Olympic Lifting

To the layperson--and make no mistake, nine and a half days out of ten I'm as lay as it gets--the violent raptures of the Olympic Lifts are your proverbial mysteries wrapped in enigmas. Perhaps it's the sheer inaccessibility of most prime-time weightlifting telecasts; just as likely it's the seeming incongruity of a 140-lb Eastern European divebombing under a massive amount of weight--whichever the barrier to entry, it's all too easy to say "all set thanks" when it comes to the Clean and Jerk and the Snatch.

A shame, that. No movements build explosive power while marrying that gathering storm to kinesthetic awareness nearly as effectively as the two Olympic lifts. More on these lifts as we move forward; in the meantime, let's content ourselves with the knowledge that dipping our toes into the C&J or the Snatch is an absolutely fantastic athletic investment.

WoD
Noon CFB class
Warmup: 200 single unders, hamstring and hip activation stretching, PVC snatch work
WoD: Barbell Snatch, 5X3 at 88-92% of max snatch
did 2 sets w/empty bar, 1 set w/65 (got decent depth and shoulder activation), 2 abortive and unsuccessful sets 2 w/75.
Rest 4 minutes
Row 250m: 512 avg wattage
Rest 2 min
Row 500m: 344 avg wattage (fell way off in stamina during last 200m or so)
Rest 4 min
Row 250m: 438 avg wattage