The Saga of Zammar the Great #1 - Torst

Ren crouched to pick the flower, a purple one...Browallia Bluebells she recalled, loves shade. It was hard to find a sun loving species in the valley, but Ren didn't mind. She liked the shade and all of the shade loving flowers. Her eyes followed the great cliff face in the distance, she had to crane her neck before she could see the top. There she gazed at the massive overhanging rock that covered almost half of the valley, blocking out the sun and elements. It was more than a few hundred meters higher than her current elevation, and jutted out mostly unsupported for almost a kilometer from the cliff edge. Slanting upwards, the ledge reached its highest point towards the far edge.

With a sigh, she added the Bluebells to her basket. A few strands of hair, long, silky and deep black, rustled by the wind covered her eyes, green eyes. She sighed again, brushing them off to the side. Her thoughts were drawn to the stories of the outside world; the vast mountain range that separated this valley from the rest of civilization, remembering the tales of all the fascinating creatures and amazing culture outside the great cliff walls. Ren wondered if she too would ever see them with her own eyes. She wished, for a moment that she could fly.

No, she couldn't leave. Turning around, Ren gazed across the great valley. She was standing on a ledge that jutted out of the cliff face and was part of the forest on the right edge of the valley. Her favorite spot. From here she could see everything. The other side of the valley was an almost identical mirror image to the one she was on. There too, a great cliff face was capped by a massive overhanging rock. The two rocks reached for each other overhead, separated by a gap that spanned the central portion of the valley. Since the valley ran from West to East, this gap was the only strip of area touched entirely by the suns light. 

Gazing downwards towards the road, Ren spotted a farmers family trudging along the thick road, their pack mule straining under its burden. She felt sorry for the animal, and the family...but Pa always said that you can't give too much to the poor because they will become dependent and unable to live on their own. She followed their progress until they reached the Pillars of Augenmar then lost attention and looked to the city of Torst. Her city. 

How could she ever think to leave it behind? Torst, the first and only multiracial city in the world. Built into the side of Mount Romsdalen at the end of the valley, beyond the great overhanging rocks, Torst had stood unharmed for centuries. Its great outer walls glinted in the rising sun, casting a shadow on the roads in front. These walls, made of smooth white stone rose over fifty meters, hiding and protecting the city behind. Above them, Ren could make out the middle levels, built higher into the mountain and protected by an even taller wall. She had to crane her neck to see the final level with its great domed cathedrals and spires. On either side of the city was an immense statue.

The Great Warrior on the left and the Great Intellectual on right. The unknown founding fathers of Torst. The warrior's mighty arms rested on the pommel of a massive greatsword that had been thrust into the ground, straight but for its jagged edge. His muscular chest popped from below a strapped leather tunic and a stone cape hid his back . A symbol of the cities might.

The Great Intellectual looked visibly more feeble, hunched over in a long robe. He held a book in his hand and was reading it with a crooked finger, a long beard flowed from the hooded face. His presence indicated the wisdom and intelligence of the cities citizens. The two had protected Torst since they together joined forces to found it in a world teeming with hatred. Or so the legend went.

Training - 4th Oct. 2013

Power Snatch + Snatch 6x1+1 @115
Back activation exercises


Don't know if anyone noticed, but I was on a bit of a week long hiatus there. It's not that I was too lazy to blog, I was actually just unable to lift due to the recurring back injury.

Not 100%. Probably going to spend most of next week doing more rehab.

What happened was that when Front Squatting, I made a stupid mistake and ending up compressing the left side of my middle traps. The resulting injury is pretty unforgiving. Constant icing + Ibuprofen definitely helping.

But the issue with these kinds of injuries is the more permanent effect they have on lifting.

I noticed this today, when Snatching, it felt like the left side of my back was asleep, it really was not activating at all in the way it was supposed to. Looking at videos, it was evident that the left side was visibly lower (pulled down by weight because it was unable to activate in a strong position) than the right.

So I really am just going to be focused on waking it up, and making it that it recovers in the appropriate manner. This is why i have been doing the "back activation exercises" - Snatch Grip OHPs and Rows are a mainstay in this, so is the front rack position.

Will probably spend this next week working on this and lifting more casually getting back into it. Get serious after Thanks Giving.


Pretty angry that I have to waste a good 3 weeks of my precious allotted 4 months of training. But injury is important because it teaches us many lessons. More on that another day.

