2016FEB20 (LAST CHANCE QUALIFIER - BLUEGRASS BARBELL)

Snatch:
20 x bar work
40 x (1+1)6 * muscle snatch + ohs
50 x 2
60 x 2
70 x 1
80 x 1
85 x 1
87 x M * 1st Attempt
87 x 1 * 2nd Attempt
100 x 1 * 3rd Attempt

Clean + Power Jerk:
20 x bar work
40 x 3
50 x 3
60 x 1
70 x 1
80 x 1
90 x 1
100 x 1
107 x 1 * 1st Attempt
115 x 1 * 2nd Attempt * power clean
125 x 1 * 3rd Attempt * power clean

* Notes:

- I made the decision to participate in a local competition in order to qualify for the National Master's.  Therefore, I traveled to Bluegrass Barbell located in Louisville, Kentucky to make this happen.  This particular meet was in the middle of my current Russian Modified Training cycle; however, it did (thankfully) occur towards the very end of the fourth week of cycle one.  So, it worked out fairly well and didn't upset my current training goals/program.  Matter of fact, it gave me a good indication of the progress that I'm making with this program and all signs point to "great".

- The snatch warm up went very well and I attribute that to the extended time spent on an empty bar and the 40kg muscle snatch and overhead squat complexes.  This particular complex truly helps open my hips and receiving position while priming my body for the snatch.  Unfortunately, my first attempt at 87kg was a bust!  I'd attribute the miss to nerves, over confidence/zealousness, and the use of a completely different bar from what I was using in the warm up.  Excuses aside, I regained my composure after the failed first attempt and successfully made the second at 87kg.  After that lift, I decided to push a little further and make an attempt at 100kg, which I successfully made.  This last lift was huge because it was successful but more importantly -- easy!

- My warm up for the clean and power jerks didn't go as well as I had hoped.  It seems like the second half of a meet is always a struggle.  The 10 minute break literally destroys the momentum that I've built from the snatches and I find myself quickly cooling down; subsequently, becoming sore and stiff.  My first attempt at 107kg was a full clean, and standing up from the clean felt like a monumental task.  As such, I decided to go with power cleans for the remainder of the meet and it worked out exceptionally well.  115kg was very easy and 125kg wasn't much of a challenge either.  I think in the future, I'll revert to power cleans as necessary to help overcome this hurdle of not having enough strength/speed to stand from the clean.

- All in all, a great day on the platform.  Not the best performance, but definitely not the worst performance of my meager weightlifting career.  I qualified for the National Master's and I learned a little about how to better approach a meet, while appreciating the program that I'm currently on with hopes of making more gains in the near future.