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Old Novice - Russ Campbell

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 5/28/21 at 9:21am
You know, I feel honored to be invited. I know that there are tremendous athletes out there that compete at the highest level year after year in the HG. And I admire what can be accomplished at any age. My personal hero is Marcel Perron who at the age of 87ish, has the highest rating/lifts I've ever seen in weightlifting adjusted for weight and age. And I remember training with him when he was an "old guy" back in the 1970's! I have competed at the World Masters for weightlifting. And I'm thankful that I can do it again at another sport. I'm always curious about what I can do if I put my mind & limited physical skills to it. That's why I recently became a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist to help understand how to optimize what I have. So far in my short time in this sport, my biggest thrills have been invitations to Pleasanton and now, the World Masters. My Grandpa Campbell from Glasgow would be proud.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 5/28/21 at 2:52pm
My bad. After recently talking about how conscientous I am about rest and recovery, I went ahead and upped my volume etc a lot this past week. I went from a week of 3x throwing to 3x with weights and 2x throwing. I backed off on daily volume and intensity but the overall week was a noticeable increase. Good news is that I survived and feel pretty good. Each workout wiped me out but I felt mentally and physically ready by the next day for my next workout. And stayed largely injury free. Nothing that undermined a workout. It's good to know now that I can survive an overload week like this. So I'll pick up the same routine for next week. MWF are Olympic lifting/power and 2 days of throwing with light implements. The week after will be a deload week with 3 days of throwing only with overweight implements. But first I have to get through next week.  I really like the addition of a couple sets of plyo,etrics at the beginning of my workout. During these power weeks I am doing fast plyos - hops, depth jumps. During my max strength weeks I'll add in slower plyos like squat jumps and standing long jumps - both are great for strength from a standing start. So next week will be M - plyos, Clean & jerk, Squat; T - Throwing light implements; W - plyos, Snatch, Jerk, squat variation; Th - Throwing light implements; F - Plyos, Snatch variation, Squat
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 5/31/21 at 12:46pm
So a couple of things. I've now do plyos at the beginning of my weight training workout. Since I always wear weightlifting boots for training I just started jumping with them on. Probably not the best idea. So now I go barefoot. If I did huge volumes of plyos, proper footwear would be better in the long run but for the number of jumps I do I should be fine. Today I decided to continue the barefoot motif and I did front squats to a box and clean & jerks barefoot. I don't think I'll do this all the time but I noticed something interesting. I focused on pushing my knee ahead of my toes on the eccentric portion of the front squat and also pushed the knees forward as far as possible on both the clean and jerk. I think that it helped stretch and I felt more powerful on the lifts as I had a deeper knee bend than usual especially on the clean/jerk. This focus and knee action also reminded me of some reading I've been doing lately about the "shank" which is the angle of the shin. Apparently this is a topic of discussion in sprinting circles. Having a steeper shank angle ie knee as far forward of toes as possible/practical adds to force development. Not a bad thing for throwers either. Speaking of technique, I've seen too many videos of throwers doing hang cleans. I've always loved hang cleans. But the technique used by many is awful and its something that I try to stay acutely aware of for myself as well. Many throwers turn the hang clean into a reverse curl and wide split catch. This is bad for a lot of reasons but the biggest reason from a sport performance perspective is that it won't translate to throwing. Nothing we do resembles a reverse horizontal curl and lateral leg split on the catch. Lousy technique is also a recipe for injury. Whenever I am tempted to do this I just go back to exercises like upright rows, muscle cleans, & mid-thigh clean pulls etc to get back on track with the proper triple extension & vertical pull. Lastly, there are some fundamental movement screens out there that claim to predict the probability of injury. The argument is made that unless you fix deficient movements you will get injured. Seems logical. But there is no proof in the research that it is true.  It's very hard to materially improve movement characteristics and the effects wear off if the effort to improve is not sustained. So I have a certain range of movement that I will live with. For example, I can't sit in the full squat position. However I don't need to for HG. Where I have significant problems I will focus my attention using foam rolling, dynamic warmups, full range of motion exercise and static stretching on off days. But I am not going to try  to fix everything. I don't need to and I am no likely to get injured than someone with better mobility than me.  So I can focus my energy elsewhere.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6/02/21 at 11:54am
