Training @ 450a
Push press 280x4x4 (90%)
Strict ohp 225x3x3
Bench 250x7x2 (75%), 250x6, 235x5x2
Cable pushdowns
Seated db overhead extension
Seated cable wide rows (neutral grip)
Hammerstrength preacher curl
Couple notes here. Bench is a weak spot for me and continues to be just that. I used to have a good bench when my shoulders were healthier and I spent my chest workouts doing bench, incline, db bench, db incline, flyes, blah blah blah. Bench isn't that functional for me anymore so I greatly neglect it. With that said I still would like to build up a respectable bench again, however, putting bench after my overhead work just destroyed my projected max and any attempt at a % based workout, despite using a conservative max to base my percentages off of as well as using a training max of 90%. So with that said, I'm going to move to a 5x5 structure on bench and just increase 5lbs/week. This is the first week of the new program and I'm trying to pay attention to my body so I feel this would be the best move. I figure by the time I get to 315x5x5 AFTER all the overhead pressing, I should be back somewhere close to 400 or above. We'll see in about 35 weeks I suppose, haha. Push pressing felt solid, going to treat today as a 7x7 workout and go with 6x6 next week to stay the course on my other main movements. Squats Thursday!
Have a Merry Christmas everyone!
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
Monday, December 23, 2013
12/23/13 - pulls (7x7) & fsquat
Training @ 445a
Deadlift to 315x7, 445x7x7 (75%)
Front squat 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, etc up to 365x3
Neutral grip pullups 5x3
Posterior chain is destroyed. Took everything I had to hit that 365 triple on front squat. Volume kills me. Overall the pulls weren't too bad. That last 2 sets were miserable though. Reps were very slow on the final set. I like this. Since my bench is a bit iffy due to the shouler, I'll start with 4x4 on push press tomorrow and go with 7x7 since it's lighter on bench and being very conservative with my max to base the % off of.
Deadlift to 315x7, 445x7x7 (75%)
Front squat 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, etc up to 365x3
Neutral grip pullups 5x3
Posterior chain is destroyed. Took everything I had to hit that 365 triple on front squat. Volume kills me. Overall the pulls weren't too bad. That last 2 sets were miserable though. Reps were very slow on the final set. I like this. Since my bench is a bit iffy due to the shouler, I'll start with 4x4 on push press tomorrow and go with 7x7 since it's lighter on bench and being very conservative with my max to base the % off of.
12/22/13 - Sunday training
Training @ 830a
18# shot
*stand non reverse x4
*stand w/reverse x8, best 43
*south african drill non reverse x3-5, best 47
*south african drill w/reverse x2-3, best 50
Couple things here:
1) I'm still finishing to early. Watching video in slow motion, my body STOPs as its facing forward and pushes straight ahead. My right shoudler doesn't get into the field before pushing. I'm thinking this may be why I'm jumping off my left. I need to push my torso longer before finishing with my arm. Going to work on that.
2) Working slow to fast on the south african drills. Trying to really get that right down and start pushing immediately. I'm trying to push my right leg past my left leg so that my left leg is a true block and is forcing my hip to stop to transfer the momentum. This, combined with a proper finish up top should get me moving in the right direction. Went 50ft on one of my south africans with the 18# shot which would be a PR but the majority of throws were 45-47. Got to stay on top of it.
49# wfd x10ish, best 47
25# wfd x4, best 92
Felt very weak here. The 49 felt SO heavy and I was having trouble accellerating through the finish. Positions felt great, just nothing behind them. I'll chalk that up to fatigue. The 25 felt really good. Speed was solid but final push was off. Still, 92 isn't awful for me with the 25, best is 95 so I can't complain.
16# hamer x6-8, best 142
Decided to skip the 22 today to avoid a dismal practice because of energy. The lighter, faster stuff is easier for me because it doesn't require as much effort. Even 100% effort with the 16# hammer is much less effort than 100% effort with the 22. Haha. Last 3 throws were all over 140. Need to keep in mind to really reach left and catch the hammer. I was sitting 135-137ish and the moment I let the hammer drift left (not the low point) and caught it sooner was the moment 140, 142 and 141 (respectively) dropped down.
Good overall practice that lasted a shade under 3 hours. Not going to practice next Sundays so that'll help me recover some from throwing. Going to fit all 3 events in during the week then head back to stone 3-4x a week next week. I'm hoping that after a month of throwing shot/stone 3-4x a week it'll bring up my numbers.
18# shot
*stand non reverse x4
*stand w/reverse x8, best 43
*south african drill non reverse x3-5, best 47
*south african drill w/reverse x2-3, best 50
Couple things here:
1) I'm still finishing to early. Watching video in slow motion, my body STOPs as its facing forward and pushes straight ahead. My right shoudler doesn't get into the field before pushing. I'm thinking this may be why I'm jumping off my left. I need to push my torso longer before finishing with my arm. Going to work on that.
2) Working slow to fast on the south african drills. Trying to really get that right down and start pushing immediately. I'm trying to push my right leg past my left leg so that my left leg is a true block and is forcing my hip to stop to transfer the momentum. This, combined with a proper finish up top should get me moving in the right direction. Went 50ft on one of my south africans with the 18# shot which would be a PR but the majority of throws were 45-47. Got to stay on top of it.
49# wfd x10ish, best 47
25# wfd x4, best 92
Felt very weak here. The 49 felt SO heavy and I was having trouble accellerating through the finish. Positions felt great, just nothing behind them. I'll chalk that up to fatigue. The 25 felt really good. Speed was solid but final push was off. Still, 92 isn't awful for me with the 25, best is 95 so I can't complain.
16# hamer x6-8, best 142
Decided to skip the 22 today to avoid a dismal practice because of energy. The lighter, faster stuff is easier for me because it doesn't require as much effort. Even 100% effort with the 16# hammer is much less effort than 100% effort with the 22. Haha. Last 3 throws were all over 140. Need to keep in mind to really reach left and catch the hammer. I was sitting 135-137ish and the moment I let the hammer drift left (not the low point) and caught it sooner was the moment 140, 142 and 141 (respectively) dropped down.
Good overall practice that lasted a shade under 3 hours. Not going to practice next Sundays so that'll help me recover some from throwing. Going to fit all 3 events in during the week then head back to stone 3-4x a week next week. I'm hoping that after a month of throwing shot/stone 3-4x a week it'll bring up my numbers.
Friday, December 20, 2013
12/19/13 - stone
Training @ 1245p
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x3-4
*stand reverse x3-4, best 49
*south africa drill non reverse x18-20, best 52
Slowed down the turn and worked on accelerating my right leg while keeping my right shoulder back to accentuate separation. Started very slow with drills, then took a couple slow throws, then a little faster drills, faster throws, more drills, throws, drills throws, up to a solid throw just shy of 53. Then took two more slow again and called it. A very productive stone practice for the first time in a while. Going to remember to do this every stone practice now (3-4x/week) so that by the time the season starts I can get after it.
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x3-4
*stand reverse x3-4, best 49
*south africa drill non reverse x18-20, best 52
Slowed down the turn and worked on accelerating my right leg while keeping my right shoulder back to accentuate separation. Started very slow with drills, then took a couple slow throws, then a little faster drills, faster throws, more drills, throws, drills throws, up to a solid throw just shy of 53. Then took two more slow again and called it. A very productive stone practice for the first time in a while. Going to remember to do this every stone practice now (3-4x/week) so that by the time the season starts I can get after it.
12/18/13 - stone
Training @ 1245p
15.5# stone x misery
Some stone sessions are awesome, others are complete shit. Having a very tough time getting my right foot to turn to push the hip through in front of the shoulder. Need to start working middle drills and south africans, slow things way down an work on making sure my lower body is moving faster than my upper.
Side note: ordered an 18# shot.. fun
15.5# stone x misery
Some stone sessions are awesome, others are complete shit. Having a very tough time getting my right foot to turn to push the hip through in front of the shoulder. Need to start working middle drills and south africans, slow things way down an work on making sure my lower body is moving faster than my upper.
Side note: ordered an 18# shot.. fun
12/17/13 - ohp & stone
Training @ 515a
Push press up to 335x1, 315x1
Strict press 225x3, 235x3, 245x3, 275x1
band push downs 3x20
pullups 5x3
Wanted to go for 365 on push press but 335 was miserable. This is only 10lbs off my PR and the first time hitting some big weight since before my shoulder started acting up. Didn't feel like benching so I skipped it.
Training#2 @ 12p
15.5# stone x awful
Push press up to 335x1, 315x1
Strict press 225x3, 235x3, 245x3, 275x1
band push downs 3x20
pullups 5x3
Wanted to go for 365 on push press but 335 was miserable. This is only 10lbs off my PR and the first time hitting some big weight since before my shoulder started acting up. Didn't feel like benching so I skipped it.
Training#2 @ 12p
15.5# stone x awful
Monday, December 16, 2013
12/16/13 - fsquat/pulls
Training @ 1230p
Front squat doubles to 405, 455x1, 405x4
Deadlift doubles to 545, 585x1
12" step ups 275x6x3
Nice little workout while on lunch break. I need to get back into pulling every week. I pulled 655 in 2011 and only pulled it once this year. I've made absolutely no progress in the last two years. 585 felt heavy off the floor but lockout was easy peasy. Hamstrings were pretty tight so coming off the floor felt iffy and slow. Front squat strength is down but I haven't front squatted much this year either. Got a little cramp in my left cap in the bottom position that was making me hesitant so I stoppeda t the single with 455. A few more weeks with fronts and I should be back close to my old max (515). Step ups feeling good. Push presse and bench tomorrow.
Front squat doubles to 405, 455x1, 405x4
Deadlift doubles to 545, 585x1
12" step ups 275x6x3
Nice little workout while on lunch break. I need to get back into pulling every week. I pulled 655 in 2011 and only pulled it once this year. I've made absolutely no progress in the last two years. 585 felt heavy off the floor but lockout was easy peasy. Hamstrings were pretty tight so coming off the floor felt iffy and slow. Front squat strength is down but I haven't front squatted much this year either. Got a little cramp in my left cap in the bottom position that was making me hesitant so I stoppeda t the single with 455. A few more weeks with fronts and I should be back close to my old max (515). Step ups feeling good. Push presse and bench tomorrow.
12/15/13 - sunday throws
Training @ 730a
24.5# stone
*stand non reverse x3-4
*stand w/ reverse x3-4, best 37 ugh
15.5# stone full spin non reversee x 6-8, best 51, ugh
Absolutely could not get my hips in front of my torso. Felt very stiff the whole time and couldn't separate my lower from my upper. This proved frustrating and the numbers show.
56# wfd x5-6, best 45
28# wfd x4-5, best 87
Ditched the strap today and hooked all my throws just as a mid off-season test to make sure my grip his holding up. No grip issues at all, including on the thinner handled ring handles I was using. Hand completely in tact w/no tears. Good distances despite not throwing a 56 or 28 in several weeks. Going to stick to the plan throwing the 49 and 25 in practice.
22# hammer x4-5, best 114
16# hammer x4-5, best 137
Haven't thrown a 22 in practice in ages but realized I need to start so I can work on my power with the heavier hammer. Changed my grip on the 22 so that all 4 fingers of both hands are on the handle, this gave me better control and the hammer didn't want to slip out as bad. Did the same on the 16 and I feel like I lost a little. I'll play around with it this week. Distances were solid, though I would've liked to have seen 140 with the 16. Was getting tired by then as we were a little over 3 hours in at that point.
24.5# stone
*stand non reverse x3-4
*stand w/ reverse x3-4, best 37 ugh
15.5# stone full spin non reversee x 6-8, best 51, ugh
Absolutely could not get my hips in front of my torso. Felt very stiff the whole time and couldn't separate my lower from my upper. This proved frustrating and the numbers show.
56# wfd x5-6, best 45
28# wfd x4-5, best 87
Ditched the strap today and hooked all my throws just as a mid off-season test to make sure my grip his holding up. No grip issues at all, including on the thinner handled ring handles I was using. Hand completely in tact w/no tears. Good distances despite not throwing a 56 or 28 in several weeks. Going to stick to the plan throwing the 49 and 25 in practice.
22# hammer x4-5, best 114
16# hammer x4-5, best 137
Haven't thrown a 22 in practice in ages but realized I need to start so I can work on my power with the heavier hammer. Changed my grip on the 22 so that all 4 fingers of both hands are on the handle, this gave me better control and the hammer didn't want to slip out as bad. Did the same on the 16 and I feel like I lost a little. I'll play around with it this week. Distances were solid, though I would've liked to have seen 140 with the 16. Was getting tired by then as we were a little over 3 hours in at that point.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
12/12/13 - squat/jerk
Training @ 1140a
15 min warmup on elliptical
Squat to 405x3, 455x3, 495x3, 405x5
Btn power jerk 185x5, 225x5, 245x5x2
Seated box jump to 36" for 4x5
HS preacher curls 2x20
Started to do some cable low rows but called it, had to get back into work. Satisified with the 495x3. I need to push this top set more and more every week. Jerks felt explosive, taking my time moving the weight up despite being anxious to get in the 3s on this.
15 min warmup on elliptical
Squat to 405x3, 455x3, 495x3, 405x5
Btn power jerk 185x5, 225x5, 245x5x2
Seated box jump to 36" for 4x5
HS preacher curls 2x20
Started to do some cable low rows but called it, had to get back into work. Satisified with the 495x3. I need to push this top set more and more every week. Jerks felt explosive, taking my time moving the weight up despite being anxious to get in the 3s on this.
12/11/13 - wfd
Training @ 1230p
49# wfd x10ish, best 51
25# wfd x8, best 91
Not an awful day but not great either. Fixed my issue with sprinting too far in the box by getting my left down sooner. Cues still are "slap the right side of the trig" aftet the first turn and a new cue is just to make the weight move FASTER than the sprint. That translated well. I'm going to be throwing the 56 and 28 this weekend so I'm anxious to see what comes of that.
49# wfd x10ish, best 51
25# wfd x8, best 91
Not an awful day but not great either. Fixed my issue with sprinting too far in the box by getting my left down sooner. Cues still are "slap the right side of the trig" aftet the first turn and a new cue is just to make the weight move FASTER than the sprint. That translated well. I'm going to be throwing the 56 and 28 this weekend so I'm anxious to see what comes of that.
12/10/13 - ohp/bench & stone
Training#1 @ 415a
Strict ohp 185x5, 205x5x2, 225x5x2
Flat bb bench 275x3, 295x3, 315x3, 275x6
3 board press 275x5x2
Band pushdowns & face pulls 2x20
No pain at all on the strict ohp. Def lost a little power but not too much and should be back pretty quickly as long as I stay at it. Bench feeling stronger and gaining confidence. The 3rd rep with 315 was def a grinder so I'm starting out pretty low (again). Hoping to get this up to a double w/405 by the beginning of the season. Only went for 2 sets with the board presses as my shoulder started to let me know it was getting fatigued and I didn't wan to push it there. Good sesh.
