Since about 3 months I've been trying to master the clean and the snatch.
What surprised me most of all was the level of concentration & focus needed. It almost seems I'm having to rely on a huge OD of caffein plus sulbutiamine to be focused enough. Even then, it still comes and goes at whim.
But then once I'm done working out, there's all this energy left, and I'm feeling ready to rip someone's head off and am agitated all day long. Sometimes it also seems there's quite the T-surge so my bf doesn't complain too much.
I'm starting to understand why lifters, that do this professionally do this 6 times a day but with an hour in between as the level of agitation lasts long enough to be having enough energy to lift again the same day.. except that I lack the technical skills so it's only 'stupid' machine or isolation stuff I can do.
This is starting to get a problem.. and actually doesn't just happen anymore after Olympic lifting but also on another training day. I'm not having a problem with it in day time, but this really messes with sleep. Even when this is done in daytime ... It doesn't help I'm carb cycling in a fairly extreme way and cut off the carb intake after a workout.. so far tryptophan has become my saviour as past week I've been a zombie for 3 days in a row.
Is this a more common problem, and if so, what do you do to unwind? Yoga, carbs, alcohol?
I'd also love to know what I can do to be focused sooner, as it takes too long before I get into a 'flow'.
As far as unwind. I read non violent, inspirational books, pm me if you want a list of my favorite 10. Or i play the guitar and sing.
As far as energy level, you already know you don't NEED caffeine, but if you have so much energy after your workouts, perhaps you could add a bit more or do heavier weight?
Since about 3 months I've been trying to master the clean and the snatch.
What surprised me most of all was the level of concentration & focus needed. It almost seems I'm having to rely on a huge OD of caffein plus sulbutiamine to be focused enough. Even then, it still comes and goes at whim.
But then once I'm done working out, there's all this energy left, and I'm feeling ready to rip someone's head off and am agitated all day long. Sometimes it also seems there's quite the T-surge so my bf doesn't complain too much.
I'm starting to understand why lifters, that do this professionally do this 6 times a day but with an hour in between as the level of agitation lasts long enough to be having enough energy to lift again the same day.. except that I lack the technical skills so it's only 'stupid' machine or isolation stuff I can do.
This is starting to get a problem.. and actually doesn't just happen anymore after Olympic lifting but also on another training day. I'm not having a problem with it in day time, but this really messes with sleep. Even when this is done in daytime ... It doesn't help I'm carb cycling in a fairly extreme way and cut off the carb intake after a workout.. so far tryptophan has become my saviour as past week I've been a zombie for 3 days in a row.
Is this a more common problem, and if so, what do you do to unwind? Yoga, carbs, alcohol?
I'd also love to know what I can do to be focused sooner, as it takes too long before I get into a 'flow'.
You could cut back on the stimulants and see if your level of agitation subsides. As for focus, get a good night's rest and just keep practicing. Weightlifting is a tough sport, but you shouldn't over think it either. You may be paralyzing yourself through over analysis and over coaching. Do not expect to move mountains every day, but instead give it your best effort and learn to let go here and there.
Not sure why you're doping up to this degree to focus, Espi. Just relax and lift the weight. Yeah, it takes concentration, but just channel your inner long distance cyclist to put you there.
I pretty much have no clue what you are talking about
I have no idea if its related, but after a really heavy training day (or contest) I usually wont sleep that night. I know some powerlifters with the same problem. Dont know the cause.
also, limit the stims.. its just a matter of time before you actually need them pre-training. Ive been there. now its 100mg caffeine max (ie a big cup of coffee).
I'll cut back on the caffein then and just take the one mug of java.
Sleep is very carb-dependent for me..I've been carb cycling off and on for ages: when carbs are ingested post-WO, sleep would be 9hrs, w/o them 7hrs.
Must say the real trouble began when I decided to resume a very modest cut, which mostly lowers carbs on all days except for the 2 heaviest or most intense lifting days.
Now I eat carbs the night before a lifting day (mostly morning) and sleep more that night but less after lifting. Been experimenting with relocating fruit to the night on days carbs are purposefully low to help with sleep.
