On missed reps

Hang snatch: 70% x 3 x 3
Front squat: 70% x 3 x 3
Push-press (in front): 70% x 5 x 3
Snatch pull: 85% x 5 x 3

One of many successful lifts in Michelle's first sanctioned meet!

Missed reps: in training and in competition, they happen, but how we deal with them can have a big impact on our success in subsequent training and especially in meets. We can't be perfect all the time, and as we push ourselves more and more and try to iron kinks out there are bound to be some missed snatches and clean and jerks.

There are really two issues at play. One is the psychological impact that missed reps can have on us. It sucks to miss lifts, and it's easy to feel like we've somehow failed when we miss. But this is really not the case: we just made a mistake. This could be due to the fact that we are pushing ourselves to the limits of our strength and abilities, or that we tried something new or are trying to fix some technical detail. In either case, we didn't outright fail. We just missed it. This is exactly why I am using the language "missed" reps rather than "failed" reps.

The other issue at play is training volume. When I prescribe a set number of reps for a workout, it is by careful design. That's how many reps I want performed that day, and that's it! No more, no less. Does a snatch count as a rep? Yes. Does a snatch pull count as a rep? Yes. So, if you attempt a snatch, and miss the recovery, you just performed a snatch pull, and that has an effect on your body. What then happens if you miss a snatch, get frustrated, and decide you're going to take it again, but you miss it a second time? Now you're even more frustrated, emotionally distraught, and likely to pull that sucker at least one more time to try to get it, but you've already added another rep to the training, and here comes another one. It doesn't take much imagination to see how this can snowball out of control. This exact situation has happened to me personally on more than one occasion!

So how do we deal with this? Count your misses as part of the set, note them in your training log (remember that training log you started yesterday?!), and move on to the next prescribed rep. On the competition platform, one attempt is one attempt. There is no second chance at an attempt (yes, you get three attempts at the snatch and three at the clean and jerk, but there are no do-overs for each attempt): if you miss, you miss, move on to the next one. I'm a believer in the school of thought that you should practice like you play. This means that when I write 70% x 3 x 3, I mean three sets of triple attempts. If you miss the second rep of the triple, don't keep trying that second attempt before moving on to the third attempt, trying to three (out of four or five or six or whatever attempts) completed lifts each set. Just acknowledge the miss, learn from your mistake, and fix it on the next one!