Thought about making the title "The long climb out of C class" but realized that I could qualify as a D class if there was one. 

I'm recently hooked on Highland Games.  First contest was July 17th, the Ledaig Highland Games.  Had no prior experience as a thrower or athlete for that matter.  Spent the previous 10 years specializing on my grip strength and have gone about as far as I'm going to go in the grip world.

About the only strong thing I bring to the HG training is of course my grip strength.  Otherwise, I'm sorely lacking in overall body strength and especially speed-strength.  There is nowhere to go but up for me since it's the beginning and I'll get the newbie gains just from dialing in my technique on the various events. 

My stats are:

5'10" and currently 220lbs.  35 years old.

My bests in competition are:

OPEN STONE 17lbs: 26'6"

HWFD: 15'2"

LWFD: 32'11.5"

LIGHT HAMMER: 54'

SHEAF: BOMB

CABER: BOMB

WFH: 9'

I missed 10' three times on the WFH and was pretty close on one of those.  So in my next games that should go up to the 10' mark at least.  Otherwise, the other numbers are pretty accurate in terms of what I was capable of that day.  I got some good advice (and I'm not new to the contest scene - have some USAWA contests under my belt and grip contests) to open conservatively and so I did that on everything except the Sheaf.  I missed the 12' opener just because of how strange the event was to me.  I think I had enough height on the bag (20lb) but couldn't put it over the crossbar.  The Open Stone throw was a real eye opener.  I used some ugly form of a glide.  Probably threw as far standing though.  I've got a ton of work to do on improving my explosiveness with the implements.  Have been working on some of the events since that first comp and expect to see some significant improvements on the Light Hammer especially at the next go round.

I'll start my training log on today's workout since I decided to focus on the Kirksville Scottish Highland Games as my 2nd and final comp this year.  Really like Thom Van Vleck so it will be a great games to enjoy the camaraderie and also shoot for PRs on everything too.

9-1-10, Wednesday

LWFD

Actually weighed 29lbs but that�fs not going to make a lot of difference.  I cobbled together a homemade LWFD �gimplement�h that consisted of some plates duct taped and tied together with a strap through the middle and then attached to my 3lb handle.  Worked well enough for what I wanted though. 

-8 throws.  Best was 30'.  Had 3 throws at 28' and 2 at 25' so the range was kind of large.  32'11.5"�is what I threw at the Ledaig Highland Games in July.  I think I would�fve thrown a real implement farther than that today but I�fve got to train with what I have right now.  No problem with that.  All the throws were right handed.  Felt like my footwork is getting a little smoother.  Still slow as molasses but I�fm working on speeding things up.

Here's my last and (believe it or not) smoothest throw from today's training.  I still do the single spin and don't have plans on going to a double spin for quite a while.  To be honest I can barely get my clumsy feet to do the one turn without looking like an idiot. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVaQVrC5tso - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVaQVrC5tso

Try marking out a trig or even just a line for 20-30 feet so that even after your last game you can keep working footwork & line drills through the winter. Vierra has several videos (VP productions & Youtube) showing WFD drills. Coach Mac has also suggested holding an olympic bar overhead while doing line drills to strengthen your balance.

Welcome to the Addiction!

Joel Sim wrote: Try marking out a trig or even just a line for 20-30 feet so that even after your last game you can keep working footwork & line drills through the winter. Vierra has several videos (VP productions & Youtube) showing WFD drills. Coach Mac has also suggested holding an olympic bar overhead while doing line drills to strengthen your balance. Welcome to the Addiction!

Thanks Joel!  I checked out all of Vierra's video logs (1-9) and really think they helped me on my form and on some other subtle things that I need to do in training.  Also marked out a rough trig (well, at least the 7.5' back line) and you're right that it will only help me to train like that from the start.  I still do the single turn throw on WFD so I'm only using a little over half the available length of the throwing box right now.  I'm sure that will change.  Will get some great coaching in the first part of October at Thom V's games in MO so maybe that'll be the start of my double turn training.

9-3-10, Friday

HWFD

-5 throws.  Best was only 15'2".  That ties my competition best though.  I used two 25lb plates, a 2.5lb plate, and my 3lb handle.  Total weight was a hair over 56lbs since I have heavy plates.  Not having the actual HWFD implement is cramping my training style, lol.  But this was still fun.  Had to swing the plates with care since they would hit my legs if they rotated too much during the swings.  Took some video.  Footwork was slow but smoother than the last video I took of my HWFD training.  The weight felt really heavy today so that means I'm not recovered from my previous workouts yet.

Surely I'll throw farther with a solid implement than the swinging plates?  I thought about duct taping them together like I did on the 28lb LWFD the other day but the tape breaks too.  So whatevs.

9-5-10, Sunday

Had a very nice training session right after my 12-hour shift.  Carrie came out to the yard with me and we had some friendly competition going to see who could throw our respective implements farther.  She throws very well and really has the potential to do some damage on the Women's Amateur circuit with some real training.  She threw mostly with the 10lb medicine ball.  But she did a few throws with the 11lb stone before it broke on my 4th or 5th throw.   

