There are three major milestones I've wanted to surpass at the gym this year. I'll list them out in ascending order of importance to me:
- Deadlifting 400 lbs - As I mentioned in a recent post concerning sumo deadlifts, I've never been the biggest fan of deadlifts, but it is annoying that I've remained at 385 lbs for so long.
- Back squatting 300 lbs - I have made progress towards this one, successfully getting 295 lbs, but failing at 305 lbs. At the end of the back squat program I am currently doing, I am supposed to be able to handle 310 lbs. We'll check back in on this in late September.
- Clean and jerking 225 lbs - Two big plates! I would love to put two 45 lb plates on the barbell and be able to clean and jerk it. I've been stuck at 215 lbs for a while. I have jerked 230 lbs, but feel confident that I can do more than that. Squat cleaning 225 lbs has been the problem. Very much a "close, but no cigar" situation.
Tonight I once again had the opportunity to get the clean and jerk milestone as we were doing at least 7 lifts to find a 1RM. And the focus was all about getting 225. It really wasn't until we started loading up the barbell for our first lifts that I put much thought into my progression to 225. This workout would be about the destination, not the journey.
That being said, you do have to put some thought into these things, not just throw 225 lbs on the barbell right off the bat and swing for the fences. 115 lbs felt right for my opening lift, so I decided to start there and make jumps of 20 lbs for the most part.
Planned lifts: 115-135-155-175-195-215-225
Can't say there was too much to talk about on the early lifts, other than I wanted to keep the bar close to my body (recent advice from Jim C) and I wanted to be patient before beginning my pull. At Brawl in the Burbs on Saturday, my hang snatch form fell apart at the end due to the fact that I was not patient at all before beginning my pull. One of our coaches, Marisa, also participated and I saw video online of her best lifts. It was basically the complete opposite of what I had done. Her arms were not bending at all until the barbell met her hips. Only then did she pull the bar up while simultaneously pulling her body under the bar. I knew this is what I should have been doing, but in the rush of the competition, I did not.
Well here I was on a Tuesday evening, no clock ticking down, no teammates depending on me to come up with a good lift. If I couldn't remain patient and calm in this setting, it was never happening. So on those initial lifts where the weight was not going to be overwhelming, I made sure my form was good. And I think that was true for the most part. I am probably not keeping the barbell as close to my body as I think I am, but it's closer than it has been. Keeping it even closer will take some practice. My patience was definitely good though, as I could feel the bar hit my upper thigh each time before I pulled.
Despite the weight getting heavier, the lifts at 115, 135, 155, and 175 were all pretty similar. I was able to power clean each with what I would describe as good form. And then I didn't need a huge jerk to get them over my head. For the remaining lifts, it was going to be trickier. At 195, I should have started squat cleaning, but I'm stubborn, so I did a power clean with a bit of a partial squat. It was during this lift that I had to get much more serious about the jerk. My jerk form could have been off during the first four lifts and I would have still been able to push press them over my head. That was not a good plan at 195. So I took an extra second or two after the clean to make sure my setup was how I wanted it before jerking the weight overhead.
The lift at 215 was a disaster. Maybe I was already thinking ahead to 225. There was an intro class going on and I hope none of them were watching this lift. It started with me once again refusing to squat clean. Instead I went with the ugliest power clean you ever will see. Rather than squat, I did the starfish, with my back hyperextending. It counted as a clean, but it took some readjustment of my body to get ready to do the jerk. And since I was busy chastising myself about my poor form in the clean, I was not focused on what I needed to do in the jerk. When I went to do the split jerk, I got the bar overhead, but I was wobbling around like crazy. I got it under control and then dropped the bar, but I was disappointed with everything I did during that lift.
As I said at the beginning, today was about the destination not the journey, and I had arrived at the destination. I slapped two 5 lb plates on the barbell and made it 225. I took a few minutes to get ready, then stepped up to the barbell. I thought about everything I wanted to do: keep the barbell close, be patient before pulling, drop into a squat under the barbell. I set up my grip and prepared to defeat my foe. My form wasn't that bad and I got under the barbell, but I couldn't hold on to it. 225 wins again.
The funny thing was that I knew it was my best ever attempt at cleaning 225, so I wasn't terribly upset about not getting that first try. After a couple of minutes, I set up to try again. And just like the first attempt, I was under it, but couldn't keep it under control. I was a little less pleased after the second attempt as I knew I didn't have all day to get this done. I took a smaller break before going to make my 3rd attempt. As I prepared to lift, I felt my hands slide, so I stopped and went to chalk up before proceeding. I came back to the bar, went through my routine, and tried to clean the bar. For the third straight time, I was underneath it. But this time, I had control!
Ok, ok, it wasn't much control, but if I could stand up, I'd be only a jerk away from reaching one of my milestones. The struggle probably lasted only a few seconds, but it felt like slow motion. I pressed upward while trying not to lose control of the bar. As I got near the top, I had to take a step forward, but I had it. After dozens and dozens of tries, I had finally gotten a squat clean at 225. I was pumped!
Perhaps a little too pumped. I tried to calm my breathing and my emotions so I could do the jerk at 225. I also didn't want to stand there forever holding this much weight in my front rack. When I felt comfortable, I went for the jerk and...failed. Come on, it's me! Nothing ever goes right the first time for me. I had a suspicion while I was holding the bar that I might mess up the jerk, so it wasn't terribly disappointing to me.
After a few minutes, I tried to re-create the magic again, but my 4th attempt was similar to the first two. It was alright though. Breaking through the mental barrier of squat cleaning 225 was huge for me and makes me feel that it is only a matter of time before the clean and jerk happens. Where can I improve? Well Matt B was in class with me and he has the same issue I do: neither of us want to squat clean before it is 100% necessary. Instead we do power cleans at light weights and power cleans with that crappy starfish stance at heavier weights. It would be much more beneficial to do squat cleans somewhere in the middle of the progression so that it's not a complete shock to the system at the heaviest weights. I also need more work on keeping the barbell close to me. Coach Steph noted that the barbell was not staying as close as it could when I was making my attempts at 225.
The cash-out was weighted push-ups. I worked with Cline and we went through this pretty quickly. We were supposed to make 5 attempts, but after finding success with 45, 70, and 90 pounds on my back, I wasn't sure I could do more. Then again, saying you could do a push-up with 100 pounds on your back sounds infinitely cooler in my mind than saying you can do one with 90 pounds, so I made a 4th attempt. That didn't feel much different from the attempt with 90 pounds, so I ended up making a 5th attempt with 110 pounds. Certainly felt the difference on that one! As I tried to push-up from the ground, it wasn't looking good. My momentum was stalling out. But I managed to get a little bit of drive and soon I was pressing out my arms. No more attempts for me, as I was more than happy with 110 pounds.
The highlight of the day though was the squat clean at 225. Not sure I can remember the last time I walked out of the gym as happy as I was tonight. Still had a smile on my face a couple hours after it happened.
Wednesday preview: Time to attempt 6x6 at 235 for the back squat program. Think of it as the midway point of the program. Also plan on practicing clean pulls. Unsure of whether I'll try to tackle the WOD.
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