Deth

I have been itching to take my barbell outside in the bark yard for a long time now. The weather this spring so far really hasn’t been cooperative enough. Either the weather wasn’t agreeable or we had something else to do on the nice days we’ve had.

Earlier yesterday morning, I did my deadlifts, and they felt slow. I remember thinking, as I was doing that, there was no way I could do a relatively heavy clean. As far as I know, my legs are much stronger now, but I also feel slower and thought it would mess with my timing and explosiveness.

Late this afternoon yesterday, I was feeling good. I was not thrilled with the Phillies’ loss, but it had to happen in due time. The humidity had really dropped off, with clear skies and a nice breeze. I looked outside and remembered I wanted to see how a heavier clean and jerk would feel.

I got changed and decided to give it a go. My warm-up was lugging everything from the garage to the backyard. That can be pretty annoying, and it’s the only thing that stops me from doing it more often. It’s a fairly uneven walk, too.

I started out with a light hundred and fifteen pounds and did a couple of reps at that weight to warm up a bit more. Even though the bar felt heavier than it used to be at this weight, the cleans felt great. My timing was on. The jerk was so powerful that it was messing with me a bit. It has been quite some time, so of course I expected to feel rusty, but I really did not feel that way.

Next up, I did a hundred and forty-five pounds. That felt even better. This is usually a good weight for me, with a good balance of being light but also heavy enough that I can feel it and move well.

My next one was a super explosive one at one hundred and sixty-five pounds. The clean felt perfect. The Jerk was so explosive that I lost it behind instead of locking it out. It sort of pulled right out of my hands.

Next up, I went for a hundred and seventy-five pounds. Once again, the clean felt perfect. The jerk was more of a push press that I didn’t quite lock out. As always happens, an annoyingly loud lawnmower started just as I got into my heavier sets, which was a real distraction. I was doing them in the street, so I wanted to be able to hear traffic to get out of the way. Around here, people are absolutely terrible drivers. Just as I was performing the jerk dip, a dog barked and made me think a car was coming, so I bailed.

As far as weight was concerned, it felt great, so I made the jump to one hundred and eighty-five pounds. That would be more than ninety percent of my all-time max. I didn’t make it, though. I should have, but that lawnmower and dog were still a big distraction for me. Another factor distracting me, I think, was my eye. The wind blew something in it, and it felt irritated a little for the rest of the evening.

At the end of the day, I felt it was an excellent session. I surprised myself with how efficiently I was moving the weight, especially considering how long it has been since I have performed these movements. Hopefully, I can be more consistent in taking the bar out this summer. It honestly felt nice to be out in the sun, pushing some weight.