In the final run up to a PR squat maximum, Wednesday night calls for 4 x 4 @ 90% for Keith. First, he bangs out multiple doubles in snatch balance. He learns to really commit to punching himself down.
Warm up complete, he is a machine: squatting perfection for 1 set, 2 sets, 3 sets. He has 15 reps under his white Eleiko belt and squats for number 16. It looks good as he rises. Wait! He pauses just at the point of poorest leverage. The bar stops dead. Incredibly, he has to dump it at the 15.85th rep. Progress nonetheless as he had never done this much weight before.
PR on the horizon.
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Monday, January 23, 2012
Sunday's meet results
A nice little meet at the Central Kentucky Weightlifting facilities. Thanks to John and his volunteers for putting the meet on and hosting. And, it was the first meet in Kentucky since who knows when. Could be the start of a lot of good things.
Everybody totaled! Yay. Our newest lifters, Fern and Zach, both had great fun. Zach posted PR lifts and Fern is just getting started.
Fern was first and followed herself. She opened with a solid 32 then hit 35 though got one red for her efforts. She then put up her next lift, but not all the way to lock out so, she was credited with the 35. She opened with 40 in her CJ then got her next lift missing her third. 4 for 6 and a nice 35/42/77 total.
Zach hit his 52 opener then missed 56 (a bit of a press out). 60 went up nice and easy. CJ was the same. 70 nice and easy to open. Then 75 on his next attempt was red flagged though his arms did not move to press out. He just did not quite get them completely straight. The tough referees tossed the lift and he made it with authority on his third. PR all across the board: 60/75/135.
Ron had good warm ups and was looking to break through a CJ barrier. A routine opening snatch proved to be anything but as he missed it the first time and made it on the second. The third attempt was a complete discombobulation. In the CJ, the opening 95 was very comfortable and the second at 102 was the same. Going for the 110 PR, he had plenty of pull on the bar, just not enough getting under...77/102/179
Ben, arriving late and able to take very few warm ups, hit his opening 85 like it was a toothpick. The next 2 attempts proved to be a bit much as he did not pull himself under the bar to lock them out. He hit a nice 120 and an even nicer 125 in the CJ. He went for a PR of 128 and was unable to rack it; looking at me right after saying, "I cut it, didn't I?" 85/125/210, tying his previous PR.
All in all, not a bad day for everyone. As always, physical and mental information is accumulated with every meet.
Everybody totaled! Yay. Our newest lifters, Fern and Zach, both had great fun. Zach posted PR lifts and Fern is just getting started.
Fern was first and followed herself. She opened with a solid 32 then hit 35 though got one red for her efforts. She then put up her next lift, but not all the way to lock out so, she was credited with the 35. She opened with 40 in her CJ then got her next lift missing her third. 4 for 6 and a nice 35/42/77 total.
Zach hit his 52 opener then missed 56 (a bit of a press out). 60 went up nice and easy. CJ was the same. 70 nice and easy to open. Then 75 on his next attempt was red flagged though his arms did not move to press out. He just did not quite get them completely straight. The tough referees tossed the lift and he made it with authority on his third. PR all across the board: 60/75/135.
Ron had good warm ups and was looking to break through a CJ barrier. A routine opening snatch proved to be anything but as he missed it the first time and made it on the second. The third attempt was a complete discombobulation. In the CJ, the opening 95 was very comfortable and the second at 102 was the same. Going for the 110 PR, he had plenty of pull on the bar, just not enough getting under...77/102/179
Ben, arriving late and able to take very few warm ups, hit his opening 85 like it was a toothpick. The next 2 attempts proved to be a bit much as he did not pull himself under the bar to lock them out. He hit a nice 120 and an even nicer 125 in the CJ. He went for a PR of 128 and was unable to rack it; looking at me right after saying, "I cut it, didn't I?" 85/125/210, tying his previous PR.
All in all, not a bad day for everyone. As always, physical and mental information is accumulated with every meet.
Friday, January 13, 2012
Lots of Cowboys and Cowgirls in town
Once again, the lifters have upped their intensities; now up yours.
Ron, struggling to hit a PR in snatch for a few weeks, finally did so. Moving up 2 kg to post a new PR of 87.
Keith mans up under the bar with the always productive Russian Squat program. The volume portion is always a killer.
Brieh front squats a mis-loaded bar for a triple. This was her former 1 RM.