A long-time friend of mine is a competitive 65 year old tennis player & knows of my weight training background and education. He has always been reluctant and skeptical about weight training. But since the pandemic he's been training at home with 35lb dumbbells. He asked my advice. Perhaps surprisingly to most people, tennis is a power sport. As an example of how to prepare, I sent him a copy of an Andy Roddick weight training program. Essentially I told my friend that he has to lift heavier weights faster. (he's not going to do it of course! Lack of interest and it would be too much work). A top - ranked tennis player's training program is probably not a good model for the average tennis player anyway. The analogy for me is that I cannot copy a top ranked HG athlete's program and expect to get results. Genetically I was probably not ever going to be a top thrower. Add aging as just one additional variable and there is no way I can follow a top throwers program. Another alternative that I could consider is copying another thrower's training program who is more similar to me. However, there are many variables that require differences in each individual athlete's training. What I have done instead of copying others is build up a program that is unique to me. If I look back over my training log posted here, there has been an evolution in my training. As much as possible the variations in my program have been built off of training principles that have been validated by scientific research. So I've attempted to keep my need for individual variation within the boundaries implied by research. So for example, my program has never contemplated very high rep/very low load sets.  I think my program will be unique to me but that it's effectiveness will be bound by general principles. Doing the opposite would be a big mistake for me - a general program using my own unique principles.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6/05/21 at 11:27am
So I've completed my 2 weeks of power/Olympic lifting training - 3 days lifting plus 2 days throwing. Week 1 was exhausting but manageable and week 2 was quite bearable. No records but everything was moving fast and reasonably smoothly. Little strains and aches deserve a deloading week. So next week will be throwing only - 3 days. I'll use heavy + overloaded weights. For me that means a 28 lb ball, a 28 lb hammer and a 56 lb WFD/WOB. I'm not at all concerned about how far I heave these things. It's more about developing strength in my core and all the little muscles that enable rotation, hingeing etc. Before I can have power or even proper technique I have to be strong enough. Weight training is great but my strength also has to be specific to the sport. So now a week of focus on throwing strength. Then the following 3 weeks will be back to strength training - 3 days a week plus 2 days of throwing light implements. Ideally I'd like to continue to throw heavy implements on the 2 days in concert with my focus on strength training but I think that it would be too much load for me. So I will get some technical throwing in 2x a week which will also serve as a "rest/recovery" day from heavy strength training.  One issue that I have been considering is throwing volume. A lot of throwers do a lot of throwing practice. First of all I don't have the energy/endurance/whatever to do 50 throws in a practice. Secondly, I'd struggle to recover. Third, I wouldn't be able to throw with maximum intent each time. So my technique would vary. In my Olympic weightlifting world, we do few 100% lifts whether measured by our goals, past performance or strength on the day. Similarly the great sprint coach Charlie Francis, kept the number of all-out sprints for his athletes low. So following this line of thinking I am keeping the number of throws per practice low and throwing with maximum intention. Now both Olympic lifters and throwers have to do more to build capacity and I am too by throwing over weight stuff and lifting for both strength and power. Fewer, "better", all-out throws could be better for me than 50 lower intensity, variable technique throws. I haven't seen any research to support this but I know what lifting 80% of 1RM is and I can closely duplicate the technique of a 100% RM lift. I am not so sure that an 80% effort throw is anything like a 100% effort throw. Bottom line, is 50 - 80% throws the same as 10 - 100% throws? I guess I'll find out the hard way. The consensus in the business though seems to be throw more, not less. One last point is rest. I don't know how I could do a throwing workout with appropriate rest/recovery periods between throws if I do 50 throws. I think the temptation would be to do these throws one after the next and therefore build endurance, not strength/power. On the other hand, 10 throws with a 3-5 minute break between throws is more manageable. This work - rest ratio is not only consistent with building max strength and power it is also more consistent with the time between throws at a meet.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6/09/21 at 12:19pm
