Mid-Hang Clean and Jerk
Every minute on the minute x 10:
Mid-Hang Clean + Jerk
Work up to a heavy load, build across the 10 reps.
Post loads to comments.
Exposure 7 of 8
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Performance
5 Rounds for Time:
5 Hang Cleans 155/105
30 Double-Unders
Fitness
5 Rounds for Time:
5 Hang Cleans 115/75
60 Single-Unders
For both Fitness and Performance, the Hang Cleans should be on the light-medium side for you and unbroken on the fast end.
Post time and Rx to comments.
The Iron Maidens of CFSBK: Allison K.
The Iron Maidens Raw Open is less than 3 weeks away! Leading up to the event, we’ll be posting brief interviews with CFSBK lifters to help you get to know our team and give you a sense of what these women are doing to prepare. This year, through competitors’ fundraising efforts, Iron Maidens will once again fund the Iron Maidens Stay Strong Scholarship. Last year, Iron Maidens participants raised $30,000, far surpassing the $20,000 goal. This year, our goal is to raise $50,000 to pay for 70% of college tuition for students in the College Prep program at the Bronx-based Grace Outreach, and we need your help to reach that goal! You can donate to a lifter’s campaign by going here.
First up: Allison K. (a.k.a, AJK, Alkat, Al-Babe, Gal Pal Al, AK-47)
Allison, thanks for being the first Iron Maidens of CFSBK interviewee this year. Is this your first time participating in Iron Maidens (or its predecessor)? If not, any advice or thoughts to offer to new folks? If yes, anything you are particularly looking forward to or nervous about?
I participated in the predecessor to Iron Maidens three times, but it’s been a while. The last time I participated was July of 2013. Yikes, I’m rusty, so I’m a little nervous about that.
I think the best advice I might offer to new folks is borrowed from my runner pals: run your own race. I have a reputation among family, friends, and colleagues as a rather competitive person. My loved ones have avoided playing board games with me for many years now. All joking aside, it’s easy for my competitive spirit to wander into the territory of comparing myself to others to the detriment of my training, confidence, and you know… overall enjoyment of life. Sure, at the end of the competition winners will emerge after we’re all measured against one another, but what is unique about barbell training is that the ultimate measurement is only against our individual goals.
I’d also encourage new folks to find even just a moment to really engage with the organizers and volunteers, the crowd, and your fellow competitors. While lifting can often feel very solitary and personal, the spirit of the competition is one of a big ol’ team and community.
How has lifting impacted you athletically? Personally?
Lifting is the first athletic endeavor I’ve experienced that feels like if I work hard and train, I’m building skills that my body feels innately suited for. I’ve always been active and outdoorsy, but I shied away from organized team sports as a kid because I have terrible natural endurance for running and comical hand-eye coordination (in fact, some friends gave me a trophy for being “Consistently Inconsistent” after years of playing social sports with me like wiffle ball, tennis, and volleyball). I am tall, with big bones and big muscles; when it came to the team sports that were popular for girls in my hometown—field hockey, soccer, gymnastics—I always felt like I was punishing my body, or somehow trying to fight its natural size, shape, and inclinations for movement. Lifting has helped me to identify as “athletic,” to feel grateful for this strong, healthy body, and to care for it by staying strong and trying new athletic pursuits, even as I trudge through my mid-thirties.
On a much more personal and perhaps political note: as a woman and a feminist, I am keenly aware of how many folks and institutions within our society place value on a woman’s body—on my body—more for how it looks than for what it can do. I believe that tendency inherently leads to devaluing women’s abilities and limits our potential, which is a bummer for our society. The barbell is the ultimate honorer of strength over shape. So! For me, Iron Maidens has the added bonus of being an occasion where our bodies are celebrated for their strength and function and not their form.
What is your motivation for competing in Iron Maidens?
I’ve got a couple of motivations—one purely physical, and the other a bit more mental.
Last year, I finally recovered from almost two years of painful foot injuries that culminated in me tearing the plantar fascia in my right foot. I’ve been so happy to be back in the gym and under the bar consistently since last spring. So, Iron Maidens is a target date to test my lifts after working hard all summer and fall to basically re-train, and to motivate myself to come into the gym consistently during a time of year when typically I just want to be cozy (i.e., nap and drink wine while wearing my slippers).
My foot injury recovery also coincided with me co-founding a business. I’ve been running a design and technology studio with three partners since last year, and it would be very easy for me to either work or think about work for most hours of the day. When I started this new phase of my career, I made a rule that I have to do something physical every day that forces me just get out of my damn overly analytical head. While some days I can only afford to shut off my brain during my short bike ride to work, re-focusing on lifting and group class here at the gym has, I think, made me a more sane business owner (and probably a more tolerable girlfriend and partner to be around, too).
Last but certainly not least, I give major credit to Margie for building a community—and to David and the CFSBK staff for supporting this community—that makes competing with all of these talented women such a pleasure.
