Tag: snatch balance

feel in pull position, small drive
[training timing + speed]

Comfort Food

“People who shut their eyes to reality simply invite their own destruction, and anyone who insists on remaining in a state of innocence long after that innocence is dead turns himself into a monster.” -James Baldwin

say-grace

Anomalous Observations : the thing that doesn’t fit with any of your beliefs; that which pushes you to develop a better theory because you have something else you have to explain.

30 Jan | M
Mobility | 3x
GA squats x 10
COB hold x :20
Reverse curl-ups x 8

Warm-up | 3x
AD x 1:00
Wall ball x 7
Banded rows x10

Work | [From the archives]
EMOM x 10:00, rotating:
Clean – FS – FS (115, 120#…)
DUs x 40
– Rest x 4:00 –
EMOM x 10:00, rotating:
Wall walk + hip taps x 10
Slam balls x 7 (30#)
– Rest x 4:00 –
TGUs x 10:00 (53# KB, 30# slam ball)

31 Jan | Tu
Mobility | 3x
Adductor squats x 10 ea
Single-leg elevated hip bridge x 10 ea
Single-arm plank x :20

Warm-up | KB complex

Work | [From the archives]
7x | Press x 5 [across] (65#)
Right into,
Alternating tire hits x 20
Rest x 2:00
5x | RFESS x 8 ea (3 @26#, 2 @35#)
Rest x 1:00 btwn legs
3x | GHR x 8 (15#)
Right into,
Push-ups x 8
Right into,
GHD x8
Rest x :30

Stretch | 15:00

01 Feb | W
Warm-up | 3x
Row x 1:00
KB complex
DUs x 20

Work | O-lifting
OHS 4 x 3 + snatch balance x 3 (95/65, 105/65#…)
Clean high pull 3 x 3 + high hang clean x 2 (115/115, 135/125#…)
4x: Hollow body hold x :20, rest x :10
Hollow body rocks x :20, rest x :10

M | These are cool. And useful if you get shot in one arm during the resistance but still need to tend to the fence. (And if you squint a little you’ll see Matty Nice…)

04 WB 1-Hand Tire Smash Switch from Hanlon Studios Photography on Vimeo.

I attempted them with the 8lb hammer but the transition from around to over the head… tricky. Need to shorten the lever.

W | Oly vibes were strong, though the OHS were not. This is not surprising considering the seven sets of pressing on Tuesday. Not the best sequencing, Morgan. I want to re-test part ‘A’ down the road. 

The open is coming…

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When someone lets a ‘squat clean’ slip 

The Big Bad Wolf

“Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror. Just keep going. No feeling is final.” -Rumi

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Tracey Emin, The Last Great Adventure is You, 2014

This week has felt like an information bomb; not sure if it’s the news feed, the stretching of my head with shadowing, or one too many podcast marathons. Whatever it is, I chose to offset my data consumption via the visual arts.

In the process of de-loading my brain, I ran across the work of photographer Christian Houge, and then this fantastic read on his work, In the Shadows of Wolves and Men. I think I could spin a conversation off every paragraph in that piece.

“We are born as something much larger than ourselves. Then you have culture coming in with boxes, with identities, teachers, religion. Before all that, we are nature and we still have all this nature inside us. Well, some more than others.”

Where does your your inner wolf fall in the pack? Mine would definitely be nearest the banjos.

24 Jan | Tu
Mobility | 3x:
GA squats x 8
Elbow plank + fwd tap x 10 ea
Monster walks x 10 ea
Reverse curl-ups x 8

Warm-up | 3x:
AD x 1:00
Dbl KBS – snatch – clean – push press x 3
Wall walk + hip taps x 3 ea
DUs x 20

Work | [from the archives]
Front squat 5 x 1 (135, 145, 155, 165 [PR] 175, 170#)
Rest x 2:00 btwn
EMOM x 10:00:
1-1/4 Front squats x 3 @ 50% (85#)
– then –
AD 30/30’s

Stretch | 10:00

Jan 26 | Th
Mobility| 3x
Wall slides x 10
SL elev glute bride x 10ea
COB hold x :20**
Hanging leg raise x 10 (straight legs, minus the momentum)

