Something Cyril Martin has said before is ‘I may be wrong, but it’s highly unlikely’, in fact I think he has it on a t-shirt…
Well last month Xena pointed out that I completely forgot to talk about the 5 Weightlifters who competed in the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup on the 28th May… So i’ll be trying my best to recall the results for that as I go 😅
I also have no idea where i’m going outside of talking about my athletes so lets see where writing this takes us.
Starting with…
Joe has had a fantastic month! After hitting a PB in the back squat last month we’re starting to see the fruits of his labour and the realisation of the work we’ve put in. Joes hit PBs in the Front Squat of 180kg x3 which lead to PBs in the Push Press of Push Press of 135kg x3 and 140kg x2. That then lead to PBs in Axle CTOH of 125kg x1+5, 135kg x1+3 and 140kg x1+2.
You see how this works? I would always have the Front Squat as a predictor lift for the Push Press and likely, unless the ratio is well out, attack the Front Squat first when increasing the Push Press is a priority. Once the Push Press starts to increase it’s likely an event as close to the Push Press as Axle Clean and Press will increase too.
And to finish, Joe hit PBs in the Deadlift of 235kg x3 and 265kg x1. I guess Joes had a pretty decent month.
Paul is still chasing that 100kg Push Press, but he’s getting closer after hitting a rep PB of 90kg x3. Pauls come a long way because this was done repacking the barbell to the shoulders each time rather than using Jerk Blocks. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you’re forced to do something you don’t like through lack of kit rather than choice. We now have Jerk blocks but I won’t be allowing Paul to go back to them unless there’s a reason too. Paul also hit a new 1RM Squat of 140kg which in his words ‘I didn’t think i’d ever Squat 140kg again after the ACL injury…’
So there’s a big win for you.
Taj is becoming more competent every session in the Snatch & C&J and it shows with his progress. Taj has hit PBs or 51kg x1, 51kg x2+1, 53kg x1 & 54kg x2+1 in the C&J along with a new Snatch 1RM of 46kg.
James’ Push Press has been going well leading him to hip new 5RMs of 112.5kg and 115kg x5…
He then went to Magaluf for a week and came back a shell 😂. The goal now is to get him back to his previous levels of performance over the next 3 weeks while he dries out 😬.
Jenesis is a happy woman this month hitting new 5RMs in the Squat of 70kg and Front Squat of 50kg. Both either match or are within 5kg of her 1RMs so I feel some big PBs on the cards. The nice bonus of hitting PBs in the Squat are that you’re probably building a little extra muscle in the legs, which Jenesis has noticed.
The people doing the training are often the last to notice any body composition changes because when you see yourself in the mirror every day, the changes are so minor it takes a while to notice. People you see regularly will notice before you and the people who see you less often will notice first. If you’re noticing changes yourself, it probably means you’re a decent way in to what you’re doing and that you’ve been consistent.
Big Jo has been struggling of late, especially in the Deadlift. Some of it’s in his head and some of it’s physical. Basically it stems to he hurt his back and while it’s ok now, thats still in the back of his mind. Makes sense because a lot of back rehab is about the mental health of the patient.
So, what did we do?
We gave him deadlifts that he was comfortable with to build confidence and pushed his assistance harder leading to PBs in the SSB Good Morning of 135kg x8 and 140kg x8. Pushing your assistance hard and attacking it with as much intensity as the main lifts is often the missing link for people when it comes to making progress. That might not allow you to do as much of it but i’d take quality over quantity in that regard.
Jo also hit PBs over head in the Push Press of 120kg x1 and Strict Log of 100kg x1.
We used the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup to set a bench mark of where Xena was when it came to competition and for what we needed to work on in terms of technique. Most of which we already knew, but it’s always useful to see things in a competition setting. Since then Xena has hit rep maxes in the Mid Thigh Block Snatch of 35kg x3 & 36kg x2 and in the Below the Knee Block Clean of 43kg x3 & 46kg x2.
The Mid Thigh Block Snatch is great as it allows the lifter to soley focus on dropping deep under the bar without fatigue and while dampening their ability to produce force. Catching high in the Snatch was something we identified about her competition performance in the Snatch.
The Below the Knee Block Clean, while from blocks, treats a different issue. It can help train the lifter to keep the bar close in the transition around the knee and considering there was a person in the front row who was in a better position to make a solid contact with the thighs than Xena on one of Xena’s cleans, it’s a good choice of movement as the better the transition, the closer you’re likely to keep the bar to the body, to your centre of balance and that in itself will help create a more balanced and powerful contact.
Xena was a bag of nerves at the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup but still went 6/6 hitting a 40kg Snatch and a 50kg C&J on her way to a 90kg total. The day was about getting a solid total and a feel for competition rather than PBs.
She also hit a Front Squat PB of 57kg x5 this month.
Liam… Or Pixie as he’s affectionately known has been hitting volume PBs in the Squat and at the time of writing has a max out Squat session written this week. Watch this space! Oh he hit rep PBs in the Squat of 160kg x2 and Front Squat of 125kg x2
At the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup, Marie hit a PB C&J of 64kg. Something she made in training with a cheeky press out, so it was nice to solidify that number in competition.
Olivia also competed at the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup hitting a 48kg Snatch missing 51kg twice… Probably due to nerves. Like Marie though, we solidified a training PB of 73kg in the C&J making it under comp conditions with no questions about press outs.
Wil has been flying with his big compounds hitting PBs in the Squat of 132.5kg x5 and 140kg x5 while also hitting new rep maxes in the Deadlift of 140kg x5, 145kg x4 & 150kg x5. Considering his 1RMs are 148kg in the Squat and 153kg in the Deadlift…. I think we’re on for some nice PBs.
I genuinely can’t remember what Jack hit at the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup, maybe 87kg & 108kg which are short of his bests, but what I do know is that we’re creeping closer to Jacks all time numbers after a year out and that we got some valuable competition experience.
Paul performed brilliantly at the Nixon Rowell Memorial Cup hitting PBs of 70kg in the Snatch and 81kg in the C&J.
Cori is at that age where everything works. He’s hit Deadlift PBs of 157.5kg & 160kg and Axle CTOH PBs of 70kg x1+2 & Axle FTOH of 75kg x1 and he’ll continue adding to that.
George C hit some nice PBs at the end of the Strongman Club training cycle hitting PBs of 105kg on Axle FTOH, 210kg x1 on the Deadlift and 130kg x10m on Farmers. The big wins here for George are the Deadlift and Farmers as he’s been battling with tightness in the lower back for a while. Working with Darren at Pro Health Physio has helped that and we’re looking forward to the next training cycle.
Johnny is an animal and qualified for his second wold championships this year by finishing second in the U105 class at BNSF British Finals. Over the two days Johnny had an average day 1 at the comp finishing the day in 6th after three 4ths and a 8th place. Johnny knew the events in Day 2 would be a strong point though and won every event on day 2 to rocket up the leaderboard and finish second. Johnny also hit a PB of 127.5kg x1+2 on Axle CTOH the week before the comp.
Right thats it, i’ve wrote too much and spent too long doing it, so I’m not going to spell or grammar check it… Good spelling or not, hopefully you got something useful from this.
Until Next Time
Adam
