05.07.10
Posted in General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 6:45 am by Colin McNulty
I completed the British Weight Lifting Association’s (BWLA) Assistant Club Coaches’ Course this weekend, and thought it would be nice to write up a few things about it.
It was a 2 day course, all day Saturday and Sunday, and teaches you how to coach the basic Olympic Weightlifting lifts, specifically the Snatch, Clean and Jerk. Whilst it is predominantly a practical course, it doffs a cap to health and safety obviously, a bit on stretching, warm-ups and downs and scheduling (or programming if you prefer that term). As I said though, it is mostly a practical course with some time watching demos of the lifts, plenty of time to personally practice the lifts in small groups of 3 or 4, and a lot of opportunity to coach others.
In terms of assessment, there was a practical test where we had to stand up in front of the group and go though the BWLA method for teaching the Power Clean, including a personal demonstration and also coaching a student. Additionally there’s a 90 minute written exam at the end, which has been sent off for marking, so I’ll have to wait to hear back on how I did on that. It didn’t escape my notice that I was the last to finish the exam! The point being, that this isn’t just a “Certificate of Attendance” course; t is assessed both practically and academically.
We were very lucky to have as our instructors, 2 very experienced lifters who have both lifted on the international stage and refereed at a world class level: Suzy Trebillock and Eddie Halstead. It was a privilege to benefit from their experience.
It was a useful course and I do recommend it. As a Level 1 course it gives the basics of how to breakdown and teach the Olympic lifts. There is a follow on Level 2 course, which is the full BWLA Club Coaches’ course which is over 2 weekends, but that is more theoretical, looking more a physiology and programming rather than practical hands on coaching.
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03.07.10
Posted in General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 7:30 am by Colin McNulty
I’m looking forward this weekend to attending the British Weight Lifting Association Assistant Club Coaches Olympic weightlifting course, which is being hosted by Crossfit Manchester.
Whilst I’m not sure I have any specific ambitions to become an Olympic weightlifting coach, it’s certainly a skill that’s worth having, and as the course is happening on my doorstep it’d be pretty stupid not to take advantage of it. It should be a good couple of days. I’m hoping that learning to teach the Snatch and Clean & Jerk, will also have a knock on affect on my own performance and ability to coach myself, as and when I find myself lifting on my own
It’s also possibly going to be an opportunity to use my new Pulse LiveScribe smart pen. I mentioned these marvellous devices a month or so ago and finally got round to buying one. It’s fair to say that everyone I’ve shown it to so far has been suitably impressed and can immediately see its appeal and a myriad of uses. I predict that in 10 years time, every student will have one, maybe even every salesman and every manager. I can honestly see a market that stretches to 100M+ in size. It truly is that revolutionary. I’ll let you know how I get on with it.
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30.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 6:36 pm by Colin McNulty
Thanks for all the messages of support, I can confirm that I did win my category at the 2010 BWLA British Masters Olympic Weightlifting championship finals this weekend.
I was expecting to be lifting against Anthony (Tony) Down, from the Empire Club in Bristol, but it turned out that he came in overweight for the 77kg category at 78kg, which left me lifting all on my own. (I weighed in comfortably under at 75.9 kg.) All I needed to do was get a total and I was home and dry. To be clear then, here are the relevant rules:
- To qualify for to be able to compete, you must lift the qualifying total in a BWLA officiated (3 judge panel) competition in the previous 12 months. I did this when I lifted a 165kg total in the Northern Masters Weightlifting Competition in 2009, which is the qualifying standard for Mens Group 1 (35-39) in the 77kg body weight category.
- On the day then, you must open within 15kg of the qualifying total, so I had to open with a minimum of 150kg. I opted for easy openers of 65 Snatch and 90kg Clean & Jerk. I could/should have opened 5kg higher on each (70 and 95) which was my plan had I been facing Tony, but there was no point risking it. Especially after my recent shambolic training performances.
- You need to get at least one Snatch and at least one Clean and Jerk to make a total.