Just one more workout with overweight throwing this week as my de-load week winds down. It is really a positive feeling that I can turn and feel confident with overweight stuff. So while the technique is different, the strength is building for HG. Next week I'll turn back to strength lifts 3x and throwing with light implements 2x. Something new for me will be trying to take it easy the first week. I haven't really paid attention to the need for a transition from one block to the next before. So week 1, I'll be patient with myself. But I'm hoping to break new ground on the squat in the next block during week 2-3. Another addition this week will be slow plyos. So my weight workouts will start with bouncing on my rebounder to wake up, then jumps off a low box and hitting a deep position (long amortization), and standing long jumps. Both of these plyos are emphasizing a slower stretch shortening consistent with some of our HG moves eg. WOB. So Monday - Heavy day -  Warm-up, plyos, squat, press, upright row; Tuesday - dynamic warmup, throws with light weights; Wednesday - Light day - warmup, plyos, squat variation, inverted rows, press variation; Thursday - dynamic warmup, throws with light weights; Friday - Medium day - warmup, plyos, squat, press, bent over rows
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6/17/21 at 2:58pm
I have one more workout left this week... I always forget how exhausting the first week of a new block of training is. No matter how in shape you are, new exercises, volume, intensity, sessions or whatever represent a shock to the system that was just settling into a comfortable - too comfortable - groove. And every new block I begin with a sense of euphoria which makes me push too hard, too soon - this is the block that pushes me to world beating heights! No, it is not. Just start easy and make progress week by week is the better way. While pushing all out I am also conscious of not micro-managing everything. But I do try to introduce little changes. This year I've actually learnt how to do a warm-up that elevated my body temperature and prepared me to throw without annoying my brain by doing things that feel like a waste of time. But after my warmup, there was a temptation to go straight to throwing. What I forgot was that just like training for power & strength rest is also important. So today I took a 3-5 minute break after warming up and before throwing. One of the hazards of training mainly alone is the feeling of urgency to get the workout done. It's also easy to rationalize that I'm building cardio endurance by doing things quickly. Unfortunately endurance & strength/power are enemies for strength athletes. There aren't many marathoners that can compete with me in the caber toss I suspect. Another little detail that I have incorporated into my workouts is pre-hydrating. With the extreme heat these days, of course everyone is probably on the alert to stay hydrated. But as I start my morning workouts, I am already dehydrated from not drinking fluids since the previous night. So I drink a bunch before heading out to lift or throw. Dehydration is harder to recognize in your body as you get older and so drinking a lot before I'm thirsty is important. So next week will be another strength week with 3 days lifting and 2 days throwing. It should be a little easier than this week. Although if I have excess energy knowing me I'm just going to use it to push volume and intensity. Lastly I've been thinking not about my next block of training even though its weeks away but also the competition season which for me will begin in mid-September. So starting August 1st I'm going to flip my training from 3 days lifting/2 days throwing per week to 3 days throwing/2 days lifting. I think that I can keep up and maybe even increase my strength and power with 2 days a week even if its just a little bit. But I need more throwing. So from the beginning of August, I'll keep with alternating strength and power blocks but weights only 2 days a week. It may be possible for other people to reduce the weights down to 1x a week for a few weeks but I'm not sure that I can keep up my strength by doing so little. One more thing. I don't know yet if there is a payoff for all this thinking and action that I have been doing since I started posting here. I know I've been better in terms of individual elements like strength, power, mobility, technique etc but as a package I feel like I'm in pretty good shape. Here's a small but perhaps telling example. I have seen a material improvement in my standing long jump. That's an indication of my explosive power for not only jumping but also accelerating from a standing start. Useful qualities for throwing. Whatever my results turn out to be this fall, I feel like an athlete and I feel fit for my sport.  It's nice to have goals but for me it's all about the process. Results will look after themselves.    
