All posts tagged "coaching"
Coach Keith set this one up:
Repeat 3x.
Total time: 5:42. Meh. My chopped meat hands made the deadlifting more difficult than it should have been and I crapped out on the push presses pretty hard, had to partition the last two sets into thirds. I want to do this one again and murder it.
Today was my last private training session with Coach Keith at Mid-City Gym (sniff, sniff). He started me off practicing some air squats, the swing for kipping pullups, and some pushups. Couldn’t swing too well today because my hands are tore up. Next we moved into overhead squat practice, this time without shoes. By removing my shoes, keeping my toes from going too far out, and lifting my toes off the floor, I was able to feel a really solid connection with the floor. It also helps to push the knees out as I squat (this is a good cue for me - “knees out”) and think about driving my heels into the floor as I stand. I kept the shoes off and applied the same stance and thinking to the back squat and it felt good. Worked my way up in sets of 5 to 185lb and just went really slow, pausing at the bottom and forcing my knees out. Keith had me mix in 20 reps of pushups between sets of squats. I think I did 3 sets total.
Next up was a quick metcon circuit and then some handstand practice. Started with scales (leaning forward with arms out to the side, rear leg goes parallel to the floor to counter-balance) and then the basic move into a handstand. It’s important to keep the hands up in the locked out position (active shoulders) and not to change the angle from the body - you bend at the waist to reach the floor, not at the shoulders. Then we moved over to the wall and practiced getting into the hollow position - think about pushing the lower back out or bringing the shoulders close to the ribs. After some of that, I kicked up into the handstand position on the floor and Keith spotted me. That led me to ask about hollow rocks, so we worked on those a bit. Keith also showed me inverted hollow rocks - lay on your stomach, get into the superman position and rock - which are almost impossible. This led into the (dragon) flag and Keith showed me some cool variations on that, like keeping a static hold at 45°, and stressed the importance of holding the position while coming back up instead of resting at the bottom like I normally do. Then we finished with some single arm barbell snatching and cleaning, just for kicks.
Though I’d kicked around the idea of doing some personal training sessions in the past, I could never justify the cost to myself. I figured that since I’m not a helpless newbie and I have a solid weight training foundation that I wouldn’t get much out of it. Now that I’ve been through it, I can see that it was absolutely worth it. You can’t beat one-on-one coaching with a knowledgeable and able coach. No amount of reading or studying videos online or even self-practice could have gotten me anywhere near where Coach Keith got me over the past 6 weeks. My form has improved on all of the major lifts (though it still needs work), I learned a lot of new lifts and exercises, and most importantly, I can tell when something’s off and have the cues to fix the mistakes that I’m prone to making. I’ll continue to work on these lifts a lot more in the coming months and shoot for some serious strength gains.
Jeez, only one more session left with Coach Keith. After a quick warmup, got right to work on some kipping pullup practice. Mostly just working on the swing - trying to drive the chest forward (open) and then push the back back (closed) without really using the legs. After swinging around like a monkey for a while I was able to throw a few kipping pullups together but I don’t have the rhythym yet.
Went to work on squats after that and had a breakthrough of sorts. All of my squat troubles were being caused by putting the bar too low on my back. Keith showed me where it should be (right on top of my scapular ridge) and I was able to keep a much better, tighter back position throughout the movement. I still need lots of work, but the intense shoulder pain wasn’t there any more. Worked in sets of 5, going up to 245lb.
Reviewed the press again, working in sets of 5 starting with the bar and going up to 135lb. Only got 4 reps at 135, but I made some good progress on my form. I was able to get a stronger wrist position (bar on the meat of my palm) which took my wrist out of the equation a bit and felt nice. Keith also instructed me to lean back slightly as I start the movement to get the weight centered over my toes before driving up with the shoulders. Felt pretty good.
After that, did some reivew of the power clean - starting from the hang position, then dipping above the knee, then from the bottom of the cage. I did one rep of each variation in sequence starting with the bar and going up in weight. When I hit 135lb, we put the bar on the floor and I did all 3 reps from the floor. It felt really good today - I was getting the explosive hip drive, the shoulders were shrugging and my elbows were feeling quick. The main thing I need to work on is getting my chest up and ass back at the start of the movement and keeping my body rigid.
