Topic: Irish Beginner

[Cillian McNamara]

Thursday Training Session 2009-04-09

Started at 18:10
(All weights in kgs)

Stretching for about 10min

Snatch
(Following inclusive of warm-up)
Reps: 3,2,1,FAIL*,FAIL**,1 (Power Snatch),1 (Power Snatch),1
Weights: 40,45,50,50,50,55,55,50
Volume: 420
Total reps: 9
Intensity: 46+2/3
*Weight caught then went down on my right knee and let the weight drop forward
**Weight caught then went backwards
Wasn't feeling good today. Decided to change the workout under Steve's instructions.

Clean Pulls
Reps: 3,3,3,3,3
Weights: 70,80,90,100,105
Volume: 1335
Total Reps: 15
Intensity: 89

Back Squat
Reps: 10,11,9
Weights: 90,100,110
Volume: 2990
Total Reps: 30
Intensity: 99+2/3

Bench Press
Reps: 10,10
Weights: 50,65
Volume: 1150
Total Reps: 20
Intensity: 57.5

Before Bench Press and after Bench Press I did Barbell Holds with 40kgs for 30 seconds. You lie across a bench with the barbell under the bench. Then you pull the barbell up and hold it against the bench.

Total Workout Volume: 5895
Total workout reps: 74
Total workout intensity: 79.66

Finished at 19:40
Duration 90 minutes

I've got till Tuesday to recover. No workout on Saturday since gym is closed for Easter. I've had a good run with my current routine of concentrating on the Olympic lifts. I established my PB's of 55kgs for Snatch and 90kgs for Clean and Jerk. Steve thinks I should change things up, lift around 85% of my PB's for the Olympic lifts and add in more squatting and more pulls. So new routine from Tuesday.

[Cillian McNamara]

Tuesday Training Session 2009-04-14

Started at 18:05
(All weights in kgs)

Stretching for about 10min

Clean
(Following inclusive of warm-up)
Reps: 3,3,3,3,3,2,2,3*,3*
Weights: 50,55,60,65,70,75,80,50,55
Volume: 1525
Total reps: 25
Intensity: 61
*Did Jump cleans under Steve's watchful eye. Basically, I lowered the weight and was trying the jump off the ground as high as I could during the clean. These really made me puff and sweat!

Jerk + Clean off the floor*
Reps: 3,3,3,3,3
Weights: 55,60,65,70,75
Volume: 975
Total reps: 15
Intensity: 65
*Did it this way because all the stands were in use.

Front Squat
Reps: 5,5,5,5,3
Weights: 70,80,85,90,95
Volume: 1910
Total reps: 23
Intensity: 83.04

Deadlift (conventional)
Reps: 5,5,5,5
Weights: 100,110,120,130
Volume: 2300
Total reps: 20
Intensity: 115

Total Workout Volume: 6710
Total workout reps: 83
Total workout intensity: 80.84

Finished at 19:35
Duration 90 minutes

Did about 5 extra cleans since there was no stands free. The workout had me sweating, I'll be on higher volume workouts like this from now on. Hopefully over time and can build up to 8000kgs+ as a workout volume.

[Cillian McNamara]

Thursday Training Session 2009-04-16

Started at 18:15
(All weights in kgs)

Stretching for about 10min

Snatch
(Following inclusive of warm-up)
Reps: 3,3,3,3,3,3,3,2
Weights: 30,35,37.5,40,42.5,45,47.5,50
Volume: 932.5 Total reps: 23 Intensity: 40.54
-Need to remember to keep shoulders over the bar in the pull.

Snatch Pulls
Reps: 5,5,5,5,5
Weights: 45,50,55,60,60
Volume: 1350 Total Reps: 25 Intensity: 54
-Need to buy straps!!

Overhead Squat
Reps: 5,5,5,5,5
Weights: 40,45,50,55,60*
Volume: 1250 Total Reps: 25 Intensity: 50
*PB on my overhead squats, first time I've done 60 for 5.

Military Press
Reps: 5,5,5,2*,4,3
Weights: 40,45,50,55,50,50
Volume: 1135 Total Reps: 24 Intensity: 47.29
*I don't know what happened. The weight wouldn't budge after the second rep. Had to drop the weight.