BRAEMAR

-1 throw with 10lb medicine ball

-1 throw with 11lb stone 

-6 throws with 29lb stone.  At least 2 were 17' or over.  Didn't actually measure any of the throws.

SOUTH AFRICAN SPIN

-3 throws with the 11lb stone.  Felt extremely awkward but I eventually want to become proficient with the South African Spin technique since it'll add some distance to my open throws vs Braemar.  Stone broke (very soft stone) on the 4th or 5th throw because it must�fve nicked my sidewalk on the landing.  I had a hard time controlling the stone at 11lbs.  I sure wasn't going to try the SA with my 29lb stone.  Maybe another day.

*Overall Notes: Very fun workout and I'm glad I didn't measure any throws because it took the pressure off to perform.  I still tried to throw the stone nearly as far as I could, but focused more on technique subtle form adjustments today.

9-8-10, Wednesday

SOUTH AFRICAN

-10 throws with 10lb medicine ball-right hand.  Didn't measure any of them because I was only concerned with reviewing videotape of my throws and then trying to make the successive throws smoother. 

BRAEMAR

-10 throws with 10lb medicine ball-left hand.  7 of these hit 21' and my best throw was 21'6". 

GLIDE

-3 throws with 10lb medicine ball-right hand.  None were measured.  Managed to improve my form from my 1st to 3rd throws.  All were still pretty ugly though.

2-HAND OVERHEAD THROW

-5 throws with 10lb medicine ball.  Since I was doing this in my yard, I threw the medicine ball vertically instead of going for horizontal distance. 

BRAEMAR

-4 throws with 17lb stone-both hands.  21'...21'9"...24'...23'-right hand.  Lefty was 15'...16'...17'6"...18'. 

-8 throws with 16lb shot-both hands.  22'6" (twice)...23'3"...22'...22'...22'9"...right hand.  Lefty was 17'9"...17'7"...18'6"...18'. 

Overall Notes: A lot of throws compared to what I'm used to in a single workout.  Definitely good for me and my shoulders aren't really that sore the morning after.  The soreness that is there is the good kind.  The kind that lets you know you've done some hard work.  My distances are terrible right now.  I need to find the groove on my Braemar puts even though it really looks like they should be super easy with hardly any technique.  I'm finding that's not the case.  Plus the obvious would be that I need to bring up my strength and explosiveness if I ever want to climb into the B Class.

My wife surprised me with a 16lb shot yesterday (blue) and that was a nice addition to my throwing stones and implements. 

Duncan McCallum wrote: Can't wait to get home and check the vid Ben.  Don't get discouraged man...if I can do this you can do this.

Thanks Duncan!  I'm only discouraged for very short periods of time.  Then I quickly bounce back and make plans to get stronger and more technically proficient. 

9-11-10, Saturday

LWFD

Made my own LWFD implement thanks to a link on NASGAweb! 

"Then I quickly bounce back and make plans to get stronger and more technically proficient."  Not reaching your goal on the first try is a good thing; it makes you work harder.  It isn't a loss, just a lesson.  Besides, if you always got your mark on the first try, what would be the point?

And that my friend is half the battle...congratulations on having a future in the HG!

9-11-10, Saturday

GLIDE

-3 throws with the 17lb stone-right hand.  Threw Braemar (as usual) lefty. 

BRAEMAR

-10 throws with the 16lb shot-both hands.  Best righty was 25'10"�- which is a 3'1" improvement over my 1st workout with the 16lb shot.  Best throw lefty was 19'2". 

-3 throws with the 38lb blob-both hands.  Best righty was 13' and best lefty was 11'. 

*Overall Notes: Shoulders were definitely feeling it at this point.  2 days later and they are still pretty tender, but not in an injured way. 

"Then I quickly bounce back and make plans to get stronger and more technically proficient."  Not reaching your goal on the first try is a good thing; it makes you work harder.  It isn't a loss, just a lesson.  Besides, if you always got your mark on the first try, what would be the point?

And that my friend is half the battle...congratulations on having a future in the HG!

Duncan McCallum wrote: "Then I quickly bounce back and make plans to get stronger and more technically proficient."  Not reaching your goal on the first try is a good thing; it makes you work harder.  It isn't a loss, just a lesson.  Besides, if you always got your mark on the first try, what would be the point? And that my friend is half the battle...congratulations on having a future in the HG!

Thanks a lot Duncan!  Really appreciate the kind words and the help along the way.  It all helps.  Thom Van Vleck has been helping me quite a bit too so I'm very fortunate to have very experienced guys like you helping me out and making my path far less bumpy than it would otherwise be.

Duncan McCallum wrote: TVV has probably forgotten more about HG than you or I are likely to learn.

I'm sure you're right about that.  I'll be seeing him again on October 9th and I think I've talked my wife into competing in her first games also.  Will buy our kilts and other accessories in a few weeks and then we'll be set. 

Alan H wrote: You know, that single spin LWFD video is not half bad.   You should feel good about that.  Don't worry about how far that clanky chunk of metal goes for now. Just try to do things right, and then a little more righter and so on. Distance will come in time. Thom is a great guy and will get you going the right direction.

