Crossfit Armoury - Week 13: Olympic lifting

Wednesday; May 4, 2016 @ Crossfit Armoury
Olympic Lifting class @ 7 PM

Warm-up:

Tubing Exercises
Ankle Bar Stretch
Dowel Patterns
Power Snatch Fast
2 Pulls + 1 Snatch

Snatches:

 12 Minute EMOM: 

Minute 1 - 3:  3 @ 65%  -->  Elbows turned out
Minute 4 - 6:  3 @ 75%  -->  Bum down/slow first pull / lead with chest
Minute 7 - 9:  2 @ 80%  -->  Hips!!!  Finish Pull
Minute 10 - 12:  1 @ 85%  -->  Scarecrow + punch lock out


C&J Complex:

Work up to a Heavy Set for 3 rounds (rest 2 minutes between sets):

1 Power Clean +
2 Front Squats +
1 Split/Push Jerk
Accessory work:

Glute Ham Raises:

   3 rounds x 5 reps
Planks:

  5  rounds:    30 seconds  ON / 30 seconds OFF 


Thoughts:
Well, it's time that I've taken my training a bit more serious.  Time to do some additional classes focusing on areas I'm weak at.   Tonight is the first of many nights that I'll be doing extra classes, specifically the Olympic lifting.  Even though we do a lot of 'Oly'; I really need to work on my technic.   And as well as practice  my movements.   What's better is if I can dedicated an hour to that.   I opted to do the Olympic lifting on Wednesday night, right after my Crossfit Class.  Yes, I know... it sounds crazy especially today as we just did our 1 RM Split Jerk.
I guess it's also a good way to build up that endurance, and you are only responsible for yourself on how heavy you go...   
The other big plus for today's workout was working out in the newly renovated area (Crossfit Armoury has expanded and taken over their previous location - they knocked a two entrance ways through the wall).   It was nice to have some extra space to work out.   Crossfit Armoury - West has grown tremendously.    This area is the dedicated Olympic lifting as well as personal training.   Also on this side are the Concept 2 rowers and Airdyne bikes.   A few more additionally equipments are being placed on this side.

<picture from Crossfit Armoury's Instagram account>

Warm-Up:
Started with some light rubber tubing to do some shoulder passthroughs.  We also did some shoulder rotations with the tubing.  
Next, we grabbed an empty barbell and placed it over our knee while holding one self at the bottom of the squat.  We held this for about two minutes
Next, we grabbed a wooden dowel and perform some "patterns", similar to the rubber tubing.
Back to the empty barbell, we did some Fast Power Snatches (10) and then did 2 Pulls + 1 Snatch.

Snatches:
Off to get my trusty calculator and wrote my numbers on the whiteboard.  The column that says TQ is my percentage.  Pretty low is what I see; something hopefully the Olympic lifting class will help improve.   And of course, my brain goes dead when trying to figure out the 'plate math'.   Finding the right plate to get to the number.  At one point, ran out of 2.5 lb plates.   Coach AJ reassured me that I can and will probably be borrowing plates from others.  That was true and Brandon let borrowed his 2.5 lbs at my last set.   Afterwards, I figured I could had swapped out some other plates for 10 lbs and still make it work.  But  again, "plate math" sucks for me...   My percentage weight were 85, 100, 110, 115 lb.  My 1 RM is 135 lb for my Snatch.  Yup, again, another area I have to work on.  I want to bring that weight up...  but first, let's work on my technique!
As you can see the goal for each 3 minutes was a different goal.  There was an emphasis to work out turning out the elbow out.   The second 3 minutes focus on keeping the bum down, slow first pull and leading with the chest.  All while slowly increasing the weight (based on percentage).
Our third group of 3 minutes dropped our reps count from 3 to 2 and increased it to 80%. The focus here was on Hips and the Finishing pull.  Coach AJ came around and commented as well as showing (demoing) any movements as needed.  If your a regular reader, you know I have issues with my hips.   Meaning, I don't do them enough... so this is a very important that I "nail" this.  She did demo it and really helped me with it.
The last three minutes dropped our rep count down to 1 and using weight of 85%.   Yes, I did miss one round as I couldn't get underneath it (or I had a moment of self doubt) and aborted.   
Because of the amount of equipment being used, I had partner up with Doug.  This gave us time to rest in between, while the timer was running.    

C&J Complex:
After a 5 minute rest; we setup the barbell with a starting weight of 95 lb.  We were to Power Clean the weight from the ground and then perform 2 front squats, followed by 1 Split Jerk.  We had the option to do Push Jerk (as some of us had just finished a class prior with the 1 RM Split Jerk).  I opted to still do the Split Jerk, but being mindful of the weight.  I was already feeling 'gassed out' at this point.  No need to feed my ego and go so heavy that I'll re-injure myself.
We ended up hitting 155 lb for our final weight.   After finishing my first round of that weight, I was done.   Doug continued and finished his 3 rounds.    

Accessory Work (optional):
While the rest of the class went and perform the accessory work, I opted out as I was completely exhausted.   Thank goodness this was optional..   And yes, one day; I'll try out the GHD.