Post Arnold. nervous system goes to hell. Coach tears his hair out looking for the answers, both good and bad. Why did one do well? Why did one do poorly? what did I do in either case? Was I a help, a hindrance, neutral? Had I not been there, what would have happened? Am I the wild card?
Two week's worth of training, then a small meet. Test day for those who did not lift at Arnold, but observed it. Redemption day for others who lifted at Arnold. How will it play out in small, unfamiliar confines?
Two lifters first session. Can I dial them each in so that today is a good day? Crowded platforms, nerves, ugh. The usual. Female lifter has a nice warm up, seems positive. Opener in the bag: life. Go up just a bit so that she can have momentum (is there really a momentum crystal?) into the 2nd and 3rd lifts as well as CJ. She misses her second attempt with a lazy arm. The Grim Reaper is in the audience. Instructions to fix the error are given. Ahh, they don't work as the third attempt is missed. GR smiles.
Fortunately, not for long. After quickly moving on to CJ warm up, the snatch is forgotten. Warm up becomes a near disaster as a planned for warm up weight proves to heavy to even pull. Opener cannot be adjusted! Oh, no. No panic, calm, re-take a lighter weight, concentrate on technique. Bang. Opener, bang, second attempt, a tougher clean, a bit forward on jerk, perfect split. Nice. GR has now left. Third attempt, a PR. Clean is made, she knows she can jerk it. Bang. 3 for 3 and a PR CJ.
Young lifter hits his opening attempt in snatch without a hitch. Specific goals for the meet are well within reach. Let's go for the second. It is not made. Just a little bit loose, an easy technical adjustment. he wants a PR attempt, I want a solid snatch. he comes back, tighter, faster, and makes it. The CJ should be easy.
Warm ups go nicely. The last warm up has his feet flying and his arms punching. he carries this to the platform and hits his opener. Now, he can attempt a PR. He racks it, struggles to stand, and just cannot muster up 100% to finish it off. GR re-appears. We can keep him at bay if I can convince the kid to put out just a few more moments of work...can he? he racks it, stands up with less energy this time, and nails a PR jerk. nice work.
Life for coach: 2 PR so far.
Male lifter going for his opener. Warm ups were solid, speedy, nice. Mind good. Attitude, good. Opener, missed. Gaping wound. He re-adjusts, gets tight, and makes the lift. Bandage. Third attempt, should be do-able turns out not to be do-able. Wound re-opens. CJ proves to be very nice. Easy opener. Mind good, no need to do anything besides offer encouragement. Second CJ, a PR attempt, made. Nice. Let's go up to uncharted territory. Good clean, no jerk. No matter, PR CJ, PR total. Life.
Male lifter kind of in a bad mental place needs encouragement and focus: Can I give it to him? Will he take it? Whether he does or does not take it, will he be able to perform? Warm ups go well, mind looks good though energy level could stand to be improved. Snatch opener made, whew. Life. Was it me or was it him? If the former what did I do to make it happen? Life or death?
Second snatch: chased to the edge of the platform, still good. Third snatch, a PR attempt, not made. A bit of a negative, so... CJ warm ups go well. Opening attempt matches the Arnold so it should be easily made. It is and we go up 7 kg to see what will happen. He comes out, cleans it, racks it nicely, jerks it even better. Plenty of juice, life, energy. Third attempt is a pull and the look of desperation comes to his face. "Why can I not do this weight anymore?" he did get his redemption.
Grim Reaper in the house.
next male lifter. Beautiful warm ups. Looking very good, strong, mind good. Opening snatch is nailed easily. Next two snatches are just upright rows. Too much muscle, not enough of the right muscle at the right time. Ugh, gotta control that and make sure the CJ are perfect in the warm up room. opening attempt is racked, stands up, then something happens. not sure what, but he forgot what he was doing it looked like. Kind of a split push jerk or something. Ugh, the lift was not that far off so it looked like increasing the weight was not out of the question. Second attempt is the same. Oh, my, the GR is right there, breathing in my ear. Will he bomb out? What adjustment, since he is following himself, is required to dial him back in? The mind is all over the place with craziness. Pull him back in, get him to focus, and he should be OK. Last attempt; made. Whew. made easily, too which makes the first two misses unexplainable.
Life.
final lifter going for redemption and national Q-total. Warm ups are unbelievable. Focused, fast, furious, nice. Little is said between us except hand signals. All is good. In the bottom position, he leans forward to push some dust away. OH NO! The bright light lack of focus again! Doom! Gloom! Opener: adjusted up, nailed. LIFE! Second attempt, nailed. Third attempt, uncharted territory for him. he makes this, the CJ becomes a walk in the park. he goes out, calmly, focuses in, and NAILS IT! PR! LIIIFFFFFE!
CJ warm ups; he hits his opener in the back room. Adjust that up, then. He hits his opener, he gets a national Q-total. The clean ain't the problem; the jerk could be. NO! A beautiful clean and jerk! YAY! Life! Second attempt is a meet PR. He cleans it nicely, his hand slips, he adjusts, he nails it! More life.
The Grim Reaper is running away now. PR snatch, PR CJ, PR total, nationals in July. What could be better? Oh, how about a 2x BW CJ attempt? he cleans it, jerks it, and just misses getting it. Still, LIFE!
So, someone asked me, "How did your little meet in Louisville go?" I answer, "Same as the Arnold."
Life and death on the platform from the coach's eye.
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