Saturday, July 01, 2006

Stones Gym

AH, I love my little dungeon in the garage.I really missed training there these past two saturdays but today we were back!After reading all the great GS exploits of Cate Imes and Franz snatching the Bulldog for 15 reps and seeing Bill Fox back training for hi rep snatches I thought I would give it a bit of a go. I hate high reps :}}

Snatch
36x5/5/5/5x2

44x10/10
x12/12
x14/14
x16/16
x18/18= 140 reps
these were very solid considering I havent done anything higher than 1o in months. but MAN were my forearms pumped! I have pretty big forearms and they pump like mad.
( put on gymnastics grips; havent used these in a year!)
44x10/10 sprint set
x12/12 sprint set
x14/14= 212 total. this took about 35 minutes. 9328 louds/266 lbs per min

Man those grip rock. totally let me focus on the movement. I love doing kb sprint snatches too. they almost seem easily than the ones where I rest on top in the lockout.

clean and jerk
44x5/5
53x3/3x5 sets

wanted to see if I could work these in but its not a good idea. the shoulder has to go through that weightless middles phase and it doesnt like it. But even still my cardio was very good. very happy with that. and from low rep sets to boot!
I really should stay away from hi rep snatches with no arm switches. the shoulder and biceps really feel at risk when any fatigue sets in.Well, it was fun to play. Plus they feel like they mostly work by forearms. no gs or ssst for me :((
But,beleive me I am not complaining. just being able to snatch at all, and to be able to train hard three days a week with increasing work capacity and diminshing pain is a freaking miracle!

datsit, stay loose.

bw 162.2
bf 10.1%

9 comments:

Ken Black said...

Rif there is a way to not fry the grip/pump the forearms up so much. More or less you hook the kettlebell in the fingers rather than gripping it. I can do it with my right but not the left yet. Takes a bit of getting used to but saves the grip big time.

Mark Reifkind said...

Ken I've been shown that and tried it and it doesnt seem to work for me. first off I spent many years swing around bars through those middle two fingers. serious old motor patterns. two the DD bells seemed too think for me to use that when I tried.

Do you a GS twisting style on your snatch technique?

Ken Black said...

Nah I can't do the GS stuff. I do the RKC style.
What stopped me from doing it(and is still with the left) is fear. I was talking to Tom about this when you lift the thick bar even though you feel like it is going to rip out of your grip, it is your fear that stops you from lifting it. I did snatches today and ripped the left hand so I guess there is something to it. It does feel unnatural to me also and I feel I am going to drop it.
I like the concept that you don't need to death grip it. I was talking to a friend that rode motorbikes and he said they more or less clamp their grip on the handles rather than crushing it. I also talked to Marty Farrell(sp) about this at one stage and his idea was of a simmilar concept.
When you do swing around the bar do you death grip it or is it more of a clamping grip? I think that there may be quite a bit of correlation between the two. JMO.
Hey I should say nice snatching by the way;)

Mark Reifkind said...

naw, its your grip that wont let you dl the thinck bar, lol!seriously, at some point you just outrun your ability to squeeze.

in gymnastics it used to take awhile to really get to where you know when to exert force in line with forces trying to pull you off.

beginnners death grip everything and tear calluses often. pros know when to squeeze( and have a reserve of strength) and when to relax a bit and hardly tear. but now with their doweled ,super grips its not the same problem. same with the grips I used today, it takes TONS fo stress OFF the grip.

I also have really thick forearms and they pump really easy. If I was serious aobut the hihg reps I would have to do more lower intensity endurance work and teach them not to pump.

probably not gonna happen.

Ken Black said...

Mark I kinda feel we are talking about the same thing but just differently. Grip and lower arm strength is a great subject.

The fat bar fear, for me, is not having total control over the weight. I am not really talking about a weight heavier than you can lift. More in the area where you can lift it but the barbell is really fighting to get out of the hand. This is the area which I am talking about. It is an uncomfortable feeling and will stop you doing completing the lift. If the fear gets the better of you then it’s over. Once you learn how to bypass the fear go then it is a lot easier to do. The fatbar is more support grip rather than squeeze. The same as the superbike/race bike riders lock their grip, they are not squeezing it. I am still learning:)

I feel it is the same reason that it takes a while to get the grip down in gymnastics as the thick bar. Your mind is telling you that you will fall off unless you grip like a demon. The same as the deadlift the mind is telling you the bar is going to drop. In time the skill of how and when to grip appropriately is learned.

This is why I have trouble (w/the snatch) doing this stlye with the left hand I feel that I am going to drop it but it is a skill I will learn.

Again this is just my opinion. Very interesting topic Mark. Thanks for sharing your knowledge’s. Have a great 4th.

Mark Reifkind said...

ken you are right. its the mind thats telling you you will rip off unless you grip tight all the time. in gymnastics though its usually true( at least grip at the right time!lol)

I think doing a lot of 90% plus max efforts is important to teach one to hold on despite the messages sent. grinding is not natural,imo. usually , in real life, if youcant lift it immdeiately you should put it down.Lifters circumvent that process; it just takes a lot of training.

have a good forth and see you next weekend.

Ken Black said...

Rif,

Thanks for the insight. You have a wealth of knowledge that is very deep. I am thankful for your willingness to share.
I am really looking forward to next week.

Ken

Mark Reifkind said...

you're more than welcome man. one of the things I love about coaching and hate about "personal training" is that you dont have to have your hand in someones wallet everytime you want to help them.

yeah next week should be fun all round. we are leaving here sat 8 am and he lifts at 2 pm. we are staying the night at the double tree so we should have some time if this thing runs alright.

Royce said...

Yeah, high rep snatches BURN in the forearms, especially if I don't drop to the shoulder ( like a negative Mil. press ), and I basically swing down to the starting position.
Feels different than supporting grip, feels more like a crush grip.

More press mistakes from today

 1) Gotta engage the rhomboids when setting the low rack position.Lock in 2) Elbows up is crucial 3) 'Straight  up' on the unracking...