Training#2 @ 1230p
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x5-6
*stand w/ reverse x5-6
*spin non reverse x8-10
Wasn't looking for any numbers. Not feeling much pop today after the heavy pulls yesterday and pressing this morning. Working on getting my hips through first on the standing. This is proving difficult to separate as it's not a very smooth transition for me yet. I'll keep working on it. Had a breakthrough on the spin for the last couple throws. Usually I try to get my left down immediately and start pushing but I'm always finishing too early before my hips are where they need to be so this time I focused on turning my foot the moment my right touches down, despite my left not being down. Much to my surprise (and delight) this put my right hip forward ready to push the moment my left came down and it was much easier to keep my upper body back to separate. Progress. I love it.
Strict ohp 185x5, 205x5x2, 225x5x2
Flat bb bench 275x3, 295x3, 315x3, 275x6
3 board press 275x5x2
Band pushdowns & face pulls 2x20
No pain at all on the strict ohp. Def lost a little power but not too much and should be back pretty quickly as long as I stay at it. Bench feeling stronger and gaining confidence. The 3rd rep with 315 was def a grinder so I'm starting out pretty low (again). Hoping to get this up to a double w/405 by the beginning of the season. Only went for 2 sets with the board presses as my shoulder started to let me know it was getting fatigued and I didn't wan to push it there. Good sesh.
Training#2 @ 1230p
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x5-6
*stand w/ reverse x5-6
*spin non reverse x8-10
Wasn't looking for any numbers. Not feeling much pop today after the heavy pulls yesterday and pressing this morning. Working on getting my hips through first on the standing. This is proving difficult to separate as it's not a very smooth transition for me yet. I'll keep working on it. Had a breakthrough on the spin for the last couple throws. Usually I try to get my left down immediately and start pushing but I'm always finishing too early before my hips are where they need to be so this time I focused on turning my foot the moment my right touches down, despite my left not being down. Much to my surprise (and delight) this put my right hip forward ready to push the moment my left came down and it was much easier to keep my upper body back to separate. Progress. I love it.
Tuesday, December 10, 2013
12/9/13 - pulls
Training#1 @ 435a
Deads up to 495x1x5, 545x1x3, 585x1x2
High box squat 315x5, 405x5, 455x5, 495x5
12" Step ups 275x5x3
Neutral grip pull ups 3x5
RDL 315x5, 365x5x2
Good day. Haven't pulled heavy since the day I injured my abs in late October. Plan was to go to 495 and hit 10 singles with only 60-90 seconds rest between each. When 495 felt easy with only 45-70 seconds rest I decided to up the ante a little. 545 felt good and 585 felt really good. A bit slower than I had liked but that's going to happen when you don't pull heavy for 6ish weeks. In any event, it was a good first heavy sesh back. Weights were singing at the top on the squats. Speed felt really good. Still not sure if this is going to be beneficial to my throws but we'll see. Training just the power position depth makes sense as it allows me to go heavier while still keeping the speed. I'll keep them in the rotation for a while longer. I do feel that every couple weeks I should do a full squat session so I've got to keep that in mind. Step ups felt heavier than expected going from 235 up to 275. I'd like to get these 315+ before the start of the season. Unilateral leg strength is coming along though. No way I could I have touched this a few months ago with the same intsensity I had today. Rdls felt heavier than usual but I was pretty fatigued by then. Good day.
Was going to do some stone at lunch but decided to go home and hang with the family for a while. I'll pick it back up tomorrow.
Deads up to 495x1x5, 545x1x3, 585x1x2
High box squat 315x5, 405x5, 455x5, 495x5
12" Step ups 275x5x3
Neutral grip pull ups 3x5
RDL 315x5, 365x5x2
Good day. Haven't pulled heavy since the day I injured my abs in late October. Plan was to go to 495 and hit 10 singles with only 60-90 seconds rest between each. When 495 felt easy with only 45-70 seconds rest I decided to up the ante a little. 545 felt good and 585 felt really good. A bit slower than I had liked but that's going to happen when you don't pull heavy for 6ish weeks. In any event, it was a good first heavy sesh back. Weights were singing at the top on the squats. Speed felt really good. Still not sure if this is going to be beneficial to my throws but we'll see. Training just the power position depth makes sense as it allows me to go heavier while still keeping the speed. I'll keep them in the rotation for a while longer. I do feel that every couple weeks I should do a full squat session so I've got to keep that in mind. Step ups felt heavier than expected going from 235 up to 275. I'd like to get these 315+ before the start of the season. Unilateral leg strength is coming along though. No way I could I have touched this a few months ago with the same intsensity I had today. Rdls felt heavier than usual but I was pretty fatigued by then. Good day.
Was going to do some stone at lunch but decided to go home and hang with the family for a while. I'll pick it back up tomorrow.
Monday, December 9, 2013
12/8/13 - stone/wfd/hammer
2 mins jump rope and 20 mins cardio on Saturday 12/7 to get the heart pumping
12/8 AM weight = 278lbs
*down about 15lbs over the last 3 weeks
Training @ 7a
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x5-6
*stand w/ reverse x4-5, best 51 for training PR
*full spin non reverse x6-8, best 52ish
Focus on holding my left arm and right shoulder back so that I can lead with the right hip. Getting better. Pushing the right knee in hard trying to get it facing the field before I start pushing/opening up. Nice standing stone pr with the light stone. Going to be switching to a 17# stone soon. Spins felt ok. On the handful of throws I separated well I lost sprint and left about a foot in the trig. On the ones I sprinted well I lost all separation. Still working consistency here. On a positive note, I am getting better at separating. Just need to remember to hold my upper body back and make sure my hips stay in front of my torso. Productive sesh.
49# wfd
*one turn x5, best 45
*full x8-10, best 50
25# wfd x1 @ 91ft
Wfd feels good though I'm using up a lot of room in the trig. Doing a good job of staying back on the cast and not drifting forward, however, I'm sprinting so hard I'm using up all my real estate and landing very narrow at the front. Need to figure this out as I'm losing power on the final push into the field. Started getting it a bit better towards the end when I relaxed and focused on getting my right down sooner. Need more work here.
16# hammer x7, best 140
Goal today was to go 140 and call it. Was starting to get frustrated. Series went 127, 128, 138, 139, 138, 138, 140. Abdominals feeling good, no sign of a strain. Happy to get back into the swing of things here. Contemplaying utilizing a heavier hammer to train power for this event. I've gota lighter hammer to work on speed but I feel like I need a bit more sport specific power so throwing a 26-28 hammer might do that for me. I'll report back.
12/8 AM weight = 278lbs
*down about 15lbs over the last 3 weeks
Training @ 7a
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x5-6
*stand w/ reverse x4-5, best 51 for training PR
*full spin non reverse x6-8, best 52ish
Focus on holding my left arm and right shoulder back so that I can lead with the right hip. Getting better. Pushing the right knee in hard trying to get it facing the field before I start pushing/opening up. Nice standing stone pr with the light stone. Going to be switching to a 17# stone soon. Spins felt ok. On the handful of throws I separated well I lost sprint and left about a foot in the trig. On the ones I sprinted well I lost all separation. Still working consistency here. On a positive note, I am getting better at separating. Just need to remember to hold my upper body back and make sure my hips stay in front of my torso. Productive sesh.
49# wfd
*one turn x5, best 45
*full x8-10, best 50
25# wfd x1 @ 91ft
Wfd feels good though I'm using up a lot of room in the trig. Doing a good job of staying back on the cast and not drifting forward, however, I'm sprinting so hard I'm using up all my real estate and landing very narrow at the front. Need to figure this out as I'm losing power on the final push into the field. Started getting it a bit better towards the end when I relaxed and focused on getting my right down sooner. Need more work here.
16# hammer x7, best 140
Goal today was to go 140 and call it. Was starting to get frustrated. Series went 127, 128, 138, 139, 138, 138, 140. Abdominals feeling good, no sign of a strain. Happy to get back into the swing of things here. Contemplaying utilizing a heavier hammer to train power for this event. I've gota lighter hammer to work on speed but I feel like I need a bit more sport specific power so throwing a 26-28 hammer might do that for me. I'll report back.
Friday, December 6, 2013
12/6/13 - wfd
Training @ 1215p
49# wfd
*one turn x5-6
*full x8-10
25# wfd x5ish
49# wfd x2
Fatigue setting in. 5 hours sleep a couple nights in a row slowing down my reaction time. First few throws with the 49 were good then everything went to shit. Couldn't get my left down in time, sprinting too far, not following through. Getting really frustrated. Switchd to the 25 and slowed things down and focused on positions and cues: stay on my left out of the back and counter against the weight to stay in the back of the box, push the weight towards 1:00 for the sprint, get the left down and push the weight into the field. Had a couple at 90-92 and a couple in the 87-89 range. Positions felt better and got smoother again. Took 2 throws with the 49 afterwards, just as a walkthrough to hit the positions and cues. Unk distances but they felt good. Managed to turn the shit practice around so I'm happy with that.
Finshed of the day with 2 mins jump rope and 15 mins on spin bike. Cardio FTW!!
49# wfd
*one turn x5-6
*full x8-10
25# wfd x5ish
49# wfd x2
Fatigue setting in. 5 hours sleep a couple nights in a row slowing down my reaction time. First few throws with the 49 were good then everything went to shit. Couldn't get my left down in time, sprinting too far, not following through. Getting really frustrated. Switchd to the 25 and slowed things down and focused on positions and cues: stay on my left out of the back and counter against the weight to stay in the back of the box, push the weight towards 1:00 for the sprint, get the left down and push the weight into the field. Had a couple at 90-92 and a couple in the 87-89 range. Positions felt better and got smoother again. Took 2 throws with the 49 afterwards, just as a walkthrough to hit the positions and cues. Unk distances but they felt good. Managed to turn the shit practice around so I'm happy with that.
Finshed of the day with 2 mins jump rope and 15 mins on spin bike. Cardio FTW!!
Thursday, December 5, 2013
12/5/13 - speed day
Training #1 @ 415a
15mins on elliptical
Hang power snatch 95x3x3, 135x3x3, 165x3x3
Squat to jerk 135x3, 185x3, 205x3, 225x3, 235x3x2
Neutral grip pullups 3x5
36" box jumps 5x5
Working on pushing my elbows out at the start of the power snatch, feelt much more powerful and the transition to the catch was much easier. The squat to jerks felt really good as well, very snappy. I'm hoping to work these up to 315 over the next few months, getting to a solid triple at 275-290 by the start of the season. Neutral grip pullups don't seem to bother the shoulder at all so I'm sticking with those for a while. Jumps felt good. I need to add in sprints soon.
15mins on elliptical
Hang power snatch 95x3x3, 135x3x3, 165x3x3
Squat to jerk 135x3, 185x3, 205x3, 225x3, 235x3x2
Neutral grip pullups 3x5
36" box jumps 5x5
Working on pushing my elbows out at the start of the power snatch, feelt much more powerful and the transition to the catch was much easier. The squat to jerks felt really good as well, very snappy. I'm hoping to work these up to 315 over the next few months, getting to a solid triple at 275-290 by the start of the season. Neutral grip pullups don't seem to bother the shoulder at all so I'm sticking with those for a while. Jumps felt good. I need to add in sprints soon.
12/4/13 - stone
Training @ 1215p
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x4-5
*stand w/reverse x3-4, best 48
*full spin non reverse x2-3, best 54
*full spin w/reverse x2, best 52
Getting a bit more consistent. Realizing a couple things: If I sprint rotationally vs driving straight I absolutely cannot hold my shoulders back when I get to the front. If I sprint straight I can really use my left arm to push across my body and hold it long enough to activate my right hip first. Had one throw in particular that was money, but it was slow. That was the 54 and it felt great. Tried to speed it up and lost my separation. Need to continue with the drills, focusing on really pushing my left arm across my body when my right foot lands and pushing my right knee in and down to activate the hip faster than my left side is opening. Feeling encouraged with my stones as of late.
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x4-5
*stand w/reverse x3-4, best 48
*full spin non reverse x2-3, best 54
*full spin w/reverse x2, best 52
Getting a bit more consistent. Realizing a couple things: If I sprint rotationally vs driving straight I absolutely cannot hold my shoulders back when I get to the front. If I sprint straight I can really use my left arm to push across my body and hold it long enough to activate my right hip first. Had one throw in particular that was money, but it was slow. That was the 54 and it felt great. Tried to speed it up and lost my separation. Need to continue with the drills, focusing on really pushing my left arm across my body when my right foot lands and pushing my right knee in and down to activate the hip faster than my left side is opening. Feeling encouraged with my stones as of late.
Tuesday, December 3, 2013
12/3/13 - ohp
Training @ 4a
Push press to 315x2x2
Strict ohp 205x5x3
3 board press 135x5, 225x5, 275x5, 295x5, 315x5
Bb row 225x8x3
Band push downs 2x20
Band face pulls 2x20
Shoulder feeling better every week. Still getting sore by the end of the workout but def making progress. Lack of pressing over the last 2 months is noticeable with the temporary strength loss. Last rep on the strict presses were grinders. Fortunately though, despite being grinders there was still absolutely no pain. Happy to be on track to still making some solid gains this offseason.
Monday, December 2, 2013
12/2/13 - front squat
Training @ 445a
Front squat 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3x2, 385x3x2, 405x3x2, 365x5, 315x8
Done. Didn't feel like all the other nonsense assistance stuff so I beat it up pretty good on the fronts. Core is destroyed from hammers yesterday, legs will follow suit momentarily.
Front squat 135x5, 185x5, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3x2, 385x3x2, 405x3x2, 365x5, 315x8
Done. Didn't feel like all the other nonsense assistance stuff so I beat it up pretty good on the fronts. Core is destroyed from hammers yesterday, legs will follow suit momentarily.
12/1/13 - stone/wfd/hammer
Training @ 7a
15.5# stone
*stand w/o reverse x5-6
*stand w/reverse x3-4, best 47
*full spin x5-6, best 51
Trying to really work on keeping my torso back and leading with my right hip. Trying to get a bit more explosive with my right knee in pushing it in and down to get my hips square then pushing hard off the right and climbing my left. Definitely making progress on the stands, despite distance. It feels much smoother. Spins are still off. I can visualize what I need to do but when it comes down to it I'm moving too fast and it's falling apart. Going to do a bunch of drills without the stone going through the motion of the spin. Need to remember NOT to finish as soon as my left hits the ground at the front but instead to drive that right hip and hold my torso position as long as possible. I'm getting there very slowly.
49# wfd x 8-10, best 50
25# wfd x 4, best 92
Trying to remember to drive the weight forward instead of counter it. Mentally thinking about driving toward 1:00 or 2:00 vs straight into the trig. This is giving me a straighter sprint and a better position to finish. Feels good.
