For the better half of the past year, I've been Olympic lifting - snatch, clean & jerk. It's gone a long way toward my evolution, and I feel even more than ever that I am at my peak. I'm a hardgainer, and have worked for every ounce of muscle I have added over the past 15 years. So to see more development suddenly over the past several months is really something. Legs, core (so the little waist is thickening, I don't mind), and terrific lat, trap and shoulder development. My bra band size went up 2", my jean cut changed, I had to cut bigger neckholes in all my tees, my necklaces no longer fit, and early on, my foot plant changed, so my shoe size went up 1/2 size (jeez, growth is expensive). Stabilizers, prime movers and everything in between responds to this demand. And the convenience and rush are unbeatable: after years of doggedly doing specific work in splits, not only was the joy of it all waning, but I was finally surrendering to the demands on my time from other things, so I started turning to more multijoint exercises to get more done in less time - variations of pull-ups, squats, push-ups, gorilla crunches, etc., etc., etc. And after contest time, I dropped the cardio. With Olympic lifts, a full body work out is truly beneficial for maintenance, hypertrophy, and the added bonus I hadn't expected is cardio conditioning. After zero cardio for all this time, I ran on the treadmill the other night - and was fine. No rebound whatsoever. So I've propelled this aspect further and am giddily returning to boxing, kickboxing and some plyometric stuff to really round out the addictive trancelike zone I get into with the O lifts. After maxxing on C&J, I still want to do more...my new favorite topper is jumping jacks with ten# DB in each hand. Complete taxation, overall, systematic fatigue, neural failure, endurance conditioning, and yes, specific demand as well.
So I've very organically settled into this routine, which seems anything but: On the weekend, I do one all-out, FB O work out, ending with the JJ. Through the week, with plenty of rest days, I do some low-grade specific work, trying to hit everything with at least a couple of sets of something. It feels like a break, and there's no pressure to hit everything, because I know I'll get it on the pound day. So I relax into it, and before I know it, I'm easing into the pump & burn of specific work.
I'm lucky because this works both for my body and for my temperment. I maintain and continue to make gains even with a lot of sedentary time and excess calories. And I have lots of time to spend in other ways, including guiltfree TV watching.
At another time, I want to go off here about the emotional rush of the "pound day." Both yin and yang are satiated, I get into the blissful zone of endorphines, T, etc., and I'm happily fatigued the rest of the day.
It's tempting to wish I'd discovered O a long time ago, but since I'm happy with my current state of development, I'll be satisfied that it is the result of just the way I've done things, and the way things have unfolded is excellent.
It all leads into appreciating maturity, and age, and experience, and the pay-off of honest efforts over the longterm. That makes me pretty happy with the way I've handled things for the past 15 years. And grateful to everyone who's helped along the way.
This article on healthfitness.com.au (Australia) on breaking lifting plateaus via a neural approach - i.e. integrating Olympic lifts - by Mark Kovacs explains exactly what I've been talking about.
Here's a picture of Ms Natural Olympia Susan McGee enjoying an overhead lift with a guy named Rob.
my lifts
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2 comments:
Feeling a plateau aches
mentally. There is more here, but what I've done hasn't tapped that potential. Impatience in my sport leads directly to injury. Slowed or stalled progress saps motivation and fitness then declines.
To fight the energy siphon of my most recent, I'm considering a hiatus from direct activity and training in my sport. For me, technique, once developed and practice, remains even after long breaks. An Austrian climber, named Bernd Zangerl, while recovering from a leg injury, spent his time focused on a plyometric exercise known as campusing. When he returned to the rock, he'd more than doubled his level of accomplishment.
I remember the power I felt and the level of fitness I attained when I would do reverse pyramids of CJ. I'd start at 80% max and do small reps, reduce the weight and increase the reps. When I was down to 30 reps with just the bar, my muscles would be crushed. Every two to four weeks, I'd do a session of max.
If I had a set of weights, I'd add that powerful exercise into my regimen.
What do you think of jump roping with ankle weights? I'm going to try the DB jumping jacks to see how they feel. Also, remembering your recommendation and running against limitations in my shoulders, I may purchase the shoulder horn.
Anyhow, as always, you're an inspiration.
my powerful friend &dru, thanks so much for posting! &dru is a warrior of the wall.
I completely oppose the idea of jumping rope with ankle weights. I object to ankle weights in most situations. Unless loading the ankle joint in a controlled circumstance - i.e. a machine - the knee joint is extremely vulnerable. Protect knees, as all joints, at all costs. Think of what ankle weights do - in the most undemanding movement, they are pulling the knee joint apart; in the most demanding, the muscles surrounding the knees must try to align the knee joint against unnatural load. Nah. Scary stuff.
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