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A bunch of random thoughts this week - a few more than usual. One more workout this week in this strength block. I started off the week well but ate something bad and it drained my energy for a day or two. But next week is my third and final week of strength work and I will push as hard as I can. Since I was doing relatively slow strength work I decided to try something different. I think I've talked about it before but I read another article about how we tend to emphasize hips and knees and neglect the base of the kinetic chain - feet and ankles. One way to work these is to go barefoot. I know John Odden is a big proponent of barefoot training as well. So I did my plyos and weights barefoot - though not throwing (It might be an interesting experiment to go barefoot but the surface would have to be right e.g. not grass!). On the nutrition side I think that I do a pretty good job on protein. I buy tuna, salmon, hard boiled eggs, chicken and basically stay focused on adding protein every chance I get. Twice a week now I throw in an area that requires me to descend a slope. So to finish off my workout I run back up the hill carrying my implements. This adds a little cardio and also builds some explosive strength just to finish off the workout. Finally something that I should do that I don't do is foam rolling before training. Its a great addition to a warmup. Now that I'm so proud of the fact that I actually do a warmup unlike the past, I really should add foam rolling. My first reaction to adding something is no, why bother? But I don't really have any excuse - I already own 3 foam rollers! So maybe I'll start doing this again during a de-load week when I'm a little less obsessed with my workout of lifting or throws. I keep building one step at a time. It will be nice when all of this comes automatically and I don't have to think about what to do anymore. But maybe that's a pipe dream. Every step of the way requires a re-consideration of goals and re-calibration of my efforts.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 6/29/21 at 3:38pm
So my third week of this strength block is going well. Some new PRs. I felt that the first week was a struggle (as is the first week of every block due to the change in exercises, volume, intensity and so on). And since my blocks are on the short side - 2-3 weeks - I really don't feel like I can afford a week of getting back into the rhythm of a new block. So I have a thought. I do a de-loading week at the end of each block which I am currently using as an exclusively throwing week. What if I add a couple days of light (60% of 1RM) lifting to that week doing the exercises coming up in the next block? So for example I am finishing off my strength block this week and a de-load week will be next. So I'll throw heavy & overweight implements for de-load week because the weights are relatively light compared to my strength training. Then I'll also add 2-3 sessions with 60% and low volume power exercises as preparation for the following two weeks of a power block. That way, the movements are familiar and I don't waste a week getting back into gear. So my de-load week will have more volume but limited intensity so it should still help to recover from the last block and rehab any niggling little injuries that may have developed as well as acting as a prep week for the next power block. I'll do two weeks of power. I was thinking that I needed to do 3 weeks of power to see results because of the wasted first week that I felt occurred under my old approach. But with a prep phase combined with de-loading I should be able to go all-out during two weeks and see real progress. I won't do plyos during the de-load week though just to give my body a break. But plyos will be part of the program in the next power block. One final thing. I've been doing light weight throwing 2 days a week during this strength block. And I'll switch to heavy/overweight throwing during the de-load week. But I am considering adding heavy weight throwing 2x a week during the power block since the gym weights lifted in the power block are a little lighter. This is probably tougher to do than say but I'll give it a shot. If I can manage 3x a week of power and 2x a week of heavy weight throwing it should be helpful. I'll monitor my sleep pattern to see if I'm overdoing it but I'd really like to combine the weight training program with the throwing program in some logical way. I'm hoping that throwing light weights acts as a way to physically recover from heavy, relatively slow strength work, while throwing heavy weights may act similarly helping to recover mentally and physically from fast, medium-heavy power work. We'll see if I have the work capacity and it pays off in injury-free results.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7/06/21 at 4:38pm
So I'm in my deload week- throwing heavy weights 3 days MWF, and very light 60% of 1RM snatch+clean&jerk on T and Th in preparation for the next 2 week block emphasizing power. As usual I may be pushing too hard - especially for a deload week. But if I need to back off a little one or two days this week I'll do it. For now I feel fine. There are a couple of hiccups this week to deal with that will affect the timing of my training including extreme heat but I'll work around them. My attitude is that I'll always do what I can. Keep moving forward, back off if something doesn't feel right. One other thing that I've noticed is that somewhere along the way to my great surprise I've actually improved my work capacity and recovery ability. I've never in my life had either. My workouts have always been short, intense and exhaustive. My body has actually learned to prefer more frequent short workouts - currently 5 days a week. I think that this schedule is better for developing and maintaining my neural pathways that sustain what little skill I have. Interestingly, more frequent training seems to also help my flexibility/mobility. On the other hand, I am acutely aware of the risks of overdoing it. My training should be a net positive to my life and not detract from the other 23 hours of each day. But it is nice to see that I can continue to learn and improve what I've got.



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I have never been very flexible and after 50 years of sport and lifting weights I have developed arthritis in my hips. The combination of pain and mobility declining even faster finally prompted me to do something about it. Or rather my wife told me to. So I was referred to a physical therapist. Of course my hip mobility is terrible but just one session with a therapist was therapeutic. Of course I'm going back, and I do exercises daily. Other people I'm sure know the benefits of PT already and I know I'm ignorant and late to the game but better late than never. I do the static stretching moves recommended after working out when I'm still warm. Most importantly, throwing already feels more comfortable. Generally I'm skeptical that so-called functional training is good for anything but general fitness and I think that an over-emphasis on mobility takes time and energy away developing, strength, power, speed, agility etc. that is needed for our sport. I know that this is controversial topic. But I have the mobility I have and there are limits as to how much I can improve and sustain any improvement made. The major exception in my opinion is where mobility prevents me from throwing or where an injury - like my hip - impacts not only throwing but also exacerbates the injury, reducing my workload and forcing more recovery time. In this case I think it's worthwhile and necessary to add work on hip mobility to my training. On the other hand, my shoulders are pretty immobile but I can still throw stones relatively well, my shoulders don't hurt and I work them a lot so I'm less concerned/obsessed with improving shoulder mobility for this sport. I'd rather spend the time that could go to shoulder mobility on incline presses, push presses, squats etc. There are lots of things that we can do as athletes that promise improvements but I think that athletes and coaches have to make judgement calls about what is needed for a particular athlete at a particular time. You can't do everything and not everything is going to help a specific athlete. I think that you take the minimum necessary prescription not the whole drug store.     
