Thursday, March 15, 2012

When hard is easy; the good groove.

Today was a good training day, capping off just about four weeks of great training, leading to something I haven't felt in forever: a peak.It's something I've always said, you know you are in shape when you are doing more work than ever, or lately, and it feels easy.Almost too easy. Not enough.
Then you are getting somewhere.

When you do a PR and it feels like there's more left in the tank. When you do the hardest workouts you've done in a long time and there's more in the tank. Of course,one shouldn't be greedy and the next step off of a peak is always down it's SO nice to feel strong and fit again. So nice.

And this is in no small part to my newest training partner Glenn. It's great to have Nick train so hard on Saturdays but having Glenn arrive early and raring to go on the harder weekday sessions that I have to do after work in gold. And man has he gotten in shape fast!He feels it and the synergy between both of us is making each better.

Of course it's not been all easy and my left shoulder was definitely "out" after Tuesdays press day. I felt it ratchet a few times and from Tuesday night til this morning.The last few months have been really frustrating with this shoulder, especially after FINALLY getting my right shoulder squared away.:((

But I had a 6 am cancel so I spend one hour working every single aspect of that shoulder and releasing everything I could
Lacrosse ball on pec minor,lat,teres major, rhomboids,levator scap,briachialis, pronator teres etc, etc etc.
then overhead stretching bar hangs overheads on TRX band distraction etc.

But it wasn't until mid day when I was just doing a simple hand against the wall( out to the side in the frontal plane) that I really felt how stinking tight my flexor digitorum profundis was and how really it just released the entire shoulder!~ Bang! ALL the tightness in my pec levator trap , etc was gone!

The shoulder was instantly pain free, with solid ROM and no ache at all! Crazy! It WAS subluxed ;held out by my stinking big ass forearms! I knew it was somewhere in there but didn't know exactly what trigger to pull, Just hope it stays!
Now onto some snatches and hoping my swing and snatch groove would still be there!



These last two snatch workouts have been the best my snatch form has ever felt. About freakin time but better late than never :))

2 pm Snatch
One arm swing warmup
16 kg x5/5/5 x 3


16kg x 20/20/10/10
        x 15/15/10/10
110 reps.

this was so easy it felt crazy. Even light snatches have never felt easy for reps because my groove was wrong. It is right now and for ONCE I can really feel exactly what I am supposed to do at every step of this move, as well as the swing. I can finally feel my hips working the way they are supposed to and, most importantly, I can feel the "bottom" of the lift and I can hit it.

I never had that in the squat because of my knee  and I knew it existed in the swing and snatch( Tracy hits the bottom better than anyone I know) but I just couldn't find it.

In gymnastics we use to say "if you can't swing it, muscle it" so I did . Now I can swing it . much easier.

I can now see how I will be able to finally master the snatch test with the man's bell without it being my top end. Most excellent. Not tomorrow but soon.


Swipes
15 lbs CB x10
                x12
                x14
                x16
                x18
                 x20
90 reps
even these were easy as pie. same groove here. Really understanding and recognizing my lumbar pelvic rhythm and USING it makes all the difference

Rack walks
16 kg x 200 feet per arm 800 feet.

these were easy and should have done more but it was enough. kept the left arm lower in the rack and didn't have a single " clunk" the whole time. perhaps this will fix my press. holding it high doesn't help.

Bodyblade laterals

3 x10/10  got this back in the garage . I need this thing and have slacked on it of late. much nicer on the shoulder joint but still really trains the side delts and supraspinitus,

Datsit! We be peaked and now we back of and re build again! very cool. THIS is what I've trained for all my life, THIS feeling, This zone. It's been hiding itself from me lately but I am one patient man, I knew I would get it again one day and that day is today.:))

Sisu/Never Quit!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Hi Rif,
it is always a pleasure to stopping into your blog!Great post and i hope i get the felling too(The snatch) ;-)
Takc care!

205, 215, 217.5,205 x 1 x 6, 190 x 1 x 3, laterals, rear delts bw pushups

 Well this went great. not perfect but the basic premise worked and I'm happy. I was not optimistic at all about this at all given recen...