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 4 – 11/11/2013
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 4 – 11/11/2013
Monday: Snatch Day
Back to snatches today. I’m not sure if I’m relieved or just thankful it’s not clean and jerks. I added 5kg to each of the exercises I did as compared to the week before.
- Speed snatch: 35kgx6x2 sets – then I made the big jump to:
- 45kgx6x2 sets
- Power snatch from the hang with a three-second hold: 45kgx6x2 sets
- 55kgx6x2 sets.
- Power snatch from the floor: 55kgx6x2 sets – my breath was a bit labored, but I knew that was going to happen. It wasn’t as bad as last week’s effort with 50kg.
- 65kgx6x2 sets – the weight was moving well and the only thing giving me a challenge was the fitness side of the equation. From here I decided to make a 5kg jump for a single which was very easy.
- 75kg – the same result. I made this jump because I knew next week I will have to do sets of six, and I was getting my brain ready for the extra effort.
Next came the part of the workout I hate most: overhead squats. The thing I hate most about this part is all the snap, crackle, and pop my body goes through when I do them. I decided to do the same thing as last week, which was sets of six with 20kg, 30kg, 40kg, and 50kg.
Tuesday: Upper Body
My shoulders were a little bit stiffer than last week, which was a disappointment, but mom said there would be days like that. The fitness side of the effort was much better, but the stickiness of the shoulder joints kept me using the same weights as last week.
Wednesday: Back Squats
I was looking forward to seeing if the groin was loosening up. The warmup was the best I’ve had since I started back. My adductors felt okay, so I was crossing my fingers. The warmup with the empty bar was going just ducky, so I was optimistic.
I got to the 80kg with no pain, same as last week, so I carefully considered my options and moved to 95kg. That felt great as well – same result as 80kg. My next big decision was whether or not to go up to 105, and I did. I felt a little bit of discomfort, but I thought I could progress through the 4×6 sets routine. I was just able to get the work done when spasm set in. No speed or stop squats for the second week, but still a victory anyway.
Thursday: Clean and Jerk
Speed cleans today. I used the same strategy as snatch day with the additional 5kg.
- Speed clean: 55kg6x2 sets
- 65x6x2 sets.
- Power clean from hang: 65x6x2 sets
- 75kg x6x2 sets – my poor fitness was rearing its ugly head and I could hardly wait until power cleans from the floor, when the fitness is essential.
- Power clean from floor: 75kgx6x2 sets – not bad
- 85x6x1 set – went better than I thought it would.
- 90kg x6x1 set – The first few reps went well but I got very sloppy very fast for the final three. Once again, fitness was the culprit.
Friday: Fitness Day
Usually we progress slowly on Fridays, but today was the legendary Doug Sinclair’s birthday. When there’s a birthday on fitness day, we do in time the age of the person. Doug was turning 71. I limped out last week at 40, so figured I’d better pace myself. The inevitable result: I was trashed. What a time for Doug to turn 71.
Saturday
No Saturday session for this boy. I was still dizzy and dehydrated from the exertion from Friday. I will start to have to add Saturdays soon, though.
Sunday
I always look forward to Sunday’s workouts. It’s the time I can assess how I fared from the week’s work. I always do front squats so I can evaluate fitness and my other physical limitations.
Today’s plan was 90kg for six, four, and two stop squats. If I felt good, the plan was to do three circuits, if not two. The weight felt heavy but I stood up easily. After the second set of two stop squats I decided to do three circuits. It didn’t go too bad, but now my legs feel like they were in a battle. The groin got a little twitchy again so I backed off doing any speed or stops.
A good week overall – not great but solid. If I keep this up I will have to say I’m training instead of working out.
Until next time!
