Sometimes the best way to move forward is to take a step back.  This is exactly what I am doing with my training.  I have shifted emphasis to traditional (jerks and snatch) rather than long cycle.  I try to keep things fresh and if you read the "checking the boxes" entry and the "man in the mirror" entry you understand what I am doing here.  Rather than simply going through the motions and trying to improve the numbers by sheer repetition, I am using a different strategy.  My weak area has always been my rack and my lockouts.  I can focus on both better with jerks rather than long cycle.  I am probably never going to have an ideal rack because of anatomical and flexibility issues and let's face it, even with my modified side rack my quads still were not completely relaxed between reps.  I fixed this watching the video of Valery's coach.  He used his technique to get up to 100 reps in the jerk.  I may never get that far but over the past week I have made it work for me.  I am using the 24s and 28s to get the technique grooved and I should be back to the 32s in a week or two.  Snatches are a whole other story.  I am making some progress but they are tough, really tough on my hands but I am also back to doing swings which are a great assistance drill plus I am having fun.  Every day it seems like I am learning something new and constantly reviewing technique.  In this regard my sessions are more of a practice than a work out.  Sure I am tired at the end and I do feel like I worked but during the session there is an additional element of mindfulness that had been missing for a while.  It is a lot of fun actually.  Now I find myself looking forward to training instead of dreading it like I had been doing for the past month or so. 

Speaking of having fun, check out John Buckley putting his RFP 61 shirt to good use.  Way to represent.  Those tires are heavy.  Heavier than any of those monster bells I have been making lately.  Also check out the yellow cake in the background.  I have no idea what that is doing there but i am sure there is a good story.  Rumor has it John grew up in house made of yellow cake, (when mixed with water it is kind of like adobe) this altered his genetics making him freakishly strong.  It is also worth noticing that John ripped the front bumper off of the car in the background when he found out that those big tires wouldn't fit on it.