Total Workout Volume: 4667.5
Total workout reps: 97
Total workout intensity: 48.12

Finished at 19:35
Duration 80 minutes

[Cillian McNamara]

Saturday Training Session 2009-04-18

Started at 11:30
(All weights in kgs)

Stretching for about 10min

Clean and Jerk
(Following inclusive of warm-up)
Reps: 3,2,2,2,2,2,2
Weights: 50,55,60,65,70,75,77.5
Volume: 955 Total reps: 15 Intensity: 63.67

Clean pulls
(Following inclusive of warm-up)
Reps: 5,5,5,5,5
Weights: 70,75,80,85,90
Volume: 2000 Total reps: 25 Intensity: 80

Back Squats
Reps: 10,10,10
Weights: 90,100,110
Volume: 3000 Total reps: 30 Intensity: 1000

Bench Press
Reps: 10,10,8
Weights: 50,60,70
Volume: 1660 Total reps: 28 Intensity: 59.29

Total Workout Volume: 7615 (8570 if I count Clean and Jerk as two exercises)
Total workout reps: 98 (113 if " ")
Total workout intensity: 77.70 (75.84 if " ")

Finished at 12:55
Duration 85 minutes

[Cillian McNamara]

Tuesday Training Session 2009-04-21

Started at 18:15
(All weights in kgs)

Stretching for about 10min

Clean
(Following inclusive of warm-up)
Reps: 3,3,3,3,3,2,2
Weights: 50,60,65,70,75,80,85
Volume: 1290 Total reps: 19 Intensity: 67.89
-Steve said I should consider doing power cleans for my few couple of sets. As in concentrate on just hitting the bar hard and jumping even with the lighter weights. He said for the lighter weights this will mean a power clean but then as I move up the weight I should naturally start dropping into a full clean. But keep concentrating on hitting the bar hard and jumping.

Jerk
Reps: 3,3,3,3,3
Weights: 60,65,70,75,80
Volume: 1050 Total reps: 15 Intensity: 70
-Tried a loose grip in the rack position as opposed to tightly holding the bar before jerking. Felt more natural, think I'll keep it this way.

Front Squat
Reps: 5,5,5,5,4*
Weights: 75,80,85,90,95
Volume: 2030 Total reps: 24 Intensity: 84.58
*Nearly had the 5th rep, started to fall forward then pulled  back and started to fall backward and eventually just dropped the weight.

Deadlift (conventional)
Reps: 5,5*,5*,5
Weights: 100,110,120,130
Volume: 2300 Total reps: 20 Intensity: 115
*Worked on my grip by not hooking the thumb

Total Workout Volume: 6670
Total workout reps: 78
Total workout intensity: 85.51

Finished at 19:30
Duration 75 minutes

Had a slightly faster workout since I had meant to arrive at 6 instead of 6:15.

[Cillian McNamara]

Thursday Training Session 2009-04-23

Started at 18:00
(All weights in kgs)

Stretching for about 10min

Snatch
(Following inclusive of warm-up)
Reps: 3,3,3,3,3*,3^,3**,3
Weights: 30,35,40,42.5,45,47.5,50,50
Volume: 975 Total reps: 23 Intensity: 42.39
-Need to remember to keep shoulders in front of the bar before the pull
*Bar dropped backwards on last rep
**Feet nudged forward on first rep but recovered
^Did a video of this one:

Beginner's Snatch, 47.5kg

Snatch Pulls
Reps: 5,5,5,5,5
Weights: 45,50,55,60,65
Volume: 1375 Total Reps: 25 Intensity: 55
-Bought straps!

Overhead Squat
Reps: 5,5,5,5,5
Weights: 40,45,50,55,60
Volume: 1250 Total Reps: 25 Intensity: 50
-Felt solid. Retrospectively I could have gone higher with the starting weight and maybe hit a higher final weight. Though I was thinking to myself that the previous week's pb of 60 might have been a fluke.

Military Press
Reps: 5,5,5,4,4
Weights: 40,45,50,50,50
Volume: 1075 Total Reps: 23 Intensity: 46.74
-Decided not to up the weight on the 4th set this week and instead wait until I can finish the 5x5 with 50.

Total Workout Volume: 4675
Total workout reps: 96
Total workout intensity: 48.70

Finished at 19:35
Duration 95 minutes

[Jack]

Cillian,

Meticulous workout logs! Thanks for posting the vid. You don't look like an 88; you carry the weight well.
I don't know how your coach looks at it, but for technique practice, I can recommend working up to, and then staying with the same weight for more sets.

Sjaak

[Cillian McNamara]

Cillian,

Meticulous workout logs! Thanks for posting the vid. You don't look like an 88; you carry the weight well.
I don't know how your coach looks at it, but for technique practice, I can recommend working up to, and then staying with the same weight for more sets.

Sjaak

Sjaak,

Might be embarrassing but the snatches weren't really technique practice, per se. My best snatch is 55kgs. So 50kgs was a new pb for 3 reps. I'm not that well conditioned to doing the movements, as such I'm slow to warm-up, often by the time I get to my last few sets in snatch I'm quite tired.

As for carrying the weight well, I'm 1.8m and most of my weight is in my legs 

Thanks for the reply,

Cillian