shoulders and back - BOOM........

Went for this like a bull at a gate - felt very strong and only a slight
niggle on left shoulder when grip was too narrow on barbell military
press ...
went like this -

5/5/5/5 x 2 12kg military press
5/5 x 5 16kg military press
barbell press
10 x 26kg
8 x 28.5kg
8 x 31kg
6 x 33.5kg
6 x 36kg - p/p
kettlebell rows
5/5/5/5 x 2 16kg
5/5/5/5 x 2 20kg
5/5 x 2 24kg
barbell rows
10 x 26kg
10 x 31kg x 2

top workout - bring on sundays swings.....

sng

Week 9 powerswings........Holy :)

Late night and an empty stomach made this a very tough session - but I felt very strong and got through it with no problems most volume yet and well within my capacity

Went like this-

18 x 10 20kg powerswing
10 x 6 24kg powerswing

That's it - progress....

Bring on the doms! Sng

Bought my boy a bell....

Oliver's 4 and has been getting more and more obsessed with my training for the last few weeks to the point that he will pick up a 12 kg bell dead lift style - so I decided to buy him something a little safer and spent a good 20 mins tonight teaching him how to pick it up safely and how to "swing it like daddy" so proud......

2nd snatch cycle plan.....

cycle 2 week 1 - Cut back/step up snatch work out .....

Week 1 of a second 7 week cycle for snatches - aim for this cycle is to build the v02 work to 7 reps per set and to 30 sets, then heavy work to include 20kg snatches building to 15 sets @16kg/5 sets @20kg - this week cut back in over all volume but a stepped up in reps for the v02 and an introduction of the 20kg bell in the heavy reps
Went like this -
20 x 7 12kg v02 snatch 15/15
10 x 5/5 16kg snatch
1 x 5/5 20kg snatch

250 reps

The v02 was tough and the extra reps had me puffing but felt within my capacity
The heavy reps were ok and pleased that I could snatch the 20kg from the floor
Time for a shower that's it sng

Sunday swinging.....

Sunday is swing day - so that's what I did ....

Went like this -

28 x 20 16kg 2hd swing

So 560 reps in 28 mins - sweat a bucket full and last 3-4 sets were a killer but saw it to the end

Intend to build this w/o to 45 mins then start to increase the weight to 20 kg for and build again

That's it sng

Shoulders and back.....

Saturday brought snow and a broken boiler (not happy) so by the time I worked out I had some serious anger issues to get out of my system BUT it was cut back week and despite wanting to do more i held back, but I felt as strong as an ox!!

Went like this
Shoulders
5/5 x 2 x 4 12kg military press
5/5 x 5 16kg military press
1 x 10 26kg barbell press
Back
5/5 16kg row
5/5 x 2 20kg row
5/5 x 2 24kg row
1 x 10 26kg barbell row

Technique was spot on for shoulders and I had few if any issues (light day though)
Back is first effort in new routine so will have to see how it goes

Strong as f#ck!!

That's all sng

Week 8 powerswings, snatch holds.......cut back week

Tired and hungry but I only had a small window to fit this in
Went like this-

14 x 10 20kg powerswing

8 x 5 24kg powerswing

12kg snatch hold 2 x 25 sec
16kg snatch hold 2 x 25 sec

Not much to say apart from -

Right hip hurt like hell to start
Lump on right wrist aching and "off"

That's all sng

week 7 snatches ..........hardest yet!

After a tough day at work a lovely meal out with friends it came down to a late evening workout - have to admit I was tempted to give it a miss and put my feet up - but I would have regretted that tomorrow and I hate regrets Workout went like this-

30 x 6 12kg v02 snatch 15/15 work/rest

5/5 x 20 16kg snatch (finished strong with a final set of 10/10)

This was hard but I did feel strong both physically and mentally

So as far as snatch goes that is my first target met as far as the snatch goes :-)

Next week is cut back week then I Will start the 7 week cycle again using 7 reps for the v02 sets and various sets/reps for the heavy work

That is all sng

After that Long winded review a very direct workout.......

Plan said volume swings, so that's what I did - slight increase in
sets/reps on last effort but kept the weight low at @16kg
Went like this-
20 x 27 sets 16kg 2 hd swing

Had a few interruptions but mainly kept this at equal work/rest
Grip was better although hands are sore from snatches
2hd swings felt spot on again and gave the extra stability for my hip

That's all sng

febuarys review/marchs plan............

REVIEW
plan for february was 4 x work out per as follows -
tuesday - swing
thursday - snatch
saturday - swing
sunday - pressing
managed 4 x work out in the most part but fell into a more sensible pattern as follows to allow better recovery etc -
tuesday-snatch
thursday-powerswing
saturday-shoulders
sunday-swing
 missedd the odd workout due to holiday and hangover (no excuse i know! - the important thing for feb was to maintain the training habit and snatch again whilst incresing volume/weight/intensity etc - on this note i feel it was a success)

i planned to swing, snatch and press and that is exactly what i have done - swing wise ive concentrated on power swings to allow me to use a heavier bell - working on a 4 week cycle (increasing vol/int for 3 then cutting back for 1) and ive re introduced the snatch doing both v02 and heay work in the same workout using a similar 4 week cycle - press wise i have had to play around a bit as i can not get a good groove on my left side - the power is there but it hurts in and around the joint so whilst i have done long cycle c and p in the main i have done some strict military pressing and more recently used a light barbell

the numbers -
350 long cycle clean and press/military press (various weights) - 1 x missed work out
836 snatch various weights v02/heavy
2550 swings various weights/styles - 1 x missed workout

again i planned to get control of my weight - not without success for the early part of the period then 3 x birthdays fell closely together and i gained what i had lost - BUT on a positive i have changed shape and despite the numbers on the scale my waist is smaller and my upper body has a better shape

so in summary am i pleased YES could i do better YES and will i do better YES - just need to focus more and not let silly things interupt my routine (family days/time is an acceptable excuse - hangover isnt)

