I trained with the club again 3 days this week, it was a pretty busy week overall, so I didn't make it into Hercs. We're still training similarly to the previous weeks, which I'm thoroughly enjoying. I think my technique is improving, and I'm sure my flexibility and hip mobility is, thankfully. I started the Level 1 IAWLA Coaching Course this weekend, so I got more work done both today and yesterday, so overall there was a little more practice done this week than previous weeks!
The course was quite interesting. We got to try the different parts of the lifts quite a bit both days, but we were mainly focusing on was pointing out what issues others were having with the lifts. My knowledge has most definitely increased, and a few more problems I'm having are becoming clear. While this is not altogether encouraging, I now know what I need to work on to improve. I hope I see some big improvements soon.
At the end of the course Sunday I joined Alex, who was also doing the course; for some squatting. Harry was in to offer advice, so a few other club members joined us too. Here's what I did-
Back Squat - 3*60kg, 3*70kg, 3*80kg, 3*90kg, 5*3*100kg
I was pretty happy with these. I was quiet tired from the 2 days, yet they still felt quite comfortable, and I'm sure I had more in the tank.
Alex squatted up to 85kg for 5*3 after being sick for the last 2 weeks or so, which was very impressive. I think this spurred everyone on to train harder. Two lads from the club, Alan and Stephen, worked up to 60kg for a few sets, and it's obvious they've a lot more to come.
The second weekend of the course starts April 17th, so I've a few weeks now to get a few sessions filled in in my logbook. Not completely sure how often I'll get to train this week with Paddy's Day in between, but should get in for at least 3. Thankfully we've only six sessions to fill in before it, so it shouldn't be too much trouble.
Showing posts with label dcu weightlifting club. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dcu weightlifting club. Show all posts
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Club Training
My only training this week was with the weightlifting club, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. I planned on training in Hercs two other days, but I was tired, and suffering from a slight head cold, so it didn't happen. Ah laziness...
We're still working on the basics, which I'm enjoying, but I really need to make sure I get in another two sessions each week to train the full lifts. Practicing the different parts will no doubt be beneficial, but if it's all I do, I'll likely disimprove.
My flexibility and mobility is undoubtedly increasing, which is great. I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable in hole, and overhead too. Hopefully this will help me start bumping up the lifts.
Check out the clubs facebook page. There's some videos of me doing the parts of the lifts we're working on. Comments would be greatly appreciated.
That's all for now. Hopefully I get a bit more training in next week. Me and two friends also plan on trying yoga out Thursday night. Should be interesting!
We're still working on the basics, which I'm enjoying, but I really need to make sure I get in another two sessions each week to train the full lifts. Practicing the different parts will no doubt be beneficial, but if it's all I do, I'll likely disimprove.
My flexibility and mobility is undoubtedly increasing, which is great. I'm starting to feel a lot more comfortable in hole, and overhead too. Hopefully this will help me start bumping up the lifts.
Check out the clubs facebook page. There's some videos of me doing the parts of the lifts we're working on. Comments would be greatly appreciated.
That's all for now. Hopefully I get a bit more training in next week. Me and two friends also plan on trying yoga out Thursday night. Should be interesting!
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Shockin' Busy
I've been busy over the last week, so only getting to post this now. Here it goes-
Saturday
I competed at the Masters, my first competition of the year, and the first since the seniors last year. It was a excellent competition, and I was reasonably happy with how I lifted. I totalled a massive 127kg at 63.5kg, comprising of 52/75. I made all six of my lifts, which tells me I've more in me. That much is encouraging.
Unfortunately the water loading didn't quite work for me. After discussing it with Barry during the week, my attempt became half-hearted. He reminded me I'm only a beginner, and shouldn't be worrying about weight classes at all, which of course he was completely right about.
Thanks to everyone for the advice and encouragement. I met a lot of sound guys at the comp, and their kind words were much appreciated. Congratulations to everyone who lifted, there was a lot of great lifting, and there is much more to come from all.
