Lol's New HST Log

Nice suggestions G11! I think everyone needs a bit of viking metal every now and again.

LOL - It is so nice to see you posting regularly. And - I am so with you (and Pendlay) that persisting form is so much more important than going super heavy at the expense of form. In any case - great work!!!!!!
 
Wed 31/10/12

So, I had a 24-hr bug that left me feeling a bit washed out and flat. I hadn't felt 100% for a few days so it must have been taking hold. I had a streaming nose and eyes all yesterday. Headache had gone by tonight so I felt ok enough to train, although nothing too taxing.

General Warmup
500m C2 row: 1:42.8; shoulder dislocates; OHS with wooden rod

Hang Snatch
10 x 20kg
5 x 30kg
5 x 40kg - straps from this set onwards
5 x 50kg (110lb)
5 x 50kg
5 x 50kg + 5 x OHS after last rep
5 x 50kg + 5 x OHS after last rep

All reps from high hang tonight. That means that I started with the bar in the crease of my hips; then with knees slightly bent I fired the bar up, pulled myself under and locked out elbows as fast as possible.

I think these were my most consistent reps yet. My lockout overhead is feeling much more positive. My wrists are toughening up too—I forgot to wear my wrist wraps and my wrists were ok. I guess these things just take time.

Front Squat
5 x 70kg
5 x 90kg
5 x 100kg (220lb)
5 x 100kg

Nice and deep. Two sets with 100kg was enough tonight.

Handstand-against-wall
5 x 30 seconds with 30 second rest in between.

Had to add extra 30 sec rest before final handstand. Shoulders were really pumped after that. These are helping to toughen up my wrists too.

Not a lot of work but better than nothing.
 
@Lol - how do you get into position for the handstand-against-wall ... ? I've been wanting to get this going but keep making a fool out of myself trying to get my legs up against the wall (thankfully at home and not at the gym :P)
 
grunt11 said:
Warmup?

I did a 500m warmup yesterday but don’t think I’ll be posting any times until they’re a little less embarrassing. ;)
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was really warm after that! :)

I tend to start off at around 2:00/500m pace and then increase it to about 1:35/500m by the end of the 500m. Sometimes I don't pick things up and stay at around 2:00/500m pace.

For comparison, I think my best 500m time is about 1:28, but that's an all-out effort with damper set on 10 and at around 35 spm. That's definitely not a warmup!
 
AlexAustralia said:
@Lol - how do you get into position for the handstand-against-wall ... ? I've been wanting to get this going but keep making a fool out of myself trying to get my legs up against the wall (thankfully at home and not at the gym :P)
Click to expand...

With my arms straight and with shoulders active (i.e. shrugged up hard), I lean forward and place my hands about 2 inches away from the wall; then I kick up into position. It's actually simple. It just takes a bit of practice.

When I started doing handstands I used to put my hands about 6" away from the wall but now I can hold a static handstand fairly well so I can go much closer. You'll gradually get used to kicking up too. It's very easy to kick too hard or not hard enough when starting out. The closer you go to the wall, the more you have to keep a straight and vertical body position. This will help you to learn better balance.

Gymnasts hold a hollow-body position so they can actually look at their toes while in a handstand. This will seem pretty hard to do initially. My best advice is just to try lots and lots of handstands. :)
 
Fri 02/11/12

Flip! This year's nearly done! Two months to reach a few goals.

General Warmup
Ton's of OHS with broom handle and O-bar; deep stretch lunges; dislocates

Cleans from High Hang
5 x 40kg
3 x 50kg
3 x 60kg
3 x 70kg
2 x 75kg
10 x 1 x 80kg (176lb) - these got progressively easier in one sense: easier to get under the bar as technique improved, but more tiring standing up by the last rep!
10 x 1 x 85kg (187lb) - these got progressively harder! :)
5 x 1 x 90kg (198lb) - last rep was easiest! Got hip impulse just right.

