Last Day in April

Workout:

OHP + Jerk Dips 60 *3+5*2, 70 *3+3*3
Clean and Jerk 75 *2+1*4
Snatch 75 *1*4 (wrist sore and need to work on flicking wrist)
Snatch Pull 75 *2
Gripper (T) 80Lb *5*5

(6 hours sleep + 7 Clients in a row + Nap and bad early nutrition and meal spacing)

Mostly Rest

Chins *5*3
Puah Upa *5*3

Eatiing no naps!

Week 8:
Snatch Pull 90 *3*2 100 *3 (no straps)
Power Snatch + Riding Bar Down 50 *3+1 60*2+1*2 65 *2+1
Power Clean + Jerk 80 *1+1*3
Back Squat 100 *3 130*5*3
Stretch

Today's Workout:

Power Snatch 40 *2 +OH SQ 45*2*3 +OH SQ
Front Squat 115*3*5
OHP 65*3*3
Bar Curl 35*3*3

Tonight's Workout:

I took a picture of Peter who is leaving for a teaching job next month. He is down from a high body weight of circa 430lbs. He has finished a nutrition degree and has put his new knowledge and relationship with an accomplished nutritionist to good use.

My Workout:

Clean & Jerk 115 *1+1 125 *1+1 (press out) 105 *1+1 125*1+1*2
Snatch 70*1 75*1 80*1 85*1 90*1*2 90*0*2 (jumping back) 90*1
Clean Pull 110*3 135*3*3 (in 15 min)
Stretch outside in the sun -gym closed.

Rest Day & Newton's Law of Inertia

Newton's Law of Inertia (Also Newton's Fst Law) & Fitt's Law of Speed

Definition (From Wikipedia):
An object at rest remains at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion unless acted on by an unbalanced force.

Definition (From Dr. Paul Jures):
Fitt's Law says that speed and accuracy are inversely proportional.

Definition (From many sources):
When lifting an implement from any height there is initial slow phase to overcome the implement's inertia (first pull). Then when the implement is moving one can accelerate it as your body position and joint angles make that acceleration easier (second pull).

It takes a great amount of effort to get a bar moving in a clean, deadlift or snatch and hold one's body position and proper mechanics. If we take for granted that Fitt's law, then of couse we would want to at least start carefully (with carefully in this case meaning slowly) when hefting an object. But that is only half the story, The way I translate Newton's Fst Law to my clients and concieve of it for my own training is this: If you want to distort the position of an object at rest you must begin to do that slowly and then accelerate the object or risk distorting your body position.

In other words stop jerking the bar off the floor or out of the rack.

Tonight's Workout:

Clean & Jerk 80 *1+2 or *2+1 *4
Snatch 70 *2*3 (working on keeping over bar & sharper punch out)
Snatch High Pull 100 *3 105 *3*3
Snatch Power Shrug 105 *3 100 *3
OHP 70 *3 72.5*3 75 *3 77.5 *3 (PRETTY HARD)
Stretch + Gripper 80lbs *5*5

7 hr.s sleep & less work pressure made for good training.

Rest Day and High Bar vs Low Bar Back Squat

I have read and heard over and over that the High Bar Back Squat (HBBS) puts more "torque on the spine" than Low Bar Back Squats (LBBS) and believe that this is only true if one has poor technique in the HBBS.
Low Bar Back Squats (LBBS):
This movement emphasizes the hip more than the knee as one lowers the bar loaded behind the neck and on the back.The bar is placed lower on the traps then the HBBS forcing the head and chest forward to keep the bar over the Base of Support which is created by both feet. At no time in this lift can one "rest" with the weight because one can't lock out their joints in a fully erect position. To maintain equilibrium one's Glutes and lower back are constantly fighting the perpetual forward lean that is created be the bar position. So by this author's definition the low back and hip extenders are more challenges here than in the HBBS
High Bar Back Squat (HBBS):
This is a movement where the bar is placed high on the Traps and is done with minimal forward lean to keep the bar between the ball of the foot and heel at all times as one lowers the weight. The idea is to facilitate lowering of the hips through bending the knees but the bar is kept "as far away from the floor as possible." So by this author's definition the low back and knee extenders are more challenged here than in the LBBS

If we can agree that the HBBS is a knee movement where more range of motion is accomplished at the knee than hip. And if we, further, agree that equilibrium is only possible in the HBBS if one does not bend forward very much at all in their squat then spiine is stacked neatly and neutrally under the bar and there is less "torque" than in the LBBS.
If a novice or ill informed athlete bends over the way LBBS bar position necessitates with the bar higher on the Traps torque would increase because you have created and lengthened a lever arm out of the spine. This would essentially be a Bent Knee Good Morning (BKGM) and has little to do with squatting. And although I have seen many athletes handle loads in a BKGM that exseed what the average person could dream of squatting, usually there is an even further reduction in the amount of load one can handle from HNNS to BKGM.

I would estimate that an advanced lifter could HBBS about 80- 85% of what they might maximally LBBS and might BKGM 35-55% what they could HBBS.

I think the skill and balance involved with the HBBS make it a superior lift for training athletes in general and specifically who want to be competent in the Olympic lifts. But there is a place for both the other lifts compared here in certain situations including just a desire for variety. But having practiced both I have trouble understanding the "higher torque" idea as it relates to HBBS.

