Power Clean PR

Yep...another PR today.

For the last couple of weeks we have been doing a strength series--back squats, snatches, cleans. Today's work was this:

20 minutes to find 1 RM power clean

then, 5 minute EMOM 1 power clean at 90# of 1 RM

My last 1 RM on cleans was 105#, today I achieved 110#, a new personal best! I was able to successfully lift all of the reps at 90% (100#), and I left feeling good.

It is so hot outside. Every day going to CrossFit is one of those, "just get in the car and go, and work out the rest when you get there." I really dislike the heat, the dripping sweat, the feeling of the thick, humid air, but for the first time in my life, there is something that I love more than my hatred of the heat, and it keeps me coming back for more.

Here's to more PRs next week!

Still Snatching

So after my tutorial with Dan last week I was sure that I would be a whiz at the snatch today. Not so much. It is still the most difficult move in CF and the one that intrigues me the most. I would so love to perfect it.

I hit some, I missed some. I came within 5 pounds of my one rep max, mainly because I really wanted to focus on my form. I may have managed to muscle up my 1RM, but that was not the point. I am really starting to feel the pull from the floor, and when I sneak myself under that bar, it feels good...but it's hard.

Today I snatched 70 lbs, with 3 push presses from the back rack position.

I want more, but I'm going to take this slowly. All in good time.

Individual Coaching Session: Snatch Progression

Since I started CrossFit 8 months ago (wow! 8 months?) I had not taken advantage of my individual coaching sessions that come with my membership, until today.

I scheduled my session with Dan, the owner of the box, and the first coach that I ever met at CrossFit Woodbridge. I chose him for the specific reason that I see him working with the newest members of the box on a daily basis, and I felt comfortable with his demeanor, since I would be coming from a definite beginner's perspective on whatever I chose to work on. I gave the one-on-one session a good amount of thought and decided I would work on a move that really stymies me in WODs and on lifting days--the snatch. When he first greeted me, he questioned me in a joking way, thinking I hadn't given the session a lot of thought but in fact, I had--possibly too much! I was a bit nervous, but once we settled in to work, it was all business and burning quads!

The snatch is, put simply, moving the weight on the barbell from the floor to overhead in one movement. Between here and there however, is a series of very technical movements that are not easy to do. Flinging the weight overhead is not the goal, not to mention the fact that it's dangerous to do this lift heavy without knowing the proper technique. The progressions we were doing in class just weren't enough to get this to click for me. 

Today's session started with me warming up with the class, then beginning with what I thought was a snatch but, as I understand now, was far from it. 

We worked on the minutia of the move, the hardest part of which was moving the bar the first few inches off of the floor. As Dan said, "Betchya weren't expecting to spend 40 minutes deadlifting a PVC pipe, were you?" NO...no, I wasn't. I burned an enormous amount of calories standing in that squat position trying to figure out what it meant to move the bar using my hips, knees, and arms up from the floor into the "pocket" position and keep it all together in my mind. I was sweating profusely, my quads were burning, and I was concentrating on every inch of the bar's movement...and it was a PVC pipe! 

We finally added light weight to a bar and worked on form only--getting the extension of the hips and the snatch overhead. Near the end of the hour it was wonderful to hear him say, "Now you're snatching--not flinging." 

Three things to remember when snatching:

1. Sweep the bar past the knees 

2. Hips and knees move at the same time

3. Once in the pocket, open up and keep the arms straight

I love this video of Chad Vaughn (Olympic lifter) executing the snatch in super-slow-motion. I have always appreciated the technical difficulty in the move, but now I have a slightly more trained eye and can see exactly the things Dan was telling me today in the move. If you have neglected your one-on-one session, definitely take advantage of it...oh, and enjoy the video.