Warm-up | 3x
AD x 1:00
Wall ball x 7 @20#
Slam balls x 7 @20#
DUs x 30

Work | O-lifting
A | 6x: Heaving snatch balance + snatch balance (4 @65, 70, 75#)
B | 4x: Front squat x 3 + 3 bounding jumps [PAP] (135/bench, 145/45×1, 145/45×2, 145#/45×2)
C | Clean + jerk [build] 6 x 1 (115, 125, 130, 135, 140, 145#)**

Auxiliary | Handstand shapes + banded hammie curls

Stretch | 20:00

Tu | Added 10 lbs to my front squat 1 RM, which delighted the fuck right outta me. Really thought I was gonna hit 175; the weight felt light. Upon review of the tapes, it looked like my bar path wasn’t as straight as it could me. Notes for next time (which ended up being O-lifting). 

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Watching the CrossFit class back squat like…

 Th | Was sort of a subdued day and felt that heading into the gymnasium. But, man, that turned around once I got going. Jumping after lifting heavy is pretty trippy. The clean and jerks felt fantastic after the PAP work. Failed on the last of six sets, at my 1RM.

Jolly AF

“The main reason Santa is so jolly is because he knows where all the bad girls live.” -George Carlin

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24 Dec | Eve
Warm-up | 3x
DUs x 30
Slam balls x 5
Wall slides x 10

Work | O-lifting
Snatch balance 3 x 3 (65#)
OHS [pause @ bottom] 4 x 2 (85, 95#…)
Snatch pull + hang snatch 6 x 1 (75, 85, 85, 90#…)

23 Dec | Eve Eve
Mobility | 3x
Bird dogs x 10 ea
Prone y raise x 10
Banded clammies x 15 ea

Warm-up | 3x
Row x 1:00
Push-ups x 7
V-ups x 7
Pistol x 1 ea

Work [Favorite] | 7x:
Bench press x 3 (85#)
Right into
Slam balls x 5 @ 20# (30#)
Rest x 2:00 (?)
5x:
Incline SA KB BP (ha!) x 5 ea (26# +2.5)
Right into
Hang power snatch (85#)
Rest x 2:00
3x:
Row x 300m
AD x 15 cals
Zercher lunge x 5 ea @ 75#-ish (85#)

Stretch’n’ convos | 15:00

F | Upped the lbs on the balls, as the goal was to be breathing heavy. Check. Really felt the glutes by the time we got ’round to the zerchers.

Sa | Quick session before hopping on a flight to Iowa. The hip felt good – zero pain/hesitation! The back fatigued quickly, I’m guessing due to all the work it did Friday.

Let It Ride

“The harder we try with the conscious will to do something, the less we shall succeed.

Proficiency and the results of proficiency come only to those who have learned the paradoxical art of doing and not doing, or combining relaxation with activity, of letting go as a person in order that the immanent and transcendent unknown quantity may take hold.

We cannot make ourselves understand; the most we can do is to foster a state of mind, in which understanding may come to us”. –Aldous Huxley, The Law of Reversed Effort

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December brought the start of a new audio book, though I’m not sure how much further I’ll make it; too many fucks, even for me. Or maybe I’ve already gleaned out of it what was intended… Hmm. Here’s an excerpt on The Backwards Law. And if all the fucks get to you too, hit the last three paragraphs.

And if instead, you’re saying, “Fuck, Morgan! I’ve had my fill of the words,” here’s a highly scientific dominant personality trait quiz. I got Intelligence, which only proves it’s flawed.