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Still doing the hip mobility stuff. Next week will be 3 days with the PT plus I do it on my own every day.  It is helping with pain management a lot. I now need to keep intensity high for both throws and weights to train my mind & body to work together to overcome the memory of pain that has now greatly diminished. Past memory of pain plays with your head and limits progress. So I'm looking forward to this week with getting back to power training. This will be my last block before I kick into a higher gear with some pre-comp blocks beginning in August. So I'll do the next 2-3 weeks in a power block. M-dynamic warmup, fast plyos - depth jump with vertical leap, horizontal jumps/hops, heavy day (90%+) - snatch, clean & jerk, squat; T-dynamic warmup, heavy throws; W-dynamic warmup, fast plyos - depth jump with vertical leap, horizontal jumps/hops, light day (60%) - snatch, incline ballistic push up, squat variation; Th-dynamic warmup, heavy throws; F-dynamic warmup, fast plyos - depth jump with vertical leap, horizontal jumps/hops, medium day (80%) - clean, push press/squat jerk, squat
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So three days of physical therapy was added to three days of weights and two days of throwing last week. Needless to say this sudden increase in volume took a lot out of me - essentially it was an overload week. I am expecting that next week will feel a little better but the load will be the same or maybe even a little higher. While doing all of this isn't optimal from any perspective, its all necessary for different reasons and I do feel that I am developing the capacity to train longer and harder. And since there is a time between workouts, I am maximizing the various effects. Weights are M/W/F morning and physical therapy is M/W/F late afternoon. Throwing is T/Th mornings. So next week will be another power week like last week and then I'll do a de-load week. Starting at the beginning of August, I'll have 7 weeks until a competition so I'll alternate a strength block of 3 weeks+1 deload & then finish with a power block of 2 weeks with a de-load week before the competition. I finally starting warming up with a foam roller and it's made a huge difference. Since I workout in the mornings, a foam roller and a dynamic warmup get things moving very well. I used a vibrating foam roller at the physio and I was impressed with the aftereffects. So I've purchased one to use at home and I'll use it with my warmup. I have a fairly fixed dynamic warmup now - jumping jacks, split jumps, hip circles, torso circles, knee lifts and hip hinge+squat (WOB motion) that works pretty well for warming up for throwing. But I think that I need to lengthen the list of exercises to avoid boredom and build more patterns for the long run. I see the dynamic warmup as integral to my long term success and every exercise should be about more than just the daily workout but also about building athletic capabilities. I've also added static stretching after my workouts with a focus on hip mobility which is my greatest need. Another area for investigation for me is medicine balls. I know that Olympic throwers use medballs as an integral part of their training. At first thought, I feel that I'm getting all of the rotational work and power I need from throwing. And I'm not sure what I'd take out of my program to make room for medballs. But I'm going to set aside my initial skepticism and look for research that supports the use of medballs as an alternative or supplement to my training. Maybe I need to make room for it. Medballs are certainly a popular modality in the thrower community. I am really happy with the addition of plyometrics - hopping, jumping both vertically and horizontally to my program. They act as part of my warmup and I feel that they are contributing to my athleticism for throwing. I don't need to do a lot of reps/foot touches to make a difference. Lastly, I am still enjoying alternating blocks of strength and power. with deloads between each. I feel that it gives me time to build strength/power because of focus and yet it staves off boredom and overtraining. In the offseason I will probably change it up but for now it allows me to have a structured approach to preparing for the frequent competitions in this sport. Otherwise it's hard for me to get the mix of strength, power, speed, technique etc optimized to be ready for game day.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7/22/21 at 4:52pm
So I've found a few articles on the use of medicine balls for throwers and there does seem to be a correlation with throwing. (But does throwing help with med balls or vice versa?) Med balls are used by a wide variety of athletes who throw things or rotate and there is research to support the use of balls. While that's interesting news to me, I still wonder about how med balls compare to other possible modalities. What makes me curious is that med ball studies typically use relatively light balls e.g. 3 kg/6.6 lbs. So the effect must be for power not strength. But if I'm trying to build strength as a precursor and foundation for power, med balls will be ineffective because they are too light. So it makes me wonder if throwing overweight implements or ballistic exercises e.g. bench press throw or ballistic pushup (maybe even squat/power jerk) might be better than med balls?  