Everybody has their trials and tribulation stories of traveling. Mine are no different. So we won’t bother expanding on that.

I finally arrived in Copenhagen for the 2014 Worlds Masters Olympic Weightlifting Championships. Saturday morning I woke up and I was stiff as a board. So off to the training center I went. Morning workout was what I call a simple circuit, a series of exercises that work the joints from shoulders to knees, putting the body through a large range of movement and trying to get some of that stiffness out. Ah, by the end of my forty minutes I was feeling pretty good.

While I was doing my simple circuit, I watched flabbergasted as these larger fit-looking guys struggled with 60kg front squats. They left the bar on the rack loaded (if I can use that term) with 60kg. I decided that since I was feeling so good I would do a few front squats. I picked the bar up and thought, “My God this is light, what the heck were they struggling with this for?”

I did a quick set of six, jumped to 80kg for another set of six, 100kg for another set of six, and the weights were moving very comfortably. I put on 110kg for another set of easy six, then jumped to 120kg and did a set of three stop squats. I was quite excited, thinking maybe by Wednesday I would be really ready to roll. My groin was not doing too bad, and I didn’t feel any discomfort at all during the session. I kept my compression bandage on my wrist, and although it was a little cranky, under the circumstances is wasn’t too bad.

The next training session was the next day, and I thought I would start off with clean and jerks. I grabbed the bar that I used doing front squats, only to discover that it was a 10kg bar and not a 20kg. All of a sudden yesterday’s workout was not so exciting. I played around with 80kg and 90kg power clean and jerks and left the session a little bit more discouraged than I would have liked.

The Pee Bug Strikes

I got back to my hotel room and I got hit by the “pee bug.” Every half hour for the next sixteen hours I had to pee anywhere between 700mL and a liter. I know this because I measured it. I watched myself shrivel up. I felt like a prune. I tried to hydrate during this process, but by the time it was over I was down to under 80kg, which was quite a drop since Saturday I weighed in at almost 85kg. Same thing happened to me in Poland 2010. Maybe I am allergic to traveling to Europe.

I could barely do anything for the next two days, so I worked on eating and hydrating. It worked, and I weighed myself at the end of every day and I was up almost a kilogram. Tuesday I weighed in at about 82.5kg, so I decided to do a workout. I started with snatch, hanging around with 40kg, working my way up slowly, and finally doing a set in combination with hang and floor with 90kg for three sets. It didn’t feel bad, especially from the hang, so I did clean and jerks at 60kg, 80kg, and 100kg. That was followed by power clean and jerk two times with each weight, moving to 110kg. I finished with two sets each of power clean, front squat, and jerk. Again, it didn’t feel too bad under the circumstances.

Competition Day

Wednesday was the competition. My wrist was a little tender from the previous day’s workout, so I got the medical staff to tape it up. The medical staff at the masters was second to none. Warm up went very well. I was using a strap, which I normally never do, but the bars on my tender little hands would shred them if I didn’t.

I warmed up at 90kg for a power snatch from the hang, then I cranked my wrist bad during a power snatch from the floor. It took me about five minutes to shake it off. I jumped to 95kg and repeated. I didn’t feel my wrist at all on the set and took 100kg for a power snatch from the hang and power snatch from the floor. It went very well.

I was a little cocky on my first attempt snatch at 100kg because of my last set in the warm up, and didn’t finish my extension or overhead movement with authority. A miss. Second attempt, 100kg, was a fairly strong high pull. It snapped easily into the lockout, no problem. Took 109kg as a third – a bit ambitious, but what the heck. I pulled okay, but hit the bottom position really hard, dropping the bar out front. I think I did my groin in.

During the warm ups for clean and jerks, I realized I was right. I couldn’t stand up with 40kg as my groin was in spasm. I decided to power clean all my attempts. Took 60kg, 80kg, and 100kg in the warm up room on the power clean and jerk. I had initially put 120kg as a starter, but I dropped it to 115kg, which went easy. 120kg was the same. I took 125kg and it was an easy power clean, but the platform was a little off and I jammed my back leg into a seam, twisted my ankle, and dropped the weight out front. 220kg total.

