Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger - Tamara's log

[Tamara Cohen]

Amazingly proud to train with Kent Stamey at CrossFit Hickory.

http://journal.crossfit.com/2011/05/...reArticleTitle (WFS)

[Shane Atkinson]

Tamara I think I got the bug. I loved to powerlift a few years back, came here to learn to do a WOD the right, now I am silently following in your steps and remembering I just love lifting heavy @ss 5hit. You keep me motivated, and love your comments on another blog we follow (me more quite than you).

Basically keep it up girl, you keep people diggin for more whether you know it or not.

[Tamara Cohen]

Originally Posted by Shane Atkinson

Tamara I think I got the bug. I loved to powerlift a few years back, came here to learn to do a WOD the right, now I am silently following in your steps and remembering I just love lifting heavy @ss 5hit. You keep me motivated, and love your comments on another blog we follow (me more quite than you).

Basically keep it up girl, you keep people diggin for more whether you know it or not.

Thanks, Shane!

[Tamara Cohen]

5/9/11

Hickory.

Snatch:
1 x 53 lbs
1 x 63 lbs
1 x 73 lbs
1 x 83 lbs
1 x 93 lbs
1 x 98 lbs
1 x 103 lbs
1 x 108 lbs - Clarked it. Decided to end there and keep things on a good note, since Saturday was such a disaster for snatching.

Behind the neck jerks:
1 x 83 lbs
1 x 103 lbs
1 x 113 lbs
1 x 123 lbs
1 x 133 lbs
1 x 143 lbs
1 x 153 lbs
1 x 163 lbs
1 x 168 lbs - Fail. PR attempt. Kent told me not to be stupid and do it again.
1 x 168 lbs - Fail. PR attempt. I admit that I probably missed the first one because my brain knew it was a PR, but at this point my arms were throbbing.

Very happy with that. I haven't hit anything over 153 lbs since February.

Front squats:
3 x 83 lbs
3 x 103 lbs
3 x 123 lbs
3 x 133 lbs
3 x 143 lbs

Overall, a very solid day. So much less dramatic than Saturday.

[Tamara Cohen]

5/11/11

Hickory. With Mie!

Snatch complexes:
To 73 lbs

Clean and jerk:
1 x 83 lbs
1 x 103 lbs
1 x 113 lbs
1 x 123 lbs
1 x 128 lbs
1 x 133 lbs
1 x 138 lbs
1 x 143 lbs
1 x 148 lbs - PR on the jerk
1 x 153 lbs - power clean, press out
1 x 153 lbs - PR on the jerk

Boom. I was totally high after this. I mean, I could not calm down. Everyone was laughing at me. It was AWESOME. I can finally jerk what I can clean. Okay, I can clean more than that, but at least it is CLOSER.

I should note that the cleans were ridiculously easy. I couldn't get 70 kg out of the hole on Saturday. I mean, there wasn't ever a question of whether or not I could rack these. At 148 lbs, I said, "I am just racking this wherever I pull it. Screw riding anything down. I'm saving my legs for the jerk." And, that's why I power cleaned the first rep at 153 lbs.

I wonder what I can power clean...I should try a max power clean just for fun...

HBBS:
3 x 85 lbs
3 x 105 lbs
2 x 125 lbs
1 x 135 lbs
5 x 145 lbs
5 x 145 lbs
10 x 145 lbs - PR of some sort since I've never done a set of 10

I am not even joking about gasping for breath on that set of 10, hahaha. I did the first 5 as fast as possible. Took a breath for 6 and 7 and then told myself "It's JUST THREE MORE." I briefly considered going for more, and then I realized that the high from the jerk PR was messing with my brain, so I racked the bar.

ETA: And I rowed 500m when I was done.

[Nik Nichols]

NICE you got the 153!!!! 3ish time no less! Great job!

[Tamara Cohen]

Originally Posted by Nik Nichols

NICE you got the 153!!!! 3ish time no less! Great job!

Thanks. Really very super excited.

My jerk still isn't pretty, but it's clicking. And, I'm going with Glenn's idea that as long as I lock it out, it doesn't matter where my feet go, haha. Three white lights.

[Nik Nichols]

Originally Posted by Tamara Cohen

Thanks. Really very super excited.

My jerk still isn't pretty, but it's clicking. And, I'm going with Glenn's idea that as long as I lock it out, it doesn't matter where my feet go, haha. Three white lights.

Right on. It isn't like you are a green rooky. You know the lift. You can practice foot work on light days. but come time to lift heavy, you mind needs to be on the lift, not where your feet will be. Well as long as you make the lift that is.

I mean, jerking after a heavy clean takes all your focus just to get your head clear and focus on the dip and drive.

[Tamara Cohen]

5/13/11

Hickory.

Felt pretty beat up.

Snatch:
To 108 lbs

Power Cleans:
To 143 lbs

This was definitely NOT what I was supposed to do. But, I wanted to try an experiment. I can always rack my cleans and my issue is getting out of the hole at max weight. So, I wanted to see if working up to a heavy power clean would help my confidence in terms of KNOWING I can rack something and then just having to focus on the bounce out of the squat.

FAIL. My brain thinks about a power clean totally differently. I knew this, but the experiment made it perfectly clear.

Front Squat:
3 x 83 lbs
3 x 103 lbs
3 x 123 lbs
1 x 133 lbs
1 x 143 lbs
1 x 153 lbs
2 x 3 x 123 lbs

I mean, I felt dead on my feet. I had two really heavy days this week, and I have not been getting enough sleep AT ALL. I was only half paying attention at this point, and I had two friends visiting from out of town who were training with me. I meant to do a triple at 133, and I mistakenly thought that I had already done that and had 143 on the bar. Wrong. So, I just did a few singles and then went back down and hit some more triples at 123.

[Stephen R. Lampl]

Hey Tamara,

You have been doing AWESOMEly! Lot's of sparkly and glitter going on here in the past several months (I've been away from CF and the boards for a few months nursing an illness).

It's great to see that all your hard work with the Oly lifts has paid off. Keep up the fantastic work!