Tuesday
Tuesday was the first day of training this semester for the DCU Weightlifting Club. We've managed to get our hands on one of the strength and conditioning rooms in the college to use, which is a big improvement on last semester. We've also secured some funding, which means we can purchase some basic gear to get us going. At the minute we're using broom handles, and olympic bars. This is fine for now, as a lot of members need to improve their flexibility before they're ready to use the proper equipment.
The excellent Harry Leech, who has taken position as coach; takes us for two two hour slots during the week, and one hour and a half slot. At the minute the sessions are broken up into a quick warm up, which includes joint mobility work; followed by some skill work (snatch drops, hang snatches, hang cleans etc.). We finish up with squatting followed by some static stretching. The skill work is a step backwards for me, but I think it will be useful practice, and will help iron out some of the issues I'm having in the basic parts of the lifts. I'm also finding the stretching and mobility work very beneficial, this is a very important area for me to work on.
Wednesday
Morning
I trained in Hercs from 11 as Harry was in training. I didn't go to heavy, since it was my first day of proper lifting since the competition. Here's what I did-
Evening
We had another session with Harry in DCU. It was pretty similar to Tuesday, but we got to use a bit of weight when squatting. It's great to see how quickly everyone's improving. Some members have a lot of potential, and I'm really looking forward to seeing us becoming a successful weightlifting club.
Friday
I was majorly hungover from Thursday night, but managed to make it along to the final session of the week in DCU. Good to be working a way at the stretching and mobility work, even if I did feel terrible! The skill work wasn't great at all, and the little bit of squatting felt terribly heavy. Unfortunately most Fridays will be like this.
That was the weeks training. I also did a little bit of shoulder work on Thursday, but it's not really worth logging.
This week's training will be pretty similar. Hopefully I'll have a little more time to update this.
Saturday
I competed at the Masters, my first competition of the year, and the first since the seniors last year. It was a excellent competition, and I was reasonably happy with how I lifted. I totalled a massive 127kg at 63.5kg, comprising of 52/75. I made all six of my lifts, which tells me I've more in me. That much is encouraging.
Unfortunately the water loading didn't quite work for me. After discussing it with Barry during the week, my attempt became half-hearted. He reminded me I'm only a beginner, and shouldn't be worrying about weight classes at all, which of course he was completely right about.
Thanks to everyone for the advice and encouragement. I met a lot of sound guys at the comp, and their kind words were much appreciated. Congratulations to everyone who lifted, there was a lot of great lifting, and there is much more to come from all.
Tuesday
Tuesday was the first day of training this semester for the DCU Weightlifting Club. We've managed to get our hands on one of the strength and conditioning rooms in the college to use, which is a big improvement on last semester. We've also secured some funding, which means we can purchase some basic gear to get us going. At the minute we're using broom handles, and olympic bars. This is fine for now, as a lot of members need to improve their flexibility before they're ready to use the proper equipment.
The excellent Harry Leech, who has taken position as coach; takes us for two two hour slots during the week, and one hour and a half slot. At the minute the sessions are broken up into a quick warm up, which includes joint mobility work; followed by some skill work (snatch drops, hang snatches, hang cleans etc.). We finish up with squatting followed by some static stretching. The skill work is a step backwards for me, but I think it will be useful practice, and will help iron out some of the issues I'm having in the basic parts of the lifts. I'm also finding the stretching and mobility work very beneficial, this is a very important area for me to work on.
Wednesday
Morning
I trained in Hercs from 11 as Harry was in training. I didn't go to heavy, since it was my first day of proper lifting since the competition. Here's what I did-
- Snatch - worked up to 6*1*47kg
- Clean & Jerk - worked up to 4*2*61kg
- Back Squat - worked up to 4*3*90kg
Harry had me focusing on getting the hips lower for these. I found it was making it a lot easier to push through the center of my feet. When I had then higher I was extending through the toes, which was causing many other problems.
Again Harry had me trying to get the hips lower, and again it was effective. I was very tired for these though. Especially the second reps. I'm really not used to morning sessions at all!
