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11/1
WU:
50 straddle hops; high knees; butt kicks; mountain climbers; pull-ups 6, 10, 10; squat 45 X10/ 70, 85 X5/ 105 X3; 100 single unders
Lift:
Squat 120, 140 X3/ 155 X11
After each set, did 60 single-unders
Assist:
Front squats 85 X3X10; 10# waiter carry walking lunges X20 yds; 15# waiter carry walking lunges 2 sets X20 yds

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SATURDAY– NOVEMBER 2, 2013

Strength

Squats- 2 x 6 @ 285

4-5 Warmup Sets Progressive Load to 65%

WOD

“Rankel”

20 Minute AMRAP:

Dead Lifts x 6 @ 225

Burpee Pull Ups x 7

KB Swings x 10 @ 55

200 Meter Run

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Saturday November 2nd, 2013

160k total, hit 5 out of 6 lifts, no-repped on final snatch...

All week time seemed to be moving slowly, with way too much time to think. Visualizing the lifts, and practicing quotes (e.g., "I won," "I qualified for nationals") helped. A final sleepless night followed a few "rest days" before the first USAW-sanctioned meet. Rising at oh-dark-thirty to fuel and hydrate and drive to the venue was no problem, b/c I was already awake, mentally pacing the cage with days of pent-up energy, and months of repressed anticipation.

Weigh-ins were held two hours before the first lifting. The first of those two hours seemed like it took a dozen as I moved slowly but methodically through complete mobility and stretching. After announcing my opening lift weights there were too many chances to second-guess strategy, to let the doubts start filtering in.

But then time started to accelerate as the lifting and warming up began. And then the warming up was quickly building in intensity. I hit my opening weight in warmup, and then some, and then before I knew it I was on deck, where my name was announced and the 1 minute shot clock started ticking. After a few steps pacing back and forth like a caged tiger, the prison door was finally kicked open, and the bar was laid bare before me.

it was time to grip it, and to find out. This is where training and practice and routine kick in. This is where random sounds and shouts of encouragement fade and blend and blur behind the pounding of the blood in your ears. In an instant the opening weight (a meager 50k) was overhead, locked out, and three "good lift" flags were in the air. I had done it. I was back in the arena, competing, not knowing how it would go, and loving every dread-filled second.

The second snatch also flew overhead (60k). The third snatch felt light, but I pressed it out with my left arm b/c I didn't drop far enough under it. No-rep at 75k, when I was lifting well enough to have hit 80k or maybe 85. So there is plenty to learn, plenty of coaching to absorb, plenty of drills to repeat ad nauseum, and there will be a next time. I simply have to learn to snatch better.

After a break, the C&J session started, and it was time to warm up again. I knew I was going to kill the C&J, just knew it. In warmups everything felt light. All week, the cleans had been good. I considered changing the announced first lift weight, but decided to stay with the game plan, to hit a lift, in front of the crowd, in front of the judges, in front of that annoying conscience and its nemesis pride. The first lift was trivial (75k). The second felt just as easy (90k). A few people gasped as the 52 year old man with the artificial hip who'd missed a 75k split snatch announced 100K in a clear strong voice.

Several other competitors had to go at 90 and 95k, some making, many leaving the competition before 100k was reached. Then it was time. One minute on the clock, months of training in the rearview, one bar waiting on the platform, one last lift in this first comp. A deep breath, a violent pull, and the bar materialized on my chest. Another breath, tighten the butt, tighten the abs, dip, drive, and DROP under it in a deep split. Locked out, standing up, friends and family going crazy as three "good lift" flags shoot up. I drop the bar and dance like a madman around the arena, tired, psyched, wishing I'd said 110k, catching the satisfied smiles of mentors and coaches and friends who'd believed that this could happen.

160k total, good enough to go to nationals in April, first place in my age and weight category, 7th overall, and totally *#(*ing awesome. It's good to be back in the game. Need to get 182k to qualify for the pan am games. The missed snatch would have got me to 175k total, and I felt like I could have done 110 C&J, but maybe that's just the adrenalin and pride (hubris) talking.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement, and for letting me believe that maybe, just maybe, an old athlete can push the sun back up in the sky for one more day, for one more try, for one more memory to be able to look back on fondly. And congratulations, along with your medal, you've won 5 hard month in the gym to prepare for April, for Shreveport, for a date with destiny after a voyage of re-discovery.

