I had to follow through on one of my own principles today. Some of my snatch work led me up to maximal singles off the blocks. I missed twice at 128. Both misses were extremely close but were beginning to be an issue of strength and less technical inefficiency. I tried to lift it again and it confirmed my feeling. At this point I could go one of two ways. I could continue to try and make the lift despite the fatigue and weakness beginning to set in. Maybe I would’ve made it. Maybe. The likelihood was decreasing with every attempt however. My other option was to drop down 5% or so and complete a couple reps there at a lighter weight. I don’t like ending on misses and so either way I was going to make some lift before I moved on. The question is, do I risk creating bad habits with the heavyweight for the sake developing some confidence at that load or do I drop the weight for the sake of developing good technical habits and lose the chance of making the snatch at the heavier load?
I chose the latter. After a couple missed the camps I knew that on the off chance that I did make a lift it wouldn’t be because of technical proficiency but because of luck and/or the bar just landing in the right place one time. Instead I dropped down to 120 and made a couple singles there to reinforce some good habits. That decision was extremely hard for me as every fiber in my body wanted to make that 128. However, for the sake of this entire week’s training and to leave me a little hungry for next time, I chose the smarter option. This will not always be the case for my training but for today it made the most sense. I would commend each of you to consider both options equally in your training. Don’t always choose one option over the other. Make the wise choice depending on the situation and don’t let anyone tell you that one or the other is always the best option. Some days it’s in your best interest to go after that heavy weight despite multiple misses. Those days are rare but do happen. Other days it makes the most sense to drop the weight, make the reps, and gain technical precision to be used at heavy loads down the road. Be wise. Make the right choice.