It was very disappointing. I placed second but should have been in a position to challenge for the lead. Joffrey only totaled 230kg to win but did make a strong effort in the clean and jerk with 137kg.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post The 2014 Worlds Masters Weightlifting Championships (Athlete Journal 53) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Monday

I found myself very sluggish during the warm up and cut back on my upper body routine, using very light weights.

Tuesday

I went to work clean and jerks to see how things would go. I started with four speed cleans and a jerk for two sets with 50kg and 70kg. I switched to four power cleans from the hang plus a jerk, two sets each with 70kg and 90kg. Then it was on to power clean from the floor, dropping back down to 50kg for a set of five, 70kg for a set of five, 90kg for a set of five, and 110kg for two sets of five. Felt pretty good.

The last exercise was the clean pull, doing 150kg for two sets of five. Since going back to the physio my wrist feels okay, though it is a little more tender than I would have expected.

Wednesday

My wrist was a little sore so I decided to do a clean workout again.

Speed cleans:

• 70kg, 80kg, 90kg, and 100kg for a set of five each

Power clean from the floor:

• 70kg for 3
• 90kg for 3
• 100kg for a set of 2

These were easy. I did some overhead presses – four sets of six with 145lb. Again, they were very, very easy. Oh no, that optimism is creeping back in.

Thursday

A little upper body, same as Monday.

Friday: Circuit Day

The long circuit is forty minutes for rest week. I worked hard at pushing it, getting a few extra reps out of each station that I wouldn’t normally. This made the session hard but very satisfying.

Saturday: Snatch

It was time to put that wrist to the test.

Speed snatch:

• 40kg and 50kg for 2 sets of 5
• 60kg, 70kg, and 80kg each for 1 set of 5

Power snatch from the hang:

• 50kg, 70kg, and 80kg for sets of 5

Power snatch from the floor:

• 50kg and 70kg for 5
• 80kg for a set of 5 – Missed the fifth rep.
• 83kg for a set of 5 – Made all five reps, even the last one quite comfortably. Wrist had no problem. Things are looking up.

Snatch pull:

• 123kg for a set of 5, 4, 3 and 2 slow pulls

Sunday: Cleans and Front Squats

After a long warm up everything felt good. I started with 20kg, then jumped to 50kg, doing both those weights for two sets with six front squats in each. I jumped to 80kg and 100kg both with a clean and four front squats. I planned on doing 120kg for four sets of one clean and four front squats.

On the first set, the clean was easy and the first two front squats comfortable. On the third rep it was quite obvious I was reinjuring my right groin. Where did that come from?

I took the empty bar, tried to do a few front squats, and couldn’t even stand up with it. How aggravating is that? I did some power cleans at 100kg for a set of three, 110kg for a set of two, and 120kg like a toy. Man, oh man, am I ever gonna catch a break?

Monday

I spent my time stretching out my groin and doing an extended warm up. Mobility was slowly creeping in.

Tuesday

I did some snatch work to see how my wrist was feeling.

Speed snatch:

• 40kg for 2 sets of 5
• 50kg, 60kg, 70kg, 80kg, and 85kg, all for sets of 5 – I hadn’t speed snatched 85kg for at least six months, so things seemed to be going my way, unlike Sunday.

Power snatch from the floor:

• 40kg, 50kg, 60kg, 70kg, 80kg, and 86kg for 5 reps – My wrist was not even in the equation anymore.

Clean pulls:

• 152kg for 5,4,3, and 2 slow pulls

This was my last heavy snatch workout before the competition. I will try to get a few heavy singles in when I am in Copenhagen for the Masters tournament later this week.

Wednesday

Stretching and warm ups were feeling pretty good. The groin was starting to come along, so I was gaining confidence.

This was my last day of work and all the students in my program were doing squat testing. One of the students was testing out at 165kg. Unfortunately he got stuck in the bottom and I had to pull off the weight. While doing that, I heard a loud crack. I got the weight to the rack, looked down at my wrist, and right before my eyes it was turning into a balloon. Since this is a family show, I cannot print the words that were coming out of my mouth. I will leave it at that.

Thursday

Traveling to Copenhagen. What a nightmare that was.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post Off to Copenhagen (Athlete Journal 52) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

I started the week with an upper body circuit. I used 130lb for military presses, 140lb for inclines, 150lb for narrow grip pulls, and 35lb for curls. I did four circuits.