Training - 26th Sep. 2013

Pull + Snatch from blocks: 3+1 @ (95) x2, 2+1 @ (105) x2, 1+1 @ (115) x2, 125x1, 130x1
Power Clean + Clean + Jerk: (135,145,155x2)
Clean Pull 3x3 @ 165,170,175
Dips 2 sets
ab wheel 3 sets

Pretty pissed off today. The back injury from 2 weeks ago came back yesterday. Was hoping I could work through today, but I feel pretty bad atm. It just feels like the mid traps on only the left side are super tight and it hurts through rotation. Was probably returned by a bad sleeping posture. Hopefully it gets better fast,
I need to get strong.

Training - 24th Sep. 2013

Snatch (5x2): 2,2,2,1,2 @ 125#
Front Squat: 3x(5,3,1) @ (175,185,195), (180,190,205), (185,195,215)
Jerk off the Rack: 2x3 @ 135, 3x2 @ 155, 1x(165,175,185)
Rows: 3x10
Ab Wheel Roll 3 sets

Was expecting today to be shitty, was kindve shitty but only in the way that I felt exhausted. Had to wake up at 6 for work this morning, so was not well rested. Front Squats were really hard, much harder than they should've been, but it just goes to show the importance of rest.

Snatches surprised me, felt a bit off at first, but worked into it pretty well and made 90% of the reps (I usually aim for 70%!)

Also, moving things over a bit to get more training on weekends when I'll be more rested.

The fundamental Principle of Weightlifting

When I first started weightlifting, the squat portion of the lift didn't really make sense to me. I thought that the idea of the lift was to get the bar over head, then squat and then stand up and ta-da you are amazing!

However, upon starting I started to realize that the only purpose in the sport is to get the bar overhead. There is no need for a squat. So why then does everyone seem to end up in a deep squatted position when doing said throwing of weights over head? The answer to this question is the same as the answer to every question in this sport: to lift maximal weights overhead with minimal exertion.

To be honest, it didn't really start out this way. The origins of weightlifting interestingly involved something called a split snatch or a split clean. Where, similarly to a split jerk, the weight would be received in some sort of quasi lunge.

The now obsolete split Snatch  (really cool though!)

However, at some point smart lifters started figuring out that there was another way to lift. Many started lifting heavier weights by receiving in a deep squatted position.

An absurdly deep position! Like really? God damn asians! >=[

Well it's really simple. Let's say I asked you to lift a weight, do you think it would be easier to bend over and muscle the weight up onto your shoulders? Or would it be easier to get into a squat beneath the weight and stand up with it? I think intuitively it is pretty obvious. Our legs are amazingly strong, and can lift heavy weights much more easily than our arms/back/etc can manage in the positions they would have to be in to muscle something overhead.

So basically, the primary principle behind weightlifting would be the following:

Displace your body underneath the weight, allowing your legs to stand up with it.

Weekly Training Video #1:- Sept 16th 2013

Training - 20th Sep. 2013

Snatch: Singles upto 135, missed 140
Back Squat: 1 rep @(205-245) 3x3@225, 2x6 @ 205
GHR 5x5
Behind the Neck Snatch Grip Press: 2x10 @ 45, 3x8@65
Rows: 3x10
Ab wheel roll out


Hand was still hurting today but less than yesterday, Took a risk with Snatches, and I think it was okay. Bit of pain but tightly would wrist wraps supported the hand, and it actually felt better when snatching than it had all day. On another note, ripped callous hurts so much!
Snatching went pretty well.

Back Squats bit of an experiment. Never really experimented with heavy singles in my training before, it's something pretty new. The idea being to spend more time at heavier weights and teaching the body to handle a heavier weight better So I'm not going for a 1RM by any means, just a heavy single. Was surprised how tiring the heavy singles can be though. Relatively conservative, but hard anyway.

Behind the Neck Snatch Grip Presses were a bit risky due to the hand but I did them anyway at light weights. The idea behind this exercise is not really strength. It is assistance in activating the right musculature. My thought is that if I can forcefully externally rotate my shoulders through the movement, I place emphasis on the back muscles that I want active in the bottom position of the Snatch...Thus teaching them to wake up and be more alert. Will go heavier on these at some point once the hand heals, and eventually switch them to Sots Presses (same thing but doing it in a deep squat). It really feels tense on my back, honestly the shoulders feel nothing but that external rotation is really good for my weaknesses.