well as PCs and PSs, which makes sense because I have comically long legs even for someone who is 6' 3". These squats felt awesome. They reminded me of why I used to enjoy grinding out a heavy squat.

chinz for the wimz
bdwt x 7,5,5
I was kinda in a hurry at this point, so I ran from the squat rack to the pull-up bar. It was tough

[J-Mo]

11/19/2016

Press & squat

Press
133 lb x 0
I don't understand what happened. My forearm hurt or something

Squat
273 lb x 5 11192016_273trim.mov - Google Drive
244 lb x 5,5 11192016_244trim.mov - Google Drive
I hate squatting at home—I never feel very flexible, and it always bothers my back. Warmups felt pretty good but 273 felt terrible, so I lowered the weight and did two sets with my final warmup weight. Video quality is much better with 244.

Pull-ups
bdwt x 7,6,7
I should have done dips or something too, but my wife was getting impatient...

[J-Mo]

11/20/2016

zone 2 cardio

Elliptical
30' w/ heart rate at 130 bpm

I should have done dips or something afterwards, but my wife was getting impatient...

[J-Mo]

11/22/2016
bdwt ~212-213 lb

Press and PC

Press
115 lb x 5,5,5,4,3
Starting each rep from bottom.

Power clean
182 lb x 2,2,2
187 lb x 2,1 IMG_1840.MOV - Google Drive
192 lb x 1
Continuing the rebuild. Knees wide, hips close to bar (i.e. PUSHING KNEES FAR OUT IN FRONT OF BAR while pulling torso upright), strong back, strong legs. Pull off the floor loads legs and hips to set up leverage for second pull...load and explode.

Accessories
skipped

[J-Mo]

11/23/2016

PS and squat

Power snatch
125 lb x 1,1,1 IMG_1841.MOV - Google Drive
120 lb x 1,1,1 IMG_1842.MOV - Google Drive
Warmup sets felt explosive, but 125 felt slow. So, I lowered to 120 and did a few more. Meh

Squat
280 lb x 5,5,3 IMG_1844.MOV - Google Drive
225 lb x 3
Getting better. Bar got a little forward on ascent during last 2 reps of 2nd set (filmed).

Pull-ups & back extensions
bdwt x 8,5,7
My left elbow was popping. I'm not exactly sure why. It felt like I wasn't using my lats very well. I think I was initiating the pull, then moving my forearms perpendicular to floor. On last set, I focused on initiating by pulling forearms orthogonal to floor, and it helped but still wasn't very good. Maybe I was tired from squats. Hopefully, this doesn't become a problem because I think pull-ups have been useful.

[J-Mo]

11/26/2016

Holiday workout with my sister who is a competitive weightlifter

Power snatch
125 lb x 1,1
130 lb x 1
133 lb x 1
Felt explosive. My sister tried to convince me that I was doing it all wrong. Oh well

Power clean
187 lb x 1,1
192 lb x 1
198 lb x 1
203 lb x 1
Felt pretty good.

Squat
285 lb x 5
Felt pretty good. I had my feet a little closer than last squat session, and I think that was helpful—still important to initiate movement by sending knees out.