130326

A note on Power vs. Full lifts.

>The question haunts me. Like an athlete going into a workout without strategy, or a lifter gazing at the ceiling on a maximal attempt. It is both vulgar and uninformed, and gives me douche chills every time I see it.

“You wrote Snatch, does that mean we can Power Snatch?”

To answer this question, I turned to someone who abhors it as much as I do, Glenn Pendlay. I texted him this morning, and asked him for a definitive statement. I wanted something that would hopefully put an end to this lunacy once and for all. Here’s what Glenn said:

“The Power Snatch is half the movement. It gives someone with a shitty pull and a shitty finish, the ability to continue to be shitty at Snatching, while moving a relatively heavy load to overhead with the shittiest, most useless possible technique. It allows under-developed lifters to feel good about themselves, while remaining under-developed, and only practicing the pulling portion of the lift. My best lifters—at the Snatch—look the exact same with an empty barbell as they do with 150kg. The Power Snatch is good for de-loading, or practicing the pull, but it should never be a lifters default choice.” – Glenn Pendlay

There’s your answer, folks. Straight from the original bearded wizard’s mouth (or fingertips). Please don’t ever ask again. Seriously. If it says SNATCH it means a full Snatch (I refuse to say S***t Snatch… I just got douche chills again). The ONLY time you should Power Snatch is when the words POWER SNATCH are written.

---

>Yesterday, single father/lawyer/most eligible bachelor on earth/still a gigantic spazz, Jason Hoggan, put up a 275 on 13.3, and moved into a very close second overall in the South Central region. I posted something on FB about it last night, and wanted to share it again here. I would like to preface this by saying… I’d hit it. (Too much?)

Jason Hoggan, who I have been personally coaching for 5 years – including his 1st WOD ever, a sub 3:00 65#/strict pull-up Fran, currently sits a close second on the South Central leaderboard. Jason has recovered from major off-season wrist surgery, and today he pulled off a perfectly executed seven rep improvement over 12.4 (268) on 13.3 (275), despite the fact that high-rep Muscle Ups have long been his nemesis. Even though I have the privilege of working with many athletes, Jason’s continued development and success in the sport, while having overcome a myriad of personal and physical challenges, always brings me more pride than anything else in my career.

Fuck. PYes. Jason.

Thanks for being the athlete that made me trust myself.

---

WOD 130326:

BBG

Every 30 seconds for 4 minutes:

1 Clean & Jerk (full) @ 80%

Then, when the clock hits 5:00-

3:00 to complete:

3 X ME UB (unbroken) Clean & Jerks @ 75%

*Notes: The ME UB Clean & Jerks are basically UB touch and go reps. Score is the total of all 3 sets, within the 3:00 cap.

Strength

HBBS (based off 130129): 4X4 @ 70% – rest 30 seconds, 3X3 @ 75% – rest 30 seconds, 3X2 @ 80% – rest 45 seconds.

*Notes: Sets at each percentage should be performed without re-racking the barbell. Take 2:00 rest between each percentage.

Conditioning

Run/Row 5k