yes & yes. Wider stance would get your shins more vertical, which would make it so your knees dont travel as far forward, which eases some stress on them. Toes more forward would give you more hip torque.

If they're getting achy during the squats, doing those two things would be a good idea for sure.

If they're getting achy after, up to ~2 days after squatting, that's a soft tissue issue that you can address through SMR & mobility work, primarily on the quads, ITBs & hips.

those are the best goal reevaluations!

that's the plan. im going to learn to hbbs, to start. my shoes and everett book should arrive in nz with the rest of my stuff soon, and ive started to acquire bumper plates when i see a deal. time to stop talking about it, and do something about it, heh.

They don't get achy during, but sometimes after. I think it's more SMR/mobility related stuff, which I admittedly do not do as much as I should. On a positive note, my knees have been feeling much better than they have lately.

2/2/14

Hang Snatch (paused from above knee)

120x3
140x3
150x3
2x3x160
160x2 (failed last one behind)
160x1 (to make up for my miss)

All snatches felt very good. I was supposed to do 3x3 @ 80% (160), but failed last rep behind. All told, I'm pretty happy though.

Snatch Pulls

4x2x200

I focused on maintaining proper back angle and not letting my hips rise too fast. EZPZ.

HBBS

135x5
185x4
2x5x230
230x8 (PR)

So I figured I'd GSLP my squats today. I think I might do these on the days I'm supposed to squat heavyish sets of 5 because why not. Hopefully I can get my squat up into a respectable range soon.

Good Mornings

4x5x135

Push Press

135x5
150x5
2x3x165
175x3
185x3 (PR)

Ab Wheel (kneeling)

3x10

Conditioning

Some double unders, but I was pretty tired, so I didn't do more than 20-30 all told.

I'm not the best at giving advice, but you have any questions, I'll do my best to help. You're pretty strong already, so after you sort out technique, I would expect big numbers from you. Looking forward to tracking your progress.

thanks, ill definitely stop on by with ridiculous questions. many, many ridiculous questions.

2/3/14

Muscle Snatch

80x5
100x5
4x3x120

First time really doing these.



Hang C&J (from above knee)

135x2
145x3
170x2
190x2
205x2
2x1x215 (skipped the jerk on the second set)

Everything felt extremely heavy today. Will probably post some videos later.

Cleans

3x3x190

Clean Grip RDL

5x6x190

Pretty easy.

Bent Over KB Row

3x8x70# KBS in each arm

video is broken mane

fixed mane.

Cleans/C&Js from today:





Second video is rep #2. First rep was obstructed by someone in front of camera.

2/4/14

Push Press + Clean Grip OHS

bar x 3
95 x 3 + 3
130 x 3 + 3
145 x 3+ 3
3 x 155 x 3 + 3

Hot damn, those clean grip overhead squats are so hard. I failed the last OHS on my second set just losing balance a bit and dropping the bar behind. I found I was coming up on my toes a bit at the bottom on some reps because this is such a funky movement. Wanted to video to see what was going on, but things were pretty busy, so I didn't.

Split Jerks (from the rack)

145x3
170x3
190x1
205x1
215x1
215xf
215x1

Surprised I failed a jerk at 215, but everything else felt fine.

HBBS

135x5
185x3
2x5x235
235x7

Squats felt good. I had coffee before the gym. I think it helped. The 235x7 was pretty close to a max effort. I maybe had one more rep in me.

Power Snatch

100x3
120x3
130x3
3x1x145

Not too bad. The last rep or 2 at 145 was close to parallel, but I'm fairly certain they were above.

Das eet mane!

It's good to see you doing some GSLP for squats. How long do you think you will do them for?

At least through the end of the month. I'm going to play it by ear though because my squatting has to be somewhat adaptive to the oly programming. So as long as my program is calling for heavy sets of 5 or whatever, I'm going to stick with gslp squats 2x/week, increasing 5# each workout. Hopefully I don't stall any time soon.

2/6/14

Hang Snatch

95x3
120x3
140x3
150x3
165x3 (PR)
165x2 + 1F
165X1 + 1F
165X1

Snatch Pulls

5x5x205

This felt like cardio.

Pendlays

4x8x185

Sweet hypertrophy. My back is going to be so swole.

I slept awful last night and woke up late today, so I cut two exercises out - muscle snatch/OHS complex and jerk balances. Whatever, it's a miracle I even made it to the gym at all. Everything felt like cardio. I was sweating already during warmups and when I picked up the bar to start snatching, I was sweating like a pig. Have a few vids--will post later.