That’s it, all I needed to do was get my openers and I was the winner. Sadly I started the video camera too early and it ran out of juice (I may try to send it back as a full charge only lasted 70 minutes!) so I only got a video of the snatches, which I may upload at some point. I’ve pondered whether this default win detracts from the occasion? But the way I see it, it means I actually won it back when I lifted 165 at the Northern Open, as I was the only person (apart from Tony) who made the qualifying weight, I just didn’t know it yet!
The snatches went very well and I easily power snatched the 65, then the 70 and finally did a full squat snatch (though had to chase it across the platform!) for 75. Which considering my body weight of 75.9, was less than a bag of sugar away from a body weight snatch. To be honest, now with hindsight, I regret not opening at 70 as I’d originally planned, as I reckon there was a snatch PB in the offing (current PB is 77).
C&Js didn’t go quite so well. The 90kg opener was trivial, but then I made a mistake and jumped straight to 100kg. It seemed like a good idea at the time, 100kg is an =PB lift for me, and 95 meant nothing so going for it seemed the right thing to do. In reality, the 10kg / 11% jump in weight caught me off guard and I dropped both my 100kg attempts. Note to self: 5kg increments only in future.
So I finished with a 165 total (70 + 90). But I suppose the real question is, how would I have done if I’d been facing Tony? Tony it turns out is a very nice fella. Well of course he is, he’s a 5 year Crossfitter! We shared a warm up platform and generally encouraged each other throughout. It is hard to say what would have happened as it turns out that his personal best total of 177 is exactly the same as mine!
Tony got a 70kg Snatch and 100kg C&J, and he was competing against a Scotsman in a close run race, so on the face of it, he would have beaten me. However had we been competing, I would have started at 70 snatch, which I got, as I got the 75 and reckon I would have got a new PB of 78. Similarly I’d have started at 95 C&J which should not have been a problem, and I reckon the smaller 5kg increment would have seen at least one of my 100kg lifts come off which I’ve got several times before, giving a 178 total. But then, maybe Tony would have lifted differently if he was against me? Who can know, it’s all academic.
I do know several things though. 3.5 years ago I was a fat couch potato who hadn’t done a jot of exercise for 15 years and now I’m British Champion at an official Olympic sport. How does that happen?!? Here’s how, and I owe a debt of gratitude to all involved:
- I decided to change my life, but I didn’t know how.
- My mate Ian Sturrock put me onto Crossfit.
- Mark Beck and Karl Steadman opened Crossfit Manchester and filled it with a great bunch of supportive people.
- They got me on the Zone Diet which has morphed into more of a Paleo Zone.
- Mark especially has coached my weightlifting form over the last 3 years and always selflessly gives his time to coach me when I’m at a competition, and generally be helper extraordinaire. I am very grateful and would definitely not have done it without his help and support.
So what’s next? I think I’m going to take some time off the weightlifting focus and get back to more regular Crossfit for a while. Crossfit is a whole load of fun, dropping snatch after snatch whilst training on your own (when I’m away from home) is not. As a result, I’ve left the gym I go to in Cardiff: Aspire Fitness, especially as my contract should be finishing up shortly. They’re a nice bunch down there, and I’m sorry to leave them.
There are 2 things to aim for I think, one is the European Masters Championships. I need a 182 qualifying total so need to get my snatch up to 80 and clean and jerks up to 102. But it irks me that both the 2 biggest Masters competitions of the year: the British Masters and the Northern Masters, are outside the qualifying window for qualification. That’s bad planning! Also there’s the simple fact, that if I wait a couple of years till I’m in the 40-44 category, the qualifying total comes down to 172, which is much more doable, lol!
The second thing is the the English Indoor Rowing Championships (EIRC), which I’ve had my eye on for a couple of years, but always chosen the weightlifting in preference, as often they are both on the same weekend. I’ve got my eye on the 500m title, which if I can make the 75kg lightweight category, I could win easily. Judging by this years numbers my personal best is 7 seconds faster than the 1st place time! So I need to be good this Christmas and not pile on the pounds if I’m going to make 75kg by 3rd week in Feb.
Anyway, it was an exciting weekend and I’m currently very chuffed. I’m sure the feeling won’t last long.