Tuesday

Back to clean and jerks and the combos. I did a combination of power cleans and clean and jerk, starting with 50kg, 70kg, and 90kg for two sets with that combination. I jumped to 110kg for one set and then 120kg for four sets, finishing off with clean and jerk with 125kg. On the first set I missed the jerk, and on the second set, missed the clean as I pulled it out a little too far in front. On the third set, I made the clean and jerk.

Wednesday: Back Squats

My legs were a little tired, but no discomfort anywhere during warm up. Started with 20kg for a solid two sets of six. I jumped to 70kg for two sets of six reps, then on to 100kg and 120kg for one set each. I finished off with 140kg for two sets of six, a set of four, and a set of two stop squats. The two stop squats were quite comfortable.

I’m starting to get confidence back in my leg strength. I did speed squats to test my groin, with two sets of ten reps. I had absolutely no problem and did them quite easily. It’s a good day. Yay, me!

Thursday: Physiotherapy

I worked my wrist, and was feeling fairly comfortable. There was no swelling, and the scaphoid has disappeared back into my wrist. I spent Thursday evening doing my warm up protocol.

Friday: Circuit Day

Sixty minutes, 35 minutes on, 25 minutes off. This was very hard – no, it was really hard. Did I tell you how hard it was? Again, the wrist and groin felt pretty good, even though it was really, really hard.

Saturday

I did my warm up routine but tweaked my right glute, so decided I was going to spend the rest of the time trying to settle that down.

Sunday: Snatch

My right glute was still a little tender, but I decided I was going to try and do some snatch work. I wanted to see if I could make adjustments to accommodate some level of work. I started off with snatch pulls, power snatch, and snatch, doing two sets with 30kg and two sets with 35kg and 50kg. From 60kg, I took 5kg jumps all the way to 90kg.

My glute felt okay in the pull and power snatch, but it was a little tender at the bottom position of each full snatch. I don’t think it was too serious. Finished off with snatch pull, 110kg for two sets of five, then power snatch at 75kg and 80kg for a set of five to finish. I was pretty tired.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post Regaining My Confidence (Athlete Journal 51) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

My hand was still in bad shape, so Sunday was a repeat of Saturday.

Monday

The swelling was starting to come down and mobility was returning to my wrist. I spent a lot of time in massage, working on my forearm and hoping this would clear up the swelling.

Tuesday

I was finally able to do something half decent. My body felt pretty good since I had a lot of rest. I decided to do work with speed cleans.

Speed Clean

• 50kg for 2 sets of 5
• 70kg for 2 sets of 5

Power Clean From the Hang

• 70kg for 2 sets of 5
• 90kg for 2 sets of 5

Power Clean From the Floor

• 90kg for 2 sets of 5
• 110kg for 2 sets of 5

My pull felt strong so I switched to clean pull at 153kg for two sets of five.

Wednesday: Front Squats

My workout was early in the morning because it was the only time I could get it in.

Front Squat:

• 40kg for 1 set of 5
• 63kg for 1 set of 5
• 78kg for 1 set of 5
• 105kg for 1 set of 5
• 130kg for 3 sets of 3 and 1 set of 1 stop squats

I sat down in my chair and took a hard look at the weights. Having used a combination of kilogram and pound plates, I discovered my 130kg was actually 136kg. No wonder it felt so damn heavy. I was a little relieved I was able to do those weights.

I switched to speed squats and one set of ten with 180lb. On the tenth rep, I felt my groin let go. It was like somebody undid a zipper really fast.

Thursday

Back to some snatch work. My groin was very tender and my wrist very sore.

Muscle Snatch

• 50kg for 2 sets of 6

Speed Snatch

• 55kg for 2 sets of 5
• 75kg for 2 sets of 5

Pull and Power Snatch From the Floor

• 55kg for 1 pull and 3 snatches
• 75kg for 1 pull and 3 snatches
• 80kg for 1 pull and 3 snatches

Everything felt terrible. My groin was on fire and left wrist was throbbing. Finished with some snatch pulls at 120kg for two sets of five, then lowered the weight to 80kg and pulled two sets of five as high as I could.

My body was toast. I spent the afternoon in physio, hoping that they would do a better job than the last time. Didn’t seem to have any alternatives.

