What an interesting choice for a workout! After a lot of reflection, I think this was really, really well done. I mean, what other lift tests technique, strength, skill, and explosiveness all at once? And to tier it that way made it accessible to just about every one. You can't fake a snatch, trust me I know.
How did it go? Well, I got 43 reps. That 75# snatch was 2 pounds lower than my snatch PR. I did it 13 times in about 6.5 minutes. I was really psyched about this, because I was hoping to get one, just one. A year ago, I wouldn't have been able to even think about getting 75#'s up, so that was really, really encouraging. For the first time in the Open, I saw the strength work really pay off. I mean it didn't feel heavy at all.
And of course the enemy of good is perfect, so I decided to try again. I got greedy and decided that my goal was going to be to make it through the entire set, and get 60 reps. And strangely, I didn't get it up once. I couldn't complete ONE rep. Ouch. It felt heavy, I couldn't squat underneath effectively, and it was an overall disaster. It got me so frustrated that I teared up in the last minute...because all of a sudden, I couldn't do something that I thought I could.
I have no idea why. Technique? Probably. Strength? Probably not. Psych out? No idea. Slice of humble pie? Absolutely.
And then I realized something that Roger often says. It's different on different days. It just is. Some days you feel great and suck, others you feel terrible and do great. I wish I knew how to be more consistent. I do know though, that the harder you work, the better you get, and things start to get more consistent. That was a really heavy snatch for me. A year ago,the 45 # snatch was fairly heavy for me. So, I suppose like it says in Roger's gym, "the harder you work, the luckier you get."
Oh yeah, and don't get greedy.
