Odd day at the gym

Jerks, Jerks, Jerk! In today's training I did pretty good on Snatch: 130 for a single and 120 for a double.  While trying 125 for a double I ripped my strap and my hand flew off the bar on the second rep... Once I got to Clean and Jerk, I did terrible.  I did the same weight on Clean and Jerk as I did Snatch.  I have not done that since my first weightlifting meet.  I was irritated with my Cleans so I just went on to Jerks.  Then what happens?  I get a PR Jerk of 170 kg from behind the neck!  Strange. Overall it was an odd day at the gym.   Thanks for reading.

Stay Strong,

James Tatum

Oh, and the coupon code 172kg for 10% off your entire order at TatumTrained.com is still good until the 31st!!

172kg

Slowly but surely my Front Squat is coming around! 172 kg was a PR set of 3 for me.  One of my issues with the squat is going down too slow and not catching the bounce out of the bottom.  I am finally starting to catch the bounce on my front squats and cleans.  I am hoping to be able to clean and  jerk this weight in the near future!  

http://tatumtrained.com/

I will be lifting at the American Open Weightlifting Championships on Saturday December 1st at 2pm.  304kg total is still the goal. 

In house Competition

Here is a video of our in house competition on Wednesday.  In house competitions are great to add a little extra intensity. Tom Sroka, Mike Szela, and Jessica North all made PR's. I totaled 285kg at 78.7kg body weight with a 135kg snatch which is the closest I have gotten to my 137kg PR (at a higher weight class).  I had more in the tank, but missed the jerk on 158kg twice which would have been a PR total.  For the next 3 weeks my focus is Jerks, Jerks, and more Jerks!  304kg total is on the way.

Stay Strong,

James Tatum

Some Tatum's Representing! 

Not Making the Hulk Angry

This is a blog I wrote a while back on jrodtrained.com.

Not Making the Hulk Angry… April 15, 2011

A few things on goal setting is that they should be

1) Challenging but achievable.  Don’t set a goal to defeat the Hulk when you are Batman.  Instead, in Batman’s case: set a goal to NOT make The Hulk angry.

2) The more specific your goal the more likely you will achieve it.  If you set a goal to “do your best” or “win” without defining exactly what that is (i.e.” your previous best XXX and you will beat it by YYY” or “the record is ZZZ and you will beat it by YYY”) it is not likely that you will achieve your goal.

3) You should start by setting small, short term, and easy to achieve goals such as getting one more rep on a set than the last set.  Or too not make The Hulk angry this week.  Then after you have had practice setting goals move onto harder ones and include long-term goals.  For example get to X% body fat by (XXX date) and maintain it for 6 months (or 180 days).

4) Set an action plan to obtain these goals.  A goal is meaningless if you don’t do something about it.  For example if your goal was to lose body fat, more specifically 2% in 30 days, you could put in your action plan that you make workout 4 times a week and eat a meat an nut breakfast every morning at 7AM.

5) Evaluate your goals often.  If your goal is a body composition goal you should evaluate your progress every 2 weeks by getting your body fat tested.

6) Revise your goal if needed.  If a barrier shows up that makes you unable to reach your goal of YYY by date XXX then you should revise your goal so that it is achievable.  Do not just give up on that goal.  If your goal was to do 12 pull ups in 90 days and 60 days into it you can only do 2 reps, you should change your goal into doing 3 more reps in the next 60 days.  That way you still challenge yourself to do better than you did the previous 60 days and your end goal is more achievable.

7) You should be held accountable for the goals you set for yourself.   Tell your friends your goal(s) so when they ask you how your goal is coming along you will have to tell them something.  Everyone needs someone to hold them accountable.

I encourage you to start setting goals and don’t forget to write them down.

Stay Strong,

James Tatum

Bar's Loaded

"Bar’s Loaded" 

I chalk my hands and then stare down at the bar. My heart rate increases and I can feel the adrenaline running through my body. I hear a grunt, then a bar slam behind me as other lifters warm-up. My hands are shaking with excitement. I walk to the back of the platform. The air is cold on my arms, and it gives me a chill. I walk to the bar and place my right hand on it, fasten my hook-grip up and then do the same with my left. My hands are steadied by the barbell. I give a grunt. I look up and don’t see anything in the general direction that my eyes are looking.  I imagine myself pulling the bar off the floor and sweeping it back as I get to my heels. I visualize the extension of my second pull to my hips and pulling myself down while moving my feet slightly outwards. I go back to the reality of actually lifting. I pull that bar without anything to spare. Next thing I know, I am standing up with the bar over my head patiently waiting for the down signal. Everything went just as I visualized it right before the lift, even though I felt like I had no time to control anything. My adrenaline-filled body obeyed my mind. 

"Down"

"Good Lift"

My hands are shaking again, ready for the next lift.

Training updates

Got an update on training!  For those of you who are interested, check out my online log book at

http://www.pendlayforum.com/showthread.php?t=7283

I update it every training day.  I have always encouraged people to keep personal log books.  They help you see the progress you're making.  Occasionally I'll look back at my training log books from 2008.  It surprises me the difference in programing and strength levels!  What is really cool is that I can see great gains from July 16th 2012 (1st day of training with Team MDUSA).  A few of the benefits of having my log book public is that it holds me accountable.  How? Well the act of writing down the workouts and getting to write PR (Personal Record) next to a weight is pretty exciting! Also, a whole lot of people can see if I am slacking off...  So if you find that I'm slacking don't be afraid to call me out.  Call me out on http://www.facebook.com/tatumtrained, Twitter (@JamesTatum8), and/or Pendlayforum.com.

Ohh and American Open weightlifting competition is coming up and I'm revising my goal of a 300 total to 306. Why not?  Also Coach Pendlay thinks I'll be able to get there!

Stay Strong,

James Tatum

The Phases of Rest

When someone asked Winston Churchill what he attributed his success in life he answered:

"Economy of effort. Never stand up when you can sit down, and never sit down when you can lie down."

This quote was changed a little by Al Schoterman (1972 Olympic Hammer Throw) into this poem

"The Phases of Rest"

Never run when you can walk

Never walk when you can get a ride 

Never stand when you can sit 

Never sit when you can lie down 

Never lie down when you can go to sleep

This quote has brought a new meaning when I started training 9 times a week.  Prior to training with Team MDUSA, I had mostly trained 5 times a week but occasionally 8 times when I was feeling frisky.  For the past 5 weeks I have trained 9 times a week.  I have broken a lot of the general principles of strength training (like never train more than 1 hour at a time) and gotten great results. While breaking some principles I have come to understand other ones better, like the Phases of Rest.  When training volume is so high taking as much rest as possible is crucial because in the end more training yields more results.... as long as you rest enough in between training sessions.

This was also the last day in Wilmington for Stefanie (my beautiful wife of 3 months!) and me.  Stefanie just finished her Masters in Chemistry from UNCW and we will be moving to Charlotte NC so I can train full time with the team.  Thanks to everyone who supported me in my training so far: Jared and Dawn Olson of Next Level Nutrition, Tony Cowden and the Crossfit Wilmington Team, and to all my friends and family who have been so supportive.  Thank you.

Stay Strong!

James Tatum