Thanks!  I like the advice to just focus on how it feels and making the technique and form tighter over time.  But it's hard to NOT try to make everything go farther, even if it's at the expense of good technique.  But I really plan on having a long career in the HG (maybe not career, but you know what I mean) so I'll take it slow.   

KiltBill wrote: Really like the lwfd! Another innovator!

I think I got the plans for that on this site...I'll look up the link and post it.  I am a TERRIBLE engineer and I managed to make it solid and easy to use.  So anyone can put this together and make themselves a heavy-duty LWFD or HWFD. 

Well...I thought I got the plans off this site, but I might've gotten the link instead.  Here's where I got the plans:

http://highland_tools.tripod.com/saacc/id4.html - http://highland_tools.tripod.com/saacc/id4.html

http://highland_tools.tripod.com/saacc/id1.html - http://highland_tools.tripod.com/saacc/id1.html

This will take you to the homemade hammers. 

http://saacc.tripod.com/ - http://saacc.tripod.com/

Thanks to Scottish American Athletes of Central California!

9-15-10, Wednesday

LWFD

-8 throws righty.  None lefty.  Did Braemar with my 10lb medicine ball lefty instead.  Then 1 throw righty with the medicine ball.  Best throw was my 2nd at 29'6".  Nothing to write home about and the rest got progressively worse.  Here was the rundown:

27'6" - 29'6" - 26'6" - 25'6" - 15' (hit a tree in my yard!) - 26' - 24'6" - 24'

*Overall Notes: Really not a bad workout considering it had rained quite a bit today and the ground was pretty muddy.  I finally quit when my left foot kept sliding all over the place during my windup. My 5th throw actually hit a tree in my yard.  A big tree.  One that I can usually avoid hitting.   

BRAEMAR

-8 throws lefty and 1 righty with my 10lb medicine ball.  Best throw lefty was 23'2". Best righty was 27'6". 

LIGHT HAMMER 

-1 set of 4 winds counterclockwise and 1 set of 4 winds clockwise with 15lbs.  Just made my own hammer trainer from PVC and it is excellent!  I love how it actually flexes, unlike the dowel I was using the other times I've trained winds.  Need to get my wife out in the yard to start training it too since we'll be doing light and heavy hammer in the Kirksville Games. 

Finished the workout feeling great and wanting to do more.  Figured that was a good time to end it and know that I put some good effort into the workout but now it's time to recover.

9-20-10, Monday

LWFD

-7 throws righty.  None lefty.  Did Braemar with my 10lb medicine ball lefty instead.  Best LWFD throw was my 4th at 31' but it was one of many foot faults unfortunately.  Here's the workout:

30'4" foot fault, 29' foot fault, 27' legal throw, 31' foot fault, 30' foot fault, 24' legal throw, 28'6" legal throw.  On the last throw I was at least a foot from the trig so that was a complete waste of forward momentum.  I wore different shoes today (Skechers) with some nubs on them that really helped grip the dirt and grass a lot better.  I'll wear these at the games on the 9th. 

BRAEMAR

My best throw with the 10lb medicine ball lefty was 23'6" and that might turn out to be a PR but I'll have to check.

9-21-10, Tuesday

LIGHT HAMMER

-3 sets of 5 winds-both directions.  Used my homemade PVC Light Hammer and I love the flexibility of it.  Makes for much more pleasant swinging.  Focused on counterbalancing the hammer with my hips and keeping my feet firmly planted, even if it meant swinging a little more slowly.  I wanted the form to be tighter than it has been lately.  I�ve been videotaping and then reviewing each set of winds to make sure my form isn�t getting too loose.  That way I can correct any form defects before they get too out of hand.

9-24-10, Friday

LWFD

-21 throws-all righty!  3 times the volume that I normally do on this event.  I'm inputting the workout 2 days later and I still feel a bit worn down from this.  Lesson learned.  I won't do this kind of volume again for a while unless I have about 3 days off to recover and supercompensate.

Spent a lot of the workout foot-fouling unfortunately.  Halfway through the workout I experimented with a slightly different starting angle and it paid off with a significant increase in distance on most of the throws after that. 

Best 3 legal throws were: 1 at 31'6" and 2 at 31'.  Had one foot-faulted throw at 34'4" which beats my PR in my yard by a few feet.  That's a good sign though so it means the distance will come very soon.  Might type out all the throws for my future reference if I get more freetime today, but for now I'll just say that my throws ranged from crap to barely tolerable. 

Did some throws that I labeled as "superset" since I just rested long enough to go pick up the LWFD and then throw again.  Did 3 sets of this 3 throw-superset.  I think it helped me iron out some glaring form issues. 

*Note: Threw today (9-26-10) and could tell that these supersets really helped my form issues.  I felt smoother today although I didn't measure the throws today.

9-26-10, Sunday

LWFD

-5 throws righty.  Didn't measure them.  All felt pretty good technique-wise. 

LIGHT HAMMER

-5 throws.  All but 1 felt pretty smooth - compared to the way I threw at my first games at least.  Best was only 59'6" but that's about 4' better than my official games result so I'll take it and hopefully translate that into a big PR on the Kirksville Highland Games on the 9th of October.

