Trying to get serious about o lifting

[Balthazar]

i strained a tendon in the back of my knee and had to take some extra time off...

5/3

back squat
325x1
(295x1)x5

snatch high pull
165x2
185x2
205x2
225x2
245x1
265x1
285x1

snatch
(225x--)x3, this was demoralizing
(185x1)x5

snatch balance
205x1
225x1
245x1
265x1
285x1, new pr

a mixed bag today. squats felt on point, i have to go buy another set of plates as i'm out of weight now, i'll probably just get a pair of steel 25s and wait until i can budget for another set of 45 or 55 bumper plates. i can't believe i hit 285x1 for snatch balance and could not stick 225 for snatch. i did take 5 days off though which is enough to make one rusty for snatches and today was a bad day for focus as i had some difficult personal matters to attend to earlier today. oh well, i still have a couple more weeks in my peaking period.

 

[Dustin07]

I hear you on the personal matters.

Its a good day when you're out of weights and need more!

What supplements do you use? anything?

 

[Balthazar]

I hear you on the personal matters.

Its a good day when you're out of weights and need more!

What supplements do you use? anything?

currently i'm using a pwo with DMHA in it, cannibal riot from chaos and pain. it's pretty good, i tend to be able to build a high tolerance to stimulants pretty quickly so although it's highly effective i have become pretty well adjusted to it. it would be pretty hardcore for any one that's either stimulant sensitive or hasn't been using them in a while.

5/8 i feel like my final phase of peaking has been torpeodoed by the unfortunate inconsistency i've been engaged in for the last 2 weeks but hopefully things aren't too bad. whatever happens when i feel confident to max, i feel based on most of my other sessions that i've made quite a bit of progress in technical form and general strength increase.

front squat
295x1
(265x1)x5

clean dead lift + hang clean (from below knee) + jerk
175x1
195x1
215x1
235x1
255x--, it was hard to exercise the level of precision required at this weight to do the initial part of this complex and then still have enough gas for the jerk. if i would have had a little more focus to tighten everything up i probably would have been alright but there were several contributing factors that created fatigue.

hang clean high pull speed complex, w/straps
275x1
295x1
(315x1)x3

short and sweet between one kids nap time and picking the other up from school. hopefully i'll be able to pick up where i left off the rest of this week.

 

[Balthazar]

5/11

hang snatch high pull speed complex, w/straps
195x1
215x1
235x1
255x1
275x1

snatch dead lift + touch&go snatch
145x2
165x2
185x1
205x1
(225x--)x2

snatch balance
215x1
235x1
255x1
275x1
(295x--)x3, urgggh

not too great of a day. i'm having some kind of mental block trying to hit my current 1rm pr at snatch. on paper i should be able to get more but i've psyched myself out the last two sessions i've attempted that heavy. out of the three attempts for my top weight at snatch balance i got pretty close with one, i was to the point of squatting it up but i let the weight drift forward and lost it before i could complete the attempt.

 

[Dustin07]

You know man, if you're getting under the bar and then losing it I wouldn't worry too much about the mental block. for me the mental block is when I high pull the mofo above my head and dont even jump under the bar. that's when I know I'm just scaring myself. but if you are getting under the bar its just focus and practice/form.

your 225 is 20lbs over my PR but I know 205 took me 7 attempts and i think 2 different days to try it. When I missed it the first day, I switched to overhead squats to see what I actually could OH squat. it was like 20-30lbs higher than my snatch weight, and for doubles/triples. once I knew the strength was there I felt more confident.

your hitting a 275+ snatch balance so you got this easily. just hit it with a fresh mind next time and you'll kill it.

 

[Balthazar]

You know man, if you're getting under the bar and then losing it I wouldn't worry too much about the mental block. for me the mental block is when I high pull the mofo above my head and dont even jump under the bar. that's when I know I'm just scaring myself. but if you are getting under the bar its just focus and practice/form.

your 225 is 20lbs over my PR but I know 205 took me 7 attempts and i think 2 different days to try it. When I missed it the first day, I switched to overhead squats to see what I actually could OH squat. it was like 20-30lbs higher than my snatch weight, and for doubles/triples. once I knew the strength was there I felt more confident.

your hitting a 275+ snatch balance so you got this easily. just hit it with a fresh mind next time and you'll kill it.

haha, possibly...unfortunately i gave up as i feel like i tanked the entire culmination of my 6 month long progression during this peaking phase. i decided to break back down to another hyper block and start over again. i do feel pretty decent though as i've hit quite a few good lifts despite not working up to any new max attempts

back squat - starting light here
165x10
185x10
205x10
185x10
165x10

power clean + split jerk
135x3
155x3
175x3

clean dead lift + hang clean (pause at below knee)
155x3
175x3
195x3

ohp
(95x10)x3

narrow grip bb bo row
(135x10)x5

this went alright, even starting on the light side 10s still suck for squats haha. hopefully i will be able to keep things more consistent leading up to another peaking phase several months from now. for now i'm just building again and that's alright.