I am going to take some time off. I’m just not able to get any quality work in, and fooling around in the gym with light weights is incredibly aggravating.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post My Body Is Toast (Athlete Journal 50) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

My body weight was solid at 187lbs. My program had me doing snatch work, starting with pulls off the blocks and the bar at knee height. I was pulling to just underneath my chin.

Snatch Pull Off the Blocks:

• 40kg for 2 sets of 6
• 70kg for 2 sets of 5
• 90kg for 2 sets of 4

Power Snatch Off the Blocks:

• 50kg for 2 sets of 5
• 70kg for 2 sets of 5
• 80kg for 2 sets of 5

The second set of five was a little bit of a struggle, especially on the last two reps. I got rid of the blocks and did pull, power snatch, and snatch starting with 40kg with one rep of each, along with 50kg, 60kg, 70kg, and 80kg. I stayed at 90kg and did four sets. I missed the snatch on the first three sets, finally making it on the fourth set. I jumped to 95kg and did one pull and one snatch, then finished up with 80kg for one pull and three power snatches.

Monday: Back Squats

I took a long time to warm up, and I spent considerable time caressing the empty bar. Finally I felt ready to move up.

Back Squat:

• 70kg for 2 sets of 5
• 110kg for 2 sets of 5
• 130kg for 2 sets of 5
• 150kg for 2 sets of 3

They weren’t hard, but there was no way I could have done two sets of five, so I pulled back to sets of three.

Tuesday

Today was just a little bit of upper body work, doing inclines, presses, and curls.

Wednesday

My legs were feeling a little uncomfortable. Warming up was a slow tedious task, doing speed snatch with the empty bar. I was finally able to move to some weight.

Speed Snatch:

• 50kg for 2 sets of 5
• 70kg for 2 sets of 5

Power Snatch From the Floor:

• 50kg for 2 sets of 5
• 60kg for a set of three
• 70kg for a set of three
• 80kg for a tough set of 2
• 85kg for another tough set of 2
• 90kg for a really tough 4 sets of 2
• 95kg for 1 – My wrist was tender and I wondered if this thing will ever settle down.

Snatch Pulls:

• 50kg for 2 sets of 5

Thursday: Front Squats

The warm up didn’t feel bad, but my legs were very tired.

Front Squat:

• 70kg for 2 sets of 5
• 100kg for 4 sets of 5

The last set felt half decent. In the afternoon I went to my first physio appointment and worked on mobilizing the wrist joint. It felt better, but will see what happens the next day.

Friday

I woke up and my wrist looked like Dr. McCoy injected me with the vaccine for the Melvaran mud fleas, and my hand swelled up like a balloon. Waiting patiently to be able to use my hand. Hence no long circuit today.

Saturday

Hand still in rough shape.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post An Eventful Trip to the Physio (Athlete Journal 49) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Saturday

I took my time with my warm up. I was doing power work today and hoped everything would be fine.

• Speed clean, power clean from floor plus jerk: 55kg for 2×3+1+1, 75kg for 2×3+1+1, 95kg for 2×3+1+1
• Power clean from hang plus power clean from the floor plus jerk: 55kg for 2×3+1+1, 75kg for 2×3+1+1, 95kg for 2×3+1+1
• Power clean from the floor, clean, 2 front squats and a jerk: 55kg 1+1+2+1, 75kg 1+1+2+1, 95kg 1+1+2+1, 105kg 1+2+1

My groin was way too sore, so I discontinued the clean portion of this series and switched to power clean from the floor with a jerk at 110kg. I did four power cleans and a jerk. On the first set I missed the jerk – how ugly is that? – and the second set was way worse. I thought the workout was ending, but my conscience was bothering me, so I finished with clean pulls – 145kg 2×5, with the last rep of the second set being a slow pull.

Sunday

I had to repeat Saturday’s workout, hoping it’s not the same disaster. 

• Speed clean and jerk 5 plus 1: 60kg 2×5+1, 90kg 2×5+1, 100kg 3+1, 100kg 4+1
• Power clean from the floor plus jerk: 90kg 2×5+1, 100kg 3+1, 100kg 4+1

I was going to give my groin a second chance as it felt much better than yesterday. Next exercise was one power clean, five front squats, and a jerk at 100kg for 2×1+5+1, then 110 kg 2×1+5+1. It’s amazing what a difference one day takes. The only problem was my blood sugar levels crashing. Must eat better in morning.

