An unremarkable day in the gym
Yesterday at the gym as an unremarkable day. It was made bearable by the two hour nap I took pre workout. My body just feels worn out lately, I’m actually looking forward to the wonky schedule that is school so I can sleep in an extra hour and catch the odd afternoon nap. At least until midterms start haha. We all know what a perfectionist I am.
Power snatch up to 55 x 2 for 4 sets Power clean and split jerk up to 65 x 2 + 1 for 4 sets Back squat up to 95 x 4 for 3 sets Clean pull 85 x4 for 3 setsWorking on changing my pull technique, well not so much changing as tweaking. I don’t have a bad pull, but the transition is pretty sad. I need more speed bringing my hips through and off the floor. Because if I can do a 75/80kg snatch with my slow ass pull just imagine what I can do when I speed my pull up.
Back to the gym today, working power lifts from the hang…sweet…or not I need some new straps.
In other Bridget news I’ve started my crazy work term report, currently it’s titled “Creating Known Sites Collections in ORegAnno for Use with Genome-wide Profiling of DNA-Protein Interactions.” It’s about as riveting as it sounds. It’s hard to summarize this process I’ve been developing for 8 months onto paper beacuse it all makes sense in my head and I know all the info. But making it readable and most importantly usable for whoever fills my position next is another story. That will be what is consuming my life the next week or so. Which means youtube will get much attention in my procrastination.
Remaining Accountable
Yesterday was one of those days I’m lucky to have a great coach. I walked in the door of my apartment last night and had no desire to get changed and walk over to the gym only to exert myself more. I probably could have crawled into bed and just slept. Usually I get home from work somewhere between 4:50 and 5:10 and training starts at 5:30ish. It’s not like if I’m not there right at 5:30 I’ll be in trouble, my coach knows I come from work so it takes a bit of turn around time. It takes me about 15 minutes to walk to the gym maybe a bit longer depending on the day. So anyway yesterday I had no desire to do that walk but missing a day of training due to personal laziness is unacceptable. Illness or having multiple papers due the next day maybe, but even then I better be really sick. So anyway I eventually got my butt to the gym but only because I feel a sense of loyalty to my coach and respect my training. If I had no one to be accountable to I hate to admit I might have not gone.
Once I was at the gym training was light since we’re still in a post-competition week. It took me a few lifts to get in to it, but once I touch a bar a few times I’m dedicated to having the best workout possible.
Power Snatch from blocks up to 45 x 3 for 3 sets Power Clean from blocks up to 60 x 3 for 3 sets Squats up to 95 x 4 for 3 sets Snatch Pulls from blocks up to 75 x4 for 3 setsCoach could see I was dragging butt and was going to free me from doing squats but I committed and did the whole workout. Then I went home ate watched the pilot episode of ER and passed out. I didn’t even hear my roommate come home.
Back at the gym with a flashback thrown in
With only a brief recovery day it was back into the gym. Worked Monday, then headed home grabbed my gym stuff walked over the gym and slowly plodded down the stairs to the bog. I admit my ass was dragging a bit, but my knees have been tender lately which is strange for me. Right under the knee caps.
To get to where I train you essentially walk through a changeroom (whichever gender applies) and down some stairs through a hall pass the combat room and enter “the bog”. So as I was turning the corner I see a guy sitting on the metal storage container outside the bog and I kind of stare at him like he looks familiar (however I just assume it’s because I’ve seen him workout in the gym and he’s on one of the varsity teams) but he is staring back. I look away and look back and he goes “Bridget” at this point my best guess is a guy I went to elementary school with so I reply “Mark” and thus is goes a guy I have not seen since 1998 and I are reunited up at SFU. Apparently he is now on the football team and attending SFU in the fall. SMALL world. But cool, we ran track together. The only reason I could even make a guess is because I had seen a recent pic of him on facebook.
Back to the task at hand. Training was lightish. I was supposed to power snatch but read my program wrong. One of the girls I train with brought the programs yesterday because coach was running late.
