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

[David Baxter]

welcome back Tbone

[Nik Nichols]

What is you snack max and C&J?

[Tamara Cohen]

Originally Posted by Nik Nichols

What is you snack max and C&J?

Well, I am going to find out soon enough what my NEW maxes are .

But, I was at a 53 kg snatch and 69 kg C&J (the jerk being my limiting factor). My snatch is pathetic compared to my clean. I am ridiculously slow. And, I can reliably power clean 70 (and now probably more than that), but I can't reliably get out of the hole on a full clean of over 65.

My best meet total is 118 - 52 snatch and 66 C&J. I went for 70 at Masters Pan Ams and got red lighted on the jerk. I'd like to open with 50 and 70 at my next meet. I think that is a good goal.

[Robert Fabsik]

Glad to see you back.
Looking foreward to seeing your new maxes.

[Tamara Cohen]

8/4/11

Active rest day.

Some snatches at 15 and 20 kg and some cleans and jerks at 20 and 25 kg. Not many. Just enough to get warmed up. I have a feeling that my shoulders will need to warm up for a looooong time tomorrow.

8/5/11

Training with Pete in Winston. I had four hours of sleep last night. It was not okay.

Front squat:
2 x 50 kg
1 x 55 kg
1 x 60 kg
1 x 65 kg

So easy. Pete said, "Those looked really good." I said, "I know. It's like I'M NOT EVEN THE SAME LIFTER, RIGHT?"

Power snatch:
1 x 25 kg - Pete was NOT going to like my setup from rep one.
1 x 30 kg
1 x 35 kg
1 x 40 kg
1 x 45 kg - Really very much on my toes.
1 x 48 kg - So much better.
1 x 50 kg - NOT pretty. Fairly sure it would have been a no lift at a meet.

Pete was fine with everything except me being forward, but I am not going to blame that on Rip's setup because I have been forward and on my toes for the last 11 months.

Clean High Pull:
1 x 50 kg
2 x 70 kg - UUUUUUUGGGGGH, SO TIIIIIIIIRED
1 x 80 kg - DYING. Pete said, "Get your hips through hard"
1 x 85 kg - MUCH better
1 x 90 kg - Heavy but still better

Squat:
3 x 50 kg
2 x 70 kg
2 x 80 kg - Pete said, "Your body was made to low bar squat." I know. THANK YOU.
1 x 90 kg - OMG, SLOW. I was supposed to jump to 100 kg. DYING. Instead...
1 x 95 kg - So slow. Pete said, "I think you can get 100, but you'd better hit the bounce HARD."
1 x 100 kg - Fail. Oh. Dear. My first failed rep in a while. I'll live.

So, yeah. Pete agreed that I seem really chill and happy with my programming, so I'm good.

[Tamara Cohen]

8/6/11

Best day of weightlifting in the history of weightlifting.

My friends Mie and Andrew from Charlotte came to lift at my gym. Anyway, yesterday I said to Pete, "I feel like I haven't made any progress on my snatch in 11 months." I mean, I see what I am SUPPOSED to do, and I see what I ACTUALLY do, and it just never clicks. NEVER. So, Mie and Andrew were helping me with some new drills and cues, and holy **** if it did not FINALLY MAKE SENSE. I can't even explain it. It was amazing. My snatch looked totally different. I WAS SO EXCITED. I WAS YELLING AND IT WAS AWESOME. I am still slow, but I am so much faster, and it just MAKES SENSE.

Squat:
1 x 80 kg
2 x 80 kg
1 x 80 kg
2 x 80 kg

Easy.

Snatch:
3 x 1 x 30 kg - working on the new cues
1 x 35 kg
1 x 40 kg
1 x 45 kg
1 x 47 kg
1 x 49 kg

I mean, HOLY CRAP, I DIDN'T FREAK OUT. They all felt super easy.

Clean grip halting deadlifts from a 1.5" deficit:
2 x 70 kg
2 x 70 kg
2 x 70 kg
2 x 70 kg

Easy.

Front squat:
2 x 60 kg
1 x 65 kg
1 x 70 kg
1 x 75 kg - Fail. I mean, I am not even going to get mad about this. The snatching makes up for it. Next time. I didn't hit the bounce at all, which was odd, but WHATEVER.

Videos from today. I am still working on my setup, since I switched to Rip's setup. I know I need to squeeze my chest up more. But, for anyone who has ever seen me snatch before, YOU WILL NOTICE THAT THIS IS A BIG DEAL. That is all. I like the first snatch better. Honestly, I think I got caught by surprise on the catch in the second video because the pull felt so easy.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RiC3T...layer_embedded (WFS)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzzkR...layer_embedded (WFS)