Monday – No Workout

Tuesday – Back Squats

After a long warm-up my groin was a little touchy, but I was still trying to get some work done. 

• Back squat: 70kg for 2×6, 100kg for 4×6 – Absolutely no pain – felt great.
• 130kg for 1×6 – A little bit of discomfort.
• 140kg for 1×6 – A lot of discomfort.

I finished off with one set of speed squats with 90kg. The weight felt light, but my groin felt sticky.

Wednesday – Stretch and Massage

Thursday – Front Squats

The warm up felt great with 20kg. I jumped to 70kg and it still felt great. I jumped to 100kg and it was still feeling great. The gods must be with me! I moved up to 118kg for six reps, 123kg for four reps, and 123kg for two stop squats. It felt so good I jumped to 133kg for an easy set of two reps and then 138kg for another set of two. I am always amazed what I am capable of doing when I do not hurt.

Friday – Long Circuit

Sixty minutes at 35 seconds work with 25 seconds rest between stations. This was tough but work was steady. I actually enjoyed it. Must be that pain thing.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post No Pain, No Gain (Athlete Journal 38) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Saturday

Snatch work from the blocks. I did pulls from various positions to give my wrist a break. 

• Bar on blocks at knee height: 40 kg for 2 sets of 5 reps
• 50kg for 2 sets of 5
• 60kg for 2 sets of 5

I was working on as high of extension as possible, with each rep hitting just under my chin with my elbows pointed to the ceiling. Next exercise was snatch pulls from the floor with 120kg for two sets of five reps.

Sunday – Back squats

It took a long time to warm up. I took 20kg for what seemed like an infinite number of sets.

• Back squat: 70kg for 2 sets of 5 reps
• 100 kg for 1×5
• 120 kg for 4×5

As luck would have it, my right groin reared its ugly head, eliminating any opportunity for speed squats. That’s alright, I decided to do presses instead, alternating back and forth doing 40kg for 2×12 and 50kg for 2×12.

Monday

My wrist did not seem to be bothered by clean and jerks, so I decided to stick with what was planned. Warm up went smoothly, so things felt good even after yesterday’s back squats.

• Speed cleans: 40 kg for 1×5
• 50kg for 2×5
• 70kg 2×5
• 90kg for 2×5

• Power clean from hang with jerk: 50kg for 2×4+1
• 70kg for 2×4+1
• 90kg for 2×4+1

• Power clean and jerk: 70kg 1+1
• 90kg 1+1
• 100kg 2×1+1
• 110kg 2×1+1
• 120kg 1+1

I finished off with clean pulls at 150kg for 2×5, with the last rep on the last set a slow pull.

Tuesday

Stretch and warm up session. Things were feeling generally good.

Wednesday

Back to snatch work. I wanted to see how my wrist felt by doing some overhead work. I started with pulls from the block with bar at knee height. Again, I was extending as high as possible, with elbows to the ceiling.

• Pulls from the block with bar at knee height: 50kg 2×5
• 70kg 2×5
• 90kg 2×5

• Power snatch from the blocks: 50kg 2×5

I decided I was going to assess discomfort after each set on the power snatch from the blocks. 50kg was certainly livable, so I jumped to 60kg for 2×5. I felt pain with 60kg, but no worse than 50kg, so I jumped to 70kg 2×5. My level of discomfort was accelerating.

• Power Snatch from the floor: 55kg for 2×5 – Pain was okay, so I made a few jumps.
• 65kg for 2×5
• 75kg for 1×5
• 80kg for 1×5. I should have never gone to 80kg – my wrist paid the price. 

The last exercise was snatch pull from the floor at 120kg 2×5, with the last rep of the second set a slow pull.

Thursday

Front squats today. Long, methodical warm up. My right groin was a little tender, so I decided to be extra cautious. 

20kg for 2×5 – see, I have no limits today!

70kg for 2×5

Stop Squats: 110kg for 1×7, 1×5, 1×3

My groin was way too sore to continue, so I decided I was packing it in.

Friday

Long circuit day. My wrist and groin were too sore, so I decided to pass. Really not a great week – things better improve.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post First Week of Prep for World Championships (Athlete Journal 37) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

One week until competition. My wrist was feeling not so bad today, and the lump was diminishing.

