“Feel it real, as though you’ve already done it.” The last time I hit a big lift was December 2014 at Christian Harris’ first Move Fast Lift Heavy Invitational. I matched my personal record snatch at 250lbs. That was two years ago!! Early this Spring my wrist started to bother me. Prior to this I wasn’t training heavy, nor was I motivated to do so, as I kept experiencing injury after injury. Was that my body telling me it’s time to take a break? Over time my wrist got worse; it swelled and it throbbed. Finally, I got an MRI which revealed a torn tendon. Needless to say, I have complete loss of extension of my right thumb. Fast forward present day. Just last week, having not trained heavy in over two years, I nailed a 260lb snatch, after several missed attempts at 255lbs, on the first attempt. How is that possible? Boldly, I told my training partner to add more weight. Yup! Add weight! Puzzled, he obliged. I knew what I was doing. I heard someone grumble, “He missed the other one so many times, now he’s adding more.” What they didn’t know was that I “felt it real, as though I’ve already done it.” In my mind’s eye I’ve done this, plus more weight, so many times. Though my senses may deny me the truth, I live in the assumption. I made up my mind, as we started to climb in weight, that I was going to live in the assumption of who I wanted to be. In order to do this you must carry on a mental conversation that recalls past experiences of success. How the experience made you feel then. That’s what I did. I recalled the feeling of success from the Invitational. I hit all my snatches during the event– come to think of it I injured my hip during that event as well. I felt amazing to be around such solid athletes and friends I came up competing and training with: Dan Tyminski, Christian Harris, Francesca Emmanuel, etc. You can do the same thing. But do you? How often do you recall on past experiences of success to carry you through self-imposed roadblocks? I can bet not very often. Most people go about the day carrying on inner conversations that are so deep, so negativistic and self-condemning that they overwhelm themselves with nothing positive to say or think. Think about it. When you are quiet what are you saying to yourself? What world are you perceiving? What battle(s) are you fighting from yesterday, twenty minutes ago, that are still lingering? ——— Two weeks ago I had conversation with an athlete who told me about the troubles he had with his business partner. I felt his pain as I too was once in the same boat. Here was a guy who was hurt by the experience. But I also saw in him a good man focused on restoring his brand and providing quality service in an industry he had mastered. “Your rewards in life are in direct proportion to the service you provide.” — Earl Nightingale. The conversation we had turned out to be self-reflective and positive. Last Wednesday, after class, he approached me to tell me that he had secured a major interview with the head of the fashion magazine world. I knew something good was going to come of our conversation. What conversations you carry on on the inside, strangely enough, reflect on the outside. It shows up in your world whether you choose to believe this or not. My point: Take control of your inner speak. Be mindful, not only what you say to others, but, also, what you say to yourself. Recall past events of success more often than past events of failure and difficulty. Weirdly enough we have a secret affinity for the latter. Time to break that chain. What conversation will you have with yourself as you get under the bar to perform your one rep max back squat, bench press or thruster this week? For your sake, I hope it’s positive and reassuring how incredibly gifted and fortunate you are to be able to do this day in and day out. Happy Lifting Coach Joel ___________________________________________________ If you can get to class early then do so so you can thoroughly warm-up. Please, use common sense when performing 1RM lifts. Do not get under a bar without a coach or experienced spotter guiding you. Safety first. Who will join the 200#/300#/400#/500# Squat Club?!!
Hip Specific General Warm-up Notes for 1RM Test
- Limit rest time between sets.
- Do Not make big jumps.
- Limit number of reps between sets.
- Build quickly.
Then…, Find (New) Heavy Single Back Squat Then…, Find (New) Heavy Single Thruster (Rack) Then…, Optional Conditioning Piece WOD For Time 30 – 20 – 10 Thrusters, 95/65# T2B Then…., Stretch Series (Hold :90 Each)
- Saddle
- Single Forward Fold
- Extended Lizard
- Low Dragon