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24.03.10
Posted in General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 7:34 pm by Colin McNulty
Well the British Masters Championships are this weekend, and if I’m not ready now, I’ll never be. Which is to say, I’m not ready now! I hate preparing for competitions because I’m *never* ready!
This week’s lifting went ok, but could have been better. The highlights are, on Tuesday I managed 3 out of 6 snatches at 70kg (154lbs), which was disappointing but not terrible. And today I managed 2 out of 3 Clean & Jerks at 95kg (209lbs) which again was just ok, not fantastic. I also bailed on the WOD I had planned today due to a slightly twingy back; no point in risking injury this close to the comp.
In other news, I was bang on the weight limit this morning, for the first time this year, and with just days to go, not a moment too soon! It’s taken me 3 months to loose the weight I put on in December and get back to what I was in November and was bang on 77kg (12st1 or 169 lbs) this morning. Here’s my weightloss graph for this year:
All hail the mighty Zone diet which comes through for me again. After this comp, I’m going to try some experiments with my diet. I foresee a lot of milk in my immediate future. 
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18.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 8:35 pm by Colin McNulty
I’m pleased to report that my hamstring tweak had mostly cleared itself up by Tuesday, so I was able to train as I’d intended. There was still a little soreness there, but 98% there. However, that didn’t prevent the disaster that was Tuesday’s snatches!
Tuesday followed my normal routine of snatches for 45ish mins then some form of WOD. I’d hoped to recover from last weeks debacle, quickly move up to 70kg and pop out 3 good 70kg snatches. Well, that turned out to be ridiculously ambitious! I only succeeded in dropping six 70kg snatches in a row, and pretty must destroying what little confidence I had in doing them.
I think that over a year of working out on my own in Cardiff at Aspire Fitness, with no one to watch my form, has really taken its toll on my technique. After the BWLA British Masters, I think I need to go back to the drawing board with my snatch. Even now, 3 years on, they still don’t feel right and there’s too much variability. So it looks like I’ll be starting at 65kg in the comp.
Not wishing to do myself another injury this close to the comp, I finished with a named Crossfit WOD: Annie. I scaled it by dropping the first round, making it: 40-30-20-10 of double unders and situps, which I achieved in 9:57
On Wednesday things got a bit better. Clean and Jerks are harder to cock up on technique and I worked up to three good 95kg C&Js, which will be my starting weight, making a total of 160 to start with, which is more than the 150kg minimum starting total for my category. If you don’t know, your starting total must be at least the qualifying standard minus 15kg.
I followed this with a derivation of Crossfit 3D’s WOD from the other day:
AMRAP in 10 minutes of:
- 3 x 60kg power cleans
- 6 push ups
- 9 kettle bell swings @ 16kg
In which I managed exactly 8 rounds. Again this was scaled down after 40 mins of clean and jerks and so as to not do myself a mischief.
In other news, my weight *just* about on target but I still have a few pounds left to loose. Fingers crossed it won’t be a major drama. I’ll post up a weight chart from 1st Jan next week. To be honest, I’ll be quite happy when this competition is over, I’m deep in the “why am I doing this” stage of preparation, but I know I always go through this, it’s just you mind playing games with you. Ho hum.
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04.03.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 12:43 pm by Colin McNulty
I’ve started seriously thinking about the BWLA British Masters Olympic Weightlifting Competition at Lilleshall (I came 2nd last year) at the end of March and how I’m going to prepare for it. For reasons I won’t bore you with, I’ve not done as much lifting as I should have done in preparation for this competition. It’s too close to the comp now to actually consider improving strength really, so I’m just going to focus on technique and get my confidence levels up for what I want my starting lifts to be.
The rules say that you must start within 15kg of the qualifying standard, which was 165kg for the 77kg M1 category. So starting at 150 would be an easy 60kg snatch and 90kg clean and jerk. I think I’m going to do a bit better than that and work towards 65kg and 90kg as starting weights, and see how it goes this month, I may up them both to 70kg snatch and 95gk C&J openers. I do need to be confident of getting a total though, so will err on the side of caution if training this month doesn’t go smoothly.
