Athlete Journal Entry 23 – 3/31/2014
Last Sunday I woke up to many nagging discomforts, which was sad since I barely lifted a weight the day before. I took stock of these ailments and discovered a few, the worst being my left wrist. Great – now both upper appendages were on the fritz. I spent the rest of the day going around doing the things I usually do on a Sunday, along with trying to plan a recovery strategy for these aches.
Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were days spent implementing my plans, which included massage, stretching, heat, cold, and some anti-inflammatories. The level of pain was more under control, with increased mobility in all my joints, and I was feeling pretty good. I decided I would put it to the test the next day.
Thursday was squat day. I did the usual warm up and a little extra, just to be sure. My left wrist was still tender, but with a little prodding I could grip the bar in the front squat position. I stayed with the empty bar for six sets until the mobility was well established. I took a fifty-pound jump and felt the stretch in my right triceps. It felt great. Another fifty-pound jump and it still felt great. I took another fifty-pound jump to 195lbs and did sets of seven, five, and three stop squats. Both arms worked well and hoped that I could keep the discomfort at bay.
On Friday, the discomfort in my right arm was okay, but the left wrist was not doing so well. Since it was Friday and fitness day, I adjusted my work to accommodate the problems. The sixty minutes were a challenge because most of the work had become leg work, so by the time I was finished my legs were done, but I saved my wrist.
I continued with my rehab on Saturday and by the end of the day the pain subsided. On Sunday morning things felt good, but I didn’t think the Olympic lifts were in my near future. Under those conditions I decided a repeat of Thursday was a good idea. I took the same precautions as Thursday and was very patient. I was rewarded with mobility and reduced pain. I finished at 100kg for the sets of seven, five, and three stop squats in the front. I concluded with two sets of speed squats with 65kg. The frustrating part of this was that the weights were light, but I didn’t want to push too hard and create more problems for myself.
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.
