Thursday 10 x 10 (#59) Be your own cheerleader! Oh, and a few heavy snatches.

I'm going to start out with my snatch workout.  I'm starting here because it's relevant to the 10 x 10 that I'm posting this week.



For the past 6 weeks I've been training to repeat the 20kg 5 minute snatch test.  I will share the progression with you in a bit.....but the point is that I haven't attempted the test again since being successful last year at my SFG reCertification.  No other reason besides I was kind of busy practicing some other training!  Believe it or not, I can't do everything....at the same time.  My ultimate goal is to do the test with the 24kg, but that's another story.

This story is about how, last year, I completed 100 20kg snatch reps in 5 minutes without even snatching the 20kg one time in the previous 5 months!  And before that only a couple of times!  I trained for it using swings!  Double 16kg swings, in preparation for SFG, and the 32kg....and eveything in between!  So this time, before I can even think about moving onto the 24kg, I need to "own" the 20kg.  So, I thought I'd experiment with some actual snatch training!

week #1

5 R/ 5 L x 10 sets every minute ("otm") = 10 minutes, 100 snatch reps

week#2

6/6 x 10 sets every minute = 10 min 120 snatch reps

week #3

8 R/ 8 Lx 6 sets every 1.5 minutes = 8.5 min, 96 snatch reps,

week #4

9 R/ 9 L x 6 sets every 1.5 min = 8.5 min, 108 snatch reps

week #5

10 R/ 10 L x 5 sets every 1.5 min = 7 min, 100 snatch reps

week #6

11 R/ 11 L x 5 sets every 1.5 min = 7 min 110 snatch reps.

Next?  Snatch test scheduled in 10 days - two weeks!

Basically it's a cycle that increases volume, decreases time in relation to total volume.  Maribel has been doing a modified version of this workout with the 16kg (slightly fewer reps), and Brenda has been using the 18kg.  We will all test on the same day.  Neither of the other women have ever completed the 5 minute test with this practice weight, unlike myself, completing the 20kg 5 min test only one other time.

When the test is over, and by the way, it's a 5 minute test, NOT a 100 rep test, we will do another heavy double bell and single bell cycle and test it again!  I'm curious to see which works better...snatch training or swing training!

Okay, so let's move onto this morning's 10 x 10!

Maribel could not train this morning because of a meeting she had for work.  Maribel never misses Thursday morning, 5:30, here in Stone's Gym.  So she was out.  Brenda had to leave 20 minutes early, of the 60 minute workout, for the same basic reason!  So, left on my own I had to finish the workout....or did I?

So many times I thank God that I have these two women (and all of my other students and clients) that make me show up!  5:30am comes around so darn early and all I have to do is, literally, walk 20 ft out to my garage, while these two have to get up, get ready for the rest of their day, and then drive 15-20 minutes to my place!  And they NEVER miss!

Brenda and I did our warm up and snatch sets in the first 25 minutes or so, then it was on to a brutal swing workout (and you know when I say "brutal, I mean "fun", right?).

 double 12kg's
10 reps
24kg two hand swing 10 reps
double 12kg's
10 reps
24kg two hand swing 15 reps
double 12kg's
10 reps
24kg two hand swing 20 reps.
repeat....?

75 swing reps

Brenda had time for four rounds, (13 min), but what was my excuse?  I had none.  I had to keep going, by myself, and I didn't want to.  I wanted to stop, video tape a fun and light 10 x 10 in preparation for my trip to The Swing Quest Chicago tomorrow, and then I wanted to move on to the rest of my day.  But I  knew I had to complete my workout, which was a total of 8 rounds.....argh!  I soooo did NOT want to and found myself trying to stay positive when all I wanted to do was quit!  It felt so painful...what a baby, huh?  So I found myself being my own cheerleader.  "Come on! You can do it!  It's not that hard!  You're making a big deal about it!", etc.  When I was done one of the last things I wanted to do was video tape a 10 x 10!




But I tried to draw on that experience and share it.  It may seem, or maybe I make it out to seem like, this "working out regularly stuff" is easy for me.  It is, and it isn't!  No more talking, no more whining, it's time to do our 10 sets of 10....and appreciate all that it represents when we follow through and get it done.  I want you to be your biggest cheerleader, and I'll ride shotgun...promise!

ps That's Brenda's breathing that you hear in the foreground of the snatch video.  She was training alongside of me using the 18kg.