• Speed snatch: 50kg for 2 sets of 6
• Drop snatch: 50kg for 2 sets of 6
• Pull, power snatch, and snatch, all from the floor: 50kg for 2 sets of 2
• 70kg for 1 set
• 80kg for 1 set
• 90kg for 1 set
• 1 pull, 1 snatch: 100kg, 105kg

I missed the snatch on the third set, but made the jump to 106kg because my partner made the 105kg, and made it pretty well. I guess I needed a shot of motivation. I finished with two sets of four reps in the snatch pull at 110kg.

Monday

My wrist was not feeling too bad for clean and jerks today.

• Power clean, clean, a front squat, and a jerk: 50kg for 2 sets
• 70kg for 2 sets
• 90kg for 2 sets

I took 10kg jumps all the way up to 130kg and finished with a strong performance, making all four reps pretty well. It surprised me how well the jerks went up.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday I just did the minimum amount of work, as my schedule was way out of whack.

Saturday: Competition day

Today I competed in the PanAmerican championships. During my snatch warm up my left wrist reared its ugly head and smacked me in the chops. It felt like I had never done any type of Olympic movement in my life. All the warm ups were a struggle, right from the empty bar. I started with 95kg, then to my chagrin, I jumped to 100kg and missed miserably. The third attempt at 100kg was successful but ugly.

The warm up for the clean and jerks and felt way better. I started with 130kg, which was easy. There was a little miscommunication break down on my second attempt and I failed to get to the platform.

My third attempt was a world record 137kg. The clean was easy. I can remember every clean I’ve made over 135kg since 2008, and this was by far the easiest of any attempt. All I remember is starting the pull off the floor and standing there getting ready to jerk. All the rest just blurred past. Unfortunately, I failed miserably at the jerk and almost rolled my left ankle. Oh well, I still have the Worlds in September.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post PanAmerican Championships (Athlete Journal 36) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Today was speed snatch again, and my wrist was worse than last week. I tried to work my warm-up magic.

• Speed snatch: 45kg for 2 sets of 6
• Drop snatch: 45kg for 2 sets of 6
• Speed snatch and snatch: 45kg for 2 x 1 + 1 x 3, then the same with 65kg
• Power snatch from the floor with a snatch: 65kg 2 x 1 +1 x 3

From there I made a jump to 85kg and was barely able to hang on to the bar. My left wrist was just too sore for the overhead position. I switched to snatch pulls, doing 85kg, 105kg, and 115kg for three reps each set. It was a bit discouraging, because the weights didn’t feel that heavy.

Monday: Back Squats

• Back Squat: 70kg for 2 sets of 6
• Speed Squat: 110kg for 1 set of 6 speed squats
• Front Squat: 110kg for 1 set of 6
• Stop Squat: 110kg for 1 set of 6
• 140kg for 5 regular squats with a stop squat, for a total of 6 reps. I dropped back down to 110kg and did a set of ten speeds. I stopped there as the right groin was pulling a little.

Tuesday: Clean and Jerk

I started with a warm up, which felt okay and was a nice change of pace.

• 1 power clean, 1 clean, 3 front squats, and 1 jerk: 50kg
• 1 power clean, 1 clean, 3 front squats, and 1 jerk: 70kg
• 1 power clean, 1 clean, 3 front squats, and 1 jerk: 90kg
• 1 power clean, 1 clean and 2 front squats, and 1 jerk: 100kg
• 1 power clean, 1 clean and 2 front squats, and 1 jerk: 120kg
• 1 power clean, 1 clean, 1 front squat, and 1 jerk for 2 sets: 125kg

I was pretty psyched. My legs felt great and I stood up easily, but the jerk still needs a little work.

Wednesday: Upper Body

I decided I was going to try a little upper body. It didn’t take me long to bail, as my wrist was just way too sore.

Thursday

Thursday was a pull workout, since I was just not able to do any overhead movements because of my wrist.

• Snatch pulls from the hang: 60kg, 70kg, 80kg, 90kg for 5 reps each
• Pulls from the floor: 115kg for one set of 3, down to 60kg for 2 sets of 5 to get some flow
• 2 pulls, plus 1 slow pull: 60kg, 90kg, 115kg, 120kg, and 125kg

My legs were tired and my knee was sore.