16# hammer x3, went 119, 125, 135 successively
20# hammer (w/4 winds), best 121
Not a bad start for not having thrown hammer since October. The 16 felt really good and I certainly wasn't going 100%. On the 20# hammer I was attempting to get it moving faster so I added in a 4th wind. This is a weird feeling when I've been going with 3 winds for so long. It's almost like I've got two 2nd winds as I can't hit full extension now until the 4th wind. I can't hit full extension on the 3rd and 4th winds as I'm losing speed and it becomes more of an up and down movement for me instead of side to side. By treating the 3rd wind the same as the 2nd wind it stays side to side and I can stay on it. Trouble now is that the ball has so much speed that when combined witht he weight, it wants to come out early. I had a couple that would have been really far but came out too early. Unable to decide if the 4 winds will be beneficial or not just yet but I'll keep at it for the next couple weeks and see.
Overall a good first practice (longer practice) back. Going to add in some wob next week.
15.5# stone
*stand w/o reverse x5-6
*stand w/reverse x3-4, best 47
*full spin x5-6, best 51
Trying to really work on keeping my torso back and leading with my right hip. Trying to get a bit more explosive with my right knee in pushing it in and down to get my hips square then pushing hard off the right and climbing my left. Definitely making progress on the stands, despite distance. It feels much smoother. Spins are still off. I can visualize what I need to do but when it comes down to it I'm moving too fast and it's falling apart. Going to do a bunch of drills without the stone going through the motion of the spin. Need to remember NOT to finish as soon as my left hits the ground at the front but instead to drive that right hip and hold my torso position as long as possible. I'm getting there very slowly.
49# wfd x 8-10, best 50
25# wfd x 4, best 92
Trying to remember to drive the weight forward instead of counter it. Mentally thinking about driving toward 1:00 or 2:00 vs straight into the trig. This is giving me a straighter sprint and a better position to finish. Feels good.
16# hammer x3, went 119, 125, 135 successively
20# hammer (w/4 winds), best 121
Not a bad start for not having thrown hammer since October. The 16 felt really good and I certainly wasn't going 100%. On the 20# hammer I was attempting to get it moving faster so I added in a 4th wind. This is a weird feeling when I've been going with 3 winds for so long. It's almost like I've got two 2nd winds as I can't hit full extension now until the 4th wind. I can't hit full extension on the 3rd and 4th winds as I'm losing speed and it becomes more of an up and down movement for me instead of side to side. By treating the 3rd wind the same as the 2nd wind it stays side to side and I can stay on it. Trouble now is that the ball has so much speed that when combined witht he weight, it wants to come out early. I had a couple that would have been really far but came out too early. Unable to decide if the 4 winds will be beneficial or not just yet but I'll keep at it for the next couple weeks and see.
Overall a good first practice (longer practice) back. Going to add in some wob next week.
11/29/13 - snatch/speed squat
Training @ 3p
Hang power snatch 135x3, 155x3x4
Squat into jerk 135x3, 185x3x2, 225x3x2
Need to keep my elbows out more on the snatches so it stays closer. Feeling pretty strong though, despite the lighter weight. Squats feel snappy and there is absolutely no press on the jerk. Going to keep adding 10lbs/week to these and try to get more work sets at the higher weights. Feels good to be moving the weight quickly again.
Hang power snatch 135x3, 155x3x4
Squat into jerk 135x3, 185x3x2, 225x3x2
Need to keep my elbows out more on the snatches so it stays closer. Feeling pretty strong though, despite the lighter weight. Squats feel snappy and there is absolutely no press on the jerk. Going to keep adding 10lbs/week to these and try to get more work sets at the higher weights. Feels good to be moving the weight quickly again.
11/27/13 - wfd
Training @ 1215p
49# wfd
*1 turn x6
*full x9, best 51
25# wfd x7, best 94
Working on counting the weight better on the cast to keep me from drifting forward since I'm starting the turn earlier to be in a better position for the sprint. Still defaulting back to countering the weight for the sprint instead of actively pushing it forward for the sprint. I'm about 50/50 on these. Finish at the front feels pretty good though.
49# wfd
*1 turn x6
*full x9, best 51
25# wfd x7, best 94
Working on counting the weight better on the cast to keep me from drifting forward since I'm starting the turn earlier to be in a better position for the sprint. Still defaulting back to countering the weight for the sprint instead of actively pushing it forward for the sprint. I'm about 50/50 on these. Finish at the front feels pretty good though.
11/26/13 - bench & stones
Training#1 @ 415a
Flat bb bench up to 315x1, 225x20
3 board press 275x5x3
Strict ohp 135x5, 135x8, 185x5x2
band high rows 3x15
band low rows 3x15
Reading this makes me realize I forgot my band pushdowns. Oh well. Was going to doing do some bench dips but didn't want to stress the shoulder any more. It was already getting sore. No pain during the workout though, just some soreness so that's exciting. The negative portion of the bench was very slow and deliberate, as to not move anything around too fast or suddenly but the push felt great. Even 315 went up much faster than expected. Board presses felt good as well though my triceps were starting to die out. OHP felt very good as well. Was going to go for 8 on the second with 185 but my front delts were screaming so I called it there. Finished up with the band rows with a monster mini ust to get a little back work in and take some pressure off my shoulder. Going to start adding BB rows back in very soon.
Threw stones in the afternoon but forgot to log it and by now I can't remember what was done. haha..
Flat bb bench up to 315x1, 225x20
3 board press 275x5x3
Strict ohp 135x5, 135x8, 185x5x2
band high rows 3x15
band low rows 3x15
Reading this makes me realize I forgot my band pushdowns. Oh well. Was going to doing do some bench dips but didn't want to stress the shoulder any more. It was already getting sore. No pain during the workout though, just some soreness so that's exciting. The negative portion of the bench was very slow and deliberate, as to not move anything around too fast or suddenly but the push felt great. Even 315 went up much faster than expected. Board presses felt good as well though my triceps were starting to die out. OHP felt very good as well. Was going to go for 8 on the second with 185 but my front delts were screaming so I called it there. Finished up with the band rows with a monster mini ust to get a little back work in and take some pressure off my shoulder. Going to start adding BB rows back in very soon.
Threw stones in the afternoon but forgot to log it and by now I can't remember what was done. haha..
11/25/13 - pulls & stone
Training#1 @ 420p
15mins elliptical to warmup & burn some cals
Deads up to 405x3, 315x3x4
24" box squat 335x5, 425x5, 475x5, 515x5
12" step ups 245x6x3
Netural grip pullups 5x3
RDLs 245x10, 335x8x2
Deads felt good for the most part. I could feel my oblique letting me know it wasn't 100% yet while I was on the 315. Went up to 405 and smoked an easy triple but oblique was getting sore and I didn't want to push too hard yet. Dropped down and hit a few sets of 5 just to get some reps in and work technique. I haev a bad habit of pulling prematurely (before the bar is against my shins) and consequently end up leaving the weight way out front which puts me in a poor position to drive my hips through. Focus today was to really sit back against the bar and pull back. Felt really good. Anxious to start pulling heavy but it'll probably about 4 weeks before I get any real weight on the bar since I'm only pulling every other week. Box squats felt good, plates were jangling at the top and bar was coming about an inch off my shoulders on every rep. Felt explosive. Step ups getting easier as well. Shoulder kind of bugged me on the pullups. If I relaxed and went all the way down to full extension it would really pull on the shoulder so I was cutting my reps a little short. The neutral grip let me use more of my inner back and took less rear delt/shoulder movement out of the motion. Overall a good workout. Anxious to bench tomorrow and see how the shoulder holds up. Goal is 315 but I'm not going to push it too hard if it starts hurting.
Training#2 @ 115p
15.5# stone
*stand w/step over x6
*stand w/reverse x5, best 48
*full spin non reverse x3-4
*full spin w/reverse x4-5, best 52
Not bad but still drifting too far forward at the front, over-loading my left leg or even getting onto my left too early. Watched some video and it looks like as soon as I get to the front I SHOULD be stopping all forward travel and turning that into lift whereas I get to the front and I keep drifting forward and consequently end up chasing the stone, no separation, etc. I need to keep my weight on my right leg and push my HIPS forward but keep my shoulders back. I'm going to try thinking about drawing a line from my right hip bone to my right shoulder and from a horizontal view, I want that line to be about 60ish degrees with my chest high to the sky, almost like I'm trying to limbo. Weird cues, yes, but we'll see if it works. I need to buckle down and get this stone figured out so I can be comfortable with it early next season. Stone again tomorrow.
15mins elliptical to warmup & burn some cals
Deads up to 405x3, 315x3x4
24" box squat 335x5, 425x5, 475x5, 515x5
12" step ups 245x6x3
Netural grip pullups 5x3
RDLs 245x10, 335x8x2
Deads felt good for the most part. I could feel my oblique letting me know it wasn't 100% yet while I was on the 315. Went up to 405 and smoked an easy triple but oblique was getting sore and I didn't want to push too hard yet. Dropped down and hit a few sets of 5 just to get some reps in and work technique. I haev a bad habit of pulling prematurely (before the bar is against my shins) and consequently end up leaving the weight way out front which puts me in a poor position to drive my hips through. Focus today was to really sit back against the bar and pull back. Felt really good. Anxious to start pulling heavy but it'll probably about 4 weeks before I get any real weight on the bar since I'm only pulling every other week. Box squats felt good, plates were jangling at the top and bar was coming about an inch off my shoulders on every rep. Felt explosive. Step ups getting easier as well. Shoulder kind of bugged me on the pullups. If I relaxed and went all the way down to full extension it would really pull on the shoulder so I was cutting my reps a little short. The neutral grip let me use more of my inner back and took less rear delt/shoulder movement out of the motion. Overall a good workout. Anxious to bench tomorrow and see how the shoulder holds up. Goal is 315 but I'm not going to push it too hard if it starts hurting.
Training#2 @ 115p
15.5# stone
*stand w/step over x6
*stand w/reverse x5, best 48
*full spin non reverse x3-4
*full spin w/reverse x4-5, best 52
Not bad but still drifting too far forward at the front, over-loading my left leg or even getting onto my left too early. Watched some video and it looks like as soon as I get to the front I SHOULD be stopping all forward travel and turning that into lift whereas I get to the front and I keep drifting forward and consequently end up chasing the stone, no separation, etc. I need to keep my weight on my right leg and push my HIPS forward but keep my shoulders back. I'm going to try thinking about drawing a line from my right hip bone to my right shoulder and from a horizontal view, I want that line to be about 60ish degrees with my chest high to the sky, almost like I'm trying to limbo. Weird cues, yes, but we'll see if it works. I need to buckle down and get this stone figured out so I can be comfortable with it early next season. Stone again tomorrow.
11/20/13 - wfd
Training @ 1130a
49# wfd
*1 turn x5
*full x10, best 51
56# wfd x2, best 44
Really good session for the first one in 3.5 weeks. Trying to remember to slap the right side of the trig on the sprint and really reach back to catch it for a long push on the finish. Felt good but maybe a little sloppy. Going to try to clean it up sunday. First time throwing the 56 in practice in months. Very happy with the carryover from the 49.
49# wfd
*1 turn x5
*full x10, best 51
56# wfd x2, best 44
Really good session for the first one in 3.5 weeks. Trying to remember to slap the right side of the trig on the sprint and really reach back to catch it for a long push on the finish. Felt good but maybe a little sloppy. Going to try to clean it up sunday. First time throwing the 56 in practice in months. Very happy with the carryover from the 49.
11/19/13 - ohp
Training @ 515am
Push press up to 225x3x3
Strict press 135x5x3
3 board press 135x8x5
Band pushdowns 2x20
Band pulldowns 3x15
Band rows 3x15
Not bad, only minimal shoulder pain, seems to be feeling better but not trying to push it yet. Going lighter is allowing me to work on tech a little better: keeping the elbows in, spreading the bar with my hands, etc. 3 boards are going to be my equivalent of my high box squats. Fast and explosive just to train that top end. Triceps have always been my weak point in pressing so hopefully this will fix some of that. Still need to lay off dips for a while as it's too much load for my shoulder. Going to start doing seated dips against a band to still get into the same position that really torques it but much lighter so there's no pain and taking it through the ROM so I can get good blood flow to heal it. Was hoping to throw wfd but my FSA company had other plans. F.
Push press up to 225x3x3
Strict press 135x5x3
3 board press 135x8x5
Band pushdowns 2x20
Band pulldowns 3x15
Band rows 3x15
Not bad, only minimal shoulder pain, seems to be feeling better but not trying to push it yet. Going lighter is allowing me to work on tech a little better: keeping the elbows in, spreading the bar with my hands, etc. 3 boards are going to be my equivalent of my high box squats. Fast and explosive just to train that top end. Triceps have always been my weak point in pressing so hopefully this will fix some of that. Still need to lay off dips for a while as it's too much load for my shoulder. Going to start doing seated dips against a band to still get into the same position that really torques it but much lighter so there's no pain and taking it through the ROM so I can get good blood flow to heal it. Was hoping to throw wfd but my FSA company had other plans. F.
11/18/13 - squat & stones
Took a couple weeks off to let injuries heal up. Going to spend the next month easing back into my full training program and at that point I'll be "rebooting" my offseason as well as re-evaluating off-season goals, etc.
Training#1 @ 445a
Front squat up to 315x3x3 beltless
24" box squat 315x5, 365x5, 405x5 all beltless, bar bouncing off shoulders
12" step up 225x6x3
RDLs 225x10x3
Good first workout back. Upper back a little sore from hiking yesterday and carrying my 3 year old in a backpack carrier. Core a little tight but overal felt pretty good.
Training#2 @ 1230p
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x5
*stand reverse x3, best 46
*full spin non reverse x3
*full spin reverse x3, best 52
First time throwing a stone correctly since 10/27 due to the oblique. Had to really lay off at the Tucson games. Separation is miserable but everything else felt great. Trying to pull my left hand in wider vs right into my side so I can feel a bigger stretch in my chest and get my right shoulder moving faster. Changed my hand position so my left thumb is down and palm is facing out in the very start of the power position. Then I swing it wide and by the time my left arm is open my palm is facing down so when I pull in my elbow stays out, vs my palm in a neutral grip which makes it easier to pull my elbow down. Not sure if any of this really matters to those shot put guys and great stone guys but it made a difference for me in how I'm pulling my left and felt much more powerful, despite not havnig any separation. I'll be starting stretching this week to increase flexibility and mobility to hit better positions. Need to remember not to open my left arm until my left foot touches for the spin. Everything else is on course.
Training#1 @ 445a
Front squat up to 315x3x3 beltless
24" box squat 315x5, 365x5, 405x5 all beltless, bar bouncing off shoulders
12" step up 225x6x3
RDLs 225x10x3
Good first workout back. Upper back a little sore from hiking yesterday and carrying my 3 year old in a backpack carrier. Core a little tight but overal felt pretty good.