This brings me to a bigger issue. It's always surprising to me how little we really know about everything. It's hard to prove what's better or equal or worse for our training prep because research just hasn't been done for any number of reasons. That leaves the door wide open for opinions, anecdotes, & experience that may or may not be generally applicable or more importantly applicable/helpful to me! So I try to start with the research & slowly add or delete elements from my program. For example, I just can't train like a collegiate thrower - I just don't have that kind of work capacity. And there are limits to what I can takeaway from others too. There is such a thing as genetic superiority in athletics - it may be/probably is the most important thing! Bottom line, I try to identify and stick with fundamental principles and calibrate them to keep making progress and staying in good health. There is always a risk that I may be underachieving because I don't follow someone else's program. But my view is that you don't have to motivate a competitor - like me. If anything I have to hold myself back with periodization, rest and everything else. One last analogy that I once heard. Sometimes I get a little jealous of what other people have accomplished. But I have to keep in mind how the whole athlete is performing. Have they suffered from serious injuries, or have they performed well in the short - run while jeopardizing their long term health? One last point, because of the physical therapy that I am doing for my hip, I have had to pare back my weights and throwing this week. But the physical therapy still includes leg exercises that at least maintain strength. And I carefully monitor my work/rest ratio on each exercise so that I am still in the strength/power zone. It's OK that I've had to re-calibrate my program, because I should be winding down a little anyway in preparation for August 1 when I start a pre-competitive phase. I need to be as healthy and pain-free as possible to accomplish my ambitious agenda in the weeks leading up to Games. I am cautiously optimistic.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7/26/21 at 12:37pm
So this is my de-load week and as usual I am going to change things up to reflect my current needs and longer term goals. My intention is to throw light implements 5 days this week. Physical therapy is 3 days and I get some leg strength work in there as well as stretching. So in the mornings I'll throw - keeping the volume low for strength/power and with maximum intent. The idea is to understand how my patterns are and each workout - like anyone else I guess - I try to focus on a couple of keys. Next week will be the start of  strength block - but with just 2 days weights and 3 days throwing. This is my pre-competitive plan. I still think that I can get stronger with just two days a week but I really want to focus on throwing strength and a comfortable pattern for each event. |No plyos this week but I continue to do a dynamic warmup. I've already put a lot of pressure on myself to do well this fall but I have to be realistic. It's been awhile since I've competed or even thrown all the events (Remind me what a caber is again!? It used to be my best event). And I've got this nagging hip deterioration. But my attitude has to stay positive. So what if I don't throw PRs? It will be fun, feel great to compete again, see old friends and revitalize my connections to the culture and the sport. And as always it is intriguing to me to see what I can do. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7/27/21 at 12:25pm
Watching the Olympics is always inspiring. But I'm not one of those athletes. I was talking to my physio about the stories that we hear about the unbelievably fast recovery that many of them make from injury. I commented that the state of rehab has advanced so much from earlier times. I've seen presentations by strength coaches who bridge the gap between physio and performance by pushing the rehabbing athlete very quickly to return to play and how successful they are in doing so without re-injury. My physical therapist has worked with elite athletes though and his comment was that they are on a different level than me. I may train frequently but nothing compared to an Olympian. Their ability to recover is superior to mine. This whole conversation around injuries is very important to me. If it's a choice between a personal record and avoiding a serious injury, I vote to preserve health. I'm really not very good when I am unable to walk onto the field because of injury! If it's a choice between unplanned over-training and doing a little less to avoid the risk of injury, I'll do a little less. My program has to be progressive in both volume and intensity. I'd love to train for hours - imagine what my work capacity, power, technique could be if I could! But right now at least - I can't train for hours. And having endurance isn't really a useful attribute for throwers anyway. I want to get steadily better in every way and keep building the foundation brick by brick. My enjoyment comes from being on the field of play and competing. Over-training & injuries undermines my goal. One other thing. Maybe I'm going soft but I'm starting to re-think a little my obsession with lifting maximum weights. I've heard over and over that you aren't training to be a weightlifter - you are training to be a thrower. The primary/fundamental lifts don't offer much rotational work for example. So this is where medballs and overweight throws may help even though they don't increase my squat. Another element that is easy to overlook is that I need an un-measurable continuum of maximum strength and quick reaction. In the literature this is referred to as the force-velocity curve. Everything starts with maximum strength (eg. squats) but to throw you need quick lifts (eg. power cleans), ballistic lifts (eg jump squats), and speed (plyos). I've previously discussed how I think HG throws require a mix of strength and speed that varies by event. But if I hit all points on the force - velocity curve - relatively slow movements like squat through to very fast plyos like sprints or plyos I'll cover all the bases. I'm not sure that I'll be able to figure out which part of the curve that I should focus on but I know that it is possible to do this. But I don't have the data to judge whether it is my back squat or sprint speed or something in between that should be my focus. Lastly, I tend to focus on the lower body development but recently I've notice that doing ballistic incline pushups has transferred over very nicely to my stone throws. My presses had stagnated and there was little carryover to my throws or noticeable improvement.      
