Tuesday, December 2, 2014

Coming up just short in the gym

Last night, the strength part of CrossFit was to work to a 1 rep max front squat, with only 3 "working attempts" allowed.  I warmed up, starting at 95 pounds and working up to 205.  My first working rep was 225, and that went pretty easily.  Next, I did 255, and it was work, but not too bad.  The coach said it looked like I had a lot left in my legs.  Next, I jumped to 285, thinking that my PR was 280.

Regretfully, my weight got a bit forward on the descent, and I bailed before I'd even bottomed out.  When I checked my log later, I realized that I'd done 285 and failed at 295 on 8/25 of this year.  So, even if I'd stuck the lift, it wouldn't have been a PR.

The week before, we had half an hour to work to 1 rep maxes on the snatch (I use the power snatch due to mobility reasons) and the clean and jerk.  In mid-August, I'd gotten past a long-term sticking point of 125 on the snatch, and I lifted 128 and 133 in the same workout.  In late October, I'd gotten to 135.5 on the snatch but failed at 138.  On that same day in October, I'd gotten to 185.5 and 188 for 2 new PRs in the clean and jerk.  My PR for just the clean remains at 190, but I rarely test that lift.

On the snatches last week, I worked by 10 pound increments from 63 through 123.  Then, suddenly at 133, I failed twice.  Finally, I got a clean lift at 133. After the 133 went, I tried 138 three times, but I failed on all 3.  So, I've now lifted 133 twice, 135.5 once, and I'm 0-4 at 138.  I think the way to fix this is to do some workouts of high weight singles.  Maybe do something like 10 x 1 at 125# for a few weeks and try again.

On the cleans.  I may have made a tactical mistake here.  I started at 133 and added ten pounds at a time until 173.  At that point, I was feeling a bit tired and I wasn't sure how many more good attempts I had in me.  So, I jumped to 193.  I failed 3x, and only the second was close.  I wonder if I might have had better luck trying 183 and then 193.

In the end, it doesn't really matter.  I am close to my PRs in all of these lifts, but not quite there.  Sometimes it's mental.  Sometimes, it's simply not your day - not enough sleep (definitely a problem lately), poor diet in the previous 24-48 hours, or you are stressed or distracted by other things in your life.

Given the stresses I've had recently, I was pretty happy with my weights in these three lifts.

I've been skiing on the weekends, which is something that no amount of training really gets you ready for.  No matter how fit you are when the ski season starts, you still have to ski yourself the rest of the way into ski shape.  With lots of early snow, I hope to keep working on that every weekend.


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