First program for the beginner

After several training sessions and evaluating my technique my coach drafted a program which I have been following from the end of May.

16 kg two arm Jerks – 5minutes, 8 reps per minute, total 40 jerks OR
16 kg two arm jerks – 6 minutes, 7 reps/minute, total 42 reps - on alternate sessions

Good rest before the next set.

16 kg snatch, 3 minutes and 48 reps/arm
16 kg fast snatch set: 1 min and 20 reps/arm

24 kg one arm push press, 2 sets of 12, top hold 2 seconds.
24 kg one arm swing waist level, 2 sets of 2 min each arm

Push presses are very popular among Russian gireviks and for some reason are called schwoongs. The technique of one-armed schwoong is very close to that of a jerk: the albow must be planted on the hip or waist, the lockout must be well defined, the shoulder must be in the socket and you must be as relaxed as possible in the top position. After checking my first set Dmitri told me to pause in the top position for for 5 seconds and later reduced this time to 2 seconds.

One-armed swings are an absolute killer. Because they are done to waist level, there is very short pause for resting, if any. By the end of the set you feel muscles you never existed. Currently I cannot do longer than 1 minute each arm at the end of the main workout. But these swings teach efficiency. You stop tensing the RKC way and start using more muscles doing them, as well as changing the angles and the technique so that various muscle groups get some rest. Yeah, some rest…

So far I am pleased with the results. Here is my latest video of jerks. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZCfhrWesTdo

Although the technique of jerks has improved since May, it still sucks. Dmitri commented that

- The elbows still come off before pushing. That leads to loss of speed and explosiveness.

- Not anough attention is paid to the lockout of the knees. They must be locked pretty much at the same moment as lockout of elbows.

- Incorrectly cleaning the bells. The bells should swing back under the butt, not only the knees and the handles must pass the hamstrings. In short – more backswing when cleaning.

Something to pay attention to in the next workout.