Brigid hits the squat numbers she needs to hit and her snatch and CJ are the better for it.
Garrett shows what repping the Title Belt really means by nailing PR bottom position front squats and lifting mere hours after dental surgery.
Way to go!
Ron, struggling to hit a PR in snatch for a few weeks, finally did so. Moving up 2 kg to post a new PR of 87.
Keith mans up under the bar with the always productive Russian Squat program. The volume portion is always a killer.
Brieh front squats a mis-loaded bar for a triple. This was her former 1 RM.
Brigid hits the squat numbers she needs to hit and her snatch and CJ are the better for it.
Garrett shows what repping the Title Belt really means by nailing PR bottom position front squats and lifting mere hours after dental surgery.
Way to go!
A Method for Getting Stronger
First of all, you need to lift heavy weights to get stronger. A study referenced below indicates that muscle damage must occur to experience full strength gains. I am not sure who has the time to do the high volume approach, but if you are willing to suffer for 6 weeks, perhaps the results on the other end would be worth it. And, I doubt one could do it on one's own. A DI would have to be assigned to you to browbeat you through the 3x per week grind.
Who can do 10 reps at 80% of his or her true 1 RM? Then do it for multiple sets? For 3 times per week? I am still recovering from a 10 x 10 squat day I did in 1998.
In reality, the conclusion is: work hard, lift heavy, recover, repeat. Any volunteers?
ABSTRACT
Robbins, DW, Marshall, PWM, and McEwen, M. The effect of training volume on lower-body strength. J Strength Cond Res 26(1): 34–39, 2012—The objective of this study was to examine the chronic effects on lower-body strength in resistance trained men of performing varying training volumes over 6 weeks. A pretest and posttest design was used to investigate the effects on 1-repetition maximum (1RM) squat strength. Also, 1RM testing was performed at 3 weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to an intensity-matched (80% of 1RM) low (1-SET), moderate (4-SET), or high (8-SET) volume condition. In addition to significant strength increases in all groups at the end of the 6-week period, increases were observed at 3 weeks under the 4- and 8-SET conditions, which were greater than the improvement under the 1-SET condition. At 6 weeks, the magnitude of improvement was significantly greater for the 8-SET, as compared with that of the 1-SET group. The magnitude of improvement elicited in the 4-SET group was not different from that of the 1-SET or 8-SET groups. The results suggest that “high” volumes (i.e., >4 sets) are associated with enhanced strength development but that “moderate” volumes offer no advantage. Practitioners should be aware that strength development may be dependent on appropriate volume doses and training duration.
CONCLUSION (Gabe Mirkin, M.D.):
After six weeks, the athletes doing eight sets of 10 repetitions could squat much heavier weights than those doing fewer sets. Those in the four-set group were not stronger than those in the one-set group.
This shows that you have to damage your muscles to make them stronger. After you do one or two sets of 10, your muscles really start to hurt. If you stop, your muscles usually stop hurting immediately. With each additional set, you increase
the muscle damage, and your muscles hurt even more. FOR LIFTING WEIGHTS TO MAKE YOU STRONG, YOU HAVE TO HURT AND REALLY DAMAGE YOUR MUSCLES TO MAKE THEM GROW LARGER AND STRONGER. Of course, you have to know when to stop lifting, because you can pull and tear your muscles if you lift weights that are too heavy for them.
Who can do 10 reps at 80% of his or her true 1 RM? Then do it for multiple sets? For 3 times per week? I am still recovering from a 10 x 10 squat day I did in 1998.
In reality, the conclusion is: work hard, lift heavy, recover, repeat. Any volunteers?
ABSTRACT
Robbins, DW, Marshall, PWM, and McEwen, M. The effect of training volume on lower-body strength. J Strength Cond Res 26(1): 34–39, 2012—The objective of this study was to examine the chronic effects on lower-body strength in resistance trained men of performing varying training volumes over 6 weeks. A pretest and posttest design was used to investigate the effects on 1-repetition maximum (1RM) squat strength. Also, 1RM testing was performed at 3 weeks. Participants were randomly assigned to an intensity-matched (80% of 1RM) low (1-SET), moderate (4-SET), or high (8-SET) volume condition. In addition to significant strength increases in all groups at the end of the 6-week period, increases were observed at 3 weeks under the 4- and 8-SET conditions, which were greater than the improvement under the 1-SET condition. At 6 weeks, the magnitude of improvement was significantly greater for the 8-SET, as compared with that of the 1-SET group. The magnitude of improvement elicited in the 4-SET group was not different from that of the 1-SET or 8-SET groups. The results suggest that “high” volumes (i.e., >4 sets) are associated with enhanced strength development but that “moderate” volumes offer no advantage. Practitioners should be aware that strength development may be dependent on appropriate volume doses and training duration.