Week 7 (Again)

Tonight's Workout:
Back Squat 125kg *5 *3 (Done last in extreme heat)
Rack Jerk 85kg *2 *3
Power Snatch 70kg *2 *3
Power Clean 90kg *2 *3

Gripper 80lbs *5 *5
Stretch

Another Rest Day

Spent time with friends and eating big.

Looking forward to getting it in tomorrow.

Thought of the day:
If you want to improve on something you have to practice it or something a lot like it at least 2 x per week. Variety can be the spice of life (and lifts), but you cant go 10 days without your main stay skills and can't go much more than 6 days with out your aerobic fitness being affected. Those skills and "nervous system" adaptations are almost twice as sticky as adaptations of the cardiovascular system. But "practice makes perfect" and without frequent practice one can't be even moving toward perfection!

This makes me think of the multi-millon dollar arm of the NFL Punter Joshua Miller (That's right ARM.) In his off season he told me he was still dropping the ball at his foot 100s of times a day to keep the motor pattern perfect. When he was de-training and "resting" he still kept it fresh and practiced.

Keeping the motor patterns "fresh" is far more important then variety for varieties sake. I think most trainees and trainers are too concerned with "freshness" as it relates to novelty and not as mindful of a result - a testable result.

Rest and Recuperation Day

Strength Standards

If one is looking for pretty sound and straight forward strength standards, I would refer to Mark Rippetoe's book Practical Programming. He is fair and has a good thought process throughout his book.

The Information is available on line at:

Weightlifting Performance Standards

Metric Standards at:

Rippetoe's Strength Standards in Metric

Your Front Squat would be 80-85% of your High Bar Back Squat.
You should be able to clean whatever you can Front Squat for 3 Reps.
Your Snatch should be about 80% of your Clean and same for Power Snatch and Power Clean.

It seems the nap Friday did not buffer the 4.5 hours sleep Thursday night. I had very little in the way of nervous energy to begin today's workout. My lack of mental and ocular focus are tell tale signs, for me, that I am exhausted. So rather than practice poor technique I did the slow lifts in brief.

Front Squat 110*3*3
OHP 70*3*3
Clean Pulls 130*3*3 (no straps fst set)

Next week I will repeat week 7. The rest of the weekend, rest.

Today's Workout:

Handstands (HSPU prep) *4*3
Muy Tai Kicks *10*3
Double End Bag (Jabs) *10*3
Chins *5 BW+25*9*3

Training across broad domains...something for us to think about;

Yuri Vlasov

Tonight's Workout:

(Legs tight & a late start 7:45)
Snatch High Pull 60*3, 80*3*2, 90*3, 100*3*3 (1st set no straps)
A. D. Instruction: Really slow start snatch -golf teaching reference- "if you speed up too soon, there will be an error in trajectory."
Slow Snatch 40*3, 50*2 *7
Clean & Jerk 50*2+2*2, 75 *1+1, 75*2+1, 75*2+2, 75*1+3
Hanging Power Pike Up *10
(5.5 hr.s sleep, no nap, busy all day)
Good groove in Snatch. Worked 25kg under prescribed weight in Snatch in Week 7 of program.

Active Rest Day

I sometimes use the addage "if you stay still you will be sore" with my clients to motivate them to utilize their days on their own to get some "restorative exercise" in.

Today had a lighter schedule @ the gym, so I took time out for the following sub-maximal active rest:
Barbell Overhead Press (BB OHP) 60kg *5, 70kg *3, 75kg*3*5
Low Muy Tai Shin Kicks *10*2 (Medium contact), *10*2 (NO contact)
5 Rounds;
Seated Low Cable Row 140lbs*5
Incline DB Press 60lbs*5
Light Stretch
Spd Bag for 3 Minutes

Only slept 5.5 Hrs night before, 20 Min "nap" stretched to 2 Hours.
Worked late at home (on Deadline).

Here is one of our star athletes snatching his 3rd single with 130kg.

I did my workout as prescribed w one addition because I was feeling good.

Snatch High Pull 90kg *3 100kg *2 105kg *1
Finished work out in 2 hours.
(Nap on ride to gym 25min & slept 5.5 hours night before)
Rolled out sore right hip and IT band.

Tonight's Workout:
Back Squat 125kg *5 *5
Rack Jerk 80kg *2 *3
Power Snatch 70kg *2 *3
Power Clean 80kg *2 *3

Gripper 80lbs *5 *5
Stretch

Written Training Program Conventions

Although there are many ways to take notes and relate information, I am going to establish a few conventions about how this website and this strength coach make notes and or workouts.

Workouts will be written as follows:
Some weight (when full body weight is not implied ) x some number of repetitions x some number of sets when sets number more than one
ie:
100kg x 4 x 2 would be written long hand as follows
"one hundred kilos times four reps times two sets"

In the case of percentages of a Repetition Maximum (RM) or of body weight:
85% x 2 x 5 would be written long hand as follows
"eighty-five percent of max weight achieved in given exercise times two reps times 5 sets"

In the case of body weight exercises (Dips, Chins etc.)
x 6 x 3
"body weight times six reps times three reps"
+25lbs x3 x 5
"body weightplus 25lbs times three reps times 6 reps"

Rest Day

7 Hours sleep