PLANS

1 will still ain to work out 4 x per week - tue,thus,sat and sun
i will continue with the workout routine as it has developed with a couple of additions as follows
snatch holds will follow powerswings on thursdays
start to do some rows on shoulders days

tuesday - snatch
thursday - powerswing/snatch holds
saturday - pressing/rows
sunday - swing

this review is a little late and the above programme has started so all i have to do now is maintain it throught the month
thats it sng

Dodgy shoulder......

Trained shoulders today and despite the pain/discomfort in my left
side I was strong
Decided to use a barbell to see if the lifting position suited any
better with the additional support of the right side and too an extent
it worked - the lowest point where the barbell touched my upper chest
gave me some grief but if I stopped 1 " higher I bad next to no issues
Went like this-

6/6 x 3 12kg military press (increased from 5/5)
6/6 x 3 16kg military press (increased from 5/5)

6 x 10 sets 26kg barbell military press (previous working sets were 5 reps)

Still some discomfort but felt the burn and enjoyed this a lot

Laters sng

Week 7 powerswings.......

Not much to say - it was tough - I managed I guess that means I win?

Went like this-

16 x 10 20kg powerswing
10 x 5 24kg powerswing

Right hip is shit but enough said

That's all sng

Week 6 snatches........what a killer!

Missed my swing workout on Sunday - Mainly due to a hangover and also
due to mothers day duties :-)
But back with a bang tonight with what was the toughest workout I have
done this year .... high intensity for 30 plus minutes
Went like this -

26 x 6 12 kg V02 snatches 15/15 work/rest
5/5 x 18 16 kg snatches

336 snatches in all over 31 mins

Traps/neck a little tender again but not the same level as last week

That's it rest day tomorrow and powerswings on Thursday bring it on!!

Sng

Sneaky shoulders........

Due to a busy day (Yvette turned 30 and were having a party!)......

Managed to get 10 mins and do a shoulder workout and it went a little like this-

5/5 x 3 12kg military press - no rest
5/5 x 5 16kg military press
5/5 x 6 20kg military press

This was ok but left side was difficult to get I the right position
for every rep when if felt right it was good when it felt wrong it was
awful

That's all sng

Week 6 powerswings.......

Was really up for this - rest day drove me stir crazy - which is huge
for me, as my mojo has been awol for so long...... :-)

Went like this-
16 x 10 20kg powerswing
10 x 5 24kg powerswing

On Mark reifkinds recommendation I followed this with snatch holds
(snatch the bell to the over head position and hold for a fixed
period) -
12kg x 25 secs x 2
16kg x 25 secs x 2

This really made my shoulders sit in place/stabilise and despite the
fatigue towards the end of the last set I felt that these were good
for me - they will stay in the plan and see bow we go

Sng

We've all been there......

Ouch - we all know how this feels!

You know your mojo is back when.......

You find your self disappointed it's a rest day!!!! Want to train- but need to hold back or end up injured I guess

Bored! Sng

Week 5 snatches......

Oh my this was tough...
Had some issues/clunking in my left shoulder early on but ironed it out with the v02 work
Then moved onto the heavier snatches - which felt OK and strong but gave me some grief in the traps and the back of my neck ??
Went like this -

V02 snatch
24 x 5 12kg 15/15 work/rest (last 2 sets 8s)

5/5 x 16 16kg snatches (last 2 sets 10s)

Shagged

That is all sng

Sunday swings........ A revelation!

So volume swings on the plan and volume swings done - went for a simple 30/30 rest work ratio and opted for 2 hd swings as an experiment to see what my hip thought and it was a whole lot better than doing 1hd swings I guess the stability of the action keeps my hip where it needs to be - so for the short term at least this will be the way forward- only downside was that my grip was fried by the time I was done.....
Went like this-
10 x 20 16kg 2 HD x 10 sets
5 x 20 20kg 2 HD x 5 sets
10 x 20 16kg 2 HD x 10 sets

Hell yes that was good and sweat buckets - not sure it will counter the pizza and cake from last night but its a step in the right direction

Laters sng

Shoulders have moved........and a new groove?

After introducing the snatch back to the plan I have decided to swap
Saturday and Sunday workouts round to give an extra dat between
shoulders and snatch.....
Plan now looks like this -

Tuesday - snatch
Thursday- powerswing
Saturday- shoulders
Sunday- swings

Today's session went like this-

5/5 x 3 12kg clean and press
5/5 x 3 16kg clean and press
5/5 x 8 20kg clean and press
5/5 x 2 24kg push presses

This was a step up in volume and my right hand side dealt with it ok -
the left was ok for 12/16kg work but I just couldn't get the 20kg
right- the power was no problem but very unstable in and around the
joint - last 3 sets I got a lot nearer - it involved keeping my upper
arm as tight to my chest as possible during the clean and the setting
up of the press

Will work on this in next session and hopefully find something that
works for me Cos I love pressing !
Sng