Fired Up.

Wednesday, Sept. 19

Warm Up/Mobility
Row 250 hard
10 Hip Extension
10 GHD Sit Ups
10 Overhead Squats With Bar
10 Behind the Neck Snatch Grip Press w/ Bar
5 Hang Power Snatches w/ Bar
5 Hang Squat Snatch w/ Bar

Load Up!

 Strength:

1 Hang squat snatch EMOTM for 10 minutes

Notes:  Heavy but perfect form, may perform power snatch if needed.

Conditioning:

3 Rounds with 30 seconds rest between movements:
ME UB strict HSPU+ME Kipping HSPU
25 UB KB Snatches or Swings (each arm), heaviest possible
3 Snatch grip behind the neck press or Regular Press
10 Straight legged deadlifts, medium weight

 Notes: HSPU should be performed as one UB set.  Perform as many strict as possible, then switch to a kip and complete the set.  Partial range of motion is ok.  Another sub is to perform as many strict dumbbell presses as possible, followed immediately by as many dumbbell push presses as possible at a medium load.  The Straight legged deadlifts will make your hammys feel like Good Mornings, don’t go too heavy:)

Cool Down
Straddle Stretch (pull yourself over with something)
15 Slow Wall Extension
Pigeon, 1 min. each side

Yes, this was just posted but look at that guy’s hand! It is buffer than my forearm.

  As many of you know by now, Lara and I had the pleasure of attending an Olympic Lifting Seminar with Jon North at CrossFit Sun in San Diego. Jon North is one of the best weightlifters in the country and at the American Open he will attempt to break the American record in the Snatch with a lift of 166kgs. That is just over 365 lbs at a body weight of about 205 lbs. Ridiculous.

His technique drills were in line with how we teach the lifts with the addition of what he calls the “hit and catch” or “superman pull”. This is the ever elusive violent contact with the bar at the hips, propelling the bar up and back into the catch position. It involves being very patient, staying over the bar longer than might seem intuitive, and then exploding the hips forward as you pull the bar into your body. It works. Watch the video and listen to how violently the bar strikes his hips and how patient he is before the explosive second pull. This guy is a character and hopefully early next year he will put on a seminar at our very own Venice space. Watch until the end.

We will be trying to teach the drills and coaching points  so that everyone can continue to get better at the lifts. That is my goal. That all of members understand the lifts and know how to execute them efficiently, regardless of the weight. This brings me to my next topic regarding improving the lifts. I recently started filming myself every day at least twice a day attempting whatever snatch or clean and jerk variation I am currently working on. These videos have proved invaluable for helping me improve the many nuances of these lifts. Obviously, I am pretty into this stuff but everyone can benefit hugely from seeing them self move, especially in slow motion. These videos can be analyzed by our coaches and will give immediate visual feedback for the next lift and a record for you to watch on your own. From now on, especially when going for heavy singles on the full lifts, break out your phones or have one of the coaches film you. It is gold for getting better.

I will leave you with one anecdote from the weekend that I will never forget.

In the afternoon session of the seminar, the group went for a max clean and jerk. I worked up to 315 lbs, a weight that I have been trying in vain for over the last month to make. As I am about to make my attempt, Jon North walks over to me and proclaims loudly that the weight is not heavy at all. In fact, it is so light that he can Snatch that weight for a triple. What was shocking is that this was true! (I have seen videos of him doing just that). I went on to make the lift, something I was very happy about. Jon walked up, congratulated me, and without a pause said, “Now, put more weight on the bar”.