Best O-lift & Shoulders day EVER!!!
Today was maybe THEE best O-lifts and shoulders day ever. The emphasis being on the Oly lifts. Today was the first time I hit the full, legit Olympic Snatch and Olympic Cleans, meaning I pulled them off the floor, as oppose to starting from a hang or standing position. Hang Snatch and Hang Cleans are good and fine, but you can't call it an "Olympic Snatch" or "Olympic Clean" unless you're doing it off the ground. Athletically speaking, you're gaining a lot of the same benefits between Olympic vs Hang's, but its like with dead lifts, most people touch & go with dead lifts, but avid dead lifters only call stop & go a legitimate DL. Today I was legit and to an extraordinary extent! I hit a MEAN ASS PR on the Olympic Cleans that I'm still stoked about.
The Olympic Snatch vs the Hang is twice the ROM, and therefore, twice as draining, so this was a good, hearty day.
Olympic Snatch
95lbs x 5 reps
135lbs x 4 reps
145lbs x 4 reps
155lbs x 3 reps
Olympic Cleans
135lbs x 5 reps
155lbs x 5 reps
185lbs x 3 reps
205lbs x 3 reps PR by +2 reps
225lbs x 3 reps PR Altogether!!!
225lbs x 1 rep
I got major light headed on the second 225 attempt, but I was just checking to make sure I could really do it and it wasn't a fluke.
Military Press
135lbs x 10 reps
155lbs x 10 reps
185lbs x 10 reps PR + 2 reps
205lbs x 6 reps
Hammer Shoulder Press
180lbs x 10 reps
200lbs x 10 reps
230lbs x 6 reps
Machine, Behind The Neck Shoulder Press
180lbs x 10 reps
185lbs x 8 reps
190lbs x 6 reps
Mesomorph's anti H+ build up effects were the most prevalent with the 185 military press. I felt I pushed to my muscles strength limitations, as oppose to the numbness that builds up which constricts further contractions. Also, I'm still pumped, not worn out at all and just generally enthused.
I told my workout partner, "I think someone's sticking oil in my ass while I'm asleep for something," because my jump on the cleans were insane. My previous PR prior to tonight was 185lbs, manning up two plates today made me feel like a real beast.
We do Olympic lifts more muscle style, then true Olympic form. True Olympic form requires that you pull the weight half way up and then you drop into an over-head snatch or a ass to grass front squat if its a clean, then stand with it. We basically utilize the traps and delts more (hips too obviously) to pull it 3/4 of the way up and catch at an almost erect, just the hips slightly back and knees slightly bent position, so when I pulled the 225's, I'm pulling those two plates up to my clavicle in an erect position, not catching way low in a deep front squat. I do that on purpose to tax my muscle more, as oppose to focusing on pulling more weight (as I'm primarily a bodybuilder and not a competitive Olympic lifter.) In doing this in this manner, I lose out on maximizing hip explosion and core strength, but gain more where I really want it, in the delts and traps.
Great effing workout. I'm beyond stoked about the two plates. The way I was progressing (slowly), I didn't think I'd hit any of these numbers on the snatch and especially the clean so soon, particularly the clean because I never hit them fresh, they always come after Snatch. This tells me that my muscle endurance and general stamina have gotten significantly better to be able to carry that same explosive energy from the Snatch to the Cleans.
Good stuff today.