Topic: The Road to a 181KG Clean and Jerk

[Justin Ott]

well, to introduce myself to this forum I will tell you a bit about myself. I am 25 and live in the vancouver area of B.C. Canada. I have been weight training since I was 12 off and on. I competed in bodybuilding and set a highschool record in powerlifting but after that I stopped working out. I picked up the weights this summer and became fascinated with the clean and jerk and the snatch. I watched "explosive lifting for sports" and am reading the "weightlifting encyclopedia". I just did my first workout training for the snatch and the clean and jerk yesterday after preparing for the lifts the last couple weeks.

dont laugh at weights I am just learning the techniques. I weigh approx 195lbs.

overhead behind neck press off resting shoulder position(no pushing or jerking)-bar x 8, 95x6,135 x 6,4,4,2,2,1.
overhead squats, holding bar in fully extended snatch position-bar x8, 95x6, 135x6,6,4,4,3,2,2,1
high hang position pulls- 95 x 8, 115x8, 135x8,6,6,6,6
high hang position power snatch-bar x6, 95x6, 115x4, 135x3,3, 140x2,2
incline sit-up crunches,12,10,8
back hyperextensions,15, w/25-10,10

I am focusing on the technique more than lifting maximum weight right now and I can tell you it feels awesome to throw the weight over your head correctly,  like hitting the baseball in the sweetspot of the bat. I am really enthusiastic about mastering these techniques.

Today my routine was as follows(Dec 20/08):

front squats warm up - 135 8,8,8
high hang cleans-95x 8, 115x8, 135 x6,6,6,6
cleans-135x6,185x4,225x4,3,2
push presses-95x6,155x4,175x4,4
stiff legged deadlifts-135x10,205x10,10,8
arm work

[Justin Ott]

Dec 21st workout (in lbs)

behind the neck push presses-135x6,185x5,195x4,205x2,2
overhead snatch position squats-95x10,115x8,135x6
front squats-135x10, 185x8, 205x 6, 225x3, 245x1
back squats (deep)- 225x10, 315x6, 365x3, 225x7,8
 

[Justin Ott]

Dec 22nd (light workout)

5 min bike warm-up
wide chin-ups- 10,6,6
dips-15,12,12
1 arm tricep overhead extensions-25lbsx10,10,8
incline bench sit-ups-10
hyper extensions/roman chair-15,15,15
donkey calf raises-385lbs-10
standing calf raises-235-12,12,12

[Justin Ott]

Dec 23

1 hour ice hockey game

no weights today

[Justin Ott]

Dec 24
in lbs
3 min bike warm up
broomstick shoulder stretching
broomstick snatches
high hanging snatches-bar x8, 95x6,105x6,6, 115x4,125x4,135x4,145x2
(I pressed out my elbows a little at the top of the snatch on the last reps, I guess I was not getting low enough, next time I will do overhead squats first to practice and stretch to get low enough)
incline situps-15
roman chair/hyperextensions-15

(right shoulder tendons/joint is a little sore/tweaked)

[Justin Ott]

Dec 27th first workout after Christmas

5mn bike warm-up
stretching, broomstick stretching
10 hyper extensions
front squat warm-up barx10,135x10,185x5

clean and jerks-barx10,135x2
cleans-185x4,1, 205x1, 225x1, 235x1
(I am having trouble perfecting the technique of receiving the bar in the front squat position only when I do cleans)
split jerks(from front squat position)-135x4, 145x3, 155x2, 165x1, 175x1, 185x1, 195x1, 135x2
stiff leg deadlifts- barx10, 225x6,6,8
high hanging shrug pulls-barx6, 225x6,8,6

incline situps- 18,12,10
roman chair w/ 25lbs-10,10,8

I felt a tad nauseous after work out, shoulder felt better.

[Justin Ott]

Dec 28

5 min bike warmup
stretching

overhead squats-bar x8, 95x9, 135x5, 155x2,2
front squats- 185x5, 205x3, 225x3, 275x1
back squats- 275x5, 315x4, 365x3, 315x3, 225x6

preacher curls-65x10,8,7

[Arden Cogar Jr.]

Justin,
 Do you have the ability to record your dynamic lifts (snatch, clean and jerk).  There's some very knowledgable folk on this site that are very free with advice.  Given that you're reading Newton's and Dreschler's book, you're likely as novice as I in those two movements.  In that regard, I've found in my eight weeks in doing full movements that it's very difficult to move forward unless you've go the watchful eye of someone willing to assist.

Good luck.

All the best,
 Arden