As a finisher, Keith had me practice the 1 arm DB snatch into the overhead squat. Did 10 reps/side of 45lb. My hands were pretty well torn up by then.
Another quick finisher for the morning session with Coach Keith:
Repeat 5x
Total time: 9:02. This was a good one - tough, but the movements were different enough where I could just mow through em without resting.
Started off with front squat work today. Started with the bar and worked up in sets of 5 until it got heavy, then Coach Keith knocked it down to sets of 3. Went up to 245lb, but only hit 2 reps (twice) because my form started to fall apart. Keith said that’s OK because that’s how I know it’s heavy enough. Anyway, need to really drive the elbows and chest up to keep the weight back and stable. Once you lose that, forget it pal.
Next up was the press. Started with the bar and worked up in sets of 5. Went up to 125lb for a few sets and quit when I could only eek out 4 reps. Again, the form started to fall apart and I was rocking forward on my toes. I need to drive the heels into the ground and work on getting the meat of my palm on the bar. Grabbing the bar with that meat and then rotating my hands under the bar before I unrack the weight is a big help.
Then we moved onto dumbbells to work on the 1 Arm DB Snatch (which I have a bit of experience with) and the 1 Arm DB Split Jerk (which I don’t). I did these in a mini-complex where I snatched 3x with one arm, shouldered the weight, then did 3 split jerks (opposite foot and hand), then repeated on the other side. Worked up in weight to 65lb, which was easy peasy for the snatch, but really exposing my flaws with the split jerk. If the weight isn’t completely stable and over the midline, you’ll wobble under heavier weight. For the snatch, Keith pointed out that I need to really make it one explosive movement and not catch and push it up from the squat. When you drop the hand, your just allowing your body to get under the weight but must keep it completely locked out (shoulder up). The same goes for the split jerk, but I also need to work on ‘soft feet’ to absorb the impact, grabbing the floor with all five toes on my back foot, and keeping the weight over my center line.
Coach Keith thought it would be especially torturous to combine the back squat with pullups since it was killing my shoulders today. Using the 21, 15, 9 crossfit rep scheme:
Total time: 6:58 which is fucking dreadful. Shoulders just kept locking up in the squats, making the pullups really difficult.
There was actually a method to the madness here - Keith said that working on getting a good kipping pullup will open up my shoulders and be a really good active stretch for me. Definitely something I need to work on.
Got right to business with Coach Keith today. He started by having me drill the individual snatch components in sets of 3. Had to face away from the mirror to keep looking straight ahead and maintain proper alignment. After it was feeling good, worked in sets of 3 with 3 overhead squats at the top of each snatch using 75lb the whole time.
Next up worked on my squat form, which was feeling pretty lousy today. My shoulders are so fucking tight that if I get anywhere near the proper position I get some serious pain. Keith told me to try to use the bar to push my chest up (while keeping the elbows up) but I’m still really limited with the ROM here. Frustrating. Only went up to 155lb because what’s the point of going heavier if I can’t get the bar in the right position?
After a quick warmup of dumbbell swings, pullups, pushups, and air squats, Coach Keith cooked up some metcon murder. First he ran me through this little doozy:
Repeat 3x. Total time: 7:30. I had a really hard time stabilizing the OHS and that took up the bulk of the time here. Need to work on this - shoulders up, poke the head through, weight on the heels. The burpees were feeling kinda sluggish to boot.
After I caught my breath, Keith threw me into another little circuit, smiling as he said “this one will be worse.”
Repeat 3x. Total time: 7:14. This one was a grip killer, but I was feeling pretty good about my clean form. Need to focus on keeping the weight back on my heels for the squat portion of the thrusters though.
Moved into some squats for a nice break from all the conditioning. Started with 95lb and worked up in sets of 3 today. Keith stopped me at 185 because my form was for shit. I was rounding my upper back, which is really a result of not keeping my chest up and elbows/scapulas back. This was causing the bar to roll up and down my back during the squat and making everything very difficult. After some coaching, I finally got the positioning right and was able to do some proper squats, but we kept the weight low today.