But the major problem is that I need to concentrate a lot more for these lifts than for any other lift I do, and that's not being easy. Especially not for a beginner that is making all kinds of stupid mistakes and then has to listen to cues.
Cortisol and/or adrenalin.
Mine tends to run chronically high.. at least it used to.
The reason why carbs affect sleep is two-fold: when you're eating a lot of protein and not much carbs, there's not enough tryptophan for the brain, which is very important for sleep. Hence the tryptophan that's been used as a sleep aid.
The other factor that I never neglect anymore, is that having enough carbs around the workout can suppress cortisol output. It sounds weird, but w/o carbs I could go on for longer than with carbs.. leaving them out puts me in the too 'wired to be tired' mode.. if necessary I can and will stay awake for 3 consecutive days. BTDT a lot of times.. (as a former long-distance cyclist)
My coach is always telling my I am doing the "paralysis by analysis" thing. I think it's part of my personality, but it's always something I have to work on. And, it's definitely the hardest for me when doing my olifting.
LOL.. we can shake hands then.. the funniest part is that I can totally tell others how to do things as I'm not as paralysed by the minutiae and also am able to see more clearly what goes wrong (this is more related to nutrittion but also routines).
But especially for these particular exercises, it's very hard to do them yourself and know whether you do them right or wrong. Coach tells me whether it's right or wrong but it's very different from watching videotapes.. especially the ones NSCA are great, like from NSCA - Performance Analysis Video .
It is still difficult, but I'm a bit more confident now.. I'm sure it takes me much more time than for others, but that's OK for me.. I'm just a bit embarassed to be such a slow learner and that embarassment makes me more angry about mistakes etc.
But to get back to the question.. a lot of this has to do with nutrition and stimulation. I'm playing with my nutrients & calories to see if I see better fat loss with 3-4 consecutive low-calorie days plus 2-3 high calorie days versus 3 smaller refeeds.
From what I experience, the former method backfires royally for me.. going into ketosis while exercising hard has so many bad repercussions it's not even funny anymore.
It's not even getting really bad, but I see it coming from a mile away.
The very last thing I want is to get sick.... so back to my more mellow nutrition routine. On more calories & carbs, I'm also having waaaaaaaaaaaay less of a stress response to training.
Cortisol and/or adrenalin.
Mine tends to run chronically high.. at least it used to.
The reason why carbs affect sleep is two-fold: when you're eating a lot of protein and not much carbs, there's not enough tryptophan for the brain, which is very important for sleep. Hence the tryptophan that's been used as a sleep aid.
The other factor that I never neglect anymore, is that having enough carbs around the workout can suppress cortisol output. It sounds weird, but w/o carbs I could go on for longer than with carbs.. leaving them out puts me in the too 'wired to be tired' mode.. if necessary I can and will stay awake for 3 consecutive days. BTDT a lot of times.. (as a former long-distance cyclist)
wow I had no idea! thats nuts! very cool and useful skill to have though I'd say.
take all that stuff combined and multiply is by a thousand, and it still doesn't account for 1% of strength training. I may not be an olympic lifter, but I do know how some of them train (I have trained with some fairly high level competitors) and half of them wouldn't even know what this stuff even is.
Get the right about of food, train heavy with good form, and rest.
So, not knowing anything about these processes makes them magically disappear?
A fact is that I'm a biologist and am also coming from a totally different disciplin, viz. long-distance cycling and only gradually warmed up to strength training. Due to several factors I changed from someone who didn't know 'squat' about optimizing nutrition & supplements to someone that wants to optimize everything.
So, now Oly lifting comes along and there's all these interesting changes. Like a whole new level of concentration for lifting. Let's just say that I normally tend to be easily distracted and chatty in the gym. Now.. in order to do a clean or snatch properly concentration is everything. Which I'm trying to do as well as I can.
Is it such a surprise that I'm fascinated by how much of an effect this has on how I feel afterwards? And try to find out what causes this and how to make it disappear? Not thinking about it doesn't make it disappear.