Snatch (not power as it was supposed to be) up to 51 x2 for 4 sets Power Clean (I started reading at this point) up to 65 x 2 for 4 sets Back Squat up to 95 x4 for 3 sets Snatch Pull up to 65 x4 for 3 setsTraining was alright, I’m slow like usual have a competition. I’m not experiencing any excessive muscle pain, but knees are getting annoying. I’ll pick up some frozen peas today to use on my knees at night. The focus in this next cycle if I had to take a guess will be cleans. I’m lucky to have a great coach that fiddles with my training as necessary and invests his own time in making the best program possible for each of us.
Ogopogo Open Results
A totally random post about Coffee
I love coffee, I loved it before I worked at Starbucks and had an even greater appreciation for it post indoctrination at Starbucks.
Usually in the mornings, now that I’ve moved, I grab coffee in my handy travel mug (an attempt at eco friendliness) at the coffee shop on campus that I love, however in my infinite wisdom said travel mug was left at work on thursday and I’m working on conserving money for when school starts and I am unemployed. I decided to just drink the coffee from work, I brewed a fresh pot when I got here, poured it in to my travel mug took and a sip and remembered exactly why I spend the 1.35 to get my coffee before I leave home. Not all coffee is created equal and yes I am a coffee snob, but if I want to make it through the day of coding I need some caffeine and I need to stay awake so I can go to training…woohoo first day back after the competition.
Ogopogo Meet Recap
Well we got home from the meet last night at around midnight so I was more excited to head to bed than to blog. However, now on a good night’s sleep I’ll give a brief rundown.
Girls weighed in at 8am except for Katelynn Williams and Jeanne Lassen who lifted with the 85kg men’s session.
I was lifting close to last so it was a bit strange sitting in the warm up room waiting to touch a bar. The warm up I did at this competition was shorter than I was previously used to but I don’t think that was a bad thing. I made 60 kg in the warm up room and then opened on the platform with 65kg. No problems with that since I’d done if for doubles in training. Jumped to 70 made it and finally made 75kg which was also the last snatch of the session. Then it was time to get psyched up for clean and jerks, at weigh in I had put in that my opening attempt for clean and jerk was 70, and clearly that was not going to be the opening attempt any longer. One of the lifters leading up to me pulled out which meant I jumped from 55 to 70 in the warm up, 70 was fine. Opened clean and jerk at 75…yes that’s right the same thing I ended my snatches at. Coach moved my next attempt to 81, which meant there were a lot of people going before me and then a couple of missed lifts and people following themselves. I was getting cold so went back to the warm up room and did a couple of cleans at 45. After that I still had to wait. I think my muscles were cold and on top of that my brain had had too long to think about what could go wrong and I got in my own head. So I missed 81 twice. I pulled the bar to my shoulders but didn’t go under. Something to work on – one of the people who knew me on the crowd shouted before my second missed lift at 81 to turn on my head.
So I ended up with a 75 kg snatch, 75 kg clean and jerk and 150 total and a gold medal in the 75+kg class. I will try and post some more results when I get them. Though I know Jeanne Lassen did 94/123 in the 69s nd Jasvir Singh did a 145 kg clean and jerk in the 62s, but I missed his snatch. His sinclair was 374.something.
Competition Tomorrow
Yesterday was the last day of training before the competition. Snatch up to 50 for a couple singles, clean and jerk to 65 for a couple singles and snatch pulls at 75 for 3 sets of doubles. The mood in the gym was pretty jovial, I’m trying to not let my nerves get the best of me. I have the day off work today so I’m heading to meet my co-op coordinator to discuess my end of term report and then heading back home to pack and meet up with the team. We’ll drive up to Kelowna tonight, should only take about 4 hours. I need to stop at a grocery store and pick up the regular food needs for pre and post comp.
Wish me luck!