Next up were some weighted situps on the slant board - a cool variation where you hold dumbbells locked out over the shoulders (bench press position) and drive the situp with the abs. Then another mini circuit!
Repeated 3x for 6 minutes of work with no rest. Cooked.
Another quick 3 rounds of Cindy for warmup, then into snatch drills. Keith had me break down the movement with the broomstick before putting it all together. Then once I was connecting it a bit, moved onto the empty bar. Form felt good (and I actually had some grip strength today) so we went up in weight. Working in sets of 3, went up to 105lb and felt pretty good throughout. Need to work on keeping the bar in one line and moving my head around the bar (poking forward at the end). My form actually improved dramatically when Keith had me turn around and not face the mirror. Stupid mirror.
Next up was the hang power clean, working with the hook grip again. Started with the empty bar and moved up in sets of 3. Finished with 135 for a few sets. Still need lots of work here. I tend to try to use my arms to drive the power, but I really need to push from the legs and just get my elbows up and under the bar.
Moved into some front squats after all that, again in sets of 3. Started with 135 and worked up to 225 for the last set. These felt really good. Keith said these are the opposite of the back squat - you keep the chest up, the body vertical, and drive up with the elbows (the front of the body instead of the back of the body) - which were all helpful cues.
Finished up by doing a 1 minute rep test for seated shoulder press and then jump squats, both holding the 45lb bar. I got 42 reps on the press and 41 on the squat. Pretty fried.
The half way point! Time flies when you’re learning to split snatch. Coach Keith warmed me up with a short pullup/pushup/OHS circuit and then we got to work. Started by learning the pieces of the snatch - the hook grip, dip, shrug, high-pull, and finally the overhead extension with a ‘trap door’ squat. He drilled me on the individual movements and then had me string them together. I need to focus on keeping my weight back and not doing too much work with my arms. Unfortunately, my grip was fried from all the forearm and hand training I did in kung fu the past couple of days, so I could barely hold onto the bar after a while. Out of mercy, Keith had me do a few sets of front squats, since the rack position requires no grip. Started with the bar and worked up to 135 in sets of 5. The weight felt pretty easy, just need to make sure I keep my weight on my heels and my chest and elbows up.
Then we did some clean and snatch practice with a 30lb dumbbell. We worked both the split and power variations of each and progressed into some interesting stuff. Keith had me snatch the weight up, overhead squat down (which required some weird body positioning/rotating), then perform a Sott’s press. Here’s a video of something very similar to the drill.
After that, Keith suggested I finish up with some Turkish Get Up singles. After watching me use the 30lb dumbbell he said “Oh, that’s too light,” and had me work with the empty 45lb barbell. He noted that I looked solid and asked how heavy I can go. I told him that I was working toward 100lb but never tried it. So we kept bumping up the weight on the bar: 55, 65, and 85. Keith said I definitely have a 100lb TGU in me, so we loaded it up, he gave some good tips about keeping the bar directly over my forearm, and I went for it. It went up fairly easy and going down was no problem until the very last step. I need to work on controlling the weight all the way to the floor, but I got it: 100lb TGU!
Frustrating day. My back was still tweaked from a missed power clean on Friday, despite resting it for three days. Keith put me right to work anyway. Started with a quick 3 rounds of Cindy for a warmup, then went to work on the squat. Started with the bar and worked up in sets of 5. Only got up to 225 today before I started showing a “soft” back. Keith had me to do some supermans with my hands behind my head and a plank-like hold, where I concentrated on pushing my chest up and my hips down. I really need to keep reinforcing the correct back position if I want to go heavy safely. My left hip was also feeling weird today and hurt a bit in the bottom position.