Friday: Circuit Day

Today was a long circuit. Again the lazy man reared his ugly head and decided to do every second station for sixty minutes.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post Pushing My Limits (Athlete Journal 35) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

My left wrist was a little tender so I decided to take it very cautiously.

• Speed snatch: 40kg for 2 sets of 6 – I switched to overhead squats to see if that would help the wrist.
• Overhead squat: 40kg for 2 sets of 6
• Speed snatch and snatch combo: 40kg for 2 sets of 1 and 1 x3 for a total of 6 reps per set. Repeated with 60 kg.
• Power snatch and snatch from the floor: 60kg 2 x 1 + 1 x 3 for a total of 6 reps per set and 2 sets. Jumped to 80kg and repeated the rep sequence.
• Snatch pull and power snatch from the floor: 90 kg for a total of 3 reps, then jumped to 95kg again for 3 reps
• Snatch pulls: 120kg for 1 set of 5
• 120kg for a set of 3 and 2 slow pulls

Sunday

Stretching

Monday: Back Squat

Back squat:

• 70kg for 2 sets of 6
• 100 kg for a set of 6
• 130kg for 2 sets of 6
• 150kg for 2 sets of 6

These went very well and I was ecstatic. My legs were sending me some positive vibes. I dropped down to 100kg to do two sets of ten speed squats. The last three reps of each set were tired, but I was able to maintain good movement.

Tuesday

On Tuesday I had to suffer through an extraordinarily long workout, about twice as long as normal. My body was not moving or feeling very well. I guess that is what 150kg squats will do to you. I started with speed cleans, doing 40kg, 60kg, 80kg, and 100kg for sets of six. I switched to power clean from the floor doing 60kg, 80kg, 100kg, and 110kg for a set of six. I finished there, feeling fairly positive.

Wednesday

I did nothing today, and I think my body appreciated that.

Thursday: Front Squats

I wasn’t feeling well and I had front squats, so I decided I was going to try and struggle through it.

• 70kg for 2 sets of 5
• 110kg for a brutal set of 3
• 110kg for an ugly set of 5
• 135kg for a disgustingly heavy set of 3 reps

Get me out of here. Note to self: redo this workout on Monday.

Friday: Circuit Day

I did a long fifty-minute circuit. I decided I was taking the lazy man’s route and only did every second station.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post Be Nice to Your Body (Athlete Journal 34) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Speed snatch:

• 50kg for 2 sets of 5
• 70 for 1 set of 5
• 80 for 1 set of 5

The weights were starting to feel comfortable, but my right elbow was sore as hell again. I decided to continue, but I cut back on sets.

Power snatch from the hang:

• 50kg for 1 set of 5
• 70 for a set of 5
• 80 for a set of 5

Power snatch from the floor:

• 55kg for 1 set of 5
• 75 for 1 set of 5
• 85 for 1 set of 5

Full snatch:

• 90kg for 1 set of 3 – My elbow was just not working out, so I dropped down to 75kg and did a set of five. That was enough for me today.

Monday: Back Squats

Back squat:

• 70kg for 2 sets of 6
• 110 for 1 set of 6
• 140 for 4 sets of 6

My right groin survived, but just barely. I needed the service of Doug’s magic fingers to impale my iliacus.

Tuesday

Today was a quick upper body workout.

Inclines:

• 145lb for a set of 6
• 165 for a set of 6
• 185 for 2 sets of 6
• Dropped back down to 145lbs for a set of 10

I finished off with some beach weights for the biceps.

Wednesday: Power Clean and Jerk

My warm up was long and painful today. I had to spend a lot of time with the lighter weights.

Power clean and jerk:

• 40kg for 4 sets of 4 power cleans and 2 jerks
• 58 kg for 2 sets
• 65 for 2 sets
• 87 for 1 set
• 97 for 3 sets
• 107 for 1 set

The entire workout took a lot longer just because of the excess time in warm up.

Thursday: Front Squats

I was working in pounds because everyone stole the kilo weights. The warm up was much better than yesterday.

Front squat:

• 160lbs for a set of 6
• 255 for a set of 7, set of 5, and a set of 3 stop squats

No speed squats again. My groin was a little better than on Monday, but I was not quite confident enough to add the extra work.

