Then I did this

Max Effort OHS - 215 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Max Effort Overhead Squat

Here's Thursday's 6 sets of 2

I actually hit a new PR of 205, 205 for 2, and 1.35xBW, as I actually weigh a few pounds less than the last time I hit 195lbs for two.
I've also never jerked 205 or had that overhead before.

Max Effort Overhead Squat from Full Circle on Vimeo.

the WOD

So, I have been following both Crossfit 603 and Melissa Byers' blog since we struck a conversation,
narry a year ago...

A few days ago, there was some discussion about the WOD. I thought it quite lovely;

Bodyweight x 20 = Total Load

Overhead Squat total load in whatever denomination you choose as fast as possible.
No longer totally sucking at the OHS this was pretty irresistible to me. I chose to complete the workout with 95lbs, which I once (about a year ago; see here) did for 25 reps straight. That was about a year ago, at the end of a 3-4 week training cycle completely focused on high reps with fixed weights in the OHS. I still have dreams of besting Nicole Carrol at a cert. OHS-off. We'll see.

Here's my performance on their WOD. I thought it was awesome (not me, the workout).


603's OHS WOD from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Here's how I'd handle Lincoln's concerns; Break my clients into groups;
beginners do 10xBW
regulars 20xBW
Elite/Firebreathers do 30xBW

Beginners are encouraged to use exceptionally low weights, and to get lots of reps. Intermediates should be forced to do 50-70% of their current 1RM. Advanced should be allowed to self select a weight 95/65lbs or greater.

4-1-2009

Snatch Training

4-1-2009 Snatch Training from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Still Snatching

Snatch Work 3-3-2009 from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Sorry Big Mark;

Big Tex has taken that spot on the leaderboard.
You're gonna have to better than 185lbs if you want to stay on top!


Overhead Squat - BW and PR from Full Circle on Vimeo.

"Big Tex" and his Snatch

I decided to screw around with my Snatch ten minutes before I was supposed to go to Dim Sum this weekend:


Big Tex Snatch from Full Circle on Vimeo.

One thing I suck a little less at

To Melissa;

There's plenty I suck at. Today, I feel a little less like Overhead Squatting is one of those things...

Smolov (which the first two weeks have in fact taken me about 5 to complete) called for 10 sets of 3 today at 165lbs.
The first few sets went very smoothly, and as anyone who's worked the OHS knows, the next few sets only got better... Something about the OHS: You're never warmed up until you're 3rd or 4th set...
So, the first nine sets went great. I lost rep one around set 6 or 7, but I turned the music up, cleaned it back into the rack and started over.
Everything felt so good that I decided to go for a little extra credit;
set 10, I completed 4 reps. I think that was all I had. But pretty good shit for what should be a 'I don't know if I am going to finish this workout' type of stuff.

So, 165lbs x 4 reps. New rep max. New MAX MAX. I have never done 165 before, so yay me. It suggests a max around 190lbs. I used to snatch pull 155 pretty consistently... Why can't I snatch more?
Jan-Feb, we'll see what we can do about that!

Overhead Squat Progress

Here's towards the end of my second week on the Smolov cycle
It's seven sets of five with 155lbs, which is in excess of bodyweight at this point.
That is a great feeling.


Overhead Squats - Smolov Week Two from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Overhead Squatting!

Look for some cool stuff in about 5-8 weeks.
Here's the start point


Coach Jason Overhead Squats from Full Circle on Vimeo.

Chuggin along

OHS for Reps Progress; 6 sets of 9 with 115lbs... that's 6210 pounds, in about 16 minutes. ~388lbs/min.

Friday calls for 10 sets of 8. That will be about 9200 pounds. Probably take about 90 seconds rest between sets, so I am guessing it will take about 23 minutes. It's about 400lbs/min.

There will be two more workouts, slightly less total volume, to taper up for another test next Friday. That will hopefully surpass 21 reps, and it will be time to start training with 135lbs.

I've also been working on building up the volume on the kipping pull ups following the same progression. The longest workouts have been 12 sets of 5 reps, or 60 in one sitting. That took about 20 minutes to finish, so not too earth shattering yet. There will be a retest coming up there as well.