Training#2 @ 1230p
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x5
*stand reverse x3, best 46
*full spin non reverse x3
*full spin reverse x3, best 52
First time throwing a stone correctly since 10/27 due to the oblique. Had to really lay off at the Tucson games. Separation is miserable but everything else felt great. Trying to pull my left hand in wider vs right into my side so I can feel a bigger stretch in my chest and get my right shoulder moving faster. Changed my hand position so my left thumb is down and palm is facing out in the very start of the power position. Then I swing it wide and by the time my left arm is open my palm is facing down so when I pull in my elbow stays out, vs my palm in a neutral grip which makes it easier to pull my elbow down. Not sure if any of this really matters to those shot put guys and great stone guys but it made a difference for me in how I'm pulling my left and felt much more powerful, despite not havnig any separation. I'll be starting stretching this week to increase flexibility and mobility to hit better positions. Need to remember not to open my left arm until my left foot touches for the spin. Everything else is on course.
11/21/13 - snatch/squat jerks
Training @ 445a
Hang power snatch 95x3x3, 135x3x5
Squat jerks 135x3, 185x3x3, 225x3
36" box jumps 3x5
Thats it, didn't feel like more. Still easing back into it. I'll slowly be adding more jumps, sprints, and some misc other work as well. These felt good. Focused on recovering from the snatch before standing the rest of the way up. Same with the jerk on the squat jerks, those are a lot of fun. Shoulder a little sore from the the work but nothing that would prevent the injury. Feels good to be back in the gym.
Hang power snatch 95x3x3, 135x3x5
Squat jerks 135x3, 185x3x3, 225x3
36" box jumps 3x5
Thats it, didn't feel like more. Still easing back into it. I'll slowly be adding more jumps, sprints, and some misc other work as well. These felt good. Focused on recovering from the snatch before standing the rest of the way up. Same with the jerk on the squat jerks, those are a lot of fun. Shoulder a little sore from the the work but nothing that would prevent the injury. Feels good to be back in the gym.
Thursday, October 31, 2013
10/28/13 - offseason w5d1 deadlifts
Tucson games coming up this weekend and the abdominal felt pretty good so I just decided to pull semi-heavy and then was going to squat for reps afterwards.. That came to an end quickly
Training @ 430a
Pulls up to 585x1x2 easy, 635x POP.... torn oblique.. awesome..
F.
Training @ 430a
Pulls up to 585x1x2 easy, 635x POP.... torn oblique.. awesome..
F.
10/27/13 - stone/wfd/hammer
Training @ 6a
15.5# stone
*standing non reverse x5-6
*standing w/reverse x5-6
*full spin non-reverse x6-8
Working on a more active left side. On the fulls, I'm concentrating on breaking the throw up between entry, sprint, power position. Definitely making progress.
49# wfd x 12-14, best of 52, avg 50
25# wfd x 6, best of 95, avg 94
Nothing new here, just getting some reps in. Feeling very confident with my tech. Just need to get stronger and faster now.
16# hammer x2, 129 & 135
On the 3rd toss my left oblique/serratus area cramped up real bad just as the hammer dropped on the right side. A product of a poor warmup for hammer. Never fails, whenever I warmup like an asshole, I feel like one later.
15.5# stone
*standing non reverse x5-6
*standing w/reverse x5-6
*full spin non-reverse x6-8
Working on a more active left side. On the fulls, I'm concentrating on breaking the throw up between entry, sprint, power position. Definitely making progress.
49# wfd x 12-14, best of 52, avg 50
25# wfd x 6, best of 95, avg 94
Nothing new here, just getting some reps in. Feeling very confident with my tech. Just need to get stronger and faster now.
16# hammer x2, 129 & 135
On the 3rd toss my left oblique/serratus area cramped up real bad just as the hammer dropped on the right side. A product of a poor warmup for hammer. Never fails, whenever I warmup like an asshole, I feel like one later.
10/22/13 & 10/23/13 - wfd
Training @ 1230p (both days)
Workd the 49 and 25 wfd both days. Just getting reps in. Started my first turn a bit sooner but countering harder before the turn to prevent jumping forward. This gets me in a better position to straight forward and not be late. Good sessions
Workd the 49 and 25 wfd both days. Just getting reps in. Started my first turn a bit sooner but countering harder before the turn to prevent jumping forward. This gets me in a better position to straight forward and not be late. Good sessions
Tuesday, October 22, 2013
10/21/13 - offseason w4 deload & hammer/wob
Deloading from the gym this week so just going to be throwing.
Training #1 @ 1215p
16# hammer x10, best 140
This makes me feel much better about last weeks awful practice. Everything fell back into place and felt pretty good. Need to remember not to get lazy on the 3rd wind and to add more speed. Went from 129-130 up to 140 the very next throw after getting after the 3rd wind into the finish. Good practice.
Training#2 @ 530p
56# wob 5/10 @ 16ft
For once accuracy wasn't an issue. Just wasn't dropping enough to get a nice long pull and was either hitting the bar or just under it. Chalk it up to fatigue and lack of practice on wob. I need to make this a weekly venture. Next season I need to be guaranteed for 17 and tapping 18 every time.
Training #1 @ 1215p
16# hammer x10, best 140
This makes me feel much better about last weeks awful practice. Everything fell back into place and felt pretty good. Need to remember not to get lazy on the 3rd wind and to add more speed. Went from 129-130 up to 140 the very next throw after getting after the 3rd wind into the finish. Good practice.
Training#2 @ 530p
56# wob 5/10 @ 16ft
For once accuracy wasn't an issue. Just wasn't dropping enough to get a nice long pull and was either hitting the bar or just under it. Chalk it up to fatigue and lack of practice on wob. I need to make this a weekly venture. Next season I need to be guaranteed for 17 and tapping 18 every time.
Monday, October 21, 2013
10/18/13 - offseason w3d4 press & wfd
Training#1 @ 1230p
49# wfd x10-12, best 49, avg 47
25# wfd x3, best 85, avg 85
Nothing special. Just getting the reps in. Feeling run down. Deload from lifting next week.
Training#2 @ 9p
Incline bench 135x12x2, 185x10x2, 225x10x2
Skull crushers 95x10x2
Band assist pull-ups 2x10
Band push downs 2x20
No flat pressing. Hurts the shoulder too much. Incline felt good. Going to do this for the next few weeks before putting any real weight on the bar.
Thursday, October 17, 2013
10/17/13 - offseason w3d3 squat
Training @ 430a
Squat up to 405x3, add belt/wraps 440x6 (75%), 455x1, 495x1, 545x1, 425x8
12" step ups 225x8x3
So I bailed after the 6th rep with 440. Squats have been miserable on this program and I was thinking I estimated my squat too high. So I said screw it and tested. 545 went up without too much trouble. 565 is def in the tank but unsure about 585 at this time. Fresh, more than likely, but right now, doubtful. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to make my training max 545 or 565 but there's no way I was going to make the reps at a higher %. I didn't account for fatigue and recovery issues as I'm throwing as well as lifting. I thinking about adjusting my training max #s down 5% to account for that. I feel 10% is too much. This offseason is an experimentation and I want to get the biggest gains I can.
Squat up to 405x3, add belt/wraps 440x6 (75%), 455x1, 495x1, 545x1, 425x8
12" step ups 225x8x3
So I bailed after the 6th rep with 440. Squats have been miserable on this program and I was thinking I estimated my squat too high. So I said screw it and tested. 545 went up without too much trouble. 565 is def in the tank but unsure about 585 at this time. Fresh, more than likely, but right now, doubtful. I haven't decided yet if I'm going to make my training max 545 or 565 but there's no way I was going to make the reps at a higher %. I didn't account for fatigue and recovery issues as I'm throwing as well as lifting. I thinking about adjusting my training max #s down 5% to account for that. I feel 10% is too much. This offseason is an experimentation and I want to get the biggest gains I can.
10/16/13 - stones
Training @ 1130a
15.5# stone
*standing non reverse x8-10, best 46, avg 43
*full spin non reverse x6-8, best 52, avg 48ish
Working non reverses, trying to stick that left and keep it there. Stands felt like ass, just no pop. Positions felt good though. Fulls felt pretty good. Getting better at breaking the throw down into parts: entry, sprint, power position, finish. Getting more confident. Mental cues are fast left for the sprint, push the right knee, open the left arm, hold the right shoulder back, pull the left arm and fire the right. Lots of cues. Haha.
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
10/15/13 - offseason w3d2 ohp
Training#1 @ 430a
Push press 275x8x2, 275x7 (75%)
Strict ohp 165x10x2, 165x9
Band pushdowns 3x20
Band pull aparts 2x20
Lots of stretching of the shoulder. OHP doesn't bother my shoulder hardly at all. At least I can do some type of pressing without any issues.
Push press 275x8x2, 275x7 (75%)
Strict ohp 165x10x2, 165x9
Band pushdowns 3x20
Band pull aparts 2x20
Lots of stretching of the shoulder. OHP doesn't bother my shoulder hardly at all. At least I can do some type of pressing without any issues.
Monday, October 14, 2013
10/14/13 - offseason w3d1 - pulls & hammer
skipped day 4 of last week. Shoulder really bugging me lately and benching aggravates the shit out of it. Talked to Langford, going to keep up the rehab and see if I can do some 3 boards to train around the injury. Oddyly enough, stone doesn't bother it and neither does overhead pressing.
Training#1 @ 430a
Deads 515x8x3 (75%)
Rdls 365x8x3
Done and done. Pulls feeling strong. Tech looking good as well, get it to my knees and pull back hard, shooting my hips. In a few weeks this program has me hitting 585x5s. I'm excited.
Training#2 @ 1230p
16# hammer x16-20, best 139
Tried some different stuff here to make it smoother and got into a really bad funk that I just barely got out of at the end. By the time I was finished I was so exhausted the best I could muster was a 129. I changed my entry height in an effort to make the winds smoother, this resulted in smacking the ground on the first wind every time so I quit doing this. Then I sped up the entry some which resulted in flat out missing the catch on the 2nd wind. Somewhere in the meantime I was allowing the hammer to still drop to much and was hitting the hammer on the ground before release. Very frustrating day, probably a result of throwing Saturday and heavy pulls this morning. Just overall feeling beat up. Deloading next week (but will still throw). Last couple throws I slowed the entry way down and really focused on getting long on my left side on that second wind the hitting it from there. Last throw positions felt awesome, it just didn't have any juice on it to go. Lesson for the day: when you're over 140 consistently, quit trying to change things and just work on getting faster. I'll throw hammer again on Sunday just to relax and get a good hammer practice in again. I hate the psychological result of a bad practice.
Training#1 @ 430a
Deads 515x8x3 (75%)
Rdls 365x8x3
Done and done. Pulls feeling strong. Tech looking good as well, get it to my knees and pull back hard, shooting my hips. In a few weeks this program has me hitting 585x5s. I'm excited.
Training#2 @ 1230p
16# hammer x16-20, best 139
Tried some different stuff here to make it smoother and got into a really bad funk that I just barely got out of at the end. By the time I was finished I was so exhausted the best I could muster was a 129. I changed my entry height in an effort to make the winds smoother, this resulted in smacking the ground on the first wind every time so I quit doing this. Then I sped up the entry some which resulted in flat out missing the catch on the 2nd wind. Somewhere in the meantime I was allowing the hammer to still drop to much and was hitting the hammer on the ground before release. Very frustrating day, probably a result of throwing Saturday and heavy pulls this morning. Just overall feeling beat up. Deloading next week (but will still throw). Last couple throws I slowed the entry way down and really focused on getting long on my left side on that second wind the hitting it from there. Last throw positions felt awesome, it just didn't have any juice on it to go. Lesson for the day: when you're over 140 consistently, quit trying to change things and just work on getting faster. I'll throw hammer again on Sunday just to relax and get a good hammer practice in again. I hate the psychological result of a bad practice.
10/12/13 - stone/wfd/hammer
Training @ 830a
21# braemar x8-10, best 41
15.5# open x8-10, best 54
56# wfd x8-10, best 44
28# wfd x4-6, best 87
25# wfd x1 @ 94
16# hammer x8-10, best 142
Trained with Adam, Heather, Gretchen, Jake Nicol and a new girl Rebecca. Had a fun time. Stone still under construction. Talking with Jake an am going to work on non-reverse throws and not stepping over. Trying to stay on my left the entire time. Took a lot of full spin non-reverses. Finishing early still, not getting right knee all the way forward to really push the hip. Also lazy with the left arm, need to be more aggressive here to get the torso moving.
Wfd felt ok. Went with a hook grip until I tore open my thumb on the ring handle of the 56. Best with the hook was about 43. Added the strap and hit a couple at 44. 28 felt good so long as I wasn't rushing out of the back. Need to dial it back and work on timing. 25 wfd felt awesome.
Hammers felt really good. Lots of throws in the 138-139s. Got to remember to really reach off my left side and start accellerating early.
Great time training with everyone and seeing some peeps I haven't seen in a while.
21# braemar x8-10, best 41
15.5# open x8-10, best 54
56# wfd x8-10, best 44
28# wfd x4-6, best 87
25# wfd x1 @ 94
16# hammer x8-10, best 142
Trained with Adam, Heather, Gretchen, Jake Nicol and a new girl Rebecca. Had a fun time. Stone still under construction. Talking with Jake an am going to work on non-reverse throws and not stepping over. Trying to stay on my left the entire time. Took a lot of full spin non-reverses. Finishing early still, not getting right knee all the way forward to really push the hip. Also lazy with the left arm, need to be more aggressive here to get the torso moving.
Wfd felt ok. Went with a hook grip until I tore open my thumb on the ring handle of the 56. Best with the hook was about 43. Added the strap and hit a couple at 44. 28 felt good so long as I wasn't rushing out of the back. Need to dial it back and work on timing. 25 wfd felt awesome.
Hammers felt really good. Lots of throws in the 138-139s. Got to remember to really reach off my left side and start accellerating early.
Great time training with everyone and seeing some peeps I haven't seen in a while.
10/10/13 - offseason w2d3 squat
Training @ 430a
Squat 410x10x3
12" step ups 185x10, 225x10
Band assisted pullups 3x10
Tried going no wraps on the squats and popped out 5 but had no power, knees felt wobbly and achy. Just felt awful. Racked the weight, wrapped my knees and banged out the other 5. Then hit the second two sets 10 straight. Legs were destroyed after the step ups.
Squat 410x10x3
12" step ups 185x10, 225x10
Band assisted pullups 3x10
Tried going no wraps on the squats and popped out 5 but had no power, knees felt wobbly and achy. Just felt awful. Racked the weight, wrapped my knees and banged out the other 5. Then hit the second two sets 10 straight. Legs were destroyed after the step ups.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
10/8/13 - offseason w2d2 ohp & stone + caber
Training#1 @ 430a
Push press 250x10x3 (70%)
Strict ohp 155x10x3
Band pull aparts 2x20
Band face pulls 2x20
Band pushdowns 2x20
Much smoother than last weeks 12s. Felt pretty good. Shoulders exhausted by the last couple reps of the last set of strict ohp. Side note, my injured shoulder felt pretty good. No complaints at all. Still rehabbing a couple times a day as well as heat and ibuprofen. Might have to lay off the dips for a couple weeks, we'll see how they feel on friday. Last week they hurt pretty bad and shoulder was achy all weekend as a result.