Friday: Circuit Day

The long circuit was a nice slacker forty minutes. By the time I was done I felt like a million bucks. Hopefully it will pay off for Saturday’s workout.

Saturday: Clean and Jerk

Today was clean and jerk day. Warm up was the best it’s been for the past couple weeks.

Speed clean plus a clean:

• 50 kg for 2 sets
• 70 for one set
• 90 for one set

Second series of exercises was power clean, clean, front squat and jerk:

• 70kg for 1 power clean, 1 clean, and 3 front squats and a jerk.
• 100kg – I repeated that sequence, but for two sets.
• 120kg – power clean, clean, front squat, but I missed the jerk. Sloppy, sloppy, sloppy.

I decided to drop back down for power cleans.

Power clean:

• 100kg for 1 set of 6
• 110 for 1 set of 6

Clean pulls:

• 140kg for 2 sets of 5
• 150 for 1 set of 3
• 150 for 1 set of 2 and a slow pull

Monday: Back Squats

I was looking forward to this nice light day. I spent good quality time in my warm up. My legs were feeling okay and groin was not too bad.

Back squat:

• 110 for 3 sets of 6 – I pushed through this easily, so I become a little daring.
• 150 kg for 1 set of 4 – I was so confident in my groin, I added speed squats.

Speed squats:

• 100 kgs for 2 sets of 10

I walked away with a smile. It’s about damn time.

Wednesday: Snatch

Things weren’t feeling well. Must have done some damage on Monday. I worked on speed snatch after a long, perilous warm up.

Speed snatch:

• 62kg for 2 sets of 6
• 72 for 4 sets of 6
• 76 for 2 sets of 6
• 81 kg for 2 sets of 6

Better pack it in – I’ve got heavy front squats tomorrow.

Thursday: Front Squats

Warm up was comfortable, but my brain was lacking enthusiasm. I’d better get it going or this is going to be a hard month.

Front squat:

• 40kg for 1 set of 6
• 60 for 1 set of 6
• 105 for 1 set of 3
• 125 for 6, 4, and 2 stop squats

Considering my lack of brain activity, it went pretty good. I bypassed front speed squats, just to be on the safe side.

Friday: Circuit Day

I did another slacker forty minutes. I think I’m going to cut back on any extended long circuit work.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post Training Highs and Lows (Athlete Journal 33) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.

Saturday’s workout was clean and jerks. I started with:

• Speed clean and jerk: 50kg x 5 reps
• Speed cleans 1 jerk: 2 sets
• 4 speed cleans and a jerk: 75kg
• 4 speed cleans and a jerk: 95kg
• 4 speed cleans and a jerk: 105kg – My right elbow was too tender to finish the other three sets. witch to power clean from the floor with front squat and jerk. Drop down to
• Power clean from the floor with front squat and jerk: 75 kg for 1
• Power cleans with 3 front squats and a jerk: 75kg for 1

I repeated that sequence with 95kg, 110kg, and 120kg.

• 1 clean, 1 front squat, and a jerk: 125 kg
• Clean pulls: 150kg for 1 set of 3
• 150kg for 1 set of 3 slow pulls.

Monday

Monday was back squat day. I was thanking the Lord it was also a rest day! My legs were fried and 100kg for four sets of six was about all I could take.

Tuesday

Tuesday was upper body day, and everything felt much better. I decided I wasn’t going to push it too hard. I did 165lbs for four sets of six in the inclines, doing the descending strip down from six reps to twelve reps and ending at 85lbs.

Wednesday

Nothing at all on Wednesday.

Thursday

Thursday was snatch day. I did work with 40kg and 50kg for the speed and power snatch. My left wrist was very sore and I was hardly able to keep anything overhead. I switched to front squats, hoping to stretch out my wrist.

• Front squat: 180lbs for a set of 6
• 250lbs for a set of 6

I finished off at 180lbs, with ten reps of speed squats. Back to the snatch work. Again I worked through some speeds, power, and full squat snatches with 40kg and 50kg, but decided to pack it in for the day because my wrist was still way too sore.

Friday

On Friday one of the boys was having a birthday, so it was only 51 minutes today rather than the sixty minutes we were supposed to do. It went well, although I appreciated not having to do those extra nine minutes.

Terry Hadlow 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.

The post Working Through My Limitations (Athlete Journal 32) appeared first on Breaking Muscle.