Workout/Bodybuilding III: Revengeance: Part Deux

Yes, huge difference for me.  The added mobility was nice but the stability is what I noticed the most, you feel glued to the floor.  They do get pretty narrow towards the toes but I have somewhere between narrow-average foot width so it doesn't bother me (still noticeably tight though).  

 

Haven't been using my main comp for a while so I haven't checked this thread in like a month. Pretty much correct on the Olympics thing. We currently have no spots, but are very very close. Enough countries ahead of us got popped for drugs at worlds so it put us somewhere in the 25-30 range, and you need to be top 25 for 1 spot (if not qualified through other means like winning a worlds event or something). So yea, we gotta do good at pan ams. Kendrick has one of the top sinclairs (similar to wilks but for WL). He moved up to 94 like a year ago and didn't fill it out yet, so he's got a higher sinclair's than the other 94's even if he isn't outlifting them all the way. The person who goes also needs 2 international events prior to the olympics to qualify, so there's a short list of people who can go, so he's really likely. Alex Lee, Leo Hernandez, Travis Cooper and Norik Vardanian are the other names that have good chances of taking that spot.

In regards to Jon/SS etc. Jon has probably brought more people into the sport of weightlifting than anyone else, and is an incredibly talented weightlifter. Yes I agree he goes a bit...over the top in his social media stuff, but from everyone I've talked to that's actually met him he's pretty down to earth and an upbeat guy that just loves getting people involved in the sport. He's incredibly influential, regardless of how good he is. His cues for teaching seem to be based on how he himself lifts, as he does lift like he teaches. But his cues are easily misinterpreted as what NOT to do with weightlifting. It's very hard to describe certain mental cues that may work on yourself though. Try describing exactly how you swing a golf club to someone who knows jack shit about golf and you may start to see what I'm trying to convey. It's very hard to coach weightlifting, and being a good athlete doesn't automatically translate into good coaching. So is Jon a bit over the top? Yea definitely. But he's not a moron, and he's a damn good weightlifter and just strong dude overall.

In regards to the SS stuff. Yea I agree rip isn't a good source for WL. Justin Lascek actually tried doing low bar before nationals one year to see if the strength gain would carryover well. Said it completely fucked him for it due to different strengths/weaknesses and bar path mechanics. I completely agree, as I struggled when I transitioned over to weightlifting from low bar squats, even though my low bar was fairly narrow stance and upright.

Mary Peck is a very talented lifter though, and lifted under Pendlay for a while when he was still at Cal Strength. She's in some of the old videos when Jon and Shankle were still there when she was just starting. The other guy in that vid (Tommy) is her coach/bf, not sure where his credentials come from though. Kinda looks Russian, so idk maybe came from there as a lifter? So even though I didn't watch that video (bout to sleep), she's probably got pretty accurate information on things.

All in all though the US is fairly weak compared to international competition. Kendrick, Morghan King, Mattie Rogers, Jenny Arthur and Sarah Robles are the only lifters with any chance of winning anything, and even then they're long shots. I think 7th is the highest any of those has gotten at worlds or olympics in the past. Kendrick was only like 10-15kg off the CJ 85kg WR though before he moved up to 94, but good luck getting to Ilya's 233 record. Mattie is still getting better and better and is only 20, so she could get a lot better placement in the coming years.

Additionally, CJ Cummings and Harrison Maurus are insanely strong and super young. Both are 15-16 right now, and close to hitting youth world records in 69/77 classes. Go look up both, they're insane. Front squatting nearly triple bodyweight at 14. Harrison CJ'd 400lbs already at 169 at 15 years old, and CJ won nationals at 14.

 

 

In terms of myself and what I've been doing with lifting lately. Been off and on since visiting WA over Xmas, and haven't gotten solid training in since then longer than 2 weeks. Yet somehow I've hit 5 snatch PR's (102 -> 103, then 104, then 105, and then tonight hit 106 and yolo went for 110/242 and got it first try). I've also cleaned 132 and 133kg (290 range). Squats have taken a back seat, but I'm going to cycle them back in when I start a new program next week. My best high bar is just over 400, but I'd like to push that to 450 if possible, and front squat to 375-400 range. Based on my current squat I should be hitting like 125/155 so I've got a lot of reserve strength, but can't always hit my maximum. I work 10-11 hours each day and am walking 6-8 miles during that in work boots, so it's very draining trying to go straight into heavy lifting right after.

Gonna try to sign up for a meet in like June though and hopefully hit some higher numbers. Sadly American Open totals jumped a lot this year due to way too many people being at the last one, so that's a long shot right now. I'm currently at 110/133 right now for a 243 training total. 250 was last year's AO and this year is like 274 or something like that, so I need to hit like 124/150 or so to qualify. Not insanely far off, but then again it's hard as shit to PR in snatch/CJ as I've found out. 

 

Catalyst is still fucking sick. Went to cal strength last week but it was damn near empty. Wes Kitts was there, talked to him for a while and he invited me to come in on a heavy friday session. He was snatch pulling 200kg to his chest, fucking monster. 

The meets are weird. They're like a % of what the top 3 finishers were at worlds the past 3 years or something. So if top guys were like 330, 335, 336, you'd average those out to like 332, then do 70% of that or something. It's really weird and complicated. And because some countries skip worlds to focus on olympics it skews numbers certain years. They adjust them on their own after that (as you see for this year), but these past few years are the first where they've had a huge influx of people.

Yeah I've heard a little bit about that on Jon North's podcast. Going back to him for a sec; myzo is right that he isn't the smartest tool in the shed. However, I listen to just about everyone of his podcasts even tho I don't do WL at all. I think Willey's right in saying that he's pretty motivational. He just kinda pumps you up to put your hands on a barbell period. Plus, him and the Cal Strength dudes were pretty influential in the WL boom a few years ago.

I don't really post because I don't have much to say. Work capacity has been cut in half really. Found out the pain I've been having for the past year was a slightly bulging disc in my l4-L5, so I haven't squatted or deadlifted in 2 months, and I've been doing core and spine drills and rehab. It feels good, no pain for the past few weeks, even did light squats and deadlifts today with no pain. Working my way back up. 

 

Yea it's closing on the 30th. Trying to figure out where I'll be going after. Maybe shankles new gym, maybe a crossfit gym. Signed up for a meet in May