CONCLUSION (Gabe Mirkin, M.D.):
After six weeks, the athletes doing eight sets of 10 repetitions could squat much heavier weights than those doing fewer sets. Those in the four-set group were not stronger than those in the one-set group.
This shows that you have to damage your muscles to make them stronger. After you do one or two sets of 10, your muscles really start to hurt. If you stop, your muscles usually stop hurting immediately. With each additional set, you increase
the muscle damage, and your muscles hurt even more. FOR LIFTING WEIGHTS TO MAKE YOU STRONG, YOU HAVE TO HURT AND REALLY DAMAGE YOUR MUSCLES TO MAKE THEM GROW LARGER AND STRONGER. Of course, you have to know when to stop lifting, because you can pull and tear your muscles if you lift weights that are too heavy for them.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Battle for the Belt, Last 2011 Contest
With the belt in Josh's possession, a contest was held to see who would ring in the New Year wearing it. Turning the clock back to 1972, the contest was clean & press, Snatch, and clean & jerk. Two attempts at each lift with points award based upon percentage of current maximum.
The clean & press had points based upon percentage of snatch. The details.
Ben, Fern, Garrett, Steve, Ron, and Zach all lifted.
Fern hit her 2 CP with ease and then just could not lock out her second snatch attempt. The CJ were easy just like the CP. Great job going 5 for 6.
Garrett finished next going 6 for 6 and tying or setting PR in each lift.
Zach fresh from his first true contest hit his opening CP, missed his second which would prove costly, and then hit all the rest of his lifts. He set PR in SN and CJ.
Ron had a bit of trouble with CP but got in one solid lift. Then, going for the PR (now there is a crazy idea, going for a PR in a contest!) in snatch, he was just unable to lock the lift out. CJ had him nearly hitting his PR for a good comeback.
Steve hit a nice 95 on the CP then came back for a scary 102 in snatch. He had to hit his CJ opener: he did with a bit of a struggle.
Ben came in to easily hit his opening CP then a huge jump of 20 kilos to his next attempt. He failed at that lift. Then, everything on the line, he had to hit his second snatch attempt after missing the first if he was going to finish in the top 3. He got the second solidly. Then CJ. He nails an easy opener and missed on his second which would have been a PR attempt.
Final results:
Garrett had the most points and pried the belt out of Josh's hands. Now, he must live up to the standard imposed by being in its possession.
Zach was one point behind with Ben well behind the two of them in third.
Fun stuff to close out the year!!
The clean & press had points based upon percentage of snatch. The details.
Ben, Fern, Garrett, Steve, Ron, and Zach all lifted.
Fern hit her 2 CP with ease and then just could not lock out her second snatch attempt. The CJ were easy just like the CP. Great job going 5 for 6.
Garrett finished next going 6 for 6 and tying or setting PR in each lift.
Zach fresh from his first true contest hit his opening CP, missed his second which would prove costly, and then hit all the rest of his lifts. He set PR in SN and CJ.
Ron had a bit of trouble with CP but got in one solid lift. Then, going for the PR (now there is a crazy idea, going for a PR in a contest!) in snatch, he was just unable to lock the lift out. CJ had him nearly hitting his PR for a good comeback.
Steve hit a nice 95 on the CP then came back for a scary 102 in snatch. He had to hit his CJ opener: he did with a bit of a struggle.
Ben came in to easily hit his opening CP then a huge jump of 20 kilos to his next attempt. He failed at that lift. Then, everything on the line, he had to hit his second snatch attempt after missing the first if he was going to finish in the top 3. He got the second solidly. Then CJ. He nails an easy opener and missed on his second which would have been a PR attempt.
Final results:
Garrett had the most points and pried the belt out of Josh's hands. Now, he must live up to the standard imposed by being in its possession.
Zach was one point behind with Ben well behind the two of them in third.
Fun stuff to close out the year!!
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