03 Dec | Sa
Warm-up | 3x
Row x 1:00
Wall slides x 10
DUs x 30
Slam ball x 7

Work | O-lifting – Week 5
3x: (65, 65, 75#)
Heaving snatch balance x 2
Snatch balance x 2
-then-
Two-position snatch [floor – hang] + OHS 5 x 1 (75, 80, 85, 90, 95#)
Tabata hollow body holds/push-ups

02 Dec | F
Mobility | 3x
Single-leg adductor squat x 10 ea
Chin-over-bar holds x :20
Reverse curl-ups x 10

Warm-up | 3x
Row x 1:00
KB sequence
DUs x 30
KB row x 8 ea

Work [From the archives]| Back squats 10 x 2 (165#)
Rest x 2:00
-then-
3x:
BB bi’s x 10
Rest x 1:00
Tricep push-downs x 20
Rest x 1:00
-then-
Death march 3 x 20 steps (26# KBs)
Rest x 1:30

Stretch | Not tonight, Batman

30 Nov | W
Mobility | 3x
Prone glute press x 10
Scap press x 10
TVA drops x 15

Warm-up | 3x
AD x 1:00
Wall ball x 10
DUs x 30

Work | O-lifting – Week 5
Tall muscle clean 3 x 3 (75, 85, 90#)
Tall power clean 3 x 3 (95, 105, 100#)
Tall clean 3 x 3 (105, 105, 110#)
Mid-hang clean 3 x 3 (115, 120, 125#)
Clean segment DL [2s pause @1″ – knee – mid thigh] 3 x 3 (145#)
Clean 3 x 1 (145, 135, 140, 140#)

W | Lots of volume; really enjoyed the progression. On the mid-hangs I was surprised at how much I’d gotten accustomed to standing all the way up and then backing down to get tension, rather than keeping tension from the floor. Oooh, awareness. Pre-fatigue was a real thing by the time we arrived to the full cleans. Protecting that right hip a bit, so I was cautious not to go crazy with the lbs. Pretty happy with how solid they felt coming outta the bottom. 

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I was gonna post some footage, but the clean progression pales in comparison to the cheese on the face of El Fuego, amiright? You know you smiled too…

F | Rolled thru the workout. Gotta up my game with the death march using KBs; I think it’s easier with KBs compared to the dumbbells, but will wait for the soreness check manana. Post work-out re-feed food prep morphed into My Drunk Kitchen with shocking speed #lightweight #noob

Sa | My hip and back felt a little tight, but the movement felt good. Kept it light so it’d stay that way. Well – *steps into the honestly zone* – the balance things stay light regardless. Gotta get faster on the push/pull under there. The snatches felt nice, with minimal air brakes. Here are some visuals…. which I’ll also file under “when you are reminded why a beanie pairs better with side braids than a pony”… #penishead #justthetip #whyamIhashtaggingeverything

Weak Spots

“Up to a point a person’s life is shaped by environment, heredity, and changes in the world about them. Then there comes a time when it lies within their grasp to shape the clay of their life into the sort of thing they wish it to be. Only the weak blame parents, their race, their times, lack of good fortune or the quirks of fate. Everyone has the power to say, ‘This I am today. That I shall be tomorrow.'”- Louis L’Amour

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Shawn Huckins, James Beard: The Fuck?

Mr. L’Amour’s words seem a fitting reminder for today’s elections, and conjure up some counter points to the content of my current read, The Sports Gene. More on that once I’ve completed it. So far the highlights have been the 5:1 muscle ratio bookshelf analogy and the narrator’s impersonations of quotations from other researchers. (Is it a “read” if it’s an audio book? Normally I’d say no, but tonight nothing makes a lick of sense.)

08 Nov | Tu
Mobility | 3x
Adductor squat x 10 ea
Single-leg elevated glute bridge x 10 ea
Single-arm plank x :20 ea

Warm-up | 3x:
AD x 1:00
Wall walk x 1
V-up x 10

Work | Press 7 x 5 [across] (3 @65, eeked out 1 @70, 3 @ 65#)
right into
DUs x 20
Rest x 2:00
-then-
RFESS 5 x 8 ea (35# KBs)
Rest x 1:00 btwn legs
-and-
3x: GHR x 8 (15#)
right into
Push-ups x 8
Rest x :20

Stretch ‘n’ Share | 20:00

07 Nov | M
Mobility | 3x
Wall slides x 10
Prone Y raise x 10
Glute press x 10

Warm-up | 3x
AD x 1:00
Wall ball x 10
Banded row x 10

Work | Back squat 7 x 5 (135, 145,145, 155, 155, 160 (4), 155#)
Rest x 2:00
5x:
KBS x 5 @44#, right into
KB row x 10 ea (26#), right into
DUs x 50 (UB, UB, 49, 49, UB)
Rest x 1:30