Things are getting lighter
Yesterday was the second to last day in the gym before the meet this weekend and the workout was significantly lighter than my workload the past few weeks. A nice break, but signalling to my mind and body that I need to rest and get mentally ready for Saturday morning.
Power snatch up to 50 for 3 singles. Power snatches felt awkward since I haven’t been doing a lot of power workout during the pre-competition cycle. Full cleaned up to 65 for 3 singles. Keeping the same technique as Tuesday’s workout felt very fluid. Squats up to 95 for 3 triples and then clean pulls at 80 for 3 triples really focusing on extension because ideally I will be cleaning 80 plus on the weekend.
In another note my body weight was a topic of discussion yesterday. At 5′4 75kg+ is not an ideal class for me. I’ll never be able to carry weight like some of the taller girls. However, to get to 75 kilos class, say a training weight around 77/78 I’d have to lose 20kgs. Our discussion yesterday centered around the fact that I don’t have 20kg to lose without losing a significant amount of muscle. I carry the bulk of my “extra” weight in my tummy and back, so through my trunk. My legs carry very little fat, as do my arms. I however do not carry 20kgs of fat in my trunk. So I think at the end of the discussion it was talked about leaning out and into a higher weight, putting on muscle mass and reducing body fat further. I would be curious to find out my body fat.
Why am I so hungry?
For some reason today I am abnormally hungry, I eat pretty much the same thing everyday. So hunger is not usually a problem, but at 10:30AM today I was ready for lunch and not just wanting a break I was so hungry it was distracting. So I ended up stalling and eating lunch at 11:30, still early but acceptable. I’m still hungry, I don’t think I’ve had enough protein in the past couple of days. But enough by about my random hunger.
Yesterday was workout 1 of 3 in this pre-competition week. Nothing too crazy, just making sure to finish the pull and bring the hips through. Snatched up to 60 for two singles, then back down to 50 for a triple. Clean and jerked up to 70 for two singles, then down to 60 for a triple. Did three sets of triples with 105 in back squat and 3 sets of triples with 75 for snatch pull then called it a day. Nothing out of the ordinary. Called it a day and went home.
Train today and tomorrow and leave Friday.
A cold, a long weekend and visiting family
Well it’s been a while since I last blogged. I think it feels like longer than it actually was. Last week’s training was anticlimatic. Friday was supposed to be a heavy day and then a week of recovery and technique before the competition but my body was still feeling the effects of being tired. I got up to a 70 snatch and a 70 clean and jerk. Not amazing, but my body was tired. I had taken Wednesday off because I was too sick to function. I slept most of the day.
Aside from training it was a long weekend up here in BC. Mine turned into an extended long weekend due to being off sick (which just means working from home) from work Wednesday/Thursday and then taking my pre-booked vacation day Friday followed by holiday Monday. Sitting back down at my desk today was not a whole lot of fun. We had family in town, so despite now having my own place I ended up staying with my Dad and the visitors Friday, Saturday, Sunday night. Sunday I woke up feeling sicker again, rather than better so spent the day resting and doing nothing. That was unfortunate because I was really looking forward to getting out with a friend and dancing my butt off. Given I am a week out from a competition I was probably overly cautious but I don’t want to mess with my body.
This week training with be Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and then Friday night we head up to Kelowna for the Ogopogo meet. I weigh in at 8am, something I am actually kind of happy with because I think if I had to wait to compete my nerves might get the best of me. I think the fact that this is my first serious meet in 5 years feels pretty significant to me. I know my total after 6 weeks of training is not going to match my best total. But I still feel like I have a reputation as a decent lifter to up hold. I’m trying to forget the whole reputation thing and just lift for me. Once I get this competition out of the way the real training can start. Up to this point it’s been all about training enough to make a total so I become an active lifter again. When training for Provincial Seniors begins it will be a whole new ballgame. That’s it for now, I feel like I have a lot more to say about competing on Saturday, but not sure how to put it all together coherently yet.