Training#2 @ 1230p
Push press 250x10x3 (70%)
Strict ohp 155x10x3
Band pull aparts 2x20
Band face pulls 2x20
Band pushdowns 2x20
Much smoother than last weeks 12s. Felt pretty good. Shoulders exhausted by the last couple reps of the last set of strict ohp. Side note, my injured shoulder felt pretty good. No complaints at all. Still rehabbing a couple times a day as well as heat and ibuprofen. Might have to lay off the dips for a couple weeks, we'll see how they feel on friday. Last week they hurt pretty bad and shoulder was achy all weekend as a result.
Training#2 @ 1230p
15.5# stone
*stand no reverse x6, best 46
*stand reverse x6-8, best 48
*full spin x8-10, best 53
Really working on pushing with the right side on all throws. Trying to keep left leg down as long as possible. On full spin, working on getting the left down as fast as possible then immediatly pushing with my right side. Making some progress here.
Training#3 @ 545p
20' x 100# caber x9/12 turns
Feeling confident with caber. Lower carry, faster run and longer pull. Finally not hating this event so much. Lol.
10/7/13 - offseason w2d1 pulls & hammer
Training#1 @ 430a
Deads 485x10x3 (70%)
Rdls 315x10x2
Hammerstrength preacher curls 45x20x2
Much better than last week. Really emphasized pulling back once it got to my knees which took a lot of pressure off my low back. Win.
Training#2 @ 1230p
16# hammer x9, best of 146
9 total throws, not a single one under 130 and the last two over 144. Initially focus was a very relaxed #2 and a very long finish. Dropped a bunch of 135s and 138s. Then focused on speeding up #2: leaning/stretching way over on my left side to start the push as early as possible. From there hips take over and just worry about staying in front of the hammer to keep adding speed throughout. Hammer starting to get really fun now. Got the 144 on tape but phone turned off just before the 146 and didn't get it. Tucson coming up in a couple weeks, looking for a new PR.
Deads 485x10x3 (70%)
Rdls 315x10x2
Hammerstrength preacher curls 45x20x2
Much better than last week. Really emphasized pulling back once it got to my knees which took a lot of pressure off my low back. Win.
Training#2 @ 1230p
16# hammer x9, best of 146
9 total throws, not a single one under 130 and the last two over 144. Initially focus was a very relaxed #2 and a very long finish. Dropped a bunch of 135s and 138s. Then focused on speeding up #2: leaning/stretching way over on my left side to start the push as early as possible. From there hips take over and just worry about staying in front of the hammer to keep adding speed throughout. Hammer starting to get really fun now. Got the 144 on tape but phone turned off just before the 146 and didn't get it. Tucson coming up in a couple weeks, looking for a new PR.
10/6/13 - stone/caber/wob
Training# 615a
23.5# stone
*no reverse x3
*reverse x5-6
15.5# stone full spin x10-12
Unk distances of these as didn't bring a tape measure. Ostone felt great today. Finally getting to the point where the throw is slowing down in my head so I can actually think about different things. Able to start applying the entry and sprint out of the back as a rolling start to the power position. Landing a bit winder and staying back better. Still jumping off the left but at least there's progress.
20' x 100# caber x10
4 misses then 6 turns in a row. Changed my carry so it was a bit lower than usual, down closer to my waist. This gave me better control as well as a much longer pull. Trying to drop lower before the pull but still not as low as I'd like. Talking with Langford, going to try looking at the ground as I run. This should get my hips farther away from the stick so that when I'm ready to drop and pull, I've got a longer pull and a bigger pop. Caber starting to come around and making progress.
56# wob
5/9 @ 16ft. Took a few tosses to get my groove on. Trying to get after it too early and leaving them out front. Need to remember to relax, let it climb behind me, then drop and pull the handle off the weight. Whenever I try to actively push the weight behind me, I end up gunning it too fast. Just relax, let the weight pull back, drop with it and pull. Going to play with my cast on this as well to judge timing. Polishing details.
caber vid:
23.5# stone
*no reverse x3
*reverse x5-6
15.5# stone full spin x10-12
Unk distances of these as didn't bring a tape measure. Ostone felt great today. Finally getting to the point where the throw is slowing down in my head so I can actually think about different things. Able to start applying the entry and sprint out of the back as a rolling start to the power position. Landing a bit winder and staying back better. Still jumping off the left but at least there's progress.
20' x 100# caber x10
4 misses then 6 turns in a row. Changed my carry so it was a bit lower than usual, down closer to my waist. This gave me better control as well as a much longer pull. Trying to drop lower before the pull but still not as low as I'd like. Talking with Langford, going to try looking at the ground as I run. This should get my hips farther away from the stick so that when I'm ready to drop and pull, I've got a longer pull and a bigger pop. Caber starting to come around and making progress.
56# wob
5/9 @ 16ft. Took a few tosses to get my groove on. Trying to get after it too early and leaving them out front. Need to remember to relax, let it climb behind me, then drop and pull the handle off the weight. Whenever I try to actively push the weight behind me, I end up gunning it too fast. Just relax, let the weight pull back, drop with it and pull. Going to play with my cast on this as well to judge timing. Polishing details.
caber vid:
Friday, October 4, 2013
10/4/13 - offseason w1d4 pressing
Training @ 430a
Close grip bench 240x12x2, 240x9
Incline bench 135x10x3
Dips x8, x6
Push downs 2x20, 1x10
Bb rows 225x10x3
Shoulder pinching some on the pressing but not too bad. Dips were rough. Had to call it as I don't want to make the shoulder worse. Not a sharp pain, just pretty achy. Been doing a lot of rehab work and heat and it's feeling a little better. Going to take longer to heal since I'm training through it, just have to be watchful it doesn't start getting worse. Push downs got my triceps on fiya and rows felt good. Legs feel like ass today. Great first week of offseason training.
Thursday, October 3, 2013
10/3/13 - offseason w1d3 squat
Training @ 430a
Squat (belt only) 385x9, 385x12x2 (65%)
12" box step ups 225x5, 135x10, 185x10
Band assist pull-ups 3x10
Shoulder still iffy here so went with band assisted pull-ups to get the reps in. 385 on squats is what the program called for. Miserable. First set got 9. Then 12 second and third set. First set just didn't have the metal edge on the set. Second I killed it and almost dropped after racking. Third set I racked it at 10 reps, waited 30 seconds, then unracked and pounded the last two. Lots of lactic acid, legs were damn near numb. Crazy sets. The worst of the 12s are over. 10s next week. Sweet.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
10/1/13 - offseason w1d2 ohp & stones
Training#1 @ 415a
Push press 235x12x3 (65%)
Strict ohp 135x10x3
Band face pulls 3x20
Band pull aparts 3x20
Band push downs 3x20
Shoulder felt better than expected. Was gassed from the 235 but it wasn't awful. Took it easy on the strict presses to avoid too much pressure on the shoulder. Looking forward to getting this week of 12s over.
Training#2 @ 1245p
15.5# stone
*standing non-reverse x8-10
*standing w/reverse x3, best at 47
*spin x6, best at 53'8, avg 51
Really working on pushing with my right hip. Before I was just pushing my knee in and building up rotational torque. Now I'm working on pushing my right knee in and actually driving my hip into the sector. Feeling beat up from last couple days of weights so standing tosses just weren't going anywhere. Spin felt good. Keeping weight on my left out of the back and focusing on a fast left leg in the transition. Trying to remember to look at 9:00 as my left is coming down so I can separate more but still opening up too early and not separating enough. Need to remember to look at 9:00 and open my left side but keep my right shoulder back. Also a big change was to feel that right leg push here vs just rotating around and exploding off of it. Trying to be more deliberate about pushing my right knee in and applying linear force to transfer to the stone. Still jumping off my left on the finish. Ugh.
Push press 235x12x3 (65%)
Strict ohp 135x10x3
Band face pulls 3x20
Band pull aparts 3x20
Band push downs 3x20
Shoulder felt better than expected. Was gassed from the 235 but it wasn't awful. Took it easy on the strict presses to avoid too much pressure on the shoulder. Looking forward to getting this week of 12s over.
Training#2 @ 1245p
15.5# stone
*standing non-reverse x8-10
*standing w/reverse x3, best at 47
*spin x6, best at 53'8, avg 51
Really working on pushing with my right hip. Before I was just pushing my knee in and building up rotational torque. Now I'm working on pushing my right knee in and actually driving my hip into the sector. Feeling beat up from last couple days of weights so standing tosses just weren't going anywhere. Spin felt good. Keeping weight on my left out of the back and focusing on a fast left leg in the transition. Trying to remember to look at 9:00 as my left is coming down so I can separate more but still opening up too early and not separating enough. Need to remember to look at 9:00 and open my left side but keep my right shoulder back. Also a big change was to feel that right leg push here vs just rotating around and exploding off of it. Trying to be more deliberate about pushing my right knee in and applying linear force to transfer to the stone. Still jumping off my left on the finish. Ugh.
Monday, September 30, 2013
9/30/13 - offseason w1d1 pulls & wfd
Sat around and relaxed last week. Worked on rehabbing my right shoulder and just generally getting recovered for a strong off season. Now the deload is over. Time to put the women and children to bed and go looking for supper.
15 mins stationary bike
Warmup with 2" deficit pulls to 405
Deads 445x12x3 (65%)
Rdls 315x10x3
Hammerstrength preacher curls 45x20x3
Wowza. Posterior chain is destroyed. Got that over with. 10s next week.
Training#2 @ 1210p
49# wfd x10-12, best 52, avg 50
25# wfd x6, best 89, avg 88
Felt good to throw today. Tech feeling pretty solid. Working on speed.
Thursday, September 26, 2013
9/21&22 Loon Mountain World Championships
Rather than create a bunch of posts about training for the past week leading up to the games, I'll just sum it all up here as sort of a pre-contest lead up.
Sunday 9/15: threw stone/wfd
Monday 9/16 AM: wfd
Monday 9/16 PM: stone
Monday 9/16 PM2: wob
Tuesday 9/17 AM: stone
Tuesday 9/17 PM: hammer
Tuesday 9/17 PM2: caber
Wenesday 9/18: skipped AM recovery workout, no throwing, 2 gallons of water and PM massage
Thursday 9/19: 2 gallons water, BCAAs, 15 minutes spin bike, stretch/foam roll in PM
Friday 9/20: Travel, stratch/foam rol in PM
Onto the juicy stuff, from memory so might not be exact..
Loon Mountain Day 1
22# hammer x 113+ (3rd)
56# wfd x 46'7 FR/PR (1st)
16# stone x 53'8.5 (tie 4th)
Caber 8th I think
56# wob x16 first attempt (3rd)
Loon Mountain Day 2
16# hammer x 143'3 PR (2nd)
26# braemar x 36+ (5th)
28# wfd x 83+ (3rd)
Overall 3rd.
The heavy hammer is my second best throw of the season so I can't be too disappointed, however, I was really looking for 118-120 here. Dan dropped an impressive 123 for a new field record and Craig Sinclair went 115. Good throws.
Hwd was solid. Warmups didn't feel great but my focus was timing of the sprint and trying to think about sprinting right so I don't drift too far left. First throw went 46'2 for just shy of a 2ft pr. Second one I got after a bit more and ended up being a little late on the sprint and fouled out the left side. Third I sped it up again but was more mindful of timing and went 46'7 for a new PR and field record. Great series here. Still need to work on getting my left down faster after the first turn so I can land blocked off a bit more. That should take care of the left drift so I can focus more on a linear drive and finish. Mat$o slipped twice and still went 46. They were going to be BIG. He's got a big throw waiting to get out.
Stone wasn't bad. First throw went 44 because I slipped out of the back. Put some more weight on my left and had a good drive. Focus here was get the left down and push like hell. 53+ on second toss and 53'8.5 on third. Tie for 4th with Sebastian. Matt went 58 and fouled a couple bigger ones. Dan went 54 and Andy just edged me out at 53'10. Good competition.
Caber actually felt a lot better than it went. I know what I need to do here in the offseason. Going to work on speed, getting the caber moving fast and dropping fast for a big pull. Next year I'll be much better at caber
Wob went pretty good until 17. Cleared 14, 15 and 16 on first attempt. First two at 17 didn't quite have it. Got the crowd in it on the 3rd attempt and smashed the bar on the way up. Only Andy and Zolk moved on and had a battle royale at 18'6 with Andy coming out on top. That was sweet to watch.
Started off with light hammer on Sunday. Was sprinkling but got it done. Went with the pvc handle since it was easier to dry off. Series went 129, 136, 143'3 for a new pr. Not happy at all with the 129 and was missing the catch on the second wind and not getting it moving fast enough. Took a couple practice winds between my 2nd and 3rd throw and got into the groove. Hit it hard on my last attempt and it flew. Felt awesome to finally hit that big hammer I've been chasing all season. That throw actually put me in the lead but Dan hit a 144 to finish off his series and take the W back. Craig pulled 3rd at 140+ and Matso went 137.
26# braemar next. Ended up getting 1 warmup and had to get in the trig. Stone shape wasn't bad. First toss went a miserable 34ft as I reversed early, nothing new there. Decided to no reverse my 2nd and had a nice long push going 36'8-ish. On the third I tried to get after it and once again finished too early with the reverse and only went 35. Andy and Sebastian went at it here with Sebastian edging him out then taking the field record at 41'11.
28# wfd to finish up the comp. Only got one warmup which was super lousy. This kind of threw off my confidence moving into the trig. First throw went 81. Trig slanted down and to the left so I was way off on my finish, falling to the left and blah blah blah. Tried to hit it a bit harder on the 2nd only went 79, falling off again. Relaxed on my third and slowed things down. Just focused on a big sprint and finish and went high 83 to take 3rd behind Matt and Dan, respectively. BIG respect to Matt for hitting some huge tosses (91+) with that trig. The ability to drive straight and still hit a big one when half the other guys were falling off to the left was impressive. Awesome to watch.
Highlight moment outside of throwing:
Having dinner with Magnus ver Magnusson and not even realizing "who" he was until I asked and then felt like a dummy. That was pretty funny. I knew he looked familiar but just couldn't place it, then when I asked he had this like on his face like I was the dumbest guy on earth. Shoot me now. Super cool guy. Talked about training, the games and WSM. Very awesome. Steve and I chuckled about the situation later.
After throwing on Saturday Matt, Andy, Craig, Doherty and Rob went to the river for a natural ice bath. This was SUPER AWESOME. Steve came too but didn't get in, lol. Rob is the natural slide king looking like a huge 3 year old going down these rock slides. Hilarious. Then he cuts his ankle and is bleeding, lmao. Great time hanging out and getting the legs recharged for the second day.
Party at the Diamantes. This was pretty cool. Dinner was fantastic and pool down in the lower basement was sweet, however, don't ever pick Jeff Kaste as your partner, WTFFFFFFFFFF. Lots of stories and a great time.