Stretch + Handstand walkin’ | 20:00

05 Nov | Sa
Mobility | 3x
GA squat  x 10
Bird dogs x 10 ea
Plank + fwd tap x 10 ea

Warm-up | 3x
Row x 1:00
DUs x 30
Shoulder roll with the bands x 10 ea direction

Work | Lifting
Snatch balance [build] 4 x 2 (70, 75#)
Snatch-grip pause DL [BTK, focus on lats] 3 x 3 (135, 145, 155#)
High-hang snatch + 1-1/4 OHS 6 x 1 (85, 95#…)
Med ball drops 3 x 10 (14, 14, 20#)

Some stretching.

Sa | Felt like I was landing nice and low on the snatch. Video proved otherwise.

M | In the morning hours I tested the back with a short-ish hike, about 4 miles, up South Mountain. Seems like that’s about the mileage threshold. The evening squats felt good and strong. Arbitrarily wanted to hit 165# on the last set, but fuck me legs were terrrd. The single-arm rows got really challenging at set 4 on the left side, which is not the jacked up side, having to reset before each rep to get that lat to do the work. DUs: 50 is the new 40 – pushing the datum.

Tu | Press is a weak spot (queue the Detroit Cobras). Sixty-five got sticky on the last rep, seventy was neck straining on rep three. Dafuq?  The 35# KBs were the lightest available due to TGU class workout, so… gave it a go. And was pleasantly surprised. On my way to 1/3 BW in each mitt for… what was that Rx rep scheme again?

Glistening Bollocks

“I want to taste and glory in each day, and never be afraid to experience pain; and never shut myself up in a numb corner of nonfeeling, or stop questioning and criticizing life and take the easy way out. To learn and think: to think and live; to live and learn: this always with new insight, new understanding, and new love.” -Sylvia Plath

And to lighten things up a bit from the weight of the bell jar there, here’s a solid read on The Pursuit of Happiness.

09  Oct | Su
Mobility | 3x
Chin-over-bar holds x :20
Cossack lunge x 8 ea
Elbow plank + fwd tap x 10 ea

Warm-up | 3x
Wall ball x 10
BB pres x 5
Palms fwd BB row x 10
BB sit-ups x 10

Work | EMOM x 30:00, rotating:
Incline bench x 3 (75#) + DUs x 30
1-1/4 OHS x 3 (80#)
Assault bike x 1:00
-then-
4x:
DB row x 12 ea (25#)
Rest x 1:00
Banded T’s x 10 (Yella)
Rest x 1:00

Stretch | 15:00

08 Oct | Sa
Mobility | 3x
GA squats x 10
Wall rotation + press x 10
Single-leg elev hip bridge x 10 ea
TVA drops x 15

Warm-up | 3x
AD x 1:00
DUs x 30
Banded rows x 10

Work | O-lifting – Week 6
Muscle snatch 4 x 2 (65#)
Snatch balance 8 x 1 [build] (4 sets @ 70#)
3x:
Snatch high-pull x 2 (115#)
Snatch x 2 (75, 75, 85#)
-then-
ISO back squats 4 x 10s

07 Oct | F
Mobility | 3x
Single-leg adductor squat x 8 ea
Scap press x 10
Prone glute press x 10
Reverse curl-ups x 10

Work | x 30:00, rotating:
Carries x 100m (44#ers: see notes)
AD x 1:00
Sumo DL x 5 (155#)
HSW x 12′ (10′ UB max)
Row x 1:00

Stretch | 15:00

06 Oct | Th
Mobility | 3x
GA skwaat x 10
Elbow plank + reach thru x 10 ea
Prone y raise x 10
Hanging leg raise x 10

Warm-up | 3x
Row x 1:00
KBS x 10
Single-arm press x 7 ea

Work [Favorite] | 4x:
Box squats x 5 (115#)
Hip thrusts x 10 (115#)
GH raise x 10 (15#)
Rest x 2:00
-then-
TGUs x 15:00 (44,53#)

Stretch | 15:00

Booty blast Thursday (!) made for a Recovery Friday. The lighter sumos helped alleviate some of the soreness in the region where the ‘strangs meet the glutes. The carries were uncomfortable as designed; switched from front rack to OH + suitcase after three rounds – kept losing my shoulder position. After two rounds of the OH/suitcase combo went to farmer’s style, because I was doing the neck strain thing. Perhaps it would have been better to just use lighter KBs from the start and maintain the front rack carries…?