High hang is from just below hip height.
Belted; wrist wraps; no straps throughout. No jerks tonight as my left shoulder is feeling pretty beaten up from that 180kg deadlift and static hold on Monday.

Really enjoyed that. Although I have done a single with 90kg from the hang before, five singles @ 90kg is a PR of sorts. Stopped there because it was getting a bit late to dump the bar.

High-bar Back Squat
10 x 70kg
5 x 100kg
5 x 120kg
5 x 130kg (286lb) @ RPE 8

That last set was also a PR of sorts; it wasn't a particularly taxing set but I haven't really ever done high-bar squats like I'm doing them now. I would ordinarily have done a couple more sets but my hips are struggling with the extra depth in the hole and the bar positioning feels anything but comfortable at the moment, so I left it there tonight.

Quite pleased with my cleans tonight. I'm now in need of food and a quad stretching session.

Decided to add...

Handstand Against Wall
1 x 60 seconds
 
Last edited:
How do you do cleans without any pain? For some reason they always bugged my shoulders. What's your secret?

I also was compelled to try the handstand against the wall and I'm amazed by your ability. I don't think I'll ever be able to just kick up there all easy like you make it sound.
 
Totentanz said:
How do you do cleans without any pain? For some reason they always bugged my shoulders. What's your secret?

I also was compelled to try the handstand against the wall and I'm amazed by your ability. I don't think I'll ever be able to just kick up there all easy like you make it sound.
Click to expand...

Well, if I had to kick 240lb up there, or whatever you are right now, I'd probably struggle too. :) I might try wearing a weight vest and see how I get on.

As for cleans, which part of the lift gives you pain? In the racked position with elbows high? Or do you mean when jerking overhead?

---------
Edit.

I'm really glad you brought this up. I found an old weighted diving belt with 15lb of lead on it. I weigh ~205lb with it on. The extra weight is quite noticeable when in a handstand so I'm going to use it in my handstand training. I'll try to get hold of some more weight too as there's plenty of room left on the belt.


And here's a link to a shoulder flexibility vid by the folks at California Strength. The first part is about dislocates and the second part is a good stretch for the racked position of the clean. It is possible to do this stretch unaided by doing one arm at a time and using the other hand to hold the bar down while you force your other elbow up towards the ceiling.

http://californiastrength.com/cal-s...s-for-the-upper-body-in-olympic-weightlifting
 
Last edited:
I will have to try some cleans tomorrow because I don't remember which specific spot gives me trouble. I think my problem is definitely flexibility though, so thanks for the link, I'm going to check it out. And I'll definitely keep trying the handstand thing, you've inspired me to do it until I get it. If you have any other links for reliably increasing flexibility, feel free to post them up.
 
Mon 05/11/12

I had to walk into town before working out this evening. I thought it would be a good warm up. It was, only I ended up getting calf cramps all through my workout which was a real pain. I've been off creatine for a while so I know it's not related to that.

General Warmup
Brisk walk into town and back (about 4 miles); shoulder dislocates; lunges

Hang Snatch
All from hang at hips
5 x 20kg + 5 x OHS
3 x 30kg + 5 x OHS
3 x 40kg + 5 x OHS
3 x 50kg (110lb) - straps from this set onwards
3 x 52.5kg
3 x 52.5kg
3 x 55kg + 5 x OHS after last rep
3 x 55kg + last rep p-sn
3 x 57.5kg - PR from hip
3 x 57.5kg - left calf cramped on last rep but still got it
1 x 57.5kg - left calf cramped during 2nd rep so had to dump bar

Apart from the wretched cramping, this was a good session. Small improvements again tonight and a PR triple snatching from hip.

Drank a load of water, massaged my calves, and waited for a few minutes.

