EDITOR’S NOTE: Welcome to the athlete journal of Terry Hadlow. Terry got started in Olympic weightlifting in 1970 and is the only Canadian to have competed in senior nationals in five different decades – 1970s, 1980s, 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s. Follow Terry’s journal here to learn about his approach to training and competing.
Athlete Journal Entry 17 – 2/17/2014
Monday
This Monday I decided to return to snatch loading as the week’s first workout. I took a long, deliberate warm up – so much so that it ate into my lifting time. I still wanted to get some quality lifting in, so I went quickly between the warm up sets. The first wave of work starting with 40kg was a pull, power snatch, snatch, pull, and snatch. Each weight was done for two sets starting with the 40kg, then jumping 10kg until I ended at 90kg. My last two sets of 95kg were done as a pull, power snatch, and snatch. I managed to get all my work in, which must mean my fitness is improving.
Tuesday
Tuesday was a day off, as my work schedule was far too busy to let me get in a training session.
Wednesday
Wednesday was the usual back squat day. I didn’t take as long with the warm up as on Monday because I felt pretty good right from the start. One of the things that is so interesting as I age is sometimes I feel like a million bucks, and the next day (more often than I like) I feel like I’ve been beaten with a bat, even if I did very little work the day before. But I always start with the empty bar, even when I feel great.
- Back Squat: 70kg x 6 x 2
- 100kg x 6
- 130kg x 6 x 2
- 150 x 4 x 2 – with the last rep of the second set, I took a three-second stop squat. It was hard, but steady.
Since I missed my upper body workout on Tuesday and knew that I wouldn’t be able to make it to the gym the next day, I decided to add in a second session. I did the upper body day, but switched barbell to dumbbell inclines. My last four sets were done with 60kg behind neck press, 65lbs dumbbell inclines, narrow pulls with 160lbs, and curls with 40lbs.
Friday: Circuit Day
Friday was a long circuit for fifty minutes. It went as smoothly as I expected. The thing about Friday’s workout is that I hate it while I’m doing it, but once I’m done it’s the greatest feeling – the only reason I keep coming back for more.
Sunday: Front Squat
Sunday was my first front squat workout for this phase, and my legs were raring to go. My warm up went well and the first test weight with 70kg and didn’t feel much heavier than the bar. 100kg was my next weight and it went well. My confidence grew, so I moved to 120kg for three waves of 5/3/1 stop squat. Even though the weights moved well, after my second stop squat I was seeing stars for the rest of the workout. It took about an hour after my session for my head to clear. Hopefully there’s no long term damage.
