36/36 vo2 max protocol x 2

Two sessions to write about today, one relatively easy the other moderately tough, both interesting. I have done the following based on what information I have gathered from various internet sources, mainly Dragondoor.com
The 36/36 (15/15) protocol was developed by Kenneth Jay and comes in two forms. 15/15 and 36/36. This is all based around snatching and involves in the case of the latter 36 seconds snatching on the left followed by 36 seconds rest and then 36 seconds snatching on the right again followed by 36 seconds rest (1:1 WORK/REST RATIO) This is then repeated for a set amount of rounds usually 10-20.(I believe one round is one work period and one rest period as opposed to a left arm and right arm work period)

The first thing you have to do is to establish at what snatch cadence you come the closest to eliciting your VO2max. This is done by doing an incremental test that lasts 6 minutes. Basically you just start out slow and for each minute you increase the cadence. When you have get to the 6th minute you go all out snatching as many times as you can without stopping for at least one minute. The test might look like this but is subject to individual differences:

1st minute: 10 reps left arm
2nd minute: 12 reps right arm
3rd minute 15 reps left arm
4th minute: 17 reps right arm
5th minute: 18 reps left arm
6th minute: 26 reps right arm (all out effort)

The 6th minute reflects your VO2max cadence, hence that will be your interval training tempo. It is very important for the protocol that you continued snatching for the entire 6th minute. (make sure afterwards you balance out the numbers of snatches performed on each side so each side get a total equal amount of work).

My result was 27 repetitions. You then take 60% of this figure and use that as your cadence throughout the test. In my case this was 16.

My first attempt at the 36/36 test was with a 16kg bell. The amount of sets I achieved was way above what I was supposed to do simply because I was in the zone and enjoying myself. I achieved a total of 50 rounds totalling 800 repetitions. This took me one hour to complete. My average heart rate was 139 and I peaked at 156. The total weight lifted was 12800kg.

My second attempt was with a 20kg bell. Once again, despite my expectations I achieved another 50 sets totalling 762 reps. This time my average heart rate was 154 and I peaked at 172. Total weight lifted was 15240kg.

I will attempt the 24kg bell next but will have to bring the total volume of work down.

Doing this amount of reps would normally be very hard on the hands but I didn’t have an issue with the 16kg bell. With the 20kg bell I chose to fine tune the technique of dropping the bell down into the fingers for the descent. This is the beauty of multi rep snatching, it enables you to really fine tune your technique. Dropping the bell down into your fingers prevents the pinching of any calluses you may have on your palm area. You basically give the bell a bit of a push out on the descent and catch it on the fingers therefore just clearing the palm. It takes a bit of practice but you get plenty of that with this method. Toward the end of the 20kg 36/36 test I was actually getting issues with my fingers blistering and therefore had to resort to the cut off sock method. This is just a short sock with the toe section cut. I just slip this over my palm area. I enables the bell to rotate freely in the palm whilst still having a good grip on the bell due to your fingers being exposed.

I am now quite proud of my snatching technique. Once the bell is driven up through my hips it feels weightless until the point where I catch it at the top of the movement. I now lean back more on the descent to minimise the outward arc and smooth out the transition on the bottom part of the movement.

I will post the results of the 24kg test as soon as I have done it.