BRAEMAR-16lb Shot

-3 throws righty.  Best was only 25'.  The other two were a bit over 23'.  Did these throws last so I didn't plan on them.  Just wanted a few throws to end the workout.

*Overall Notes: Very pleased with this workout because some friends let us (wife and I) use their field to throw in.  That means I finally got to actually release the hammer instead of just doing winds in my yard!  Much better feel to it than having to stop before releasing it.  This will help my next games performance quite a bit.

11 days until the Kirksville Highland Games.

So what do I plan to do with my remaining 11 days?  I�ll try to walk the dogs more than I have been in the past few weeks.  Just touch up what I call �lasting cardio� � which just means the ability to continue with the throws throughout the day, including the long rest periods inbetween events, and the restarting, etc. 

I�ve always had a good tolerance for long periods of stop and go exertion so these long contests favor me more than the average guy.

Wednesday or Thursday, my wife and I are going to go throw in the borrowed field and touch up our technique on the Light and Heavy Hammers, along with the LWFD (her HWFD) and Braemar 16lb Shot. 

Ordered our kilts a few days ago and sent in our entry forms for the Kirksville Highland Games so everything is a go.  Can�t wait until comp day!

9-29-10, Wednesday

22LB BRAEMAR

-5 throws righty and 3 throws lefty.  Best throw righty was 19'.  Actually hit that distance 4 times in a row.  Other throw righty was 17'6".  The 19' was not as far as I was expecting but I'm feeling a bit rundown today so I hope that's all it is.  Best throw lefty was 15'9".  Other two throws were both 14'6". 

My wife Carrie threw with me and she had 5 throws (all righty).  Best was 13'6" which I told her was pretty good for a 22lb throw!  Her other throws were 13', 11'6", 12', and 11'6".  Just a quick session since we're going to go out and throw in a friend's field tomorrow (our 4-year wedding anniversary) before a nice picnic. 

Made the 22lb "stone" today by duct taping a bunch of stuff (including small weights) to my 15lb kettlebell.  Ugly and not very symmetrical, but it worked for our throwing workout. 

9-30-10, Thursday

LIGHT HAMMER

-3 throws with 15lbs and 1 throw with 10lbs.  My homemade hammer broke on the first throw with 10lbs so I didn't get to throw anymore.  Too bad because I felt like I was right on the cusp of making some technique breakthroughs.  After I got home I went to the hardware store and bought the materials to make another homemade hammer for my last practice session sometime next week.  Didn't measure any of the throws but I know they were within 5' of my best throw at the July Ledaig Highland Games.

14lb WFD

-4 throws with the women's LWFD.  Figured it would help my footwork and speed to do a few throws with it.  It definitely helped and I hit a 3' PR when I went to the 28lb LWFD after these 4 throws.  Didn't measure any of these throws but somewhere around 60'+. 

28lb WFD

-4 throws and I only measured the longest.  Hit 36' - a 3' PR over my games record!  Still doing the singe spin but it's really starting to feel smooth and unforced.  We'll see if that translates into a longer throw with the 56lb HWFD on games day though.

10-5-10, Tuesday

LIGHT HAMMER

-10 throws in a field.  1 of those throws was clockwise (I'm right-handed so this felt weird) and went about as far as I thought it would compared to my standard throws - not far.  I didn't measure my throws with a tape but instead just measured my normal strides to make the workout faster.  My best throw was 24 steps (about 66 feet) and was my last (10th) throw so I'm pleased with that.  That must mean that I take a while to warm up and I'll keep that in mind on games day.  This beats my previous best by about 5' and possibly a bit more than that.  Now I need to put that into play at the games.  6 of my throws were at 21 steps.  21 steps is about 57'.  Definitely making good progress if 7 of my throws today were better than my best throw at my first games.  Only to be expected though with some practice.

*Notes: Carrie also threw with me and she had some good throws.  She threw the women's Light Hammer and she looked pretty smooth on the winds and the release too.  I'm convinced her form looks better than mine already which makes me a bit jealous, but more proud of her than anything.

My throws were okay for the most part but I'm still very disappointed in my lack of speed on the winds.  My release feels like it's okay right now.  More drilling, more winds, more throws.  Getting better will be a lot of fun because I like throwing the hammer and then walking out to retrieve it.  The more powerful I get, the more "cardio" I'll get from walking out to pick up the hammer and back to throw it again.

10-5-10, Tuesday

BRAEMAR

-22lb Stone: 6 throws-both hands.  Best throws were 20'6" righty and 17'9" lefty. 

-17lb Stone: 3 throws-both hands.  Best throw was 24'9" righty.

-16lb Shot: 3 throws-both hands.  24'9" - 24' - 24'9" righty.  Then 16'6" - 16'6" - 15'6" lefty. 

-29lb Stone: 4 throws-righty.  15'6" - 17'3" - 18'3" - 17'6". 

*Notes: The last Braemar workout before the Kirksville Games on Saturday so I wanted to make it count and did some volume with a variety of sizes.  If the 22lb stone I have is anything like the one at the competition, I'm going to get embarrassed and get last place in this event.  Oh well, losing is learning sometimes. 

