Rachael Keilin

Snatch Balances and Walking Lunges

Today was a snatch-centric day. Hang snatches at 80%, snatch grip deadlifts at 80% and snatch balances. I’m still working on that last one. With light weights I can snap under the bar, but the heavier the weight the more it looks like a snatch grip push press and subsequent overhead squat. But even done not perfectly, I think it’s great for improving stability under the bar in the snatch.

Then hanging leg raises (can now do sets of 20, hooray!) and front rack walking lunges in the continuing project of fixing my squat. Started with front squats to warm up (body weight 3×3) because it was actually cold here in the great state of Texas and I didn’t want to move directly into snatches.

Clean Pull Unders

I call these “clean pull unders” but they may have some official name of which I’m unaware. It’s a great drill for learning to pull under the bar instead of trying to (consciously or unconsciously pull the bar up to the rack position). It’s a lot tougher than it looks to just stand on your toes, shrug and pull under. Very worth a try.

this is a second version of the same drill here

Training When Sick

My beloved husband is on a four day fishing trip in another state. This is fun for him, lonely for me. The only upside to his being away is that when he’s away, my two girls come down and sleep with me. It’s like a giant snugglefest of mommy love.

However, snuggling with a 10 year old means catching said 10 year old’s cold. Yesterday I woke up with a scratchy throat and a mild cough. Today I’ve got a more productive cough, a scratchy throat that feels like I rubbed Eleiko competition gnurling on my vocal cords and the headache from hell.

Everyone asks me (likely because they know what I”m going to say and they enjoy mocking me) if I’m going to train when I feel like this.

My answer is….. hell yes.

Personally, I feel better after I get blood flowing, joints more limber and have something to focus upon other than the liquid cement that is mucus running through my sinuses.

It’s not dissimilar to operating. When I had morning sickness with both pregnancies the only time I literally did not sense the stomach roiling was when I was so focused on operating that the world just fell away. That degree of focus is exactly what I experience when lifting, so it makes me feel better.

I might try to avoid the gym so that I keep my pesky germs within my family unit, and just train at home. If I go to the box, I’ll try to wipe down the bar.

But yeah, I’m going to train if it’s only a cold. Viri don’t know if you’re doing behind the neck presses and frankly I don’t think a couple of hours of bar work will suppress my immune system enough to make anything worse. I doubt I’ll PR my lifts, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t get some useful work done.

When would I not train? Fever is kind of a deal breaker for me – that is your body’s way of asking for more fluid and some rest, not dehydration and speeding up an already elevated heart rate. Vomiting and diarrhea are also big no-train signals, mostly because, well, yuck. I admit that I am not hardcore enough to puke in a chalk bucket and finish the rest of my set.

Injury is a slightly different matter, but instead of commenting on that right now, I will link you to this most awesomest of articles from Matt Foreman at Catalyst Athletics.

Now grab a tissue and go train.

First Week of November Training Wrap-Up

It’s the end of the first week of my new training program, the first week after the American Masters Open. Body weight 116.4lbs.

I equaled my PR Back Squat (153lbs), PRed by clean by 1kg (49kg) and hit a 94% snatch (35.5kg) without much trouble. I feel like it’s sort of a good baseline place to start a new program. I learned not to try my heavy singles day with only one day’s rest. If I”m only working out 4 times per week, I’ll do the two heavy and big volume days on Monday and Wednesday, plyo stuff Thursday, heavy singles Saturday. The next step is playing around with sets/reps/percentages up and down Prilepin’s table to see what combo works the best for me right now.

Another Variation on the Back Extension

Yet another variation on the back extension, this time with a row. You could do this with a barbell, but I prefer kettlebells as this gets heavier, mainly because I like each side to be working independently. It also doesn’t hurt that the KBs are easier for my short arms to reach from the top of the reverse hyper. You certainly don’t need any special equipment for this except a friend who is willing to potentially get kicked in the face (my sweet coach is a brave, brave man as you can see here) and something upon which to elevate yourself. My coach found this variation in an old video from the 80’s (complete with mullet and mustache) of a wicked strong French shot putter.

Warming Up For Competition

I was asked today about tips for national level competitions. I’m not super experienced having only been to two, but I had these two insights that I thought I’d share.
One, colonize a warm-up platform early to put yourself where you’ll be most comfortable. I read a great article recently that talked about being in the “power position” in the warm-up area, like the CEO at the head of the board table.
But I realized about myself that I like being closer to the front where the desk is. I don’t go to meets with a coach who can track attempts for me. And without my glasses I have a hard time seeing across the room. So I feel more secure being closer to where the action is and I can see the clock and glance at the table easily. Many people hate it there because it’s a high traffic zone.
You need to figure out where you’ll be happy and make sure you secure that platform. Like a quiet corner where you can survey the room? Or do you like to be the center of attention? Don’t listen to pundits, listen to what will make you feel the most at home. You’ll already have nervous jitters aplenty. I liken this to listening to music in the gym. Lots of people like to shut out surrounding sensory input by listening to music in headphones. I really don’t like doing that. I like feeling more connected to my surroundings. Maybe I”m just a paranoid soul or maybe I’m overly social. But I like being able to both see and hear what’s around me at all times, so music in headphones in the gym is almost a stressor for me.

