This morning we rolled into Stone's Gym for my second TSC. This ended up being pretty cool as we had one person in each division. Aaron drove all the way up from Fresno to compete in the open, Bert came down for the Masters, and I was in the Elite.
Thanks to Rif for hosting it again, and everyone who yelled at me. :)
First came the deadlift. Aaron and I both pulled 405 lbs. I have been chasing this deadlift for over a year, and finally got it. I can safely say I could have gone heavier. It didn't feel 'easy' by any means, but it went up without much protest, and I felt much stronger than I did in my previous max of 387 lbs.
Pull Ups went about as I expected. I strapped on the 22 pound plate and cranked out 9. Not awesome, but not bad considering I got 12 with bodyweight last time, and only decided to go elite a couple weeks ago.
For the snatch test I managed 67 with the 32 kg. I dropped one from my previous PR of 68, but obviously a heavy deadlift and the pull ups ground me down a bit. Last time it was more cardio, this time strength was a bigger factor. I was toasted. When I crawl onto the floor at the end that's no joke. :)
I can't really gripe about my snatch form too much, but I need to slow the hell down. Going so fast in the beginning smoked me.
Below is the video of my snatch test.
Bert did outstanding in his snatch test. I still have to sit down and re-count the video, but he hit 103 or 104. This is after training the past few months and coming back from a jacked up shoulder where just putting his empty hand overhead hurt. A big part of the rehab was getting proper massage work done to break up scar tissue from an old injury. This work was done by Tara Robertson. Tara also did my rehab work and helped me avoid becoming a functional cripple, as well as emphasizing the importance of proper flexibility training.
Oh by the way, I'm going to do the beast challenge in February or June.
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Glad you had a great time Jordan and made some PRs. I think I counted 68 in yours and 104 in Bert's.
ReplyDeleteSo the TSC is not official in any way? It's just hosted wherever you want and in groups of who wants to compete?
Regarding Bert's shoulder- what was the issue months ago and what did he do to rehab it? I'm curious because I tweaked mine a couple months ago and it still plagues me even after being smart about it in my therapy.
Nice job for everyone! Great pulls for both you and Aaron.
ReplyDeleteAlso fellow master, Bert, showed superb snatching form .. another MaxVO2 practitioner?
Finally, thanks for all your advice and support .. I'm already looking forward to competing again in the spring.
Bob, one of mine was a 'no count', so that brought it down to 78.
ReplyDeleteBert's issue was a lot of scar tissue from a past injury that had to be broken up via massage therapy, and then strengthened mostly with get ups and snatches. Check your pec and lat flexibility, as I've found that to be the culprit behind some people's shoulder issues.
Franklin, great job! When I saw you post that 10/10 snatch on the 32 kg. I knew you were going to break 100. Next time that deadlift will go up. You've got seven months. :)
Bert has been a lifetime triathlete, runner, swimmer, etc. so his cardio is pretty bulletproof. It's mostly improving technique and building up strength. If he decides to pursue this further he'll be a beast in April.
I meant to say my count went down to 67. Wishful thinking. :)
ReplyDeleteWishful or prophetic. :)
ReplyDeleteHow did it all feel?
ReplyDeleteFor me:
Deadlift ~ nothing special
Pullups ~ great
Snatches ~ worse than usual
Deadlift- I know how my body reacts to a maximum load, and that wasn't it. I think I could have done 20 more pounds.
ReplyDeletePull-up- These felt pretty good for me as well. I saw a few things I can change that will improve my numbers as far as rhythm and positioning.
Snatches- I find it weird that including my one 'no count' I hit the exact same number as I did on my 32 kg. test a couple weeks ago. The deadlift and pull ups definitely ate into my strength and it was harder to get the bell up toward the end than I expected. All in all I can't complain.
Nice Jordan!
ReplyDeletecongrat's to all of you!
You just keep getting stronger and stronger!
Thanks Franz. It makes it easier to accomplish when I have good people in my corner.
ReplyDeleteYeah, you're probably good for 20 more pounds, provided you don't "warm up" yourself too much and make it impossible. I may have been good for 420, but 405 sucked out my mojo enough to be a hindrance. In a competition, you gotta shoot for a decent number first, so you don't end up with a crappy number or even zero.
ReplyDeleteA PR is always good, though, and you got 4 wheels. Don't tell me you're not happy about that.
Pullups ~ yeah, doing the actual set well is critical. Rhythm and body positioning can account for a few reps. My set felt great throughout, and I'm very happy for that. I think you did great in pullups, although I expect you to do better next time.
I was tired as hell going into the snatches, mostly because it was 10:00 AM instead of 6:00 pm. Plus, my forearms were pumped as hell from pullups, which doesn't provide confidence when facing a hard snatch set.
For my snatching, 7/7 was a given, no matter how hard it was going to be, because I had done it before. Adding +1 was necessary for a PR. I totally understand how you ended up with the same number you did in training.
FWIW, I didn't see the "bad" rep you subtracted, but you dropped the bell to your shoulder 4 times, and those reps aren't supposed to count. I don't see the point in that rule, however.
What I did notice is that you smoked yourself early, and your reps dropped off near the end. After my first TSC, I vowed I would suffer less. That resulted in more reps with the 24kg and the possibility of using the 32kg for me, provided I was willing to train for 5 minute sets incrementally.
You can do 7/7 on the minute, maybe 8/8.
I was very happy with my deadlift.
ReplyDeleteYou are correct that I smoked myself early. I really didn't realize how fast I was going until I watched the video.
I have to check into that rule. The way I read it and the way I've read it in the past (same rule for the RKC snatch test) is that this applies during continuous snatching, but not to a rest. I'll e-mail Steve about it. If you're correct I'll have my total adjusted.
I think you're right about the 7/7 deal. I think I can get 8/8. I'll find out soon. The goal is to keep it up for five minutes, and much like the Cyclons, I have a plan.
I'm sorry I even brought it up. It's a stupid rule that will never result in more snatches for anyone.
ReplyDeleteI trained myself to always swing down, and now realize it's a stupid rule.
Hah, hah, previously you said Bert was athletic .. what an understatement! Freak'n triathletes are insane! No wonder he broke 100 reps in the snatch.
ReplyDeleteAs for yourself, deciding to go elite division the last week or so before the TSC took a real set of cahones. And you did extremely well to boot!
I'll be looking forward to seeing and learning how you take all this the next level. Great job!!
Aaron, it may be stupid, but it's good to clear this stuff up so everyone's on the same page. Steve got back to me and bringing it to the rack before a pause is cool.
ReplyDeleteFranklin, thanks for the compliment. I'll be laying out the gameplan soon.
Jordan, that's good news, and thanks for following up. I've been operating under a false notion.
ReplyDeleteNo problem. The only reason I do it is that little extra bit of safety for the shoulder. One sloppy descent and it's curtains.
ReplyDeleteOn another note I find it to be kind of funny that three out of four listed competitors in the elite division weigh about 160 pounds.
I noticed that, too. It must be a trend. Suleiman evidently didn't see the point of trying to snatch faster than 143 in 5 minutes. Good for him.
ReplyDeleteThe turn-out so far is pathetic. I'm glad to see a bunch of new names, but most of the old names are absent. I have a hard time believing that the interest in this event is decreasing.