Saturdays Oly: Tight mid-back. Man, snatches felt so awesome last week! Couldn’t get the back to fire on the snatch balance; s-l-o-w, bent elbows. Stopped after 4 attempts when it was clear it wasn’t gonna happen. Rolled through the remainder of the workout keeping it on the lighter side. Felt those ISO holds the rest of the day #CNSdonezo

Came in on Sunday with the intention to just foam roll. Decided to EMOM, too. 

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Post-EMOM Sunday feels. And a true story

Heart-Breathers

“When jarred, unavoidably, by circumstance, revert at once to yourself, and don’t lose the rhythm more than you can help. You’ll have a better grasp of harmony if you keep going back to it.” -Marcus Aurelius

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Saturday morning cartoon rhythm: interrupted.

You ever have days/weeks that just scatter the fuck outta your brain; you can’t focus, you can’t seem to be any one place? After lots of (taste-)testing for something to help aid the return to center, I’ve finally found my method: weird breathing and practicing some gratitude. Not nearly as fun as whisky, and with way less entertaining stories. But it usually does such a good job that I wind up on the other end of things, all fuzzy with clarity.

It turns out both of these things are actual “things”! Check out these articles from The Huffington Post Center for Gratitude: Heart-Breathing and Dimorphous Feels for more words on the matter(s).

29 Sep | Th
Mobility | 3x
GA squat x 10
Reverse tables x 8
Hanging leg raise x 8

Warm-up | 3x
Row x 200m
TGU x 2

Work | 4x:
Single-arm press x 8 ea (25#)
Rest x 1:00
Single- arm  Chinese row x 10 ea (20#)
Rest x 1:00
3x:
Single-leg RDLs x 8 ea (35#)
Rest x 1:00
BB step-ups x 8 ea (65, 75, 65#)
Rest x 1:00
-then-
AD 30/30s x 12:00

Pressing the parts against apparatus while discussing #PugLivesMatter | 20:00

28 Sep | W
Mob it up | 3x
Single-leg elev adductors squat x 8 ea
Single-leg elev hip bridge x 10 ea
Reverse curl-ups x 10

Warm-up | 3x
AD x 1:00
Palms-up BB row x 8
BB RDL x 10

Work | O-lifting
Heavy snatch balance 3 x 2 (95#)
Snatch balance 4 x 2 (80, 80, 85#…)
Halting clean deadlift [5s pause @ top of pull position – shoulders o/ bb] 3 x 3 (155, 175#…)
Front squat 4 x 3 (125, 135#…)

Stretch | 20:00

27 Sep | Tu
Warm-up | 3x
Wall press x 5
Jog x 200m
KBS x 10

Work | Study Hall Class workout (so much silence)
EMOM x 30:00, rotating:
Wall walk x 1 w/ shoulder taps x 4
Dead bugs x :30
DUs x :30

Stretch | 20:00

Tuesday’s class workout was nice, but let’s get right to it. O-lifting was fucking fantastic! A coincidence that I got to the gymnasium in time to get warmed up? I think not. The sequence of the snatch balances was super helpful. I was really happy my speed under the bar, and moving outta the bottom felt easy. The halting DLs were a good sub for the ISO work – so much time under tension. The front squats were challenging after all that other work.

Thursday’s notes mostly revolved around the sprints. Talk about dimorphous expressions: so painful and so much fun. Adjusted the weight on the BB step-ups as soon as the oh-my-quad feedback fired up. Booty, Morgan. Or is it backyard? Yes.