Breakfast at flapjacks was solid but the best was heading to a local bar to play shuffle board with Matt, Andy and Sebastian. This is a very close second to the hot tub party we had in Pleasanton with regards to awesomeness. To see a giant of a man like Sebastian jumping for joy when he hit a 5point move was hilarious. Fantastic time.
Props go out to all my competitors for pushing me to hit some big last throws and keep me in the game. It was a pretty close race all the way to the end. Really looking forward to more battles next season.
A few thanks are in order. First to Bill and Holly Crawford for putting this all together. I had a great time and am excited and hopeful for an invitation next year. Next to Steve Conway for putting up with my jabbering in the car ride to the hotel and for just being an all around awesome dude. Thanks to Petur Gudmondsson as our head judge. The expression on his face when I told him I had no prior background in throwing was priceless. Aweosme guy and class act for rooting on Sebastian in breaking his record. Super cool to get to meet Magnus and AliGunn and hear them tell stories of past experiences/throws/etc. Thanks to Wayne, Leroy et al for all the work they put in to make this run smoothly. Thanks to the Diamantes for the spectacular party and support of the games. Thanks as always to SportKilt for keeping me sexy on the field and to Tod Stewart for his support in helping me get to the level of competition I am. Without his help I would probably still be a mid level A amateur.
The biggest thanks of all goes out to my beautiful Mrs Sullivan. Without you I wouldn't be anything that I am today. Your support, love and encouragement means the world to me. To send me on my way with two small children at home is so very selfless and I can't thank you enough. I appreciate all of your hard work.
One more games of the season, however, I'll be starting my offseason training next week. Going back to basics with some linear periodization. 8 weeks of hypertrophy training and 8 weeks of strength training then I will evaluate where I'm at, what games I have lined up and how to move forward. I'll be adding in cardio to work on overall cardiovascular health as well as the prowler to work some 10m drive sprints and get faster. Will be working with the 14 hammer, 25 wfd and 49 wfd to work on speed. Next year I want to hit some big big numbers. Really excited to see what the next season brings.
Sunday 9/15: threw stone/wfd
Monday 9/16 AM: wfd
Monday 9/16 PM: stone
Monday 9/16 PM2: wob
Tuesday 9/17 AM: stone
Tuesday 9/17 PM: hammer
Tuesday 9/17 PM2: caber
Wenesday 9/18: skipped AM recovery workout, no throwing, 2 gallons of water and PM massage
Thursday 9/19: 2 gallons water, BCAAs, 15 minutes spin bike, stretch/foam roll in PM
Friday 9/20: Travel, stratch/foam rol in PM
Onto the juicy stuff, from memory so might not be exact..
Loon Mountain Day 1
22# hammer x 113+ (3rd)
56# wfd x 46'7 FR/PR (1st)
16# stone x 53'8.5 (tie 4th)
Caber 8th I think
56# wob x16 first attempt (3rd)
Loon Mountain Day 2
16# hammer x 143'3 PR (2nd)
26# braemar x 36+ (5th)
28# wfd x 83+ (3rd)
Overall 3rd.
The heavy hammer is my second best throw of the season so I can't be too disappointed, however, I was really looking for 118-120 here. Dan dropped an impressive 123 for a new field record and Craig Sinclair went 115. Good throws.
Hwd was solid. Warmups didn't feel great but my focus was timing of the sprint and trying to think about sprinting right so I don't drift too far left. First throw went 46'2 for just shy of a 2ft pr. Second one I got after a bit more and ended up being a little late on the sprint and fouled out the left side. Third I sped it up again but was more mindful of timing and went 46'7 for a new PR and field record. Great series here. Still need to work on getting my left down faster after the first turn so I can land blocked off a bit more. That should take care of the left drift so I can focus more on a linear drive and finish. Mat$o slipped twice and still went 46. They were going to be BIG. He's got a big throw waiting to get out.
Stone wasn't bad. First throw went 44 because I slipped out of the back. Put some more weight on my left and had a good drive. Focus here was get the left down and push like hell. 53+ on second toss and 53'8.5 on third. Tie for 4th with Sebastian. Matt went 58 and fouled a couple bigger ones. Dan went 54 and Andy just edged me out at 53'10. Good competition.
Caber actually felt a lot better than it went. I know what I need to do here in the offseason. Going to work on speed, getting the caber moving fast and dropping fast for a big pull. Next year I'll be much better at caber
Wob went pretty good until 17. Cleared 14, 15 and 16 on first attempt. First two at 17 didn't quite have it. Got the crowd in it on the 3rd attempt and smashed the bar on the way up. Only Andy and Zolk moved on and had a battle royale at 18'6 with Andy coming out on top. That was sweet to watch.
Started off with light hammer on Sunday. Was sprinkling but got it done. Went with the pvc handle since it was easier to dry off. Series went 129, 136, 143'3 for a new pr. Not happy at all with the 129 and was missing the catch on the second wind and not getting it moving fast enough. Took a couple practice winds between my 2nd and 3rd throw and got into the groove. Hit it hard on my last attempt and it flew. Felt awesome to finally hit that big hammer I've been chasing all season. That throw actually put me in the lead but Dan hit a 144 to finish off his series and take the W back. Craig pulled 3rd at 140+ and Matso went 137.
26# braemar next. Ended up getting 1 warmup and had to get in the trig. Stone shape wasn't bad. First toss went a miserable 34ft as I reversed early, nothing new there. Decided to no reverse my 2nd and had a nice long push going 36'8-ish. On the third I tried to get after it and once again finished too early with the reverse and only went 35. Andy and Sebastian went at it here with Sebastian edging him out then taking the field record at 41'11.
28# wfd to finish up the comp. Only got one warmup which was super lousy. This kind of threw off my confidence moving into the trig. First throw went 81. Trig slanted down and to the left so I was way off on my finish, falling to the left and blah blah blah. Tried to hit it a bit harder on the 2nd only went 79, falling off again. Relaxed on my third and slowed things down. Just focused on a big sprint and finish and went high 83 to take 3rd behind Matt and Dan, respectively. BIG respect to Matt for hitting some huge tosses (91+) with that trig. The ability to drive straight and still hit a big one when half the other guys were falling off to the left was impressive. Awesome to watch.
Highlight moment outside of throwing:
Having dinner with Magnus ver Magnusson and not even realizing "who" he was until I asked and then felt like a dummy. That was pretty funny. I knew he looked familiar but just couldn't place it, then when I asked he had this like on his face like I was the dumbest guy on earth. Shoot me now. Super cool guy. Talked about training, the games and WSM. Very awesome. Steve and I chuckled about the situation later.
After throwing on Saturday Matt, Andy, Craig, Doherty and Rob went to the river for a natural ice bath. This was SUPER AWESOME. Steve came too but didn't get in, lol. Rob is the natural slide king looking like a huge 3 year old going down these rock slides. Hilarious. Then he cuts his ankle and is bleeding, lmao. Great time hanging out and getting the legs recharged for the second day.
Party at the Diamantes. This was pretty cool. Dinner was fantastic and pool down in the lower basement was sweet, however, don't ever pick Jeff Kaste as your partner, WTFFFFFFFFFF. Lots of stories and a great time.
Breakfast at flapjacks was solid but the best was heading to a local bar to play shuffle board with Matt, Andy and Sebastian. This is a very close second to the hot tub party we had in Pleasanton with regards to awesomeness. To see a giant of a man like Sebastian jumping for joy when he hit a 5point move was hilarious. Fantastic time.
Props go out to all my competitors for pushing me to hit some big last throws and keep me in the game. It was a pretty close race all the way to the end. Really looking forward to more battles next season.
A few thanks are in order. First to Bill and Holly Crawford for putting this all together. I had a great time and am excited and hopeful for an invitation next year. Next to Steve Conway for putting up with my jabbering in the car ride to the hotel and for just being an all around awesome dude. Thanks to Petur Gudmondsson as our head judge. The expression on his face when I told him I had no prior background in throwing was priceless. Aweosme guy and class act for rooting on Sebastian in breaking his record. Super cool to get to meet Magnus and AliGunn and hear them tell stories of past experiences/throws/etc. Thanks to Wayne, Leroy et al for all the work they put in to make this run smoothly. Thanks to the Diamantes for the spectacular party and support of the games. Thanks as always to SportKilt for keeping me sexy on the field and to Tod Stewart for his support in helping me get to the level of competition I am. Without his help I would probably still be a mid level A amateur.
The biggest thanks of all goes out to my beautiful Mrs Sullivan. Without you I wouldn't be anything that I am today. Your support, love and encouragement means the world to me. To send me on my way with two small children at home is so very selfless and I can't thank you enough. I appreciate all of your hard work.
One more games of the season, however, I'll be starting my offseason training next week. Going back to basics with some linear periodization. 8 weeks of hypertrophy training and 8 weeks of strength training then I will evaluate where I'm at, what games I have lined up and how to move forward. I'll be adding in cardio to work on overall cardiovascular health as well as the prowler to work some 10m drive sprints and get faster. Will be working with the 14 hammer, 25 wfd and 49 wfd to work on speed. Next year I want to hit some big big numbers. Really excited to see what the next season brings.
Friday, September 13, 2013
9/12/2013 - squat press/back and wfd
Training#1 @ 515a
Squat press 225x2x6
Pull-ups x5x3
Db rows 110x10, 150x5x2
Nothing special.
Training#2 @ 615a
56# wfd x15-18, best 43
Working on keeping the low point inside my right leg and driving straight. Same old. Figured out something here: think about sprinting to the right corner. That gives me a stronger sprint and nearly eliminates my drift. Little changes are adding up. Gonna try go gas a few of these this weekend. Anxious to see what changes these do for my lwd.
9/11/13 - stone
Training @ 130p
15.5# stone
*stand non reverse x6
*stand reverse x5
*msa x10-12
These were meh. Still jumping off my left leg no matter what I do. Not on purpose, I just hit my block and end up jumping. Talked to Kahanic for a while and he gave me some insight that pretty muh eveyone good at stone told me: separate more. He also said to get my legs in front of the stone. I won't be able to jump if my body weight isn't over my left. Makes sense. He gave me some mental cues for separation so I'll try it out Sunday. Would love to have an epiphany here before worlds.
9/10/13 - ohp & hammers
Training#1 @ 415a
Training#2 @ 1215p
16 hammer x10, best 142
Amazing hammer session today. Focus here was to get whippy again and use my legs to push side to side and stay in front of the hammer the whole time. Imagine you're roller skating, pushing your legs (hips) side to side. After the 1st wind and the hammer is moving across me, once the hammer starts climbing my left I pushed my right leg hard to shift my hips left which snapped my upper body right and the hammer followed suit. Great results. First two were the only throws under 135 as they were about 125ish. The rest were all 135-138 with 3 of them at 140+ and two of those were 142. Great great session. Can't wait to hit this hard when I'm rested.
Push press up to 345x1 (10# pr)
Strict press up to 275x1, 250x4
Cgbp 275x5x3
Ring dips x10, x6x2
Band push downs x25, x20x2
Sweet PR on the push presses. Went up fast. Thought about going up but decided to take my PR and come back for another one later.
Sweet PR on the push presses. Went up fast. Thought about going up but decided to take my PR and come back for another one later.
Training#2 @ 1215p
16 hammer x10, best 142
Amazing hammer session today. Focus here was to get whippy again and use my legs to push side to side and stay in front of the hammer the whole time. Imagine you're roller skating, pushing your legs (hips) side to side. After the 1st wind and the hammer is moving across me, once the hammer starts climbing my left I pushed my right leg hard to shift my hips left which snapped my upper body right and the hammer followed suit. Great results. First two were the only throws under 135 as they were about 125ish. The rest were all 135-138 with 3 of them at 140+ and two of those were 142. Great great session. Can't wait to hit this hard when I'm rested.
9/9/13 - squat/pull
Training @ 415a
Front squat up to 455x1, 405x3
24" box squat 405x5, 455x5x2
12" step ups 225x6x2
2" deficit pulls up to 525x3x2
Rdls 315x5, 385x5, 455x5
Feeling pretty good. Knees are much better, squats were snappy and pulls were quick.
Feeling pretty good. Knees are much better, squats were snappy and pulls were quick.
9/8/13 - stone/wfd/hammer
Training @ 545a
28# braemar
*non reverse x4
*full x3, best 33
15.5# open
*msa x8, best 53
56 wfd x6, 2 @ 44
16 hammer x6, 125ish
Grabbed a bigger stone for braemar as Loon will have a 28# stone to toss. Trying to get a little used to the larger size and hand positioning for a good throw. Harder to keep it tucked but I don't feel 33 is awful. If I can get 35-36ft I think that would put me in good standings. On the MSA I was focusing on keeping my head up and my eyes at 9:00 until my left touched down. This was letting my hips get in front and getting good separation. Still finishing early and jumping off my left. Going to work in keeping my upper body back a bit more and getting my right shoulder more into the field before fishing.
Wfd was great. Changed my entry so not as big of an angle on the setup and cast. This made it easier to move my low point more left. Straighter sprint and longer push on both the sprint and finish. Great breakthrough here.
Thinking of switching to tacky only for hammers. I keep ripping my gloves within 2 uses and just throwing money away. I have always preferred to throw without them but became a slave to simplicity and easy cleanup. Donned some tacky and went to it. Need to get used to setup time for maximum tack as the handle was sliding around a bit and wasn't comfortable getting after it. Just focused on hitting some good positions. Started raining so couldn't get after any of them. Focus this week will be to loosen up and let my legs push the hammer left & right. Relaxxxxxx.
9/6/13 - hammers
Training @ 1230p
16 hammer x2
20/16/16 hammer x 4 rounds
16 hammer x4
Best 116 with the 20 and 132 with the 16. Not bad. Need to loosen up and get whippy again. Seemed I lost this in my conquest to get faster and I think I'm losing good distance because of it.
9/5/13 - presses & wfd
Training#1 @ 530a
Axle push press up to 325x1
Axle strict press 235x6
Ring dips x10, x8
Band pushdowns x25
Axle def feels harder than a regular bar. Doesn't sit right on my delts for the push press so I think this is good hitting 325 with less leg power transfer than a regular bar. Was hoping to get 345 but 325 was pretty rough so I called it there. Still satisfied. Strict presses felt good. Kept it pretty short, workout took about 45 mins total. Looking forward to really pushing the envelope once offseason starts.
Training#2 @ 130p
56# wfd x10-12, avg 42
28# wfd x3, series went 78/83/88
Working on the slow-to-fast here. Starting to come back together. Still not speeding the heavy weight up out of the back yet. Biggest two things I need to work on is keeping the low point inside my right leg out of the back and hitting the sprint as soon as my left leg touches down. WFD feels like it's making a good comeback and it's perfect timing. Hammers tomorrow then a day off before a full practice on Sunday. No time for rest.
Axle push press up to 325x1
Axle strict press 235x6
Ring dips x10, x8
Band pushdowns x25
Axle def feels harder than a regular bar. Doesn't sit right on my delts for the push press so I think this is good hitting 325 with less leg power transfer than a regular bar. Was hoping to get 345 but 325 was pretty rough so I called it there. Still satisfied. Strict presses felt good. Kept it pretty short, workout took about 45 mins total. Looking forward to really pushing the envelope once offseason starts.