My aim for training is to not try anything that will cause me to drop a lift in the next 4 weeks. I want to go into the comp with utter confidence that I can lift my openers, then just increment each one by 5kg say on the day for the 2nd and 3rd lifts. That would mean if all goes perfectly (ha, when does that happen?!?) my current PB’s of 77kg and 100kg are in range.
With that in mind, my training this week was:
Tuesday
Hang Snatch and Snatch: 2×40, 2×45, 2×50, 2×55, 1×60
Snatch + 2 Over Head Squat: 2×60, 3×65
Snatch Pulls: 3×70, 3×75, 3×80
Then ½ the Crossfit.com WOD, which was 8 rounds (I did 4) of run 400, with 90 second rest between runs. I only did half as I’m not that used to a lot of running and I had brand new Evo Viva Barefoot running shoes and didn’t want to over do it first time out.
They are Vibram FiveFinger substitutes, as I don’t have the right shaped feet for Vibrams (boooo!). Certainly, they have not a lot of sole to speak of and you do feel a lot more of what you’re walking on. They’ll take a bit of getting used to, but should help the Pose running that’s for sure.
Wednesday
Hang Clean & Jerk + Clean & Jerk: 2×50, 2×60, 2×70, 2×80
Clean & Jerk Singles: 3×85, 3×90
I followed this with a Crossfit WOD from a few days ago: Row 5k. I’ve never done a 5k row before, in fact the most I’ve ever rowed has been 2000m, and only once at that, so this was a bit daunting! In fact, it went better than I’d hoped. Each 1000m split was faster than the one before, and I had enough left to end with a bit of a sprint, finishing in a respectable (I thought) 20:28. Will have a go at beating 20mins next time.
Actually the biggest battle at the moment is making the 77kg (169lbs) weight category. I’m down from a portly 13st5 after Xmas to 12st7 as of this morning, so only 6 lbs and 3.5 weeks to go. Should be no problem, as long as I can continue to be good, hoho.
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03.02.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, The Zone Diet Blog at 9:42 pm by Colin McNulty
I’m experimenting with dropping my carb intake a bit and upping my fats. I’m still doing about 15 blocks per day of protein, but only 8-9ish of carbs and about 30 of fat. And to be honest, I’m feeling pretty good this week.
Did 2 major WODs this week, yesterday’s Crossfit Snatch workout which was damn hard but I managed it. And today I did:
- Clean & Jerk singles up to 3 x 90kg. Just concentrating on technique.
Then I did the WOD off the main Crossfit site: Kelly, which is:
- 5 Rounds For Time
- Run 400m
- 30 Box Jumps
- 30 Wall Balls 20lbs
I only had an 11lb ball, but that didn’t stop it taking 37:59 minutes. Not a great time, but I’m not displeased considering how few proper Crossfit metcon workouts I’ve done in the last 3 months.
As ever, whilst I’m actually doing the workout, I’m thinking “Why the hell am I doing this to myself?” About 30 minutes later, I think “That wasn’t so bad.” and an hour later I think “That was great, can’t wait to do it again!” It’s a total Statler and Waldorf moment! Lol.
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19.01.10
Posted in Crossfit Workout & Exercises, General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 10:02 pm by Colin McNulty
Going back to the Cardiff gym this week, for the first time since November, was always going to be messy but I’m as sore as I’ve ever been right now.
I decided to do workouts from the main Crossfit.com site. I can’t necessarily follow their daily scheme, either because like today, it’s a rest day, or because it’s not practical in a “normal” gym, e.g. Fight Gone Bad. So this is what I picked for yesterday, after doing some heavy Cleans, up to 90kg:
With a continuously running clock, squat for 60 seconds. Subtract the number of squats completed from 60, and do that many pull-ups in minute two. In minute three, squat again, subtracting the number completed from 60. Do that number of push-ups in minute four. Minute five is squatting again, and minute six pull-ups.
The pattern is squats, pull-ups, squats, push-ups, squats, pull-ups, etc. The goal is to stay within the workout’s formula for as long as possible.
Don’t do more than 60 squats in any round.
In any case, stay moving for at least 12 minutes.