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Yesterday’s Whiteboard: Front Rack Step-Ups / Chin-Ups | Wall Balls, Box Jumps
Powerlifting with Casey Johnston The Awlcast
Hook Grip Tip from Diane Fu Free+Style
I still have a few dozen farm eggs for sale.if you are interested, please email me: mignyc at the gmail dot com.
6am with Jess and McDowell
Worked in with Michael on the C&J – 132, 132, 154, 154, 176, 176, 198, 209, 176, 176
All felt good
Metcon in 4:45 – cleans unbroken, DUs unbroken or in 2 sets
Fun 6am class with Jess & McDowell… Glad to practice c&j since I haven't been doing any regular olympic lifting. I miss it!
Worked up to 175# on the EMOM. Felt OK; I don't really get under the bar on the jerk so much as heave and dip. Didn't have to go into high gear to clean this weight, which was fine since it's been a while.
Good WOD. Cleans and doubles both really drain me so this worked well. Cleans just started to fall apart in the last round, and I couldn't quite manage the last set of doubles unbroken – – so, perfect. finished in 6:53@135#.
Can't rightly remember why everyone is asking me about breakfast, but it ~~is~~ my favorite meal to prepare!
7am with Jess and McDowell
C&J EMOM: 93×2, 98×2, 103×4, 108×2. Cleans felt good, jerks were the limiting factor. Thanks to McDowell for the tips on landing the split jerk.
WOD: 6:30 with 95# on the cleans and 15 DUs
Hang Clean and Jerk: 123×2, 133×3, 143×3, 153×2
The jerks are usually my limiter, but all of this felt pretty good. Kind of wish I had tried just a bit heavier.
WOD:4:51 Rx
Accidentally did a power hang clean for my first rep, but corrected myself by proceeding to do 5 full hang cleans. Hang cleans unbroken. DUs in 2-3 sets each time. Helpful reminders from McD to breathe.
Bench Press: 95×5(pause), 105×3(pause), 110×3(pause), 115×3(pause), 120×3(pause only on first), 125×2(pause only on first), 125x1x2 (both pause)
A double at my current PR – I'll take it.
"as a woman and a feminist, I am keenly aware of how many folks and institutions within our society place value on a woman's body—on my body—more for how it looks than for what it can do. I believe that tendency inherently leads to devaluing women's abilities and limits our potential, which is a bummer for our society. The barbell is the ultimate honorer of strength over shape. So! For me, Iron Maidens has the added bonus of being an occasion where our bodies are celebrated for their strength and function and not their form."
YES ALLISON YESSSS!! Thank you for beautifully summing up the reason (well, one of the many reasons) I love CF and lifting so freaking much. <3
I finished dead last in the WOD today which bummed me out a little, BUT I'm trying to push myself weight-wise in workouts these days so I guess it's a bit of give-and-take. 8:41 with 73# and doubles + attempts. No matter how many Hook Grip slow-mo videos I watch on Instagram I can't seem to drop under the bar fast enough in my cleans. Something to work on!
AK is a force to be reckoned with and one of the more determined people I've met in the gym. Great write up.
10am class
154 up to 231 for a few on the EMOM
WOD Perf Rx in 7:33
All cleans unbroken but couldn't find another gear today and rested too much.
10 AM with Jess
Great write up of Allison!
Worked up to 118# in the clean and jerks.
WOD with 83# and single unders in 4:37.
A-Keils! Great interview! Love your personal thoughts on reframing your self-image as that of an athlete. Definitely something I've learned at SBK too.
I woke up feeling terrible this morning, so I called out sick from work and was going to just bag it for the day, but managed to rally for 10 AM.
Decided I was going to commit to a certain amount of weight on the bar by using the 35# plates, thus ensuring I could not lift less than 103 without some serious scrambling. I'm so glad I did. I ended up working up to 118 for the complex, which is pretty close to my PR. And then I decided I was going to stick with it and do the WOD Rx, even if that meant I wasn't super fast.
Hanging onto the bar was nooooo fun starting in the third round but I managed to do all the cleans without putting it down. (I'm not going to say "unbroken" because I don't quite think it counts as unbroken if you catch your breath and your grip for a few seconds while holding the bar, right?) 7:07.
The last couple of weeks I have not-quite-Rx'ed the clean WODs and said afterwards that I should have done it Rx. I'm proud of myself for not doing that this week, and also for getting the first round of double-unders unbroken! (We won't talk about what they looked like in subsequent rounds…)
Great write up. Iron Maidens!
7am with McD
EMOM work – 155×2, 175×1,185×2, 195×2, 205×2, 155×1
All push jerks except one split jerk @205. I didn't drop under the first time. All weights moved well. Really enjoying the EMOM work.
WOD – 5:55 Rx
Cleans unbroken, just couldn't get the dubs to go today. Late night put me in slo-mo today.
Fun burner
CFSBK–Midwest
WU: 3 min. row 702m/41cal.; D-RoMs; 2 rounds 20 sit-ups, 5 pushups, 10 squats
Mid hang clean and jerk 10 min. EMOM 75, 80, 85, 91, 96, 102, 107, 112, 118 (+ one more of an indeterminate weight somewhere in the middle there)
5 rounds for time:
5 hang cleans @#75
60 single unders (didn't warm up the SUs and took a long time to get through the first round–2 rounds unbroken and pretty fast after that.)