Training#2 @ 130p
56# wfd x10-12, avg 42
28# wfd x3, series went 78/83/88
Working on the slow-to-fast here. Starting to come back together. Still not speeding the heavy weight up out of the back yet. Biggest two things I need to work on is keeping the low point inside my right leg out of the back and hitting the sprint as soon as my left leg touches down. WFD feels like it's making a good comeback and it's perfect timing. Hammers tomorrow then a day off before a full practice on Sunday. No time for rest.
9/3/13 - stone & squat/pull
Training#1 @ 115p
17# stone
*non reverse x5, best 43
*reverse x5, best 45
*MSA x6-8, best 49
Not bad. Still a little tired from the weekend. Need to put a lot of work into stones. Watching the video I'm still finishing early. I need to get my right shoulder forward before finishing. Need to change the release angle so that I'm pushing the stone away from me instead of in front of me. This should keep me on my left longer and allow me to push on the stone longer. Footwork looks solid. Trying to stay low and really drive my hip into my torso on the stands. On the spins I'm pushing forward with my chest and trying to get my left down as fast as possible while keeping my eyes on the front horizon as long as possible. Still drifting a little too far forward but it's coming along. Working on keeping my head up and again, not finishing too early. Good stepping stone today, more stones later this week.
Training#2 @ 715p
Squat up to 405x5 no belt/wraps
23" box squat, 405x5, 455x5x2 belt only, snappy
12" step ups bw x15x2
Deadlift 225x5, 425x2, 515x1, 605x1, 655x1
Squats felt good. It's nice to be moving some weight without the belt or wraps and knees feeling ok too. Feeling a bit more powerful. Hit the box for some fast explosive reps, weights singing at the top and bar bouncing off shoulders. Attempted to do some step ups with 225 but my patellar tendon on both knees were screaming at me so I just did some bodyweight stuff. Prob just still a bit inflamed from the weekend. Pulls felt absolutely awesome. First time pulling 655 in nearly a year and a half. 605 flew up so I decided to put a quarter on each side. Missed first attempt due to a sweaty grip failure and felt like I couldn't get a good breath with the belt so I lost that, chalked up and hit it again. Probably not the smartest to do 2 weeks out from Worlds but it felt good and was definitely a confidence booster. Feeling strong.
17# stone
*non reverse x5, best 43
*reverse x5, best 45
*MSA x6-8, best 49
Not bad. Still a little tired from the weekend. Need to put a lot of work into stones. Watching the video I'm still finishing early. I need to get my right shoulder forward before finishing. Need to change the release angle so that I'm pushing the stone away from me instead of in front of me. This should keep me on my left longer and allow me to push on the stone longer. Footwork looks solid. Trying to stay low and really drive my hip into my torso on the stands. On the spins I'm pushing forward with my chest and trying to get my left down as fast as possible while keeping my eyes on the front horizon as long as possible. Still drifting a little too far forward but it's coming along. Working on keeping my head up and again, not finishing too early. Good stepping stone today, more stones later this week.
Training#2 @ 715p
Squat up to 405x5 no belt/wraps
23" box squat, 405x5, 455x5x2 belt only, snappy
12" step ups bw x15x2
Deadlift 225x5, 425x2, 515x1, 605x1, 655x1
Squats felt good. It's nice to be moving some weight without the belt or wraps and knees feeling ok too. Feeling a bit more powerful. Hit the box for some fast explosive reps, weights singing at the top and bar bouncing off shoulders. Attempted to do some step ups with 225 but my patellar tendon on both knees were screaming at me so I just did some bodyweight stuff. Prob just still a bit inflamed from the weekend. Pulls felt absolutely awesome. First time pulling 655 in nearly a year and a half. 605 flew up so I decided to put a quarter on each side. Missed first attempt due to a sweaty grip failure and felt like I couldn't get a good breath with the belt so I lost that, chalked up and hit it again. Probably not the smartest to do 2 weeks out from Worlds but it felt good and was definitely a confidence booster. Feeling strong.
8/31 & 9/1/13 - Pleasanton Games
2013 Pleasanton US Heavy Events Invitational write-up
26# braemar x 36+
17.5# open x 49+
56# wfd x 41+
28# wfd x 90'2.5" PR (2nd)
22# hammer x 109+ (3rd)
16# hammer x 129+
16# wob x 17 (3rd)
18/135# caber x 85deg
4th overall
Challenge wob x14 (tie 10th)
Championship caber 18/135# x 55deg (8th)
*****
26 braemar - Always a tough stone but a fun challenge. First toss was the best, despite no reverse. Lost the stone too early on the second and came off the inside of my hand way early. On the third I finished too early and didn't get a long enough push. 6th or 7th I think.
16 hammer - Was really looking for something big here but I flat out dropped the ball. 129 was good for 4th or 5th.
56 wfd - The hwd has been iffy for me lately. Having issues with drifting left, waiting too long on my sprint and missing the finish. Ended up fouling my first two and had to lay off the sprint on the 3rd to stay in. 41+ got me 4th here
WOB - 17 first attempt on knockoff bar, pretty stoked about this. 3rd place here.
Caber - 19ft 135lbs, 85 degrees. Caber continues to elude me. Working on figuring out a tech that works for me. Going to spend a lot of time with it this off-season.
17 open stone - First toss dropped to 46 which wasn't bad for just switching to MSA. 2nd and 3rd were both at 49ft which was good for 6th or 7th. Ugh. Need to keep my head up and stop finishing early.
22 hammer - Fouled first two attempts. Pushing it too early on that first wind and orbit getting too flat which threw me off balance. Relaxed and let the hammer sink on the last attempt and didn't worry about getting too fast. Settled for 109 and 3rd place.
28 wfd - Highlight of the comp for me. Went 83 first attempt then 86 second attempt. Was sitting in 2nd behind Scott Rider when Matt dropped a big 91+ for a new field record which pushed me to 3rd. I knew I needed a big on here as I was only 1/2 point behind, sitting in 4th overall going into this event. Sped it up out of the back and hit a massive sprint and a long finish which resulted in a big almost 3ft pr of 90'2.5". Excellent.
Challenger caber/wob were a shit show. No need to discuss. Too gassed. Got it done when it mattered and I'm satisfied with that. Will try to work on a bit more endurance next year to last me throughout.
26# braemar x 36+
17.5# open x 49+
56# wfd x 41+
28# wfd x 90'2.5" PR (2nd)
22# hammer x 109+ (3rd)
16# hammer x 129+
16# wob x 17 (3rd)
18/135# caber x 85deg
4th overall
Challenge wob x14 (tie 10th)
Championship caber 18/135# x 55deg (8th)
*****
26 braemar - Always a tough stone but a fun challenge. First toss was the best, despite no reverse. Lost the stone too early on the second and came off the inside of my hand way early. On the third I finished too early and didn't get a long enough push. 6th or 7th I think.
16 hammer - Was really looking for something big here but I flat out dropped the ball. 129 was good for 4th or 5th.
56 wfd - The hwd has been iffy for me lately. Having issues with drifting left, waiting too long on my sprint and missing the finish. Ended up fouling my first two and had to lay off the sprint on the 3rd to stay in. 41+ got me 4th here
WOB - 17 first attempt on knockoff bar, pretty stoked about this. 3rd place here.
Caber - 19ft 135lbs, 85 degrees. Caber continues to elude me. Working on figuring out a tech that works for me. Going to spend a lot of time with it this off-season.
17 open stone - First toss dropped to 46 which wasn't bad for just switching to MSA. 2nd and 3rd were both at 49ft which was good for 6th or 7th. Ugh. Need to keep my head up and stop finishing early.
22 hammer - Fouled first two attempts. Pushing it too early on that first wind and orbit getting too flat which threw me off balance. Relaxed and let the hammer sink on the last attempt and didn't worry about getting too fast. Settled for 109 and 3rd place.
28 wfd - Highlight of the comp for me. Went 83 first attempt then 86 second attempt. Was sitting in 2nd behind Scott Rider when Matt dropped a big 91+ for a new field record which pushed me to 3rd. I knew I needed a big on here as I was only 1/2 point behind, sitting in 4th overall going into this event. Sped it up out of the back and hit a massive sprint and a long finish which resulted in a big almost 3ft pr of 90'2.5". Excellent.
Challenger caber/wob were a shit show. No need to discuss. Too gassed. Got it done when it mattered and I'm satisfied with that. Will try to work on a bit more endurance next year to last me throughout.
My first professional appearance at Pleasanton is in the books. By far the most competitive field I have ever stepped foot on. Both days it was up and down battling for every last 1/2 point. Yes I said 1/2 point. Finished 4th overall behind Daniel McKim, Andy Vincent and Scott Rider respectively. 1/2 point behind Scott and 1 point in front of Matt Vincent. Words cannot express how amazing this fie...ld was. We all made our mistakes and we all pulled some clutch throws when we needed to. I can't say that I'm upset with my placing but there are some events that I flat out should have done better on. It is what it is. I had an absolutely fantastic time. Thank you so much to Steve Conway for giving me the opportunity to be present among this elite group of professional athletes ranging from all over the world. Throwing with the Scots Craig Sinclair and Sinclair Patience was a real blast. Canada champ Matthew Doherty brought the heat as well on the stones and hammers and Michael Zolkiewicz destroyed the WOB as usual. I'm still blown away by the competitiveness and camaraderie shown in the professional class. To go from inching each other out on the field to drinking bourbon, smoking cigars and sharing stories around the pool is nothing short of what the living life to its fullest really is. I look forward to continuing this tradition for years to come. Utmost gratitude to to my host, the helpers, my judge, my fellow athletes and most of all my wife, Kristina Sullivan, for taking care of our two sons and giving me the opportunity to build these memories that I will never forget. As always, Sport Kilt providing the threads to keep me looking sexy on the field, I appreciate that. Lastly, I want to express how incredible it is to compete beside and throw with some of the very people I have looked up to since I began this sport in 2010. MattV, McKim, Scott Rider, Jon O'Neil, Rusty Price, MikeZ. I idolized these guys as I came up in the sport. Being handed the chance to throw with them is beyond me and for that I am truly grateful. Loon coming up in 3 weeks. I need to be prepared for another battle royale.
Wednesday, August 28, 2013
8/28/13 - recovery lifting
Training @ 630a
cgbp 135x30
squat 135x30
avg band assist pullups x30
mm band pull throughs x30
axle bar ohp x30
yates rows 135x30
Just a recovery session to get the blood flowing. Might hop on the bike tomorrow night for a little while.
cgbp 135x30
squat 135x30
avg band assist pullups x30
mm band pull throughs x30
axle bar ohp x30
yates rows 135x30
Just a recovery session to get the blood flowing. Might hop on the bike tomorrow night for a little while.
8/27/13 - stone/hammer/caber
Training#1 @ 1230p
17# stone
*stand x3-4, best 45 (practice PR with this stone)
*MSA x6-8, best 51 (practice PR with this stone)
Took more stands than I wanted but I really wanted that 45, haha. Can't hurt to drill those positions though. Feeling the right side pushing into my torso and keeping my left down until release. Standing tosses are really coming along well. Decided to try some MSA out because I do south african anyways as a drill. Was discussing with Nick and Andy about how there is just less to screw up on vs the full spin and my south african drills typically go the same distance as my fulls. So I gave it a shot. Two really big things I focused on was driving to the trig with my chest and keeping my head up while I'm turning. I ALWAYS drop my head when turning. The moment I kept it up, boom, big throws. Now I've got to learn to get my left down fast fast fast. Ended up going two at 51 and 3 at 50. My prior best with this stone was low 49s so that's a big confidence booster for me. Going to keep working MSA and see if I can get some better distances out of it. Kind of kicking myself in the ass. I had a good MSA last year in February before switching to the full. I feel like I've lost a lot of time. Regardless, I have a lot more knowledge about positions now than I did then so I suppose a step back was needed before moving forward.
20/16/16 hammer x2 rounds, best 112/133 respectively
Took a handful of warmup winds and had to move the trig a couple times as the grass is very "weedy" so I kept blowing out of my holes from the crappy root system. Once getting a solid footing I felt pretty good. The 20 felt heavy but felt like it was moving good. I'm going to really need to shine on hammers and weight this weekend if I want to stay in contention. I can't rely on my stones just yet for points. Last throw with the 16 felt good and went 133 but still wasn't close to top speed. Looking for 115/140 this weekend. Git 'er done.
Training#2 @ 6p
caber (20' x 100#) x8-10, no turns
Regardless of having no turns, my last two were fifers as I was getting really tired. Was mainly focused on getting comfortable with the caber and getting a big pull. My pull is usually so short and I don't get a lot of legs into it. The caber felt heavier as well but prob only 10-15lbs or so. It's fiberglassed but the top and bottom are open and it's been very humid/rainy here lately as we're rounding out the end of monsoon season. Changed the way I pick the caber, not near as high, holding the caber closer down by my hips/belly button area. Makes the caber easier to control and push against as I'm running. Tried to be more upright as well so I didn't have to waste time getting down into a powerful position. My training partner told me to squat down like a front squat. I initially though this was dumb then he turned it like nothing. We're about the same strength levels as well so I gave it a shot and fifer'd it twice with that, like I said I was pretty tired by then. A step in the right direction.
Now it's time to eat, relax, stretch and foam roll. Getting a massage tonight. Going to work on getting some good nights sleep. Really anxious to get into Pleasanton. Can't wait to throw and hang out with the guys. Watch for some big numbers.
17# stone
*stand x3-4, best 45 (practice PR with this stone)
*MSA x6-8, best 51 (practice PR with this stone)
Took more stands than I wanted but I really wanted that 45, haha. Can't hurt to drill those positions though. Feeling the right side pushing into my torso and keeping my left down until release. Standing tosses are really coming along well. Decided to try some MSA out because I do south african anyways as a drill. Was discussing with Nick and Andy about how there is just less to screw up on vs the full spin and my south african drills typically go the same distance as my fulls. So I gave it a shot. Two really big things I focused on was driving to the trig with my chest and keeping my head up while I'm turning. I ALWAYS drop my head when turning. The moment I kept it up, boom, big throws. Now I've got to learn to get my left down fast fast fast. Ended up going two at 51 and 3 at 50. My prior best with this stone was low 49s so that's a big confidence booster for me. Going to keep working MSA and see if I can get some better distances out of it. Kind of kicking myself in the ass. I had a good MSA last year in February before switching to the full. I feel like I've lost a lot of time. Regardless, I have a lot more knowledge about positions now than I did then so I suppose a step back was needed before moving forward.
20/16/16 hammer x2 rounds, best 112/133 respectively
Took a handful of warmup winds and had to move the trig a couple times as the grass is very "weedy" so I kept blowing out of my holes from the crappy root system. Once getting a solid footing I felt pretty good. The 20 felt heavy but felt like it was moving good. I'm going to really need to shine on hammers and weight this weekend if I want to stay in contention. I can't rely on my stones just yet for points. Last throw with the 16 felt good and went 133 but still wasn't close to top speed. Looking for 115/140 this weekend. Git 'er done.
