Power Snatch. Power Clean. Clean & Jerk. Strange sounding names if you haven't heard of them before. These are powerlifting style. I have never seen anyone perform these in the Globo gyms. Survivor Bootcamp had pink rubber bands. You can relate to my joy when I went to Crossfit this morning to meet my friends Jeff, Sterling and Mike for a Powerlifting WOD. I've been dying to get into practice for these lifts. I'm not exactly sure why, but I'm inspired by these. I've been reading about squats and cleans this week and hoping they would show up soon as a WOD.
Practicing these lift is fun, if not a little difficult getting used to the movement. The big difference is that these are explosive. When the bar is traveling up close to the body, jump UNDER it. Huh, I ask? Jumping under a moving weight is a new idea for me. I practice a few with light weight to get the feel of it. It's actually easier with a weight heavy enough to be a slight challenge. Too light and I just can't feel it properly.
My mantra: Deadlift the bar, SHRUG it up and JUMP under it, arms locked out and shoulders active.
The shrug is the movement that I need to keep working on. It happens so fast that I find I'm using my arms a lot. I can tell because my inner elbows hurt after doing this. That tells me that my big fat brain has decided that the arms always lift the weights. We'll have to have a little chat, he and I.
Twice this week we have been treated to powerlifting moves. I guess that is the reward for getting your caboose out of bed early and getting to the gym. That's what is totally cool and different from big box gyms. It feels like we're all there together. You make friends and you encourage each other. How great is that? This morning, I succeeded at a pull-up using a 45lb plate. That's a milestone achievement for me. People in the gym cheered. I gotta tell you, I lived on that the whole day. When I first started, I could not do ONE pull-up of bodyweight. Seriously. I'm a little embarrassed to admit that actually. And like many things in life, it's what you do next that matters most. I got to work. I challenged myself to lift well and be honest with my rounds. There have been times when I could not go on, literally. When I can't run anymore, I jog. When I can't job anymore, I walk. So far, I can walk it off and then start running again. I haven't puked in the bushes yet, but I HAVE picked out my spot in the event that I need to. Then I'll take a deep breath and start running again.
The race isn't always to the swift, but it sure belongs to the ones who just won't quit.
Work out of the Day for Tuesday Morning
Power snatch
1-1-1-1 (light weights)
Power Clean
1-1-1-1 (light weights)
Clean & Jerk
1-1-1-1 (light weights)
3 sets of ab mat sit-ups 2x25lbs
10 reps
Work out of the Day for Thursday Morning
Deadlift
5-5-5-5-5 (95, 135, 165, 185, 205)
3 sets of weighted pullups 45/25lbs (3, 2, 2)
3 sets of weighted dips (no weight – 8, 5, 4)
3 comments:
I saw on my Reader that you had a new post....what did I do? Grabed a fresh beer and sat down cause I knew it would be a good read. I wasn't dissapointed. Dude, I love you're writing, and what makes reading it even better was being there for the WODS in your post.
I am so proud of you and am so happy you're loving crossfit. Power lifting is the S#it isn't it!
Good job on the 45# Pullup, I was seriously impressed! Keep it up, will see ya soon!
Jeff I need you to tell me how you set the 'reader' you're talking about : I agree with you his lob is awesome !
Brandt for your sore elbows I think I know what you're doing wrong... you're probably starting your lifts with bent arms. If the plates rattle = bent arms and sore elbows. I had (still have) the same elbows problem before.
I believe you are correct Luc. I still have the problem of wanting to hoist things with my arms when I should be shrugging instead. Results in very sore elbows. More practice is needed! I just bought Starting Strength to help me with technique in between WODs. I should get some PVC pipe as a stand in for the barbell.
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