The good news is that I've done what Tina (tina = tkinsley) suggested. That is, I relaxed more, didn't think about how embarassingly clumsy I still am , which resulted in being more confident and yet concentrate on what was to be done.
Had my best lifts sofar when it comes to technique. It really really helps to have seen others do it IRL .. the day before I've been to a meet & saw close to 60 persons performing 6 lifts. And don't forget the awesome NCSA website with a lot of great videos at 2 angles like
Well worrying too much about something will cause more stress which is bad for workouts or life in general. It's awesome you know all this stuff and I love that I now know what tryptophan is . Stress also doesn't help with sleep either. I'd just go with Frank said. Just lift, eat, and sleep. You can still know what's going on but it doesn't mean you have to worry about it . I'm not gonna say ignorance is bliss either because that's a load of crock.
Quote:
The good news is that I've done what Tina (tina = tkinsley) suggested. That is, I relaxed more, didn't think about how embarassingly clumsy I still am , which resulted in being more confident and yet concentrate on what was to be done.
State of mind and confidence has a lot to do with workouts. Doubt puts a wall on our progress.
Espi, You seem like a very thoughtful person, which is a good thing! Exercise and sport is much more interesting when one can see it from all angles, including the scientific. Here are a couple of articles you may be interested in concerning the sport of weightlifting.
The first one concerns overcoaching/overthinking in the weight room:
The second two deal with different approaches to teaching/learning the snatch and the clean and jerk. The take home point is to learn that there is no such thing as "perfect form", only form that works for the individual at that specific time and place. What that means is form and performance will vary from day to day and individual to individual. The key to this sport is finding what works best for you on that day, and then maximizing it. If that means one day you set a PR, while another you struggle just to make 1 out of every 3 reps, so be it, as long as you are always seeking your best.
you are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY overthinking this Espi. Paralysis by analysis. Just relax and lift.
Pretty much what I was going to say. One can't dictate the timeframe for getting "in the flow." (Well, at some point, one can learn to focus their "ki" when needed, but that's not something everyone can do, and usually takes time to develop, in any case."
As a very wise and capable gentleman once said, "Practice IS perfect." Do you best, but mostly just DO, and don't worry about it.
I'll also say that if I'm trying to be really concerned about performance and feeling good, I can't worry about diet, particularly restricting carbs. At this point, the two concepts of dieting and performance are mutually exclusive to me. A fat loss mode is a whole different mode than a normal or performance mode for me.
DarkMind, CoachDavid & Chris Correia, thank you all very much for the valuable contributions.
To start with the last one: decided to change gears and no longer try to drop fat/weight as even a small deficit was hampering progress. The first 2 months I have actually eaten at maintenance and did well. Last month I dropped weight but barely any fat.. a good indication it was a bad idea to cut. Besides.. even if I would want to compete, there's still at least 1 year to go (will need to be snatching a minimum of 40kg) , plus there's precious little competiton, even disregarding the fact I'm an old gal of 45yrs. So there's no real pressure to drop down to the 58kg class even though it might be a smart idea to improve the ratio of lifting vs BW (Wilkinson?)
CoachDavid: thanks for the links, will study them. Being the person who I am I tend to
1 overanalyze
2 overworry
Main thing to learn to accept is like Chris says to just practice and do and not worry about how I may be the most klutzy person ever. Used to think the same about many other things too and perhaps it will take me more time than most, it can be done with enough effort.
ETA: LOL'd .. the 2nd & 3rd link I've already seen soon after subscribing to XL Athlete and scanned will read it more carefully again. Gave me some good ideas like practicing OH squats to begin with.
Darkmind.. yes state of mind. More food will help too . Maintenance it will become. Am already excited about the good things to come in the new year.
Focus: not enough vs too much,too late
so my bf doesn't complain too much. 
It doesn't help I'm carb cycling in a fairly extreme way and cut off the carb intake after a workout.. so far tryptophan has become my saviour as past week I've been a zombie for 3 days in a row. 
Linear Mode
