Dropping the Hammer Today! - Training Progression: Week 9, Day 1

A.M. Session

Back Squat
1 Set of 4 Reps @ 60%
1 Set of 4 Reps @ 70%
1 Set of 4 Reps @ 80%
4 Sets of 4 Reps @ 85%

-30 min break-

Snatch
1 Set of 4 Reps @ 60%
1 Set of 4 Reps @ 70%
1 Set of 4 Reps @ 80%
4 Sets of 4 Reps @ 85%

Snatch Pull from Blocks Below the Knee
5 Sets of 4 Reps @ 100%

P.M. Session

Clean + Jerk
1 Set of 4 Cl. + 1 Jr. @ 60%
1 Set of 4 Cl. + 1 Jr. @ 70%
1 Set of 4 Cl. + 1 Jr. @ 80%
3 Sets of 4 Cl. + 1 Jr. @ 85%

Press
4 Sets of 5 Reps

Front Squat
1 Set of 1 Rep @ 60%
1 Set of 1 Rep @ 70%
1 Set of 1 Rep @ 80%
1 Set of 1 Rep @ 85%
1 Set of 1 Rep @ 90%

Good Morning
4 Sets of 6 Reps

Daily Volume: 135
Weekly Volume: 135

Oh smokes, when Sean said he was going to drop the hammer on us this week, he wasn't kidding!  This had to be one of the toughest training days to date.  Not just physically, but mentally as well.  This is going to not just be a high volume week, but also high intensity.  The purpose is to elicit some adaptation with the body in order to make a jump in numbers.  I'm all game!  Last time we squatted 5x5 @ 80%, I really felt the difference in the following training sessions - in a good way.

Squatting 4x4 @ 85% out of the gates was solid in the sense that I made all my lifts, except my very last rep.  Up until today, 85% was my previous 4 rep max.  Big confidence boost to squat this that many times!  Aside from that, the rest of the training day was tough as sh!t!  Had no drive and speed with my hips.  Not to mention it was the most volume at 85% that I've EVER.  Oh is the life of a weightlifter though.  Hoping to get some good results in the next couple weeks once the body adapts to this eustress.

I ended up only going 7 for 16 on my working sets of snatch, and only a dismal 2 out of 15 reps on the clean + jerk.  Where do I start with what was wrong with my cleans?  I was slow off the floor, slow hips, received the bar too forward and couldn't stand up.  I don't think I've been this frustrated in a while.  Dropped a lot of F-bombs and broke my belt after throwing it to the ground in frustration.

To top it all off, I ended up failing at 85% on my front squats.  Needless to say, I'm happy to be over with today!  The big positive I'll take away from this, however, is that I was able to hit 15 out of 16 squats @ 85%.  A minor win in a day filled with discomfort and frustration.

On a lighter note, I would like to highlight Ashley Weber right now.  She's been training really hard, and today she was doing triples and 3+1's @ 80 and 85%.  Her hard work is paying off, as she made those lifts look like warm ups!  Look for her to peak with some MAJOR PR's at Nationals this year.  Way to go Ash!  Check her out in the video!