Video of the final C&J will be posted after a while.

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Awesome performance JT. Notice how hard it is to keep the energy up while you wait between lifts! I do best on hot days here in AZ and the a/c is kept off. Just maintains a light sweat.

Back today at Tribal for first time in over 2 months. Just wonderful seeing everyone.

WOD
4rft
30 kb @56 lbs
15 push ups
40 DU
Scale 3:1 jumps
14:29.
Still injury free and healthy!

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Video from the comp

CNJ: 75, 90, 100kg
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHIilRAXFhU[/url]

Snatch: 50, 60, 75 (miss)
[url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQyoWMP-Dto&sns=em[/url]

Need to figure out how to lift with my posterior chain and body instead of just with my arms...

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Sunday November 3rd, 2013

Some mobility work.

Some light TGUs.

Some easy GHDs.

100 straight arm head back pop the hip KB movements (some ended up as snatches, some as cleans, some as swinging no-name experiments). Trying to figure out how to do the snatch without bending my arms.

Some 45# and 65# snatches where I kept my arms as straight as possible.

Got a GREAT cue from my SoP training partner.

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congrats JT, on totalling! 5 for six is excellent :pepper:
if you dont mind, what's the cue??

(my coach would NEVER let me do kb swings, he said it'd cause me to bump the bar AWAY. OTOH Ive seen a lot of people use them, successfully.
He believed in liftoffs to just above the knee, sometimes with a pause there (and I did zillions of them); that might help you some, your arms seem to bend halfway to the knee. good luck!

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Awesome JT!!!!!

Way to go.... Your dedication and focus paid off, keep up the great work....

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Great report JT and great job!

11/2 Saturday WOD
AMRAP 5:00
8 Wall balls
8 Sit ups
Rest 2:00

AMRAP 5:00
8 Burpees
20 V-twists (unweighted)
Rest 2:00

AMRAP 5:00
8 Goblet squats (1.5 pood kettlebell)
8 K2E’s
Rest 2:00

AMRAP 5:00
30 sec. hollow hold
30 sec. plank hold on elbows

Didn’t count reps but it was a lot of work.


11/3 workout @ Bacara
A. Bring Sally Up
Used 60#, nowhere near complete.
Kind of a dumb workout, I ended up leaning forward and pushing from my toes. As a result, lower back tight and a likely sweet case of DOMS on the way for my quads.

B. Max doubleunders in 2 minutes.
123.
Started off good but Bring Sally Up messed me up too much.

A good example of SSP (stupid self-programming).


11/4 WOD
A1. Bench Press, 30X1, 7-9 reps, 5 sets, rest 60sec
95-115-135(f, 6 only)-125

A2. Single Arm Dumbell Row, 31X1, 4-5 reps/arm, 5 sets, rest :30 b/t arms, rest 60sec
45-55-55-55
Went only 4 rounds instead of 5. Time running short and I was getting pretty tired.

+
4 rounds of:
21 Wall Balls
14 Burpees
7 CTB Pullups
rest 2:00
15:12

First set a little over 2:00 then progressively slower. Wall balls went surprising well; not perfect, but good. Burpees were a total mess because of the bench presses, basically fall to the floor, pick myself up, and hop. C2B’s also good. Used a huge kip and contacted chest to bar on over 50% of the reps, which is much better than usual.

This is 4th WOD in a row and I am feeling it. Thinking about going for 5 and a “mini hell week” but we’ll see how the rest of the day and night goes.

Link to whiteboard (WFS): [url]http://www.flickr.com/photos/93561498@N00/10674567815/[/url]

Claw

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Monday November 4, 2013

Group warmup

2me strict pullups followed immediately by 1 minute me dubs
(4,23) (5, 44 in a row, then I puked)

6 minutes, EMOM
2 hang squat cleans (75# really focussed on hurling it up with my whole body, not with my arms), 4 pushups on the bar

21-15-9
back squats to an 18" box, 75#
kbs, 30#
8:15

This was well below RX, but all I had in the tank today....

The cue was trying to jump as high as I could while holding a single small kettlebell in one hand with a straight arm. It proved that I can actually accelerate a weight with a straight arm. Then the cue involved finding different ways to accelerate the 10# kb with a straight arm. Just trying to feel the transfer of power generated one place through a straight arm to a weight at the end of the arm.