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posted on November 9, 2018

I’ve been following a very basic Catalyst Athletics training program for the past 6 weeks. Normally I program for myself, but with the olympic lifts I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing, so went to a reputable source of information. I’m so new to this that literally anything that allows me to snatch and clean & jerk regularly is going to make me better, so here we are.

Transitioning to this style of programming has been… interesting. I’m working on a longer blog now about transitioning sports/fitness regimens, so I won’t spend too much time here. But honestly, some of it makes very little sense to me. I was supposed to max out my snatch, clean & jerk, and back squat a few weeks ago, but I skipped it. That was partly because I was traveling and partly because WHAT. It had only been 4 weeks! How often can you max these lifts? Turns out it’s pretty often. I was probably right in skipping the max back squat, as my squat is considerably higher than it “should be” given my proficiency with the oly lifts. I can’t squat in the 280-300lb range as frequently as I can snatch 125lbs or so. Something to keep in mind with future programming.

I DO get to max out this Saturday and I’m pretty excited. I’ve been spending this whole week eating a ton of healthy food that makes me feel good. And sleeping. All the time. Here’s what I’ve been up to, and how I’m approaching my max out day:

Monday:	Tuesday:	Wednesday:
Power snatch – 75% x 2 x 5	Snatch – 90-95% x 1	Power clean – 75% x 2 x 5
Jerk – 75% x 2 x 5	Clean & Jerk – 90-95% x 1	Snatch balance – daily max
Snatch pull – 95% x 3 x 3	Back Squat – 90% x 1 x 5	Clean pull – 95% x 3 x 3
3 sets, no rest:	Good Morning – 3×8 light	3 sets, no rest:
Box Jump (at least 24″) x 5		20 knees to elbows
Pull-up x 10		20 plate topside halfmoons

Thursday:	Saturday:
Snatch – 85-90% x 1	Snatch – max
Clean & Jerk – 85-90% x 1	Clean & Jerk – max
Snatch pull – 95% x 3 x 3	Back Squat – 90% x 1 x 5
Front Squat – 95% x 1 x 2	Back Squat – max
	* rest 10 minutes between 3 max exercises

Here’s my last heavier day and some powercleans from earlier in the week:

Otherwise, I’m focusing on keeping my shoulders healthy. If I don’t keep up with the rehab exercises Ryan talks about all the time, I can’t put my hands over my head without pain. Not great in this sport (but I got away with a lot in powerlifting and now I have to change my habits). So at least 5 days per week I’m doing wall angels, band pull-aparts, ITYs, etc. I also had a massage focusing on my upper back with Lavender on Tuesday (highly recommended), and I’ve been to yoga THREE TIMES this week (I’m obsessed now). Everything I can do to recover and get ready for a big day Saturday.