Overhead Squat for reps

Just an update. Training called for the test today...

I hit 17 reps with 115lbs. Maybe I quit a little early. I had it in my mind that 17 was the minimum.

Two weeks, and I will break 21 reps and move up to 135lbs. Oh boy.

Still going (OHS)

Today's session called for 8 sets of 7 reps each at 115lbs. This was 56 reps or 6440lbs in about 20 minutes. Tough. About 293lbs/min, or about 5lbs a second. Add distance in there, and it's quite a lot of work!

The toughest workout at 95lbs was 6 sets of 7 before retesting... that was 3990lbs. Obviously my capacities are on the rise. It's a damn good feeling!

I am up for a retest in 5-7 days. The goal is about 15-19 reps at 115lbs. Wish me luck.

Theory of Overhead Squat

Here's an introduction to the basic mechanics of the OHS as taught by Crossfit generally and Nicole specifically.



And here's Coach explaining why the OHS is so much harder than the Back and Front variations.




He gets into some details about planes, moment arms etc... If it's been a while since you reviewed your anatomy text or studied biomechanics... don't be afraid to ask. I got A's in both :)

More thoughts on Squat

Here's some perspective...

a competitive (amateur) bodybuilder and FireFighter attempts to beat Nicole at HER game.



I don't want to be too critical, but notice his ROM... depth is much higher than Nicole's, his knees don't track over his feet... at the first clip (certification) he does 11 (terrible) squats with 95lbs, at a bodyweight > 200lbs. I've seen another like this where Nicole does about 24 to beat her opponent. He's not even doing the same amount of work as she is because his depth is so shallow! Humbling it is!

Later, it shows the 'new and improved' Jesse hitting several reps at 135lbs. He claims his current max is 15 reps with the 135. Not bad!

3-19-2008: Jason Struck (159lbs) tests up with the 115lb OHS. Result: 13reps.

See you in 2 Weeks!

OverHead Squat Mania!

2nd Favorite Exercise?

The Overhead Squat (OHS).
So, you're never gonna move the same loads, and if you just need high force production in the posterior chain, then start with the Deadlift! But if you are an athlete, martial artist, dancer or anyone that has to use the power of the legs as expressed through the core or the arms...

You're gonna have to OverHead Squat! If you can squat 300lbs, that's great. You should be able to Front Squat at least 210lbs, if not a little more. That's 70%. If you can't Overhead Squat 70% of what you Front Squat (49% of Back Squat at this point) then you have a weak core! Every bit of deficit between what you can Back Squat and what you can't do Overhead is energy leaking out of the system. It's force you can produce in the leg muscles that can't be expressed elsewhere, because you don't have the pelvis/torso stability to transfer it!

In Crossfit they have a benchmark; 15 reps with a load equal to bodyweight in the Overhead Squat. Very few have done it, and most who have are small women. I intend to exceed this benchmark as soon as I can. Being a long femured non-squatter, I have always dreaded the OHS. The core stability was one thing, but the overhead lock-out, shoulder mobility, hip mobility and just high workload for someone 'not built to squat' are punishing.

But I like a challenge. Here's what I am up against;



I started on 3/10/2008. I decided that lower weights and higher reps would help me get the stability and practice I needed. I tried 95lbs. I was able to hit 11 reps. Not bad. Good enough to work with in the program that I am using. So, after less than two weeks I decided to retest...
Here's what happened;



Please stayed posted, as I share more information about Overhead Squatting, and it's role in athletic training and olympic lifting. For now, I will be doing another 'pre-test' with 115lbs. Once I break the '21' line, I will move up to 135bs for reps. Once I break 21 reps with 135lbs, I'll be done with this! 21 reps with 135lbs suggests a 1RM in the 250lb ball park, but I know that won't be quite true. But maybe I will break 200lbs, which would be a pretty big benchmark.

PS: Bodyweight today is 162lbs, but thanks to the ZONE, I think that I might be more like 155lbs in a few weeks, so I might be burning this candle from both ends!