Goddamnit. I've been watching so many youtube videos again I decided to give weightlifting another try with an online coach who's also 6ft4 and seemed to have gone through some of the same struggles.

If I don't see clear improvement in a couple of months I'm done with it forever and I'll do some silly slow progress powerlifting program until I die.

But until then, here's some shenanigans:

01/04

No Contact Muscle Snatch
2x2x40
1x2x45
1x2x50
1x(1+f)x55

Traps hurting af

Hang Snatch
2x3x40
1x3x45
1x3x50
1x3x55
1x3x60
3x3x55

Back Squat
1x5x60
1x5x90
3x5x115

Abs
weighted planks 3x30s x20kg
ss w/ 1arm side crunches 3x20 x20kg







FML

Nice weight on the clean of course, but you are soooo far away from full extension!! Hope your coach is able to fix that quickly

goodgood.gif

xukxuk, tall wl struggle is real, but I predict averagely-tall coach says hangs still help. glgl syn.

xukxuk yea I know what you see, I've always cleaned somewhat like that but it has never bothered me because cleans are the only thing that come relatively easy to me despite of obvious leaks

DT you are at least partially right, from what I've heard so far it's indeed a combination of hang drills and strengthening a correct bottom position. If only I had known this for the past few years!



Thanks for the support. I will make sure to disappoint.

To wrap up my return to the weight room and 3 months of work:

I've been pleasantly surprised with how smooth that went, and I even quit having barely started the 6RM cycle.

I think if I had completed my plan (6 more weeks of 6RMs and 8 weeks of 3RMs) I probably would have been moving a decent amount of weight again.

I'm a big fan of the APRE protocol for getting back into training after a layoff. For me personally the AMRAP style sets have a much better effect than just doings 5s for weeks on end.

Even having tried GSLP in the past I found the weights got too heavy too fast on the linear progression and I was forced to consider resetting after getting stuck pretty early on. But then most other non-linear programs are too slow in progress for someone re-gaining previous strength.

Love the auto-regulation and varying rep ranges in APRE!

^ Oops, I somehow replied thinking about snatch catch depth

01/06

Power Clean + Split Jerk
2x(1+3)x40
1x(1+3)x50
1x(1+3)x60
1x(1+3)x70
3x(1+3)x60

Clean Pulls to Knee w 2s pause
3x5x100

Snatch Balance + OHS
1x(1+3)x40
1x(1+3)x50
3x(1+3)x60

Back Squat
1x5x60
1x5x90
3x5x115

01/07

Power Clean + Split Jerk (w 3s Pause in catch)
1x(1+3)x40
1x(1+3)x50
1x(1+3)x60
1x(1+3)x70
3x(1+3)x60

Push Press
3x5x60

Accessories
Arnold Press 3x10x7.5
ss w/ Pull Up 3x5

I had been driving all my jerks forward for the past few years. Coach advised me to dip with balance in the front of my foot during the entire time (despite most people saying to keep it on the heels) and today were some of the most stable jerks I've ever done in my life.

Hopefully it transfers well to heavier weights later on.

Yep. I was spamming the stupid glen pendlay heels cueueue for a long time and noticed that shifting my balance forward even just on squats resulted in some big improvements. I imagine it'd make an even larger difference on jerks.

01/08

Snatch
5x3x40
1x3x50
2x3x55
1x3x50

Accessories
Bench press
1x10x40
1x10x50
1x10x60
3x10x70kg

Tried wider grip for a change, middle finger around the ring. Actually feels great, lol. Chest pump was real.

Machine row
1x10x90
3x10x100lbs

01/12

Squat
5x60
5x80
5x100
5x120
5x130 @RPE8
3x5x110

Jesus that felt like a routine warmup. I guess it looked like I could easily do 10 or more, but I was supposed to do them unbroken in which case I think I could've only repped out 2 more reps without resting at the top. Very happy with how easy squats felt today.

Squat w 3s bottom pause
3x3x105

Clean Deadlift
1x5x60
1x5x90
3x5x120

Accessories
Back extension 3x10x20kg
Some shoulder rehab stuff

My gym only has this diagonal (easy/partial) back extension machine. Not sure if there is any variant that may be more useful for this.

I guess I should call them “Unbroken Squats” before I rustle any of the RPE regs on this forum for calling that an 8.

Constant tension squats are a thing, also similar are bottom half only squats. Seems pretty brutal tbh.

01/14

Got two cues for all my snatch variants:

1) Focus on weight more forward in the foot during setup and pull. This allows me to set up with my hips a little lower and use more quads.

2) Knuckles down. I don't know why I've never been told this one before but it really seems to help to pull way more straight up during the second pull. It's a new one to me.

Also going real slow from the floor and accelerating throughout the pull seems to be great for my execution & consistency.