Training#2 @ 6p
caber (20' x 100#) x8-10, no turns
Regardless of having no turns, my last two were fifers as I was getting really tired. Was mainly focused on getting comfortable with the caber and getting a big pull. My pull is usually so short and I don't get a lot of legs into it. The caber felt heavier as well but prob only 10-15lbs or so. It's fiberglassed but the top and bottom are open and it's been very humid/rainy here lately as we're rounding out the end of monsoon season. Changed the way I pick the caber, not near as high, holding the caber closer down by my hips/belly button area. Makes the caber easier to control and push against as I'm running. Tried to be more upright as well so I didn't have to waste time getting down into a powerful position. My training partner told me to squat down like a front squat. I initially though this was dumb then he turned it like nothing. We're about the same strength levels as well so I gave it a shot and fifer'd it twice with that, like I said I was pretty tired by then. A step in the right direction.
Now it's time to eat, relax, stretch and foam roll. Getting a massage tonight. Going to work on getting some good nights sleep. Really anxious to get into Pleasanton. Can't wait to throw and hang out with the guys. Watch for some big numbers.
Monday, August 26, 2013
8/26/13 - stone/wfd
Training @ 1215p
23.5# braemar x2, best 41'3
15.5# open x6, best 51+
Braemar feeling really really good lately. Getting good at holding my left side closed while pushing my right hip. Feeling very confident lately on braemar. Always room for improvement so will be trying to build on this. If I can get consistent in the 44-45 range with this stone I should be top 3 at every game on braemar.
Spin feeling ok but blowing past the power position, as usual. Watched video and I'm leaning too much with my torso so by the time I get my left down I'm way too far forward to get into a good position to push and block. Going to play around with MSA tomorrow and see if that will yield a better transition into the power position. My south african drills seem to feel much better and stronger than the full spin and yield about the same distances. Trying to remain positive. Really need something to boost confidence before moving into these next couple games. By the last throw I was too sweaty to keep the stone on my neck and I ran out of chalk. The ground was getting pretty tore up too (rain + overwatering) so it was hard to keep from slipping, even with my spikes.
56# wfd x3, best 40
28# wfd x2, both @ 83
Hwd was rough to start. Positions felt great but when I tried to gas it I was missing the finish. Not very confident with my footing as the grass was really getting tore up and muddy so footing was questionable. Tried to forget about it on my last toss and was nice and easy out to 40. Same with lwd, relaxed forgot about footing and just hit the sprint and finished hard. Two solid throws and called it. Weights feeling good so will cut it off there for the week. Stone, hammer and caber tomorrow then some recovery work and onto Pton this weekend. Getting anxious.
23.5# braemar x2, best 41'3
15.5# open x6, best 51+
Braemar feeling really really good lately. Getting good at holding my left side closed while pushing my right hip. Feeling very confident lately on braemar. Always room for improvement so will be trying to build on this. If I can get consistent in the 44-45 range with this stone I should be top 3 at every game on braemar.
Spin feeling ok but blowing past the power position, as usual. Watched video and I'm leaning too much with my torso so by the time I get my left down I'm way too far forward to get into a good position to push and block. Going to play around with MSA tomorrow and see if that will yield a better transition into the power position. My south african drills seem to feel much better and stronger than the full spin and yield about the same distances. Trying to remain positive. Really need something to boost confidence before moving into these next couple games. By the last throw I was too sweaty to keep the stone on my neck and I ran out of chalk. The ground was getting pretty tore up too (rain + overwatering) so it was hard to keep from slipping, even with my spikes.
56# wfd x3, best 40
28# wfd x2, both @ 83
Hwd was rough to start. Positions felt great but when I tried to gas it I was missing the finish. Not very confident with my footing as the grass was really getting tore up and muddy so footing was questionable. Tried to forget about it on my last toss and was nice and easy out to 40. Same with lwd, relaxed forgot about footing and just hit the sprint and finished hard. Two solid throws and called it. Weights feeling good so will cut it off there for the week. Stone, hammer and caber tomorrow then some recovery work and onto Pton this weekend. Getting anxious.
Friday, August 23, 2013
8/23/13 - stone/wfd
Training @ 545a
15.5# stone
*stand x6
*south african x3
*spin x6
Focus here is to keep my wrap longer and drive my hip into the field before opening up. Some success here. Notice I'm still finishing early. I need to get my right shoulder farther into the field before letting my arm go. This will keep me on my left longer. On the spins focused a lot on linear drive. All of a sudden the trig area is so small, lol. Trying to get my left leg down fast and keep my upper body as far away from the trig as possible while getting my lower as close to the trig as possible to get a good reverse C. The position is coming, but not there yet. Other thing I was doing is just focusing on a 180 out of the back on the fulls vs leaning into the middle of the "ring". Trying to have as little stone movement as possible before firing my hips forward. After the 180 I'm trying to stay on my left as long as possible and just before my right touches I'm trying to bring my left around and get it down as fast as possible. This is helping keep my upper back. From there: right foot, right knee, right hip, left arm, right shoulder, right arm. It's coming along. Starting to enjoy stones. No measurements but I walked one of them off and it was 51ft with about 3 right around the same spot.
56# wfd x6
Good little sesh, again just looking for positions, no measurements. Trying to get a real wide and long orbit. As soon as I land start sprinting forward and catching as early as possible at the front. Working slow to fast with a strong finish. Objective reached today. Time to relax for the weekend and get back at it Monday morning.
15.5# stone
*stand x6
*south african x3
*spin x6
Focus here is to keep my wrap longer and drive my hip into the field before opening up. Some success here. Notice I'm still finishing early. I need to get my right shoulder farther into the field before letting my arm go. This will keep me on my left longer. On the spins focused a lot on linear drive. All of a sudden the trig area is so small, lol. Trying to get my left leg down fast and keep my upper body as far away from the trig as possible while getting my lower as close to the trig as possible to get a good reverse C. The position is coming, but not there yet. Other thing I was doing is just focusing on a 180 out of the back on the fulls vs leaning into the middle of the "ring". Trying to have as little stone movement as possible before firing my hips forward. After the 180 I'm trying to stay on my left as long as possible and just before my right touches I'm trying to bring my left around and get it down as fast as possible. This is helping keep my upper back. From there: right foot, right knee, right hip, left arm, right shoulder, right arm. It's coming along. Starting to enjoy stones. No measurements but I walked one of them off and it was 51ft with about 3 right around the same spot.
56# wfd x6
Good little sesh, again just looking for positions, no measurements. Trying to get a real wide and long orbit. As soon as I land start sprinting forward and catching as early as possible at the front. Working slow to fast with a strong finish. Objective reached today. Time to relax for the weekend and get back at it Monday morning.
Thursday, August 22, 2013
8/21/13 - hammer
Training @ 1230p
20# - 16# - 16# hammer x4 rounds
16# hammer x6
Not a bad session. Best with the 20 was 118ft and best of 132 with the 16. Feeling a little fatigued and slow. Got the 16 moving very fast a couple times but I wasn't moving fast enough to catch it at the right time and was messing up my timing of the finish, those were still going 129-130 and landing way off to the left side of the field. Slowed it back down for my last couple tosses and finished in the 125 range.
Training plan going from now until Pleasanton:
Friday morning = pullups/rows + stone/wfd
Saturday/Sunday = mini-vacation with the family up north, no training
Monday morning = wfd/hammer
Monday afternoon = stone/wob
Tuesday morning = higher rep full body recovery workout
Tuesday afternoon = stone/caber
Wed-Fri lots of active recovery: lots of rolling, stretching and ice baths... and lots of calories.
These also aren't going to be typical practices. I just want to hit the positions and build a little confidence going into next weekend with the new stuff I've been working on. Plan will be 3 warmups and 5 fulls with the hwd + 3-5 lwd then move onto stone with a focus on spinning tomorrow. Same deal on Monday with wfd then maybe 3 rounds of 20/16/16 hammers. Really getting anxious and excited for Pleasanton
20# - 16# - 16# hammer x4 rounds
16# hammer x6
Not a bad session. Best with the 20 was 118ft and best of 132 with the 16. Feeling a little fatigued and slow. Got the 16 moving very fast a couple times but I wasn't moving fast enough to catch it at the right time and was messing up my timing of the finish, those were still going 129-130 and landing way off to the left side of the field. Slowed it back down for my last couple tosses and finished in the 125 range.
Training plan going from now until Pleasanton:
Friday morning = pullups/rows + stone/wfd
Saturday/Sunday = mini-vacation with the family up north, no training
Monday morning = wfd/hammer
Monday afternoon = stone/wob
Tuesday morning = higher rep full body recovery workout
Tuesday afternoon = stone/caber
Wed-Fri lots of active recovery: lots of rolling, stretching and ice baths... and lots of calories.
These also aren't going to be typical practices. I just want to hit the positions and build a little confidence going into next weekend with the new stuff I've been working on. Plan will be 3 warmups and 5 fulls with the hwd + 3-5 lwd then move onto stone with a focus on spinning tomorrow. Same deal on Monday with wfd then maybe 3 rounds of 20/16/16 hammers. Really getting anxious and excited for Pleasanton
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
8/20/13 - stones/wob & ohp/bench
Training#1 @ 1215p
15.5# stone
*stand x7, best 46
*south african x3, best 52
*full spin x4, best 51
Push felt nice and long on the stands but just not very snappy. Lots of south african drills working on getting my left leg down fast and getting in a good power position. From there I slowly worked through the rest of the throw into the finish. The south african throws felt good but drifting too forward and blowing past the block. Need to work on transferring linear drive into lift better. Fulls felt ok but again, blowing past the block. Throws about 48-50ish with the best at 51. Last one felt awesome but didn't get it on film. I'm anxious to throw stone again, seeing a light at the end of the tunnell. Spoke with Nick Kahanik who told me to hold my wrap longer. Did some footwork stuff real quick and I'm going to work on keeping my warp and pushing my hip against it until it forces me to open up. Tough to put that feeling into words but I can really feel my hip pushing my torso when I'm holding my wrap. Going to be difficult to implement into the throws themselves. Pleasanton coming up quick. Got 2-3 more stone practices first so there's still some time.
Training#2 @ 545p
56# wob - 16ft x 5/7
Goal here is to get 5 over and call it quits no matter how many times it takes to get it over. If I do it right it should only be 5 tosses and done. Feeling better. Working on getting that big scoop. As the weight is going between my legs I'm getting onto my toes to allow the weight to pendulum back up as I'm pushing it back, then drop with the weight and start pulling. The two I missed I left out front because I didn't get that pendulum back up behind me. Definitely starting to feel more confident here. The ones that cleared were by 6-8".
Training#3 @ 830p
Axle push press to 295x1x3
Axle strict ohp 235x3x3
Axle cgbp to 275x1x3, 225x12
Ring dips 2x5
Band pushdowns 3x20
Moving to the axle for a few weeks. Eddie suggested it and it got me excited to try it out as I haven't played with the axle in a very long time. Axle was fun. Didn't feel a difference on push press but strict ohp was def harder as was the cgbp from having to stabilize better (thumbless grip). Fun and good sesh. Elbow still bugging me but not as bad.
15.5# stone
*stand x7, best 46
*south african x3, best 52
*full spin x4, best 51
Push felt nice and long on the stands but just not very snappy. Lots of south african drills working on getting my left leg down fast and getting in a good power position. From there I slowly worked through the rest of the throw into the finish. The south african throws felt good but drifting too forward and blowing past the block. Need to work on transferring linear drive into lift better. Fulls felt ok but again, blowing past the block. Throws about 48-50ish with the best at 51. Last one felt awesome but didn't get it on film. I'm anxious to throw stone again, seeing a light at the end of the tunnell. Spoke with Nick Kahanik who told me to hold my wrap longer. Did some footwork stuff real quick and I'm going to work on keeping my warp and pushing my hip against it until it forces me to open up. Tough to put that feeling into words but I can really feel my hip pushing my torso when I'm holding my wrap. Going to be difficult to implement into the throws themselves. Pleasanton coming up quick. Got 2-3 more stone practices first so there's still some time.
Training#2 @ 545p
56# wob - 16ft x 5/7
Goal here is to get 5 over and call it quits no matter how many times it takes to get it over. If I do it right it should only be 5 tosses and done. Feeling better. Working on getting that big scoop. As the weight is going between my legs I'm getting onto my toes to allow the weight to pendulum back up as I'm pushing it back, then drop with the weight and start pulling. The two I missed I left out front because I didn't get that pendulum back up behind me. Definitely starting to feel more confident here. The ones that cleared were by 6-8".
Training#3 @ 830p
Axle push press to 295x1x3
Axle strict ohp 235x3x3
Axle cgbp to 275x1x3, 225x12
Ring dips 2x5
Band pushdowns 3x20
Moving to the axle for a few weeks. Eddie suggested it and it got me excited to try it out as I haven't played with the axle in a very long time. Axle was fun. Didn't feel a difference on push press but strict ohp was def harder as was the cgbp from having to stabilize better (thumbless grip). Fun and good sesh. Elbow still bugging me but not as bad.
8/19/13 - squat/pull & wfd
Training#1 @ 4a
Squat up to 405x3 no belt/wraps
24" box squat 405x5, 455x5, 495x5
2" deficit deads up to 545x1x3
RDL 315x5, 365x5, 415x5
Felt really good today. One of my best workouts in a long time. Felt like I could've gone to 6-8 with the 405. Squats off the box felt very poppy, bar leaving shoulders on every rep, even with the 495. Deads were easy and rdls felt really good.
Training#2 @ 1230p
56# wfd x17, best of 42, avg 41
28# wfd x5, bset of 83, avg 80
A bit tired from this mornings leg sesh but overall this was a good practice. Working on getting my left down and immedately sprinting for a good linear drive. At the front I'm trying to really reach back and catch the weight high, push it down and accellerate through the low point into the field. These were hit and miss. Need to work on the angle of my cast, get it a little farther away from me so I can stay infront of it better and switch my feet faster. Productive.
Squat up to 405x3 no belt/wraps
24" box squat 405x5, 455x5, 495x5
2" deficit deads up to 545x1x3
RDL 315x5, 365x5, 415x5
Felt really good today. One of my best workouts in a long time. Felt like I could've gone to 6-8 with the 405. Squats off the box felt very poppy, bar leaving shoulders on every rep, even with the 495. Deads were easy and rdls felt really good.
Training#2 @ 1230p
56# wfd x17, best of 42, avg 41
28# wfd x5, bset of 83, avg 80
A bit tired from this mornings leg sesh but overall this was a good practice. Working on getting my left down and immedately sprinting for a good linear drive. At the front I'm trying to really reach back and catch the weight high, push it down and accellerate through the low point into the field. These were hit and miss. Need to work on the angle of my cast, get it a little farther away from me so I can stay infront of it better and switch my feet faster. Productive.
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