Hang Clean
All from high-hang, above knee
1 x 57.5kg + 2 jerks
1 x 60kg + 2 jerks
1 x 65kg + jerk
1 x 70kg + jerk
1 x 65kg + jerk
1 x 80kg + jerk
1 x 85kg + jerk
1 x 87.5kg + jerk
1 x 90kg + jerk
1 x 92.5kg + jerk - slight press-out but still a PR clean from the high-hang

Lots of calf twinges but the water really helped. Loved slamming the bar after the jerks. :)

High-bar Back Squat
wu: 10 x 70kg; 5 x 100kg;5 x 120kg

5 x 132.5kg (292lb) @ RPE 8.5 - a PR of sorts for high-bar
5 x 132.5kg (292lb) @ RPE 8.5

Pull-ups
15 x bw - @ 187lbs

Chins
14 x bw - just missed 15th rep

Handstand-against-wall
bw x 60 seconds - last 10 seconds were killer tonight.
 
Last edited:
Took delivery of a few extra weights today: two replacement 10kg bumpers and a selection of fractional plates so that I can now go down to 1/2kg increments for all my Oly practice sessions.

New weights.jpg
 
Wed 07/11/12

Shortened workout tonight due to visitors. Used my new bumpers. Really like them. Bar slams are much quieter.

General Warmup
Shoulder dislocates; lunges; OHSs with broom handle

Hang Snatch
All reps from hang at hips
5 x 20kg + 5 x OHS
3 x 30kg
3 x 40kg
3 x 40kg
3 x 45kg + 5 x OHS
3 x 45kg - straps from this set onwards
3 x 50kg (110lb)
3 x 50kg
3 x 52.5kg
3 x 55kg - got one of these a bit wrong and hurt my left shoulder a bit.
3 x 55kg
2 x 57.5kg - left strap snapped during 2nd rep.

Not so good tonight. Right knee has been tweaky since Monday's squats. Hope that goes away.

Hang Clean
All from high-hang, above knee
1 x 60kg + 2 jerks
1 x 70kg + 2 jerks
1 x 80kg + jerk
1 x 90kg + jerk
1 x 90kg + jerk - slight press-out
1 x 90kg + jerk

Form was better for the 3 x 90kg jerks. Did Shankle complex with 60kg & 70kg, hence the two jerks for those. (Eg. Shankle complex - 200kg)

Handstand-against-wall
BW x 70 seconds - PR - managed an extra 10 seconds.

No time for front squats tonight so will try to get time tomorrow morning.
 
The handstand is sort of an isometric, right ... ? (nothing wrong with that, just considering how to classify it)
 
AlexAustralia said:
The handstand is sort of an isometric, right ... ? (nothing wrong with that, just considering how to classify it)
Click to expand...

Yup, definitely strong iso contraction going on. Beastly fatiguing for upper-back, shoulders and, in my case, triceps.

I'm one of those people who can't lock their elbows like a knee joint so I have to actively contract my tris the whole time to keep me from collapsing. By the time I get to 60 seconds, my tris are fried. I also make a point of contracting abs, glutes etc. to keep myself rigid as it makes balancing easier.

One other benefit to me from doing these is that I get a loaded stretch on my right wrist which lacks the flexibility of my left wrist. Both wrists are toughening up.

At some point, when I can get my balance right, I'm going to start transferring my weight from one wrist to the other to see if that helps me to stay in a handstand for longer. I suspect that because of my elbow situation and with the extra loading, the tris in the loaded arm will get fatigued really quickly; so the bit of rest that the unweighted arm is getting won't be enough to shake off the fatigue before I need to swap back to it again.

Having worked on doing handstands, my jerk technique has improved. Because my cleans are only a bit over my bodyweight at the moment, it's not too difficult for me to press the weight out if I don't quite get my jerk right. That will have to change as my cleans improve and the load goes up. Thankfully, it's not going to be quick improvement so my body should have time to adapt.
 
Thurs 08/11/12

Grabbed a bit of time this morning to do the front squats I should have done last night. Was hoping my tweaky right knee would be ok.