10-9-10, Saturday

KIRKSVILLE HIGHLAND GAMES

Had a wonderful time at the Kirksville Highland Games yesterday!  Very sore today so I�m going to keep my update pretty short for now.  Pleased with my results on everything except the HWFD � and that bad performance was just a fluke (as I proved at my house this afternoon) so I don�t expect that to happen that poorly again.

Listed in order of performance:

WEIGHT OVER BAR: 10 feet (1 foot competition PR)

SHEAF: 16 feet (16 foot competition PR � bombed the only other time I tried it at the Ledaig Highland Games in July)

BRAEMAR STONE (22lb): 22 feet 6 inches (2 foot PR over my training best)

HWFD: 12 feet (3 feet UNDER my competition best � had a bad day on this event)

LWFD: 37 feet 6 inches (4.5 foot competition PR)

HEAVY HAMMER: 49 feet 7 inches (never done this weight in competition)

LIGHT HAMMER: 62 feet 7 inches (8 foot competition PR!)

CABER: one 11:00 toss (bombed the only other time I tried this in competition at the Ledaig Highland Games)

10-10-10, Sunday

HWFD

My wife showed me a simple HWFD technique that Lisa (one of the competitors at the Kirksville Highland Games) showed her inbetween events yesterday.  I tried it out and immediately found that it worked pretty well for me.  Even as sore as I was yesterday, I beat my PR on HWFD by over 2 FEET on the 3rd attempt with this new style.

-4 throws with the 56lb HWFD.  Now I have an official HWFD implement - thanks to Thom Van Vleck! - and my first throw was 14'6".  2nd throw was 16'.  Right there about a 1-foot PR over the Ledaig Highland Games.  3rd and 4th throws were both 17'6".  A 2'4" improvement over my first games.  Way better than what I did at the Kirksville Highland Games too.  Really had a bad day on the HWFD at the games on Saturday.  This simpler technique will allow me to throw 20' without having to really think about what my feet are supposed to be doing. 

GOALS FOR MY NEXT GAMES

Next games most likely won't be until around April of 2011.  So I've got plenty of time to get stronger and more technically proficient in the events that I'm able to train.  I won't be training the caber or the sheaf since I don't have the implements to work on either of those.  That's not a big loss really at this stage in my development. 

BRAEMAR (22lb): 25'...current: 22'6"

OPEN STONE (17lb): 35'...current: 26'6"

SHEAF (20lb): 20'...current: 16'

LIGHT HAMMER: 75'...current: 62'7"

HEAVY HAMMER: 60'...current: 49'7"

WOB: 12'...current: 10'

LWFD: 45'...current: 37'6"

HWFD: 20'...current: 15'2"

CABER: 12:00...current: 11:00

10-14-10, Thursday

HWFD

Got a chance to work on my new HWFD implement and it was a good thing that I did.  Still have some residual soreness in my right trap from the Kirksville Highland Games on last Saturday.  Never had soreness stay with me this long. 

-10 throws.  Best was 17'.  1 throw at 15'6".  3 throws at 15'.  I thought I'd be able to break my new PR of 17'6" but it turns out my right trap was still sore enough to cause me a little trouble.  Nothing major though.  Still glad I got some throws in.  Other throws were: 14'9", 14', 13'3", 12', 11'9". 

Did about half of the throws in the modified style.  My longest throw was modified style but I didn't seem to be too consistent with it.

KiltBill wrote: Congrats on all the PR's Ben. So what is this hwfd technique you learned?

Thanks Bill!  PRs are always a joy.

The modified style is basically just my term for a style where the weight is "cast" (I think that's what it's called) to the side of the body instead of winding it in front of and in back of the body and then throwing it out front.  This modified style is probably nothing new to experienced guys.  But it's different than what I've seen guys do in the games so I refer to it as modified style.  It is essentially just a few swings to the side (front to back pendulum) and then trying to step out on the last swing with the right leg and then timing it right to where the ne turn is in harmony with the forward momentum of the swing.  Not a great way to describe it but here's a video.  Not sure if you'll be able to make out my footwork from the grainy video though. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGNIdeB8YLU - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGNIdeB8YLU

10-19-10, Tuesday

HWFD

-7 throws today.  I was also cleaning the garage so I had about an hour between the 5th throw and the last one.  Best throw was 17'4" today and I'm happy with that since it's only 2" under my training PR with this implement.  In order of performance:

-12'3".  Standard style.

-14'.  Modified style.

-15'8".  Modified style.

-17'4".  Standard style.  Surprised me that I got this far with the standard style.  Probably a 1' PR with that style. 

-15'.  Modifed style.

-16'6".  Standard style.  Again, another throw with the standard style that's over 16'. 

-16'10".  Modified style.  This one would've gone a foot farther if I could've released it when I wanted to, instead of when it came out of my hand.  It wasn't a grip issue, just a footwork issue for now. 

*Overall Notes: Good HWFD workout!  Switched between the two styles to really give myself a chance to figure out which one will work best in the long run for me.  I like the "look" of the standard style more than the modified style.  I also think it will eventually give me the best return on my investment.  Seems like the modified style is more of a raw beginner method.  I'm okay with that for now of course.

xtra0t wrote: when do you weight train?