7:49
5:30 w/ Ro
Did some pretty dope movement flow for the DROMs. Kind of reminds me of the kinstretch stuff I learned at a seminar. Wanna try and do more of this for active recovery.
EMOM work: kilos. Went a little something like this:
118, 123, 133, 143, 150, 155, 160, 165, 165, 165#
Had a lot of energy to blow off so these felt good. First one at 165 was sloppy but I cleaned it up. More patience in the pull per usual
WOD: 4:39 RX
Rope is done. It kept fraying during the workout, so doubles were all messy. But cleans felt pretty good
Great write-up, Allison!!
Did some work today. It was tough, mentally and physically.
Squat
255 x 1, 256 x 1, 270 x 1, 275 x 1, 280 x 1, 250 x 2, 240 x 2
Again struggled with depth on the heavier reps. 280 matches my PR from Iron Maidens last year but it was harder and higher than I would have liked.
Bench Press (pause)
135 x 1, 145 x 1, 150 x 1, 155 x F, 140 x 2, 135 x 2
150 felt great so I decided to go for a 2.5# PR but I got stuck, higher than usual, though! Kinda one of those ' I can't actually believe I can't lock this out' moments. Pretty funny.
Deadlift
305 x 1, 320 x 1, 295 x 2, 275 x 2
Wasn't feeling this today. Switch grip is now uncomfortable because I had been hookgripping all along.
5:30 Group Class with Ro
EMOM
Worked up to 123#
WOD in 5:14 Rx.
Heavy but fun!
That's my girl, (woman) and my wonderfully
Confident daughter: a role model for our younger generation!
YEAH AJK
The best part of this little write up is that my mom (a very fit lady in her own right) felt compelled to comment on the blog <3
Loved reading about Allison & Iron Maidens! I'm so excited!
Good job, Charlie! You're amazing.
C&J: 88-93-98-103-108-113(f)-113-108 (f)- 108-113 (f)
Only went up to 108 last week, so I'm glad I hit 113 at least once.
WOD: 7:48, 83#–> all unbroken. Quads were burning and shaking but this was the perfect weight.
Only did 20 DUs each round because I was worried about my time and taking too long. Maybe wearing lifters doesn't work so well for me :/ Mostly sets of 5.
Goal 1: Get a muscle-up
Goal 2: Improve my CONDITIONING. I am really struggling lately. :/ Assault bike? Rowing? DUs? I've gotta get it together and actually push myself a lot harder on these things.
Wasn't sure I'd make it to AR, but glad I did. Lots of cool stuff and fun to have DO as a coach, even though we missed Whit & Penny 🙂
Yes, Allison! Love to hear your thoughts and comments on why you're doing IM. And yes, even better that your Mom posted!
Today:
9am
1) EMOM x 12–Hang Snatch – Build to a heavy single
78, 83, 88, 93, 98, 103, 108f, 108, 113, 118, 123, 128, 133f
-128 matches my best Snatch ever so it was nice to hit it from the hang. Brett persuaded me to go for a PR so attempted 133 and was so close! Right arm just got a little soft. Nice that this is even close…especially from the hang!
2) EMOM x 12
Hang Clean and Jerk – Build to a heavy single
103, 113, 123, 128, 133, 138, 143, 148, 153, 158, 163, 168
-so nice to not have any misses! all felt pretty good and the clean (along with less time) were the most difficult part.
4pm
3) 8×100’ Sled Sprints
Use the first one or two to warm up then max effort on each
-All after the first 2 took 13secs. Definitely flared up my left glute though. Should have warmed up more before this. Supposed to go heavy tomorrow so I hope this will settle overnight.
Yesterday:
1) 6 Rounds NFT
20 Calorie Row at a moderate pace (~900 cal)
12 HSPU
-accidentally did 15 HSPU's each round. Most in 3 sets.
2a) Yoke Walk 6×50’
2b) 6x 4-6 Strict Pull Ups
-Was rushed for time so only did 5 sets. 295# for one round and then 335# for 4 sets of the yoke. Also did 4 Wide grip pullups with a blue band assist instead of strict regular pullups. Apparently I can't read my programming correctly when in a hurry.
Great write-up!
EMOM:
83×3
93×2
103×2
108×1
113×1
118×1
Heaviest I've clean and jerked since my return to group class and felt pretty good!
WOD in 9:06 @93#
Gradually adding weight to my cleans each week on the metcons. Had better form on some than others. Had a lot of problems resetting my hookgrip. All unbroken. Double unders were another story. Took over 1.5 minutes just for the last 30. haha. Thanks for all the cheers!
I would be happy if every class started with the handstand/handstand walking warm-up that we did with Admiral Osorio at 4:30 today. Hope this reappears regularly!
Forced myself not to add weight to my C&J's until I can keep the bar closer on my cleans. Ideally I'd like to not be at middle-school-slow-dance length with my barbell.