Two, be prepared for much stricter judging than you might have experienced at a local meet or in your Crossfit box while training. No wobbling, no pressing out, no hitching. Power cleans and Power snatches are fine if you can do them, but they still have to manifest excellent form. Film yourself leading up to the competition and be harsh with what you see on film. A corollary to this is that you choose an opener that you can hit in your sleep. Get something on the board that doesn’t worry you too much before reaching for the PRs on the next two attempts.

A Variation on the Snatch Grip Back Extension

I found this right after my post from yesterday. It’s a great variation on the snatch grip back extension that I did on a GHD yesterday. This one requires no special equipment, just a friend to hold your ankles. This is the great Apti in the video, so I’d probably start with much smaller weights 🙂 It was also recommended to me to try this exercise with dumbells or kettlebells instead of a bar for an extra challenge.

The Next Phase of Programming

So now onwards to a little volume strength work. The structure of the next few weeks will look like this:

Two days of 5-6 movements, 3×3-5 working sets (which don’t include warm-up sets) at 80-85% split thus:

The classic lifts (Snatch, Clean, Jerk) or some partial of the classic lifts (like a hang snatch or power clean), overhead work (presses, push presses, jerks from behind and in front, in split, etc), a pulling movement (deadlifts, snatch and clean pulls, RDLs), a squat of some flavor, some work on whatever seems weak (for me it’ll be unilateral leg work and back strength) and abs/core

This program was adopted from an excellent article by Josh Everett for Crossfit Weightlifting.

In addition to those two days, there will be one day of either high volume, low intensity technique work or plyometric exercises (like jumping variations, maybe even hill sprints).

Last but not least, one heavy day leading up to heavy singles (90-100+%) of snatch, clean and jerk and squat.

Four days per week, but I’ll certainly need the recovery days.

I included a video from today’s training which was clean focused. The first is a high hang clean (what I think of as clean pull unders) to help drill getting under the bar, Cossack squats with both one and two kettlebells for squat work (but could also be considered weakness work) and snatch grip back extensions for both core and weakness work. Also did toes-to-bar, clean grip deadlifts and exactly 4 front rack walking lunges.

Some Shoulder work

Here are some of the stretches and exercises that I’ve been doing the last two months for my shoulders. My theory is that the more mobile my shoulders and the stronger they are in various planes, the easier it will be to recover a lift that may be a little in front or behind. Enjoy!

Some stretches are here.

Hot potato for trunk stability is shown here.

Reverse planks are here.

unilateral Sots presses with kettlebells are here.

My personal favorite is this one. It can be done raised as I show it in the video, or with side all the way on the floor, down arm extended in front and internally rotated. Either way, the moving elbow goes behind the body as it comes down.

American Masters Open 2014

What did you wear for Halloween?

This year, I dressed in a singlet and for Halloween I went to Savannah, Georgia, home of ghosts and all things Southern, to compete in the American Masters Open.

It was my first time at Howard Cohen’s gym and it was a marvelous experience. There is so much history that has passed though those walls. Pictures of legendary strongmen from the past grace the hall where we waited to weigh in. CJ Cummings American records are inked on the whiteboard over the office.

But All Hallow’s Eve was reserved for the masters, women and the oldest men.

I felt good going into this competition. First, it wasn’t my first rodeo anymore. I’d done a local, state and national level meet already so I understood the flow and the level of judging to expect.

Second, I liked my programming a lot more. I put on a bigger emphasis on strength in many different planes and ranges of motion instead of being contest-lift specific all the time. Yes, I have a lot still to learn and perfect with technique. But I felt stronger overall which makes me feel better under the bar. In the month prior to competition I PRed my front squat and hit my openers repeatedly and easily. That’s a great confidence booster.

In the end I didn’t make the lifts I wanted to, but I improved on my Nationals total and that makes me very happy. I did discover about myself that I have terrible public performance anxiety. On the one hand, the anxiety of performing makes me strong as an ox. My nervous system is so turned on that the bar flies like an eagle. On the other hand, it makes technique much shakier and so I miss lifts I could make under better circumstances. I’ve rarely had to go below a power clean in competition because the bar flies so high.

My advice to myself? More competitions! I’m going to be looking for more local meets to get more immunized against platform jitters. I’m going to try and lift in front of more people at a local Crossfit box instead of lifting so often by myself. I need to get used to failing and succeeding publicly. I remember having very similar performance anxiety when I first started operating, which has long since passed after thousands of repetitions of performing in front of the nursing staff in the OR. Now I just have to re-learn that confidence of staying on task in front of an audience in a different venue.

For the first time ever, I didn’t follow myself for all three lifts because I wasn’t the smallest nor the weakest lifter. That brought a new element to this competition and I really appreciated having the rest between attempts. It was also an ego boost to actually be out lifting some taller, heavier women. Maybe I need a Mighty Mouse Singlet. I definitely need warm up pants, a hoodie or maybe a blanket to stay warm while waiting though.

I did come home with a shiny new gold medal. And a renewed appreciation for the wonderfully generous and supportive people in this sport, from the fans in the audience who cheer for strangers, to the experienced competitors in the warm-up area who share their knowledge and advice and pats on the back.

So onwards. I already went back to lifting today 48 hours later, no down time. Hit 80% cleans 6×3 and some heavy deadlifts and moderate presses in the split. I am so thrilled that project “fix my jerk” is yielding results, so more jerk work in the split, behind and in front, with cleans and alone. More unilateral leg and arm work to wake up the sleepy right glute and make the shoulder “Russian Strong” in all vectors.

And Halloween candy for recovery. It’s a holiday after all.