These were my last few weeks of training before heading off to Copenhagen for the 2014 Worlds Masters Weightlifting Championships.
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.
