I started preps for World Championships on August 3, 2014. I have a few concerns, the major one being I am working on fixing my left wrist. If that doesn’t come around it is going to be a hard two months.
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.