It looked like fun, and was for the first 4 minutes or so, then it started to go down hill. I won’t bore with the details, but I did do 174 squats in the 12 minutes and boy did my thighs ache this morning!
Then today, I decided to do some light Snatch work, and so just did pairs of Hand Power Snatches + Squat Snatch, up to a modest 55kg. Followed by Grace (30 x power cleans and push jerks) @ 60kg. I was way off the pace at 11:20 and if I thought my thighs ached before, I was wrong! Walking upstairs this evening was a serious struggle, and that was after a good 10 minutes stretching out.
Ho ho, welcome back Crossfit, how I’ve missed you!
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24.11.09
Posted in General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 6:16 am by Colin McNulty
It’s hard to start this post… without resorting to impolite expletives! This weekend’s weightlifting competition went about as wrong as it could have done, short of bombing (failing to get any lifts).
I could wax lyrical about my failures, but can’t quite face it to be honest. It was a shambles that’s soonest forgotten. The short version is, I got only 2 of my 6 lifts: 70kg Snatch and 95kg Clean & Jerk, for a 165 total. A mile away from the 182 total I was hoping for. Here’s the high def video, in all its embarrassing glory:
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20.11.09
Posted in General Colin McNulty Stuff, Olympic Weightlifting at 2:00 pm by Colin McNulty
The day I’ve been waiting 2 months for has finally arrived – the Northern Open Olympic Weightlifting competition, held in Mytholmrod, West Yorkshire (England that is).
First the important stuff: I made the weight. For the last 5 days I’ve been at or under my target weight, which is the upper limit of the 77kg weight category (169 lbs, or 12 stone 1 in old money). On my more accurate scales, this morning, I weighed 76.5kg (168.8 lbs), happy days! Although not happy enough for me to be able to have any breakfast or indeed drink much in the next 4 hours till the official weigh in. See my previous post for how I tweaked the zone diet to loose the weight I needed in just 3 weeks. The zone diet comes through for me again. Here’s my weightloss graph for the last 3 weeks:
I was asked yesterday if I was ready. The answer is: I’m never ready! Well I never feel ready anyway. On the face of it that sounds bad, but think about it for a moment. If I felt ready, that is comfortably ready with the knowledge that I was perfectly able to lift the weight I wanted to, then wouldn’t I be trying below my potential? I don’t know, but I do know that I’m relying on that bit of adrenaline to out perform my previous best ever lifts, either in competition or training.
I’ve been nominally following a Hungarian weightlifting program, set weekly by my coach at Crossfit Manchester. It will be interesting to see whether I’ve progressed in the 2 months I’ve been doing it. I certainly think I have, but whether I can translate that into performance on the day, we’ll see.
Just to recap, the purpose of this comp is to qualify for the European Masters Weightlifting Championships in 2010. I’ve already qualified for the 2010 BWLA British Masters Championships. For this I need to improve on my current personal best total of 177kg, and lift the qualifying weight of 182 total. Here’s the game plan (and anyone who knows me, knows that A LOT of thought has gone into the following):
Snatch: Warm up to 70kg. Open with 75, then 78, and then 80. Current PB is 77, but I’ve only ever lifted over 75 twice ever. To be honest, opening with 75 is the big risk, just 2kg below my PB and whilst I know I can do it, I’ve not been consistent in training, dropping four 70kg snatches in a row only last week for example! There’s a significant chance I will bomb at 75 (fail to get any lifts).
Clean and Jerk: If I make the 80kg snatch, then I open with 97kg (current PB is 100), then I get 2 cracks at 102 which would give me the 182 total I need. If I get the 102, then 105 will be just for fun.
However if I get the 78kg snatch, then I’ll be starting the C&Js having just dropped a lift, so will start at a confidence building 95, then 100, and finish with 104 for my 182 total. There’s a temptation here to start higher, at 100 say, and potentially get 2 goes at 104. That will depend on how the C&J warm up has gone and how comfortable I feel.
If I only get the 75 snatch, I’m in real trouble and will need a massive PB increase; starting with 97, then 102, then the big 107.
Either way it’s PB territory or bust today! Now to stay busy and forget about my empty belly…
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