OK.

OK

"The hand is quicker than the mind" - Tony Blauer. Freaking genius.

Mike,
Yeah I'd be happy to offer some thoughts, but they'll be a little slow in coming as its not easy to type.

Ryan, the short of it is, during a clean, at the bottom of the squat, I fell back. My elbows came down while I was still holding the bar and the bar pinned my forearms then hyperextended my wrists.

I'll write more a little later (I need to think about how I can be succinct.

Oh gosh, Glenn. That sounds awful!! I'm sorry. Hope you are back in there soon.

Glenn,

What was the diagnosis? Are you ok?

I also want to point out what a badass Glenn is. He falls backwards with a clean (which by the way, he was sitting the lowest squat position I have ever seen, compared to mine, his ass was a foot closer to the floor. This isn't what I was going to tell you all, but it was impressive, moving on...) So, as he falls over onto his back, the bar obviously caused him some discomfort to his wrists (actually a lot I think, but I am getting to the impressive part) as the bar rolls back to his face, he somehow has the wherewithal to turn his head. The bar passes right over him without anymore injury. Any one else in the gym would be dealing with sore wrists today and drinking through a straw (except maybe Dave, he's pretty little. He could probably limbo under a loaded bar.) It really was remarkable.

Hope you heal up quick Glenn.

Thanks April. I hope I heal quickly too, but I don't think it'll bee too quick unfortunately.

Red, I had posted a little at the end of yesterdays blog page. I actually have a break on both radii (radius's - what's the plural on that?). The left is really more like a crack than complete break.

I'll just say that heavy squats were a little slice of heaven this morning...

Heavy squats are ALWAYS a slice of heaven. So are:

Heavy Bench
Heavy Deadlifts
Heavy Barbell Rows
Heavy Push Press

I think we all get the picture.

I can echo Red's sentiments; i saw it from the beginning. Glenn was a badass; he was blowing through the cleans with the prettiest form in the room. Because that form was so good, he had a fair amount of weight on the bar at this point. He smoothly caught the bar in proper area, nestled between the shoulders - not too close to the neck not too far away - in a squat position, ready to use his leg strength to lift the bar up. But he was just a pinch off-balance - towards the back. (had his lift from the ground and fluid squat not been so graceful and controlled, he likely wouldn't have been so close to achieving the lift and either out of necessity or gravity, would've dropped or flung the bar out of the way as he flailed to the ground.) But as it was his lift was a pinch away from success, so he held onto the bar as his balance slowly shifted backwards; and then there was nothing to do. It was the most graceful injury one could imagine with a movement so forceful; in fact, I initially thought he had come out of it unscathed.

Sorry it's broken, Glenn; get better soon and get back in here doing more cleans with us.

Thank you for the praise. That is a good lead into what Mike had asked (maybe saying something about "lessons learned").
I really do think good form is important. It is far more important to me than weight. I am ok with myself if I never clean 200lbs. But when I do clean, or jerk, etc i want it to be in good form. I feel a need to correct past body issues so that I can have the best future (i can't be the best husband, father, employee, etc if I'm constantly ill, or injured, or out of shape).
Now while that is utterly true, that part that is embarrassingly true as well (especially in light of the above praise) is that I was scared of the lift. I had done 135 before, but it took a few attempts. That day I got 135 fairly readily, but going to 155 (about my own body weight was new. I pulled it up once, but didn't even try to get under it. Coach Fauer told me that I had lifted it high enough to get under it and that I just needed to be sure I tried to get it as high as I could. So, when I next attempted it I gave the initial lift "everything" (actually over compensating a little - as I was slightly off balance, although its true I was very close to the balance point), but then, in my squat, I felt off and essentially gave up instead of fighting to stick it.
So, I think the proximate cause was an unaknowleged fear that caused me both to overcompensate (the initial breakdown of form) and to give up before I perhaps should have. So, I'll have to deal with where that's coming from to engage the lift with equinimity in the future rather than irrational "brute force".
Now, the immediate cause of the injury was also important. As I fell back I had time to think. I knew there was plenty of room under the bar so I wasn't afraid of this part. But, then (I think) instinct kicked in and I lowered my elbows to brace the fall. That put put my elbows between the bar and the ground rather than in the "elbows out" high rack position.
So, the second lesson for me is the need to have a better of sense of when to go with ones instincts and when to counter ones instincts. I think part of what makes a good athlete is exactly that.

So, the "overall" lesson for me is that self awareness is critical, and really a critical part of form and ones general progress toward optimal fitness.

Also, though maybe not a lesson learned, but a question that arrises. If I realize I have some sort of fear of a given lift (or over-confidence, or mechanical difficulty, etc) what do I do about? How do I address what i find if I am adequately self-reflexive?

whoooooaaaa....i didn't realize that is how it happened. i thought it just hyper extended them, not crushed them because they were vertical. arg.

i think i would disagree with giving up too early/not fighting for the lift. in my experience, bailing early is important--you can always try the lift again. there is so much finesse involved with these lifts, i figure if i don't get it right off the bat, i'm probably not going to get it anyways (and keep good form).

about the being anxious part, good question. i think there is always some trepidation about lifting heavier than you have ever lifted before. i just try to focus on having good form, and if i lift it i lift it, and if i can't, i fail. i'm not sure that is the right approach, though.

Good points to consider people. Glenn, the psychology of what I've recently read described as "the glass ceiling" is interesting. I'll scratch around to see if I can find the article. Here's an article- l long one- but this isn't the one i was thinking of:

http://www.theironsamurai.com/2011/05/03/the-odd-couple-how-to-combine-crossfit-and-olympic-weightlifting/

here's another quick one
: http://www.crossfitintrepid.com/2011/08/05/rabbit-chasing/

I see the Oklahoma State offseason is in full swing.

http://newsok.com/man-charged-with-having-sex-with-horse-at-oklahoma-equine-center/article/3642787

BS: 240
BP: 165

BS: 215

BP: 205

My legs were scorched from yesterday.

205

205

BS 210
BP 205

No scorched legs here, picking cherries helps that.

Bs. 285
Bp 210

BP 240
BS 245

I don't like my legs getting ahead of my chest.