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 7/31/21 at 1:58pm
So that was a fun "de-load" week with 4 days of throwing and 3 days of physical therapy. I have a big strength week and 3 week block coming up so we'll see if my non-deload week undermines my progress. And this week promises a lot of volume. So M is foam rolling + dynamic warmup + throwing in the morning + physical therapy later in the day. T is foam rolling + dynamic warmup + slow plyos (for strength eg, vertical jumps, horizontal jumps), and sets of 5 upright rows, ballistic pushups and a squat variation. W is foam rolling + dynamic warmup + throwing in the morning + physical therapy later in the day.Th is foam rolling + dynamic warmup + throwing in the morning. F is foam rolling + dynamic warmup + slow plyos and sets of 3 push press, bent over rows and squat + physical therapy later in the day. I also try to remember to do static stretches after every throw or weight workout. This all seems like a lot but I've reached this point progressively and I'm not too shy to back off a workout if I'm just too tired in order to avoid overtraining and injury. It wasn't so long ago that I never warmed up, never did plyometrics and never stretched. I think I've developed a more balanced & well -rounded program without ever losing the emphasis on strength and power. With age I am losing pretty much all of whatever physical qualities I had but the bottom line is that I do enjoy throwing  heavy things and everything that I'm doing is attuned to that objective. The key part is focusing on the major physical deficiencies and correcting them while keeping the rest afloat. Then pulling it all together - in combination with tapering - to be at my best at game time. One last thing, I don't talk about technique because I am still (and always will be) an old novice so most athletes I meet know way more than I do about throwing. However what I do know is that I can't even get into the positions needed and make the movements required without having some minimum physical qualities. As my training has progressed I feel like I am improving my capacity to acquire technical skills. I have attended a few throwing camps and read the literature so I know a little of the theory. So throwing practice along with improving physical capacity should lead to enhanced performance.        
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 8/03/21 at 12:13pm
I find that it is really helpful to write things down here so that it prevents me from doing the same thing over and over when my near term goals may demand a re-think. I am doing what I call slow plyos during this strength week to build concentric-eccentric-isometric strength. So I do vertical and horizontal jumps from a bent knee position with no use of the stretch reflex and when I land I hold the position for a few seconds. In my next block where the emphasis is power my plyos will be oriented towards max speed with stretch reflex actively used and minimal ground contact eg. a series of hops. On the continuum between max strength and max speed I think that I am squarely in the middle. Because of years of Olympic lifting I have relatively good power. This accounts for my strong caber pull. But my weaknesses lie at the ends of the spectrum. I was never especially strong nor particularly fast - and these have both become relatively worse with age. So my slow and fast plyos are part of my solution. My weight training for this strength block has been pared back to 2 days - one day I'd call max strength and the other day ballistic. So Tuesday is my ballistic strength day with sets of 5 in fast upright rows, sets of 10 incline ballistic push-ups which at my bodyweight offer a good challenge and sets of 5 fast Jefferson squats. This is a fun day for me! I then leave the weights alone until Friday. Sets of 3 or fewer in push press, bent over rows and front squats. I think I cover all the bases with these. Lastly, my physio progress has been wonderful. I've cut back my sessions from 3 to 1x a week just to be sure that I stay on track with my static stretching at home. Pain has diminished 90% and I feel that my movement is much better. I'm never going to be a yoga instructor but I have restored a lot of function with the help of my physio. One of the nice things of seeing a physio with experience with athletes is that he offers a sober second opinion. For example, in one of our discussions I described the hammer event. He was appalled and felt that it presents a high injury risk. I talked about how I mitigate the risk by warming up, by keeping my revolutions low (in the strength/power zone - 3-5) per throw and reps per workout and by spreading the load over the week rather than concentrating it in one session. He may be too cautious but it did remind me that HG throwing has one of the highest injury rates in strength sports. Again, my goal is to improve performance and stay major injury free and I constantly re-calibrate my workouts to meet that dual objective. Always the trade-off between longevity in the sport and short term performance.    
