Catalyst OTM Cycle - Week 7

Week 7 is finally done, and with it the high volume portion of this program. Good riddance! (This OTM stuff is so tiring!)

On paper, this looks like a really good week. In many ways it was, but it was hell to get through as well. Back tightness from last week continued periodically throughout the week. As a result, the Jerk day was really not as good as it could have been, but still not bad. Unfortunately, I was so tired after that jerk training session that come Thursday for Cleans, my upper back was just fried. I had a really tough time staying tight on the receive, so I didn't want to push Cleans too much.

Snatching went great! Sort of. I managed to super man 150 after like 18 other reps at or above 85% on Tuesday. It displayed my imbalances to the worst extent they can be though :D. I was really in the mindset of "Just pick this thing up, man."

Friday's reps felt awkward, but I think were important in coming up with the right feeling and helped a lot on Sunday.

Sunday was awesome. Snatched up to 155, and probably couldve done 160 (in another attempt) if I didn't want to save energy for CJs. 160 is the all time best, and I haven't hit anything above 150 for close to 8 months now =|

As is evident in the video, back angle in the snatch is still a major source of inconsistency. The issue is that I just don't know what's right, and I end up improvising according to what feels right the day of...

The issue is that naturally, my back angle would be very horizontal. This feels good in some ways, letting me keep the bar closer in the 3rd pull, but it sacrifices so much power that I have a hard time power snatching anything. It also leads to drifting on my toes, and since I have a weak back, forces a bunch of arm bend.

On the other hand, if I keep my back more vertical, my hips are in a far better position to produce power and I can power snatch my best (probably, maybe?). It also seems to result in a tighter receive. Unfortunately, I end up hitting the bar forward, and this is really costly.

I've been trying to find a middle ground...I guess the experimentation continues =|

BUT GOOD NEWS

A PR, FINALLY! (after like 6 months or something)

And a big one! 220lb/100kg Clean and Jerk! It's only 5lbs better than the previous, but it's huge! First three digit lift, so pretty happy. Not as happy as 225 will make me though! :)

Interestingly, I really was not feeling C&J's on Sunday. Especially the jerks. I was pretty tired after Snatching, and sort of just did it. The jerks were crappy (kept shifting to front leg and not getting front foot out enough), but I managed to do the work. I'm confident that 230 is in the park on a better day.

Also, I randomly suffered an ab cramp while walking around yesterday (after training). It's a bit sore today, but hopefully will be better for tomorrows training.

Week 8 is deload week! (Thank you Greg :) )



p.s. I apologize for all the man grunting. I don't know when I became so noisy >_>