Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Snatch Vo2 50 sets of 7's and 8's

It's been a long time since I did 80 sets of 8 in the snatch vo2( before it was Viking Warrior Conditioning,lol) and it's been a slog coming back. But slog through it I have and it's getting there. I can easily remember when I was doing nothing but sets of 7's and it was kicking my butt.
I was working up to 70-80 sets of 7's but couldn't envision doing 8's with the fatigue level the 70-80 sets were creating so I decided to roll back the total volume and focus on getting some sets of 8 in the mix. The idea was that as soon as I adapted to 50 sets of 8 I would march on towards 80 sets again.
Freakin' 80 sets of snatching( 40 minutes) is no joke.Especially at the top end of my speed spectrum( which 8's are). My HR is ALWAYS 185-195 and that's not a lot of fun.I didn't appreciate how strong I was when I was doing that semi regularly- now I do.SO it's the slow buildup towards that again. But progress is being made.
It makes it so much easier that Tracy has been training with me all along these months because the only thing harder than doing snatch Vo2 for 80 sets is doing it alone, so it's killer to have a training partner who is killing it after doing a spinning class, teaching kbs for an hour as well as an hour and a half Bikram class as a warmup to her max vo2 session with me.LOL! That is just ridiculous training volume and she does that 3-5 times a week plus. I see her do it and still can't beleive it. She is doing Olympic level training and I dread this snatch workout like it was a marathon,lol.
Hey, as a forceably retired powerlifter I like low reps, like ONE, and high sets ,like TEN.Load the bar to a max weight let me grind on it hard for 3 seconds and I'm a happy camper. But those days are long gone and I'm a girevik now and volume is the key to conditioning. max vo2 is the best way for me to get the volume in and NOT have to do 50 rep sets.Lots of sets of 7 and 8 are way better. 3 would be nice though,lol.
In my travels these past nine months I have also found that I snatch much better if I wear my olympic lifting boots( which I dearly love). It was during my back issues a few months ago and I listened to my instinct and put them on. I havent taken them off to snatch yet. I still swing flat footed but with my messed up biomechanics and orthopedic issues this allows me a much better lumbo pelvic position- that much better to squat and pull from FOR ME.
I am NOT advocating this for normal people, but I realized , at the end of my power career I would have been much healthier and had a much better back position if I had listened to my instincts and worn the heel for my power squat.
This time I listened.The load is much more evenly distributed between my quads and hamstrings, my back stays arched much better and my glutes actually fire as well! I feel like I can actually jump like this which is way better,imo, than the completely stiff legged, GS style snatch I had been doing. SO much harder to be as explosive and go as fast as I want to.SO:


Snatch VO2 15 :15
16 kg
50 sets of 7 and 8 reps in alternating groups of 5
375 reps
13,500 lbs

Two clubbell swipes
(2) 10 lb clubs
1x15
3x20
1x15

One arm shield casts
2x15 each side.

havent done the swipes in months. been consistently using the 25 lb club with two handed work. want to get back to the double swipes and build that up.

BW 154
BF 9.0%
Water 60%

datsit

8 comments:

MKSchinabeck said...

Hey Rif,
Great to see you back. I feel like a long lost friend has returned!
Matt

Boris T said...

I haven't done Snatch VO2 is ages.

"I'm a girevik now"

Say Rif, have you ever tried GS work for volume?

Mark Reifkind said...

Thanks Matt,

plugged back into your blog, seems like you are doing great with your training! your snatch form looks very professional.and thanks for the kind words and hope to see you again soon.

Mark Reifkind said...

Boris

I have played with gs a bit( very little) but it really doesnt appeal to me.
Snatching fast is the only thing I can do fast anymore and I will hold onto it like grim death.
and, of course, gs has no exclusive claim to 'girevik" eh?

mablak2 said...

Rif,

I recall when you began doing primarily balistic work. swings/snatches. I was curious if you did any pressing or pull ups, etc... or primarily balistic work?

I remember the San Jose RKC video showed you pressing. Did not appear that you have been away from it.

Mark

Mark Reifkind said...

mblak2

I still do only ballistic work and press only for demos. 35 years of pressing with gymnastics, bodybuilding and powerlifting plus a natural talent for it leaves me able to press strongly with no training if I want to. still leaves my right side rotator sore though afterwards.

Boris T said...

Nope not at all the last time I checked. I personally am a fan of GS, it's the dominant form of KB training that I do now days.

Although reading this post has made me want to do some VO2 work. Call it nostalgia. :)

Mark Reifkind said...

I have great respect for gs athletes,don't get me wrong.incredible stuff.

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...