A New Year

Things are starting off tough in 2010. Fully committed to OPT programming now, although my schedule isn't permitting me to keep up (2 days behind) or finish all the workouts (can't workout on Sundays, and fairly difficult to get in on Saturdays. I'm trying to supplement and shuffle workouts as best I can in order to get the sufficient stimulus, but it's still a bit of a jumble for now. Appetite and weight have gone down, although I'm already comfortably in my weight class. I may contemplate holding onto a higher bodyweight to stay anabolic, but we'll have to see about that.

Monday Double:

AMSAP 1-5 BS ladder @ 225lb in 10 minutes: 3 ladders completed

BB Jump squat @ 95lb, 6x6 with 60 sec rest in between, minimal amortization time

GHD sit up 3x20, 45 sec rest

rest 6 hours

AMRAP Double unders in 45 sec, rest 75 sec, 5 rounds: 35-45 reps all rounds

Tuesday:

A. Clean grip power snatch 3x5 @ 95lb, 105, 115-

B1. Snatch DL 30x0, 4x3 @ 195lb, rest 10 sec

B2. KBS 10x3 @ 2pd, rest 10 sec

B3. GHD raise 2010, 12x3, rest 180 sec

C. Tabata push-ups

The BS ladder dug me into a deep, deep hole; one that I'm still feeling now. 45 reps in 10 minutes at a load of 225lb is far more than I thought I'd be able to do - the volume came out to over 10,000 pounds over the course of the workout, and as a result I felt more or less useless doing the jump squats afterwards, as my legs had turned to jelly by then. Since the previous week I've found a slight variation on the GHD sit-up that's eliminated the pain I would get from spinal compression, and the exercise itself has become much more effective since.

The clean grip power snatch turned out to be a very pleasant movement; it stressed good o-lifting mechanics throughout in order to complete each rep. Small mistakes or distractions made themselves readily apparent with very little weight - There had to be powerful extension to propel the weight about 6 inches higher than for a power snatch, a quick and tight 3rd pull (and punch) were required to move the bar through its extremely long path of travel, and a strong, firm "stick" of the feet in the power squat position ensured that the weight didn't land in front or behind.

I still don't like push-ups.

An increasing issue for me with the opt workouts is how to do the doubles; on my days off this isn't much of a problem, but figuring something out during the workweek will be challenging; most workouts are difficult enough that I won't be able to simply do them together, although I may end up just trying.f