Videos from earlier today:

2/7/14

C&J

135x1+3 jerks
145x1+3 jerks
170x2
180x2
190x1
205x1
225x1
235xf (didn't attempt jerk)
235x1 (power clean PR, didn't attempt jerk)

With the exception of my first attempt at 235, I power cleaned every rep, not intentionally or anything, I was just pulling the bar as high as possible and there was no reason to receive it lower. My jerks were feeling off today + morning workout, so I guess not surprising that 235 wasn't there.

Clean Grip RDL

4x5x275

Not too bad. Bought straps, don't know how to use them--hook gripped reps.

Front Squats

135x6
150x6
160x6
6x2x175

2/9/14

Snatch Complex

Snatch Pull + Hang Snatch from 2' off the ground + hang snatch

I did this complex at:

95
115
135
155
165f (failed first snatch)
165
170
175f (failed second snatch behind. close though)
175
180

Everything above 165 is a hang snatch PR. I was supposed to do 5 sets @ 80-85% (between 160-170) but was feeling really good, so I moved up. I contemplated giving this a go at 185, but decided against it.



Snatch High Pulls

200x2
3x2x205

ezpz.

HBBS

warmups whatever
3x5x240

These were quite difficult. A bit disappointed I couldn't get more than 5 on my last set. I should have hit at least 6 or 7, but it wasn't happening. I didn't have it today for squats.

Push Press

135x3
165x3
185x3
205xf

I got a little too carried away trying to pp 205. I might be able to do 200 and maybe 205 for a single on a good day, but not today.

Pendlay Rows

3x4x230
2x5x225

Nice Power Clean PR!

Thanks, LL!

2/10/14

Hang C&J

95x3
135x3
145x3
170x2
180x2
190x2
195x2
200x2
205x2

This was fairly difficult at the top sets, but I made it through.



3' in. Deficit Clean Pulls

225x5
4x5x245



Clean Grip RDLs

4x5x275

These were actually kinda hard today.

Klokov Press

95x5
3x5x100

I was being told that the bar was coming up uneven and I was favoring one side, so I recorded from behind. I can't tell any unevenness from the video?



ETA: Weight holding steady at 217.6

2/11/14

Snatch Complex

Power Snatch + Hang Snatch

120 x 2 + 2
140 x 2 + 2
150 x 1 + 2
155x 1 + 2
160 x 1(f) + 2

Failed the power snatch on 160 b/c I caught it well below parallel.



C&J Complex

1 Power Clean + 3 Push Press + 1 Split Jerk + 1 CGOHS

135
155 (failed OHS forward)
155
165 f
165 f

Clean grip OHS is extremely hard, especially when fatigued.

HBBS

3x5x245

Very hard, but I made it, so onward and upward.



Core

Some planks and 3x5 L hang pull ups.

That set of squats was like a rollercoaster. It started easy for the first three reps, was a little tough for the fourth rep, and then a grind on the last rep. I am pretty sure I have asked this before, but have you thought about taking a deep breath between each rep to keep the same rhythm? For some reason, it really helps me when I squat. Conversely, when I do that for OHP or bench, breathing that way makes the exercise a lot more difficult.

I never really tried. Maybe I'll try and pace it better next time, but I think it's just the weight is heavy.

2/13/14

Drop Snatch

3x3x100

I took video, but not bothering to post.

Hang Snatch

95x3
120x3
140x3
150x3
3x3x160

I missed a few from the hang at 160. I was generally feeling lazy and uninspired today.

Snatch Pulls

4x4x205

Push Press

135x3
155x3
2x2x185 (failed 3rd both times)
3x3x175

I was also supposed to do Bulgarian split squats also, but I don't know how to do them and I ran out of time anyway.

2/14/14

C&J Complex

Clean + Hang Clean + Jerk

2 + 2 + 2 @ 145
1 + 2 + 1 @ 170
1 + 2 + 1 @ 180
1 + 1 + 1 @ 190
1 + 1 + 1 @ 205 - 3 sets

These felt like garbage. I was just tired and all of these felt sloppy. I somewhat surprisingly missed the jerk on set # 2 @ 205.



HBBS

135x5
185x3
205x2
225x2
250x5 (PR)
250x3
250x2
225x2

Yeh, 3x5x250 was simply not in the cards today. Feeling way too lethargic for me to really have a chance at that. The 3rd rep on my second set of 250 was a real grinder, so I didn't bother to attempt rep 4.

Clean Grip RDL

4x4x255

Not too bad.

Conditioning

5ish minutes of double unders.

I stick to my subscriptions so I've never ventured into your log before but there are some great vids in here. Subscribed

Nice work on the C&J. Have you considered working on speeding up your transitions from the clean into the jerk? You burnt a lot of energy hanging out in the front rack on that 2nd rep at 180.

Re Klokov press - looks like you lead a bit more with right arm on last two reps when your gassed. Guessing your right handed. Prob not too big of a deal as it wasn't massively asymetrical.