 

[Balthazar]

5/19

hang power snatch, w/straps
95x5
115x5
135x5

snatch, w/straps
105x5
125x5
145x5

RDL
185x10
205x10
225x10

short and simple, starting off slow. 5s suck btw.

 

[Balthazar]

5/20

power clean, w/straps
145x5
165x5
185x5

c+j
145x3
165x3
185x3

back squat
175x10
195x10
215x10

just a quick one between work and dad time.

 

[Balthazar]

5/22

front squat
225x3
245x3
265x3
245x3
225x3

hang muscle snatch, w/straps
85x5
105x5
125x5

power snatch, w/straps
95x5
115x5
135x5

wide grip bo bb row
(115x10)x5

bb bicep curls
3x10

i think i'm going to put a little more emphasis on front squats through the course of this next progression than i did before. i'm not really trying to build toward a new 1rm or anything but i think it will be good to hit some decent weight here and there while my back squat is more geared toward hypertrophy. 265x3 is not bad, i think the best i've done comparable to that weight is 275x5 and that was when i was exclusively doing fronts before i had my squat rack.

 

[Balthazar]

5/30

power clean + jerk
165x3
185x3
205x3

clean dl + hang clean (start at pause below knee)
185x2
205x2
225x2

back squat
185x10
205x10
225x10
205x10
185x10

BB OH Tri Extension
3x10

BB Upright Row
3x10

Frequency is out the window at this point but I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing. Even though I bombed the end of the peaking period for my last progression, I was otherwise very steady for 6 months straight so a fair amount of gaps in the last month aren't exactly horrible. Honestly I think my joints and ligaments are pretty happy about it.

 

[Dustin07]

Honestly I think my joints and ligaments are pretty happy about it.

heck sometimes that's half the battle

 

[Balthazar]

6/1

hang muscle snatch, w/straps
95x5
115x5
135x5

snatch
115x5
135x5
155x5

RDL
205x10
225x10
245x10

Narrow Grip BO BB Row
3x10

BB Bicep Curl
3x10

Nice little one here after work. 5s for snatch didn't actually feel that bad today. I believe I've done 175-185 before for 5rm so if I can hit that again in this training block I will be happy. Although I'm sort of prioritizing my comp lifts by doing them earlier in the routine, I'm going to try to put more emphasis on hypertrophy work with different assistance lifts for the next 7-8 weeks before I get into general strength volume again.

 

[Dustin07]

so when you are doing a working 5 rep set on snatch, do you dump the weight from top, then reset each time, or is this unbroken with your hands never leaving the bar? I think I remember you saying you try to keep your reps within 20 seconds of each other for working sets?

 

[Balthazar]

it depends on the difficulty of the attempt, if the weight is easy i will do them in pretty quick succession but i will reset my grip each time unless i'm using straps.

 

[Balthazar]

6/5

power clean
175x5
195x5
215x5

clean + jerk
175x3
195x3
215x3

back squat
195x10
215x10
235x10
215x10
195x10

BB OH Tricep Extension
5x10

BB Upright Row
5x10

Pretty nice day here. I think my best 5rm for power clean is 225 so hitting within less than 10% of that was pretty sweet, not sure if I'll be able to improve upon it but getting up there again is still good. I believe my best 3rm for c+j is also 225 and I do think I will be able to improve on that as today's top set did not feel too bad.