Evening
We had another session with Harry in DCU. It was pretty similar to Tuesday, but we got to use a bit of weight when squatting. It's great to see how quickly everyone's improving. Some members have a lot of potential, and I'm really looking forward to seeing us becoming a successful weightlifting club.
Friday
I was majorly hungover from Thursday night, but managed to make it along to the final session of the week in DCU. Good to be working a way at the stretching and mobility work, even if I did feel terrible! The skill work wasn't great at all, and the little bit of squatting felt terribly heavy. Unfortunately most Fridays will be like this.
That was the weeks training. I also did a little bit of shoulder work on Thursday, but it's not really worth logging.
This week's training will be pretty similar. Hopefully I'll have a little more time to update this.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Tuesday's Road to Recovery
I had a pretty bad allergic reaction yesterday, so couldn't train. I got in today, but I'm still recovering, so it wasn't as good as it could have been.
I trained in Hercs again, starting with the basic warm up. This had many indications the lifting wasn't going to be good. I did the usual overhead squat + snatch balance combo, and even missed some of the snatch balances. Surprisingly though, the snatching went well. I managed to equal my comp pb of 49kg for a few top sets, which was great.
Harry arrived in when I moved on to Clean and Jerks. These unfortunately weren't as clean cut as the snatches. I only managed to work up to 60kg for a few top sets, and they were tough. Even the cleans felt ropey, when usually they're fine. Here's what I did-
I finished off with some stretching. It's actually insane how tight my shoulders are. I can barely grasp my hands behind my back. Alex was there to offer some advice again. She assures me it's tightness in most of the muscle groups in the shoulder, rather than being isolated.
She also showed me some more good stretches that felt great. I can really feel the stretch, as well as scaps moving into they're proper position. The more of these I do, the more my shoulders will improve, so I'm going to keep at it.
Harry might be in DCU tomorrow evening. We're hoping to get club training back underway for semester 2. So chances are I'll be training there. Otherwise I'll be in Hercs. Hopefully I'm well recovered from the allergic reaction for it.
I trained in Hercs again, starting with the basic warm up. This had many indications the lifting wasn't going to be good. I did the usual overhead squat + snatch balance combo, and even missed some of the snatch balances. Surprisingly though, the snatching went well. I managed to equal my comp pb of 49kg for a few top sets, which was great.
Harry arrived in when I moved on to Clean and Jerks. These unfortunately weren't as clean cut as the snatches. I only managed to work up to 60kg for a few top sets, and they were tough. Even the cleans felt ropey, when usually they're fine. Here's what I did-
- Snatch - 2*2*40kg, 2*2*44kg, 2*2*47kg, 4*2*49kg
- Clean & Jerk - 2*50kg, 2*55kg, 3*2*60kg
- Back Squat - 3*60kg, 3*70kg, 3*80kg, 3*90kg, 4*3*100kg
I then did some jerk skill, followed by some clean warm ups. I was quite stiff in the rack position, so Laura did some pnf stretching with me. This helped a lot.
I finished off with some stretching. It's actually insane how tight my shoulders are. I can barely grasp my hands behind my back. Alex was there to offer some advice again. She assures me it's tightness in most of the muscle groups in the shoulder, rather than being isolated.
She also showed me some more good stretches that felt great. I can really feel the stretch, as well as scaps moving into they're proper position. The more of these I do, the more my shoulders will improve, so I'm going to keep at it.
Harry might be in DCU tomorrow evening. We're hoping to get club training back underway for semester 2. So chances are I'll be training there. Otherwise I'll be in Hercs. Hopefully I'm well recovered from the allergic reaction for it.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Wednesday's return to DCU
I wasn't feeling the best the last two days, so I only got back today. I was training in the high performance gym in DCU, which was I was glad to return to. Unfortunately though, the facilities aren't much better than those at home.
They've two platforms, which is obviously a plus; but there is only a womens' olympic lifting bar, two 5kg, and two 2.5kg bumper plates. These are wrecked as well because of the extra weight being added to the bar along with them. I think the sports centre is more to blame here though. The bar and bumper plates combined only make up 30kg. Lifters cannot be expected to stay below that weight!