Front Squat
W-U: 10 x 20kg, 10 x 30kg, 10 x 40kg, 5 x 60kg, 5 x 85kg

5 x 105kg (231lb)
7 x 105kg @ RPE 9 - this might have been 8 reps :?
3 x 115kg (253lb) @ RPE 9

Belted; Oly shoes.

Knee was ok. Good strong rebound coming out of the hole and no nasty pains. Hopefully, it'll just go away.


==============

Dips
W-U: 25 x BW; 10 x BW+10kg

10 x BW+20kg (44lb)
10 x BW+20kg (44lb)

Haven't done these for a while and they felt harder than expected.

Handstand-against-wall
Some 30 second handstands where my aim was to touch the wall as little as possible.

Various mobility stretches. I am doing loaded stretches for my right ankle in the squat position, holding a 25kg plate on my right knee. I hold the position for a couple of minutes at a time.
 
Last edited:
Fri 09/11/12

General Warmup
1k C2 row: 3:56 @ 26 spm
Shoulder dislocates
OHS and snatch with broom handle

Hang Snatch
All reps from hang at hips
W/U: 5 x 20kg, 5 x 30kg
2 x 40kg
2 x 42.5kg
2 x 45kg
2 x 47.5kg
2 x 50kg (110lb)
2 x 50kg
2 x 52.5kg
2 x 55kg
2 x 55kg - weight a bit forward for both reps
2 x 55kg - better
2 x 57kg
2 x 59kg
2 x 60kg (132lb) - weight a bit forward again
2 x 60kg - better
3 x 2 x 40kg - back off sets for form practice

No straps tonight. Right knee still a bit tweaky but better than on Weds night. Good groove-greasing session. Best reps so far with 60kg.

High-bar Back Squat
W/U: 5 x 70kg; 5 x 90kg; 3 x 110kg; 2 x 120kg

5 x 135kg (297lb) @ RPE 8.5
5 x 135kg (297lb) @ RPE 8.5

A PR for high-bar and sets across. Left shoulder felt a bit better under the bar tonight. Hopefully, that'll translate to less shoulder discomfort tomorrow.
I'm only doing two work sets because I'm squatting 3 x weekly and I'm getting plenty sore enough at the moment. If that changes, I'll add an extra work set.

Handstand-against-wall
5 x BW x 30 seconds - 30s rest between rounds

No extra rest before final round which was hard, but I wasn't about to crumble at the end of it like the previous time I did 5 x 30s. Progress.
 
That is some serious squatting. You should try to grab a video of those high-bar squats sometime.
 
Sci said:
That is some serious squatting. You should try to grab a video of those high-bar squats sometime.
Click to expand...

Definitely! I was going to wait until I hit 140 again for sets across. Getting closer now.

I'm pleased to say that my left shoulder held out a bit better following the sets with 135kg. I definitely think that when I broke my left clavicle, things have slightly shifted inside and that's why I am now getting shoulder pain on that side after squatting. I'm doing high-bar now instead of low-bar as it was much more comfortable to place the bar higher on my traps once I was healed up enough to squat again.
 
Mon 12/11/12

Yesterday, I must have eaten something that disagreed with me; I ended up in the bathroom most of the night with churning insides. By 8am I was past the worst but I've felt washed out and delicate all day. By this evening I felt ok-ish and decided to do a little bit of training.

General Warmup
Lots of air squats
OHS with broom handle.

Hang Snatch
First reps from floor then from hip
W/U: 2 x 5 x 20kg, 5 x 30kg

3 x 40kg
3 x 40kg
4 x 40kg
3 x 45kg
3 x 45kg
3 x 50kg - first rep power snatched :-/
3 x 50kg - better

Didn't feel like I had enough in the tank for heavy squats tonight. If I'm feeling stronger again, I'll have a go tomorrow.

Handstand-against-wall
6 x BW x 30 seconds - 30s rest between rounds PR

Six rounds for a new PR. During the final round, the whole of my upper back and traps was burning up.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top