 

[Balthazar]

6/7

front squat
235x3
255x3
275x3

hang power snatch, w/straps
115x5
135x5
155x5

snatch DL + touch&go snatch
135x3
155x3
175x3

RDL
215x10
235x10
255x10

Meadows Row
3x10

BB Bicep Curl
3x10

Nice day here. I can see why all the guys concerned with hypertrophy like the meadows row, it was my first time trying it and it definitely feels pretty superior for lat stimulation compared to BO Rows/

 

[Balthazar]

6/9

power clean + split jerk x2
155x2
175x2
195x2

clean DL + hang clean (start pause below knee)
185x3
205x3
225x3

back squat
205x10
225x10
245x10
225x10
205x10

close grip OHP
5x10

bb upright row
5x10

good day here. i believe my 10rm for squat is 255 or at least that's the highest i've worked up to since i don't really go for failure. my top set today was moderately challenging to hopefully i should be able to work beyond what i've achieve before, in the coming weeks. clean variation was fun, i'm pretty confident that i'll be able to do 300+ for a single by the end of this long term progression.

 

[Balthazar]

6/12

hang muscle snatch, w/straps
105x5
125x5
145x5

snatch
125x5
145x5
165x5

RDL
215x10
235x10
255x10

meadows rows
5x10

pretty decent day, especially considering that i spent all weekend laboring and drinking in the hot sun ha. snatch feels pretty strong, i think i might be able to improve on my 5rm.

 

[Balthazar]

6/14

hang power clean, w/straps
155x5
175x5
195x5

c+j
185x3
205x3
225x3, PR tie

back squat
215x10
235x10
255x10, PR tie

close grip OHP
3x10

BB front shoulder raise
3x10

Top set for c+j was not too bad, I think I will be able to improve on my 3rm a little bit. Also, it was really good considering how low my frequency is and that my form is not particularly tight at the moment. I wanted to go for the full volume at squat but the top set felt a little tough and I decided that was enough. I still have another week or so in this particular block to try to get it all and possibly improve a little bit.

 

[Balthazar]

6/15

hang power snatch, w/straps
125x5
145x5
165x5, PR

snatch DL + touch&go snatch
145x3
165x3
185x3

meadows row
5x10

BB bicep curl
5x10

Pretty nice day here, especially considering my legs were still a bit gassed from squatting for volume yesterday.

 

[Balthazar]

long weekend with the kids and parents for father's day left a pretty big gap here

6/20

power hang clean + push press, w/straps
145x3
165x3
185x3

clean DL + hang clean (start at pause below knee)
195x3
215x3
235x3

back squat
215x10
235x10
255x10
235x10
215x10

close grip OHP
3x10

BB shoulder front raises
3x10

clean complex was a little tough for top set but overall pretty sweet. got the full volume i wanted for squat which i failed to do at that set weight scheme before, which was also sweet. just about done here with the high volume block and seem to be on track.

 

[Dustin07]

that 255 x 10 must have felt nice lol

 

[Balthazar]

that 255 x 10 must have felt nice lol

pretty nice soreness for a couple days haha, i wanted to get a little bit more for tens before i moved on to eights but no big deal, i'm still pretty satisfied.

6/22

hang muscle snatch, w/straps
115x5
135x5
155x5, just barely but none the less awesome

snatch DL + touch&go snatch
155x3
175x3
195x3

RDL
225x10
245x10
265x10

Meadow's Row
5x10

BB Bicep Curl
5x10

A real nice day here. It's been two years since I've been regularly training again. I think the first time I tried to max at snatch it was about 165. Doing the complex that I did today, each rep is sort of like a 1 and a half, so to hit 195x3 was pretty huge. I haven't quite made as much progress as I would've liked to by now but it's definitely been pretty steady anyway.

 

[Balthazar]

6/26

front squat
245x3
265x3
285x2

c+j
195x3
215x3
235x3, triples PR!

BO BB Row
5x10

CG OHP
5x10

Pretty nice here, I really wanted 285 for a triple on front squat but considering that I have only been doing them here and there a double is still pretty good. C+J was great, triples suck though.

 

[Balthazar]

6/28

power hang snatch, w/straps
115x3
135x3
155x3

snatch
135x3
155x3
175x3

RDL
245x8
265x8
285x8

Meadow's Row
3x8

BB Bicep Curl
3x8

break down into the next hypertrophy block.

 

[Balthazar]

6/30

power clean
145x3
165x3
185x3

clean DL + hang clean (start at pause below knee)
165x2
185x2
205x2

Split Jerk
145x5
165x5
185x5

back squat
195x8
215x8
235x8
215x8
195x8

CG OHP
5x8

Narrow Grip BO BB Row
5x8

even though i've progressed on to 8s did i mention that i hate hyper volume squats?