Whenever I feel motivated to do it.  I usually don't post the weight training workouts since I'm just lifting to help my throwing right now.  Worked out yesterday though.

Shoggoth wrote: Good log Ben! I look forward to following it and you're right; this place is GOLD buddy!

Great to see you here Jason!  You're going to be hooked and maybe already are it sounds like.  I love using the database and researching people that I know and then looking through all the games results. 

10-23-10, Saturday

LIGHT HAMMER

-12 throws out on the levee trail.  None were measured and all but 2 were probably 10 feet under my best throw at the Kirksville Games.  But it's still practice, so good enough.

I watched your "modified" style HWFD..

you need to get your hips around faster.. you're walking around your spin, following the weight.. you never get in front of it and therefore you can't get a pull out of it.. the majority of the pull you're getting is generated in your cast..

you need to cast the weight, JUMP and kick your right leg around which will get your hips in front of your upper body, then land, wait for the weight to catch up and be right behind you, then at the lowest point in the orbit, pull hard..

xtra0t wrote: I watched your "modified" style HWFD.. you need to get your hips around faster.. you're walking around your spin, following the weight.. you never get in front of it and therefore you can't get a pull out of it.. the majority of the pull you're getting is generated in your cast.. you need to cast the weight, JUMP and kick your right leg around which will get your hips in front of your upper body, then land, wait for the weight to catch up and be right behind you, then at the lowest point in the orbit, pull hard..

Thanks for the pointers!  I understand and just couldn't figure out how to avoid walking around the spin.  But I read your post a few times and think I understand how to speed it up a lot.  Really appreciate it!  That should add some immediate distance for me soon. 

Had a good workout this afternoon (before reading this post unfortunately) and hit 19'.

10-24-10, Sunday

HWFD

-3 throws.  Very good workout today!  1st throw was 17'2".  2nd was 17'3".  3rd throw was about 30 minutes later and it was 19' even.  Skipped the 18' barrier completely and hit my short term goal of 19'.  That's a 1'6" PR from the first workout I had with it on 10-10-10.  Not bad for 2 weeks of work.  All three throws were the standard style and I would've done more but I ran out of time before doing some work around the house.  That's good because I ended on a high point anyway. 

Reviewed the video of all three throws and I'm definitely getting smoother.  I actually was focusing on a smooth pull and footwork on the 3rd throw when I hit 19'. 

C. Smith wrote: xtra0t wrote: you need to cast the weight, JUMP and kick your right leg around which will get your hips in front of your upper body, then land, wait for the weight to catch up and be right behind you, then at the lowest point in the orbit, pull hard.. I don't know if you're just not able to articulate what you mean, but good lord, don't do this.  Cast > jump > kick couldn't be more wrong. I left much of the advice you gave in Duncan's thread alone just because I don't want to get into it, but I disagree with a lot of what you have written lately.  And you qualifying what you say with your throwing numbers just makes me cringe.  Anyway, Ben, since I hijacked your log for a second, feel free to let me know when your next video is posted and I'll email you my thoughts on it.

Right on Craig!  I will send you the next video of my HWFD training (just the "best" throw) and that's an awesome offer to critique it for me.

C. Smith wrote: I don't know if you're just not able to articulate what you mean, but good lord, don't do this.  Cast > jump > kick couldn't be more wrong. I left much of the advice you gave in Duncan's thread alone just because I don't want to get into it, but I disagree with a lot of what you have written lately.  And you qualifying what you say with your throwing numbers just makes me cringe.  Anyway, Ben, since I hijacked your log for a second, feel free to let me know when your next video is posted and I'll email you my thoughts on it.

I thought I articulated it pretty well. You've got to teach someone to walk before they can run and how else can you "explain" via keyboard how it FEELS to have your hips in front of your torso?

Until yesterday this was pretty much a one sided log. No harm in trying to help someone learn to walk before they run. I never said I was an expert.

no pitting at all buddy, I would take advice from him over me any day, and that's the 100% truth. I respect Craig a lot as a professional athlete and take nothing away from him, even if he doesn't like the way I train. ;)

I've been doing this for about 8 months now and I never claimed to be awesome at it. Not many people were responding in your log so I figured I'd try to throw something at you so you can see how it feels to get the hips around because walking around just isn't fast enough and the weight gets out in front of you. For the record, I don't do what I told you to do, however, that's the only way that I could explain how to get your feet moving that fast without being there in person to pull your torso one way while your legs are fixed facing the opposite direction..

10-27-10, Wednesday

HWFD

-6 throws.  4 of them were good and the last 2 were terrible.  I'm getting more consistent every workout.  Used the standard style on all the throws.  Best throw was 18'10".  The throws in order: 17'6", 18'10", 17'8", 18'3", 12', 14'6".  Even though I didn't throw a new PR, this was my best HWFD workout to date.  4 throws over 17.5' is definitely better than I've done so far. 