No Contact Muscle Snatch
2x40
2x45
2x50
2x55

Hang Snatch
3x40
3x45
3x50
3x55
3x3x60

Push Press
4x5x60

Squat
5x60
5x90
4x5x115

Squats felt quite sluggish today. Last set was the easiest.

01/15

Power Clean + Split Jerk (w 3s Pause in catch)
2x3x40
1x3x50
1x3x60
3x3x70

Clean Pulls to Knee w 2s pause
4x5x100

Snatch Balance + OHS
1x(1+3)x40
1x(1+3)x50
1x(1+3)x60
1x(1+3)x70

Since I started training again about 4 months ago my weight has gone up from 208lbs to 214lbs, in the morning, sober and after pee.

Psychologically I've always wanted to weigh 220lbs (100kg) because of my height. Actually during the day with some food in my stomach and some clothes on I am already there. But it's cheating.

I'm one of those people who really has to focus on eating like a horse and snacking in between meals to make sure I stay at a slightly higher weight than my baseline.

01/16

Snatch
3x2x40
2x2x50
3x2x60

Clean & Jerk
3x(2+1)x40
2x(2+1)x50
1x(2+1)x60
1x(2+1)x70
3x(2+1)x80

Bench Press (w small pause)
10x40
10x50
10x60
10x75
9x75
4x75 + 3x70 + 3x60

The pause killed me. Could've easily repped them out otherwise.

Squat
5x90
3x5x115

Super easy, fast, smooth, unbroken squats.

Feeling great about my wl movements. This is a new feeling to me. Usually nothing makes sense. This is one of the first times things actually seem to "click" somewhat. I'm going to be so happy when I finally manage to break through new weights. My PRs are pathetic for my (previous) strength.



Could have done a better job driving straight up though. Was rushing it during those jerks.

01/19

Squat
5x40
5x60
5x80
5x100
5x120
2x130
5x140 (315lbs) (video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGboQ8jS47M)
3x5x120

First time squatting 3 wheels again was way easier than I expected

Paused Squat
3x3x110

Clean Deadlift
6x4x120

01/28

Back to the gym after 9 days of traveling and getting drunk on baijiu every single day. My weight fluctuated 7 pounds, I assume because of dehydration.

Muscle Snatch + OHS
2x(1+3)x40
1x(1+3)x50
1x(1+3)x55
1x(fail)x60
1x(1+3)x60

No Hook No Feet Snatch
3x1x40
2x1x50
1x1x55
1x1x60
1x1x65
1xFx70
1x1x70
3x3x55

Squat
1x5x60
1x5x80
1x5x100
5x5x115

Some of todays lifts on video:
(1) Muscle sn @60kg top set
(2) No hook no feet @60kg
(3) No hook no feet @70kg top set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OiZ7q9YDeA

01/29

TnG Split Jerks
3x3x40
1x3x50
2x3x55
1x3x60
1x3x65
2x3x70

TnG Power Jerks
3x3x55

Push Press
5x5x60

Strict Press (find max)
40
50
60
65
70xF

1x5x50
4x5x45

Lol finding a max after all those jerks and push presses turned out a bit of a joke.'


Video
(1) TnG Jerks top set @70kg
(2) Power Jerks 1st set
(3) Power Jerks 2nd set
(4) Push Presses random set
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnbO9a3BCYQ

Also does anyone know why my iOS YouTube app does not upload my videos in the original quality? I've tried changing the upload settings to 720p/1080p/Full Quality and toggling on/off uploading over wifi only... but no matter what I try, videos are always come out at only 480p.

My feels when you casually HBBS more than my LBBS rep PR a few months after returning; the squats look good, though - RPEV of 8 max.

I'm glad you said that, because the point of that set was to hit an RPE8!

I'll have to attempt a 5RM squat later this week. Not sure what my plan is number wise. According to calculators using 140x7 my 1RM should be ~168 and I may be good for 150x5. But I may pussy out and make it 145.

Agree it's remarkable how fast strength comes back (relative to gaining it in the first place). I did eventually squat 190kg (420lbs) a few months before I quit training.

I assume it's also thanks to lol_oly. This program Zack Telander put me on has me squatting three times a week, accumulating a ton of volume at 75% and once heavy.

Syn,

You've been away a while; RPEV is not the same as RPE.

Did we know that Telander was coaching you? Even though olytarding is lol, I watch and dig his stuff. I assume you're finding value in his coaching?

I mentioned somewhere I took an online coach but I didn't share his name, I actually didn't realize how famous he got during the time I disappeared. I remember subbing to his channel after the very first video he posted and now suddenly he's having Clarence stay at his house and posting vids with Torokhtiy and Sonny Webster and other instgram wl celebs. Wat

For the coaching I was expecting it to be more individualized. All people just follow his standard template and he does video analysis once a day. But the things he is seeing and the cues he's giving are definitely entirely different from other people I had look at my videos before. I can feel and see myself improve fairly fast so I'm really happy for sure.