Training today

Snatch: 40x5, 60x5, 70x3, 80x3x3, 85, 90, 95, 100miss x2

Rack Jerk: 40x3, 60x3, 80x3, 100, 100, 110, 115, 115, 120, 110x2

FS: 60x5, 90x5, 110x5, 130x5


Snatches felt solid today. Was very close to the magic 100 but missed it twice like a numpty. Will get that soon and more hopefully. Rack jerks were ok but still need to be more explosive in the drive.

Cycled to and from training as well in a bid to do more conditioning. This time last year I was preparing for the Crossfit Games and was probably at my peak in terms on fitness. This year I have been a bit lazy on that front, getting into Olympic Weightlifting more and neglecting my fitness. This has resulted in good strength gains but as one would expect, my conditioning has taken a knock.

Over the summer I intend to capitalise on this added strength and bring back the metcons more, hopefully building to some PBs by the end of the year. I will still work the olympic lifts a lot as I think these build strength, power and mobility better than anything else. I still intend to shoot for PBs by year's end, hopefully totalling around 250 and do a few BWLA comps along the way.

I've written a post on warming-up the shoulders which I will put up in the next few days. Just need to take a couple of photos for it.

Strong Cooking

I also enjoying cooking, mainly for the result. As we all know, if you want to be big and strong, you have to eat a lot of meat. This badass lamb shoulder cost about a tenner and should be good for about 6-7 meals.



Score and season it well, then chuck some rosemary sprigs and garlic gloves in a dish and put the lamb, fat side down, on top.




Cover with some baking parchment then some foil and stick in the oven at 170 degrees for four hours. Enjoy a some light refreshment while you wait.

Comes out really tender and you have stacks of nice meat to feast on after chucking some iron around.

First post, training focus today...

I want this blog to document my quest for strength and conditioning and also be a useful resource. S&C has been my interest for a while now and I hope that some of the knowledge I have got can be shared with others. I'll include my current training focus and thinking behind it (when there is some) and various online resources that I have made use of.

Training today:
Rack Jerks: up to 100x3 and 110x3 - shoulders were hurting a bit and was faffing with new technique so left it here

Back Squat: up to 170x1, missed 185 - was chasing a gym record but missed it.

The squat failure gives me my first topic, which is sticking points. Mine is just above parallel; I can drive up out of the whole but get stuck here and can't complete the rep. The cure for this is doing lifts from a dead stop position, starting at your sticking point. Get the bar in a power rack or on blocks, get under it, and stand up. I have never tried this, but the theory seems sound, so I will give it a go and see if it's good for some PBs. Strongmen are fans of deadstop front squats for building strength for atlas stones, so it must have some merit.

Just while I'm posting, I'll chuck up my stats:
BW 87kg
Snatch 95
C+J 125
Clean 135
Power Snatch 87.5
Back squat 180
Front Squat 160
Bench 120
Push press 97.5
Weighted chin +50kg
Max ring muscleups: 8
Max handstand pressups: 13