Saturday, December 6, 2008

Long Road to 10 Minute Snatch Set

It's been a while coming but today I hit my first milestone - 10 minute set of Snatches with the 12kg!

I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't start Snatching with the 16kg until I was able to last for 10 minutes with the 12kg. And today I did it and feel pretty good afterward as well!

I missed my training sessions the last two days. Thursday I took off to rest and yesterday I slept through the alarm. (If you know me, that happens every now and again.) I saw the chiro yesterday and woke up today with my back a bit sore from it. Nonetheless, I decided it was time to go for 10. Here's what it looked like...

Swing: 12kg - 15/15; 16kg - 10/10; 20kg - 10/10

Snatch: 12kg - 10 minutes @ 14 rpm - total of 140 Snatches

In case you're interested here's the play-by-play on how I performed the set...
I have a large clock in front of me with a sweeping second hand.
On the floor out in front of me I have a digital timer that's on zero.
I chalk up and wait until the second hand of the clock hits the "9" - 15 seconds till we begin the set - at this point I start the digital timer.
I then prepare my stance, position the bell and get ready to begin.
When the second hand hits the "12", I start.
My focus my becomes gets the pace set and synchronized with my breathing. I've got to hit 3 reps before the second hand approaches the "3" on the clock.
As it hits the "3", I hit my 4th rep.
Three more to go before the second hand hits the "6".
And now we repeat for the next half minute.
And so on.
If I zone out and lose track of how far into the set I am, I glance down at the digital timer.
Once my breathing is comfortable, I then focus on my form.
At the top, the bell rested diagonally down across my hand.
To start the downswing, I focus on rotating the bell gently out of my hand to descend.
As it passes through my legs I focus on tightening my 'ok' grip.

Once I hit the 5 minute mark with my left hand I knew I was home free. My breathing was steady and controlled. It's all about pacing yourself.

With the Snatch, there are two avenues that I am now going to pursue. (1) Improve this 10 minute set by increasing my rpms. (2) Start with the 16kg once again and work my way up to longer sets as I did with the 12kg.

I still have a lot of work to do with my back. But at least I am able to move and train again. That makes it a lot more tolerable. Snatch 'em up baby!!

4 comments:

hunashaman said...

Yeaaaa! You go boy. I've only ever done one 10 minute non-stop snatch set and that was with multiple hand switches. There really is something awe-inspiring about keeping it going with only one switch. Howie, you're an inspiration. I'm gonna have to work more on them snatches. It really is great to see how you've moved forward through all the injury induced restrictions towards moving your body the way you want to. GOOD STUFF SIR!!!

The Edge said...

Congratulations Howie, That's Awesome!

The snatch is undoubtedly the most taxing lift with regard to making it the whole 10 minutes. Its my nemesis, as you know I'm in the process of trying to hit 10 minutes for the first time with the 24's and it's a rough ride!

It takes commitment, dedication, discipline, strength, mental toughness and patience to work your way up that magic number and you did it!

Well done mate!

Howie B said...

Thanks guys, it really does feel like I've broken through into a new realm. Funny that it now feels more mental than physical.

But this is only the beginning. I'm looking forward to my first 4 minute session with the 16kg...

Stanford said...

Way to Go BRO! You're a HERO in my Book.