After that, we reviewed the jerk movement. Did a few reps with the bar behind my neck to warmup. Then Keith had me start from the hang position, clean the weight up, front squat, and split jerk it overhead. The split jerk landing position is still really unnatural for me and I’ll need to keep drilling it. I learned some footwork drills that will help. The real limiting factor with the jerk, though, is getting a good grip on the bar in the rack position. I’m not flexible enough in the shoulders to get into a good position here, so I’m forced to jerk from the fingertips, which rolls the weight forward, which throws the entire bar forward of my center line and throws everything off. Got a drill that I can do with a stick to work on this flexibilty- basically just putting the bar on my traps and squeezing the elbows into the correct position while keeping the shoulders up and chest hollow. My wrists were wrecked after all this work. At least I know I have plenty to work on!
Coach Keith cooked up another quickie since we spent most of our time on technique. With a 35lb dumbbell:
Switch sides and then repeat 4x (2x on each side).
Total time: 3:50. Toughest part here was figuring out how to do a Turkish Get Down from the standing press position. I usually start on the floor and just reverse my movement to get down, but I had to do some thinking here.
* The sweat index on this one is largely a carryover from the rest of the hour with Keith.
Coach Keith began by reviewing the back squat again today, starting with the empty bar and building up the weight in sets of 5. Got up to 255 and my form started to fall apart - had to bail at 3 reps. My elbows were dropping and the bar was sliding down my back. The fix is to keep the elbows and chest up and the head down. I was also losing the hip drive and not staying back on my heels enough. Keith says the cushioning on my (running) shoes are really holding me back and I should invest in some proper weight lifting shoes.
After that frustrating turn, we moved into the press. We worked on the standard press, the behind the neck press, and the push press, all building up to the jerk. Keith showed me the split jerk today, in which you basically land in a lunge position (I’m more comfortable with my left leg forward). One of the keys here is to keep the body centered (don’t step forward OR backward) and to make sure that the back heel is up (difficult because of all my kung fu training telling me to keep my heel down) as you lock out overhead. Worked up to 135lb in sets of 3, starting and finishing at the behind the neck press area. Felt pretty good, but will really have to concentrate on keeping that back heel up.
Then we went back to the power clean in sets of 3. I started the first few with a deadlift, then a touch-and-go power clean like last time. I accidentally bent my elbows a bit on one of the earlier sets (with 135lb) on the bar an immediately felt a sharp pain in my left lat. That’s a good reinforcement to make sure that I never bend the elbows again. After I did that Keith knocked down the weight and showed me the hook grip. This made the rack position (the top of the clean) much easier for me, so once it felt natural we moved back up in weight. With the hook grip, I was able to start the power clean from the floor (like you’re supposed to) and felt solid. Worked up to 135 again in sets of 3.
Started by doing 3 rounds of Cindy as a warmup, then went into squat work. Started light again and worked up to 245lb for 3 sets of 5 reps. The form felt really good at times but it’s still inconsistent. I gotta keep thinking of my cues when I’m squatting: look down, chest up, elbows back, ass out, etc. Lifting the toes a little also helps me keep the weight on my heels.
Coach Keith also introduced me to the power clean today. I was having a hard time connecting the deadlift to the jump at first so he had me deadlift the bar for a full rep, touch and go on the floor, and then explode up into the clean. This seemed to do the trick of preventing me from stalling. After a shitload of singles like that, I was feeling pretty strong on the form (and feeling better about my deadlift form too). The keys here are keeping the bar really close to my body and using the hamstrings/hips to drive the jump, not the arms. All the arms need to do is circle under the weight when it’s in motion. I was using 135lb for the majority of time here and probably did about 20 singles.
Another important correction I got from Keith during the power clean training is that because I have long legs and a short torso (the anti-Zach), I need to start the deadlift from an almost horizontal back position. If I try to use the textbook approach, the weight will be too far over my toes and throw off the entire movement. Good to know.
Keith cooked up this little quickie since we spent most of our time on technique:
Repeat 5x
Total time: 3:48. Easy peasy, but I need to get in the habit of motoring through these quick workouts even faster. Since the total time is so short, the intensity should be much higher. I was trying to use good form on the cleans and thrusters based on Keith’s tips though, and didn’t go as quickly through those as I could have.
* The sweat index on this one is largely a carryover from the rest of the hour with Keith.
