8th & I
Snatch (heavy single)
165
Clean & jerk (heavy single)
215
20 minutes (alternating OTM):
8 T2B
8 dumbbell push presses (50)
Notes: Special guest visit from Ben Brown, my old workout partner, and it was fascinating to watch his approach to training. There's no "listen to your body" or fancy aerobic heart rate workouts with him. He still has this crazy fire/anger that fuels his workouts. He simply refused to stop until he hit certain weights. I hit a really clean snatch at 165, maybe the best pure snatch of my life. I then failed three times at 175 and decided it was time to move on. Ben, on the other hand, failed a bunch of reps along the way but kept on going until he hit a snatch at 195! It was actually a power snatch as he caught it above parallel (but still maintained proper foot work). He was slamming the bar all over the place in disgust after missed reps. I loved seeing his fire. I felt great on the clean & jerk today, which I usually don't train together. I tied my PR at 215 and it was pretty clean. However, I decided to call it a day since that was a lot of volume for me between the snatch and the clean & jerk. Ben must've taken almost 10 more reps than me and worked all the way up to 260! He was failing squat cleans, so all of a sudden switched to a power clean and made it look easy -- I couldn't believe it. He has made such progress since we last trained together. I suppose I have, too, but not as much as him in terms of pure numbers. I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to move that much weight. In any event, it was a great reference point to see where he's at and where I need to be to remain competitive. I've been banging away in the more moderate ranges; perhaps I could use a bit more heavy loading in my programming.
A freight train is strong, powerful, and steady across long distances. A freight train only goes "off the tracks" if it gets going at a pace faster than it can sustain. Bobby Scott Performance believes that a large volume of sub-maximal efforts paired with intelligently programmed bouts of intensity will develop a strong, powerful competitor with a huge aerobic base -- in other words, "an aerobic freight train."
Ben, one quick note bc I have to run but DO NOT change your programming based on other people. I know it is hard but the only person you should be comparing yourself to is yourself! Congrats to you on hitting some good lifts today. and congrats to big Ben for his improvements. Wish I could have seen some videos. Sounds like a blood bath! Can Ben B sustain this type of training? with that type of tenacity? if so, good for him!
ReplyDeleteGreat point and great questions. I have been feeling a little depressed since my workout because Ben was lifting so much more weight than me. Honestly, it scares me a little because it makes me realize that I have to be THAT much better conditioned than him again this year in order to keep up with him in the Open. And, I know that it takes so much pain and hard work in order to be THAT conditioned. CrossFit is just so damn hard when you aren't that strong. You have to be THAT much more mentally tough and willing to fight through pain. But . . . I'm willing to do it.
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