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 8/28/21 at 12:05pm
I think that this will be my last post for awhile. I've been through a journey as an Old Novice and I've arrived at a way station. I've explored a lot of the literature, science, practical recommendations & experience and tried my best to make sense of it, which included becoming a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and attending several throwing camps. Here is a summary. I never used to warmup. I now start with foam rolling. Then I do my dynamic warm-up that prepares me for the workout by mirroring the body movements that we use in HG in each of the three main planes of motion. I throw 2-3 times a week. I keep the throwing reps lower than typical of others in this sport for a bunch of reasons - to avoid acute injury, to avoid overuse injuries, to throw with maximum force to closely replicate the competition throw, and to build strength & power. I believe that there is good evidence that overweight throwing is important in developing the strength needed - especially in the off-season. Only once the strength foundation has been built can power improve. I can't get much faster but I can get stronger in the ways needed for HG. I have settled on a block periodization plan for my weight training, alternating 2-3 week periods of strength & power with deload weeks between each. That enables me to build max strength and strength-speed - both of which are necessary for our sport. I never do more than 6 reps in any exercise. Again my focus is strength and power. I have also added in plyometrics for speed-strength and even speed. I do what I call slow plyos (no use of stretch reflex) during strength blocks and fast plyos during power blocks. I focus on what I call the big 5 (press, squat, pull, clean, snatch) and close derivatives. Strength in all the little muscles can be developed most effectively with overweight throwing. Finally, I stretch the most troublesome/sport-limiting parts of my body - in my case my hips. While I'm not quite there yet I also believe in the importance of a proper taper in preparation for an event. Why do all of the prep work and then not be 110% physically and mentally on event day is my attitude. I think that this is a reasonable and justifiable program. I think that it has general applicability to others. The modifications that I make reflect my training status, injury history, age, and few other specific elements and this would be true for anyone else. As I have said many times, my goals were always performance and staying mainly injury-free for sport and overall longevity. It's sometimes hard to balance these two. Keeping it simple, specific, efficient and focusing on what I need to do next helps with the balance.   
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 9/03/21 at 1:03pm
One more thing! I just came across this in the strength research and tried it out and I think that it's a fantastic insight. When ever I've tapered before a competition, I've always felt that I am losing something like a little bit of strength. I've just accepted that it is a price that you pay as you reduce volume and intensity as the competition comes closer. Well there is a answer in the strength research community. The last week before your taper starts you do an overload strength week - high intensity and volume and that carries your strength through the taper period. So in my case, I had done a 2 week period focusing on power in the weight room. The next week was an overload week focusing on strength in the weight room. I pushed the weight intensity and the volume as much as possible. Of course, now I'm tired but now I can feel sure that my strength will last over the next two weeks leading to competition day. So next week will be primarily about power and the following competition week will also emphasize power with good intensity and low volume. The evidence is that the overload week right before the tapering period makes a big difference in results. I thought that this was a very helpful insight.    
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote The Hulk Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: 12/20/22 at 4:51pm
"Train Hard, Revisit Later" ebook is FREE on amazon until 12/31/22

FYI only. So I was a little bored and I decided to take all of my blog posts and publish them as a book! It is available on Amazon as an e-book and as a softcover. It's called "Train Hard, Revisit Later: Revisiting a Highland Games Athlete's First Training Diary". Of course, you don't have to buy the book because it is built on my blog posts contained here!


Edited by The Hulk - 12/28/22 at 12:45pm
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