Acclimation and Adaptation

I have recently reached a short-term goal of one-arm long cycle with a 28-kilo going 20 minutes, one hand switch. I did 6 rpm throughout. It was like a competition--all I had. For me, it is best to back off for a time after hitting PRs and do something fun and with less pressure. I spent a few months only doing long cycle, with a little jerk and swing assistance, occasional pullups and jumprope, and nothing else. No snatches or double jerk sets. I found that just like snatch, jerk, squat, etc, if I am going to train for anything specifically, different body parts get acclimated a certain way.

One of my new short term goals is to lose some fat. Friday I had 10 minutes to train, so I picked up a 12-kilo and did a 10-minute snatch set. Not too bad...I hung in there at around 17 rpm, all is well. Then Monday I hit a 10-minute snatch set with 16kg at 16 rpm. For some reason I did not feel like using chalk, and I used a first-production run bell with a thick handle. That was a mistake. Not the bell or the chalk necessarily, but going 10 minutes of snatch when I had not done one snatch in months. My technique was still good, but I noticed my right forearm pronator tendon off the elbow (don't know its real name) flared up, and it is burning to this minute.

While long cycle still includes a clean (just like the bottom of the snatch) and a jerk, and in many ways is the best of both worlds in one set, it still lacks 2 things if you are still into snatch and jerk: the rack endurance, and the drop from the snatch. I know, it still puts the bell in the rack, and the drop from the clean should be almost identical from the snatch, but it seems I have de-acclimated from the snatch and traditional jerk. That's ok.

Obviously, I still want to train, and I do not want to injure myself any more. That is where I have had to adapt. I picked up 20kg and started swinging and 1-arm jerking today. The swings did not bother my arm, but the jerks did. So I did a circuit of swings, shooting hoops, pushups, and bodyweight squats. I did what I could keeping my long-term and short-term goals in mind, while working around a potential injury, including active recovery for the sensitive spot, still practicing kettlebell technique, and working muscle groups the I need for the kettlebell moves I cannot do today.

It can be frustrating, but it turned out fun. Sometimes narrowing our options can make things more interesting, and more fun, and it teaches us to think and plan.