This is probably the main reason I've become involved with trying to establish a DCU weightlifting club. We've had several obstacles holding us back thus far, but hopefully over the next month we can get funding sorted, and focus on the lifting.
For semester 1 we trained with broom handles under the guide of the ever wise Harry Leech. This was of course suitable for the start, but as you can imagine, it became difficult to keep everyone interested. We later hit our first funding issues, so even these classes had to be halted.
For semester 2 we our looking to get the club a permanent training area, this is looking the promising. The only reason we couldn't in semester 1, was because the building we are looking for access to was being refurbished. We will also find out next week if our grant application has been successful. Fingers crossed it will be.
I started today's session with some foam rolling. I find it great for keeping the IT band loose. I also tried it on my upper back and lats. It certainly helped a little, I'm sure I'll notice it working more and more over the next few training sessions. I also did some of my other shoulder rehabbing work, these are becoming easier each week.
The actual lifting today was tough. My speed under the bar was terribly slow, and everything felt far heavier than it should have. I really wasn't focused enough. After some overhead squats and light snatch balances here's what I did-
Snatch- 2*30kg, 2*35kg, 2*40kg, 2*45kg, 1*50kg
The one rep of 50 was more of a muscle snatch, so I didn't even bother with a second.
Jerk- 2*40kg, 2*45kg, 3*2*50kg
I stuck with 50kg to focus on the lock out as much as possible. I really need to focus on getting my front foot forward more too.
Back Squat- 3*50kg, 3*60kg, 3*70kg, 3*80kg, 3*90kg, 3*100kg, 3*110kg
I then finished 3 sets of the following circuit
Scap push-ups * 20, glute ham raises * 6, bar hang * 1 min.
Had a bit of a chill out in the sauna, jacuzzi and tepidarium afterwards, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Here's hoping tomorrow's session is easier.
They've two platforms, which is obviously a plus; but there is only a womens' olympic lifting bar, two 5kg, and two 2.5kg bumper plates. These are wrecked as well because of the extra weight being added to the bar along with them. I think the sports centre is more to blame here though. The bar and bumper plates combined only make up 30kg. Lifters cannot be expected to stay below that weight!
This is probably the main reason I've become involved with trying to establish a DCU weightlifting club. We've had several obstacles holding us back thus far, but hopefully over the next month we can get funding sorted, and focus on the lifting.
For semester 1 we trained with broom handles under the guide of the ever wise Harry Leech. This was of course suitable for the start, but as you can imagine, it became difficult to keep everyone interested. We later hit our first funding issues, so even these classes had to be halted.
For semester 2 we our looking to get the club a permanent training area, this is looking the promising. The only reason we couldn't in semester 1, was because the building we are looking for access to was being refurbished. We will also find out next week if our grant application has been successful. Fingers crossed it will be.
I started today's session with some foam rolling. I find it great for keeping the IT band loose. I also tried it on my upper back and lats. It certainly helped a little, I'm sure I'll notice it working more and more over the next few training sessions. I also did some of my other shoulder rehabbing work, these are becoming easier each week.
The actual lifting today was tough. My speed under the bar was terribly slow, and everything felt far heavier than it should have. I really wasn't focused enough. After some overhead squats and light snatch balances here's what I did-
Snatch- 2*30kg, 2*35kg, 2*40kg, 2*45kg, 1*50kg
The one rep of 50 was more of a muscle snatch, so I didn't even bother with a second.
Jerk- 2*40kg, 2*45kg, 3*2*50kg
I stuck with 50kg to focus on the lock out as much as possible. I really need to focus on getting my front foot forward more too.
Back Squat- 3*50kg, 3*60kg, 3*70kg, 3*80kg, 3*90kg, 3*100kg, 3*110kg
I then finished 3 sets of the following circuit
Scap push-ups * 20, glute ham raises * 6, bar hang * 1 min.
Had a bit of a chill out in the sauna, jacuzzi and tepidarium afterwards, which I thoroughly enjoyed! Here's hoping tomorrow's session is easier.
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