8th of May, the first session.

The first workout was... interesting. And humbling. I consider myself a reasonably strong individual. I could squat 110 kg before screwing my back and deadlift 120. I have snatched 24 kilo bells many times for many sets (of 10 reps that is). I tried timed sets before and knew that they are very different from workouts done in the traditional way, for reps. I never had the patience, however, to stick to them in my training. From the previous attempts of working for time I already knew that at my level of training I could only use 16 kg bells.

I decided to film myself during this first workout and send the videos to Dmitri. It turned out to be a good idea, as my technique sucked completely. Here are the links to the videos.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=42jT4ytspD4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv-BF_bTqmc

I know, it looks pathetic. But you have to start somewhere. Dmitri’s comments with my elaborations on the technique of my jerk are as follows.

Hanging elbows. Elbows must be planted on the hips or lower abdomen. The bells should be pushed by the legs, sort of initiating the movement pushing through the elbows. Ideally arms should serve as passive connectors between the bells and the body. It is achieved by two leg dips: one at the beginning of the jerk, second when the initial upward movement of the bells is slowing down.

Not connecting the bells on the way down. When lowering the bells you should tilt the head slightly backwards and the hands must meet at the level of the forehead. This reduces the load on the arms.

Lowering the bells to the shoulders instead of dropping. This lead to increased fatigue of the arms and shoulders.

Bending the legs when catching the bells after lowering. It is not a big problem with smaller bells, but with bigger weight it leads to fatigue and negatively impacts on the numbers.

At the top position shoulders must be sucked into the sockets and elbows fully extended. This position must be held for at least 2 seconds. It must also be as relaxed as possible. Apparently it can be used for resting. (At this stage I find it difficult to believe).


I must confess, it was more than I expected. I thought my technique is reasonably ok, but it turned out to be nonexistent. My first communication with the professional coach once again underlibed the importance of proper instruction.