10-30-10, Saturday

LIGHT & HEAVY HAMMER

-7 throws with the HH.  2 throws with the LH.  HH broke on the 7th throw so that was the end of my workout with the 22lber.  Threw the LH after the HH so the 16lber felt much more comfortable after swinging the heavier one around.  Measured some of my HH throws: 48', 44', 37', 37'.  48' is pitiful but it's only about 1.5' off my best comp throw so that's fine for now.  Plus the weights are 10lb plates and they're a bit larger diameter than the 22lb ball that we used at the Kirksville Games.  Measured both of my LH throws and they sucked: 58', 55'.  About 4.5' off my comp best.   

I like working with both the hammer weights.  I think next year I'll buy a real hammer from Old Celt (or wherever) so I can practice with something that doesn't break every time I throw with it. 

11-5-10, Friday

BRAEMAR

-1 warmup throw with the 10lb medicine ball.  Then 8 throws with my 16lb shot.  Finished up with 2 throws with my 38lb blob.  Finished around 3:30pm.

16LB SHOT

-22'3"-right hand, 15'-left hand

-21'8"-right hand , 15'8"-left hand

-22'4"-right hand, 16'4"-left hand

-24'-right hand, 17'4"-left hand

-23'9"-right hand, 17'8"-left hand

-24'9"-right hand, 17'1"-left hand

-24'4"-right hand, 16'4"-left hand

-23'9"-right hand, 15'9"-left hand

*Notes: Not a great workout but I did notice that it's been a full month since my last Braemar workout, so I'm a bit rusty it seems. 

38lb BLOB

-14'-right hand, 10'6"-left hand

-14'9"-right hand, 11'6"-left hand

*Notes: Only 1' shy of my righty PR.

11-8-10, Monday

HWFD

-7 throws.  6 of those were with the standard style and only one was the modified style.  Looks like the modified style has already ran out of length for me.  I need more of a wind-up and the standard style gives me that.  Broke my previous PR twice in this workout!  Not massive increases, but one was 9" over my previous best.

-17'8"

-16'10"

-15'3"

-19'2"!...­beat my previous PR by 2"

-16'9"...­modified style, felt very awkward today

-15'6"

-19'9"!...­focused on getting a longer, smoother pull and it paid off with a better throw.  20' is just around the corner.

*Overall Notes: Want to give a big thank-you to Craig Smith for his help here on the NASGA forum!  I haven't sent him another video because I haven't managed to make my form "look" any different - but I can feel the difference when I focus on doing what he told me to do - even though it's not showing up on video yet. 

BenEdwards wrote: 11-8-10, Monday HWFD -7 throws.  6 of those were with the standard style and only one was the modified style.  Looks like the modified style has already ran out of length for me.  I need more of a wind-up and the standard style gives me that.  Broke my previous PR twice in this workout!  Not massive increases, but one was 9" over my previous best. -17'8" -16'10" -15'3" -19'2"!...­beat my previous PR by 2" -16'9"...­modified style, felt very awkward today -15'6" -19'9"!...­focused on getting a longer, smoother pull and it paid off with a better throw.  20' is just around the corner. *Overall Notes: Want to give a big thank-you to Craig Smith for his help here on the NASGA forum!  I haven't sent him another video because I haven't managed to make my form "look" any different - but I can feel the difference when I focus on doing what he told me to do - even though it's not showing up on video yet.

You're definitely going over 20' soon Ben! I can't wait to get back outside throwing again. Pretty addictive stuff!

Shoggoth wrote: You're definitely going over 20' soon Ben! I can't wait to get back outside throwing again. Pretty addictive stuff!

You're right about it being addictive!  I have a hard time thinking about anything other than throwing half the day now.  I know it's easy to overdo the volume though because even a half dozen throws with the 56WFD leaves me feeling it systemically for a few hours afterwards. 

11-11-10, Thursday

Went to my friend's house to train in their big field.  It was raining during the entire workout but I didn't let that slow me down at all.  It at least gave me a reason to use my grip strength more than usual at least.  The PVC handle on my Light Hammer got pretty slick so it actually did require some pressure today.  Got big PRs on both events I trained.  Very happy with this workout.

LIGHT HAMMER

-11 throws.  Didn't measure most of them.  But the ones I did measure (these were the longer throws) were the 3rd (61'2"), the 9th (65'2"PR!), the 10th (64'), and the 11th (62'1"). 

*Notes: My competition PR is 62'7.5" so hitting 65'2" was a pretty nice PR.  This will equate to a few feet farther than that the next time I throw in competition.  Because the Light Hammer I have isn't quite as nice as the ones I've seen in the competitions.  I did change the setup of my LH and used 5lb plates instead of the 10lb plate (and the 5lb on that) so that made the diameter smaller and made for a more efficient swing.  Most of these throws were done with just enough rest to trot out into the field to retrieve the LH and then walk back with it and throw again.

LWFD

-14 throws!  That's more than what I had planned but I felt good so I just kept on throwing.  I would've gone past 20 throws if I hadn't ran out of time.  It's probably good that I stopped where I did because I'm pretty sore today.  Broke my PR 4 times today.  My competition PR is 37'.  My best throw today was 40'6" for a 3.5' PR!  The throws in order were: 36'8" - 36'5" - 38'1" (new PR by a foot) - 35'7" - 37'4" - 38'10" (new PR by 9") - 38'6" - 39'1" (new PR by 3") - 40'6"  (new PR by 1'5"!) - 37'8" (hook gripped) - 39' - 36'8" - 39'7" - 36'10".