 

[Balthazar]

7/5

where does all the time go? my frequency sucks but i've been busy with side projects beyond my regular work and what not.

muscle snatch
95x3
115x3
135x3

snatch DL + touch&go snatch
125x2
145x2
165x2

snatch balance
145x3
165x3
185x3

RDL
255x8
275x8
295x8, getting to the edge of my grip strength here, these are conventional grip, unbroken lowering to just a slight tap on the ground

meadow's row
5x8

bb bicep curl
5x8

nice day here, still working back up towards some more difficult percentages for a little while in this block.

 

[Dustin07]

7/5

where does all the time go? my frequency sucks but i've been busy with side projects beyond my regular work and what not.
.

I can relate!!

 

[Balthazar]

7/6

power clean
145x3
165x3
185x3

c+j
165x2
185x2
205x2

back squat
205x8
225x8
245x8
225x8
205x8

CG OHP
5x8

working up...

 

[Balthazar]

7/12

power hang snatch
115x3
135x3
155x3

snatch
135x3
155x3
175x3

front squat
(225x3)x3

quick one before work

 

[Balthazar]

7/28

snatch dl + t&g snatch
145x2
165x2
(185x2)x3

squat
225x8
245x8
265x8
245x8
225x8

klokov press
(95x8)x5

 

[Balthazar]

8/2

power clean + push press
165x2
185x2
205x2

clean dl + hang clean (start paused below knee)
205x2
225x2
245x2

front squat
235x3
255x3
275x2


8/4

muscle snatch
105x3
125x3
145x3

snatch
145x3
165x3
185x3
(195x3)x2, i think this is a triples PR tie

RDL
265x8
285x8
305x8

klokov press
(105x8)x5

couple of nice days here. even though i've kind of put training on the back burner for the last couple months, i'm still making comparable lifts to where i left off when i was being more strict with frequency and adhering to a longer progression.

 

[Balthazar]

there were a couple more sessions between this post and my last one but i forgot to put it up and now i don't remember what i did specifically. anyway, one of my acl is dinged up likely from the increase in volume from doing hypertrophy squats the last couple months. there wasn't ever an acute moment that injured it, more like progressive accumulated stress. it finally got too sore, so i've cut out squats for a bit as well as full squat position lifts.

8/11

hang clean high pull complex, w/straps
255x1
275x1
(295x1)x3

power clean + push press
175x2
195x2
(215x2)x3

CG OHP
5x8

 

[Dustin07]

hey what's going on. been a while...

 

[Balthazar]

hey what's going on. been a while...

my knee still isn't feeling right. I've also been distracted with a number of significant things happening at once. Still not squatting, doing a lot of hang position and power position stuff.

8/31

hang muscle snatch, w/straps
95x3
115x3
(135x3)x3

hang snatch pull speed complex, w/straps
155x1
175x1
195x1
215x1
235x1
(255x1)x3

Klokov Press
(105x8)x5

 

[Dustin07]

are you able to deadlift without the knees feeling pain? or anything else that can keep the glutes/hammies growing and training until you can gain full range of motion back for the squats?

 

[Balthazar]

are you able to deadlift without the knees feeling pain? or anything else that can keep the glutes/hammies growing and training until you can gain full range of motion back for the squats?

yeah, i've mostly been doing RDLs as a supplemental strength exercise. My knee still isn't right, but I don't think it's the ligament now. I can squat and do other stuff in a squatting position, but I haven't really been to do more than warm up weights before it gets uncomfortable. I can do heavy pulls and other exercises off the ground but it's too much to try having any serious weight or TUT with my knee being bent to parallel or deeper.

9/8

Power Hang Snatch, w/straps
135x3
155x3
175x3

Hang Snatch Pull Speed Complex, w/straps
195x1
215x1
235x1
255x1
(275x1)x3

RDL
275x8
295x8
315x8

Klokov Press
(115x8)x5

 

[Balthazar]

9/20

power snatch
95x3
115x3
135x3
155x3
(165x3)x2

Hang Snatch Complex, w/straps
135x1
155x1
(175x1)x3

Hang Snatch High Pull Speed Complex, w/straps
195x1
215x1
235x1
255x1
275x1

Hang Snatch Low Pull Speed Complex
275x1
295x1
315x1

Klokov Press
3x8
1x7,--

 

[Dustin07]

still lifting?