*Notes: Fantastic LWFD workout!  Working with my 56lb WFD as much as I have lately is partly responsible and working on the tips that Craig Smith gave me is responsible for a large part of the rest of my sudden gains on this event.  I had 9 throws that were better than my competition PR.  And all were in slick grass, in the rain.  Used a beautiful silver ring handle on the first 7 throws and then the triangle handle that I got with the 56lb WFD from Thom Van Vleck.  I got better throws out of the triangle handle, but I love the feel and look of the ring handle.  Also tried a hook grip but didn't like the feel of it.  Instead, I just focused on trying to relax my grip on the handle to the bare minimum so that my arm wouldn't shorten.

11-21-10, Sunday

HWFD

-9 throws.  None were remarkable.  Only one went over 18' and the rest were very disappointing.  I felt very weak today, which might be due to getting over some cold symptoms.  Throws were: 14' - 14' -16'8" - 18'3" - 15'8" - 16'3" - 16'7" - 17'3" - 17'9". 

BRAEMAR 16LB SHOT

-6 throws righty, 4 lefty.  Best lefty was 19'7", which might be a PR.  Good workout righty and I got within 2' of my PR.  Throws were: 25' - 26' - 25'10" - 26'5" - 26'3" - 25'1".  This is the first workout where I've not thrown under 25' righty.  That's some progress.

11-24-10, Wednesday

BRAEMAR 29LB STONE

-5 throws righty and 4 lefty.  Righty throws are listed here:

-18' - 18' - 18' - 18'4.5" PR - 18'4".  Some good throws and I hit a PR.  1.5" PR, but every inch forward counts.  Was surprised at how consistent my righty throws were today. 

BRAEMAR 16LB SHOT

-5 throws-both hands.  None were measured.  Did all of them with just enough rest to walk leisurely out to retrieve the shot and walk back to switch arms.

CDarby wrote: Good read. Its fun to watch the steady increases lots of throwing and attention to technique brings. I personally would like to see you logging any strength training and conditioning you do, in addition to the throwing. Then the picture would be more complete. Keep it going. You make me wish I started when I was 35.

Thanks!  I don't log my strength training only because I'm back to training (in general) for the USAWA comps and to be honest I don't think my weight training is going to have much carryover to the Highland Games now.  I stayed away from the grip and USAWA-geared training for 4 months though and I missed it.  So I'm back to training how I enjoy and I'm now okay with the reality that it probably won't enable me to improve any on the HG throws.  That's where my specific throws practice is going to have to do double duty.

DT Dixon wrote: Love your log...keep it up. I practice throw left and right too.

Thanks Derrell!  I keep telling myself that throwing with both hands will keep me a bit more symmetrical and hopefully less prone to injury over time.

Alan H wrote: I probably SHOULD do some left-hand throws!

Wish I could say that it's fun to throw with my non-dominant hand, but it's not especially.

BenEdwards wrote: CDarby wrote: Good read. Its fun to watch the steady increases lots of throwing and attention to technique brings. I personally would like to see you logging any strength training and conditioning you do, in addition to the throwing. Then the picture would be more complete. Keep it going. You make me wish I started when I was 35. Thanks!  I don't log my strength training only because I'm back to training (in general) for the USAWA comps and to be honest I don't think my weight training is going to have much carryover to the Highland Games now.  I stayed away from the grip and USAWA-geared training for 4 months though and I missed it.  So I'm back to training how I enjoy and I'm now okay with the reality that it probably won't enable me to improve any on the HG throws.  That's where my specific throws practice is going to have to do double duty.

Ben you doing the national one at Jackson Weightlifting Club? I am planning on being there and have been throwing the lifts in my training. This will be my first time trying this stuff and I am excited. Not training hard for it just for fun and seeing what I can do.

Srokus wrote: BenEdwards wrote: CDarby wrote: Good read. Its fun to watch the steady increases lots of throwing and attention to technique brings. I personally would like to see you logging any strength training and conditioning you do, in addition to the throwing. Then the picture would be more complete. Keep it going. You make me wish I started when I was 35. Thanks!  I don't log my strength training only because I'm back to training (in general) for the USAWA comps and to be honest I don't think my weight training is going to have much carryover to the Highland Games now.  I stayed away from the grip and USAWA-geared training for 4 months though and I missed it.  So I'm back to training how I enjoy and I'm now okay with the reality that it probably won't enable me to improve any on the HG throws.  That's where my specific throws practice is going to have to do double duty. Ben you doing the national one at Jackson Weightlifting Club? I am planning on being there and have been throwing the lifts in my training. This will be my first time trying this stuff and I am excited. Not training hard for it just for fun and seeing what I can do.

Yes, I'll be there for sure Tom!  Look forward to meeting you there.  The lifts don't especially suit me - I'm still a grip guy at heart - but I want to support the USAWA and I thorougly enjoy Thom Van Vleck and his training area is great.