Off-season training

[Alan H]

Gotcha.

When I do sprints, they're also very short. I do stuff like put a shoe on the ground and then 15 yards away put another shoe on the ground. Accelerate fast from the first shoe, then decelerate and touch the second shoe, then accelerate AFAP back to the first shoe. Stuff like that. Works for me. Mike told me that his coach had him do 100's and 220's when he was training for discus with his eyes on the Olympics.

Regarding drilling...gonna show you a super-great, super cheap substitute for that traffic cone. Get two of these. You can buy them pre-loaded with sand or you can fill them yourself...which is what I did. Load one up to about 8 pounds. Load another one up to about 20-25. Then drill WFD and hammer like a crazy man. The 8 pounder is for exactly what the traffic cone is for. The 20-25 pounder is starting to feel like a "real" weight.

http://www.vsathletics.com/product.php?xProd=516

Here are some drilling videos that you might find useful.

A. LWFD first turn drill. I swear, if you can do the first turn of a two-spin...1.) just replace your feet and 2.) hit the power position in the back, balanced and 3.) with 60% of your weight on the back leg and 4.) a good amount of bend in your knees..

If you can do that, and then NOT STAND UP as you move into the second spin, then the rest of the throw just sort of happens.

First spin..turn and drop, and then single spin throws. Do these with both the light powerball and the 20-25 pounder. They're soft, they won't trash the grass in the backyard or in the park, even when it's wet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eCf3mtMfHmo

Greg Hadley...has LOTS of good videos on YouTube, BTW...showing off core crushers, which I honestly think is THE EXERCISE for a big LWFD and HWFD. I do ' em with 180 lbs. 3 x 8.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv-RQ...eature=related

How Greg uses the powerball for drilling/exercising hammer winds. I do this too, btw.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asR-j...eature=related

two-spin drills with the powerball - throw up against a wall somewhere, or at the park. Heck, throw a few while the kids are playing soccer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TN3s6qMfwYs&NR=1

There are also "indoor" shot puts..or "soft" shot puts. They're not the same thing as throwing a stone but it's not THAT different. You can heave these things up against the house, in the driveway and you won't ruin the garage door, especially if you get a 12 pound or 6K shot rather than the 16. They will put divots in wet grass, but somewhat less than an iron shot. They are not cheap, not by any means but if they let you drill in the driveway, then they might be worth it. If you're a rotational shot putter/stone thrower then VS Athletics also sells a halfway reasonable throwing shoe that it worth it's weight in gold, in terms of saving your knees.

http://www.vsathletics.com/product.php?xProd=462

[eclarkhb]

Awesome post! thanks for all the links!

I also love the fact that VS Athletics are located in Torrance, CA - which is about 30 minutes from me. That means I can pick up & don't have to pay shipping :-)

And I am a rotational thrower for shotput / open stone. I have some videos from Ventura posted here: http://www.youtube.com/eclarkhb123

I'm still figuring out the proper footwear for a grass surface. At this point I'm using running shoes for stones. I have owned throwing shoes before, but it seems like that would be too slick in the grass....I have soccer turf shoes, which worked well for caber & hammer (at least until I get blades). Not sure if I'll use the turf shoes or running shoes for LWFD...

[Alan H]

Awesome post! thanks for all the links!

I also love the fact that VS Athletics are located in Torrance, CA - which is about 30 minutes from me. That means I can pick up & don't have to pay shipping :-)

And I am a rotational thrower for shotput / open stone. I have some videos from Ventura posted here: http://www.youtube.com/eclarkhb123

I'm still figuring out the proper footwear for a grass surface. At this point I'm using running shoes for stones. I have owned throwing shoes before, but it seems like that would be too slick in the grass....I have soccer turf shoes, which worked well for caber & hammer (at least until I get blades). Not sure if I'll use the turf shoes or running shoes for LWFD...

Mike P actually has a pair of old fashioned cleats...you know, with the thick round spikes? He ground off all the spikes, down to nubs EXCEPT the one that is right under the ball of his foot- under his big toe. So when he throws rotational stone, he still has some grip but the whole shoe rotates around that one spike. voila, no destroyed knees.

You're going to throw stones on those SAAA plywood platforms with artificial green lawn carpet, huh? Think about a pair of the VS Athletics throwing shoes. They might not cut it on real grass, but I bet they'll work out on the plywood.

The turf shoes all depend on the type of gripping sole they have. The Adidas Turf hogs that I have are wonderful, just wonderful on real grass. On the plywood platforms at Ventura, they'd have sucked so I used my old Nike high-top artificial turf, turf shoes. These have much smaller "nubs" on the bottom of the shoe than the Adidas. That worked out pretty well.

[Alan H]

Hey, that video looks pretty good! Head-chest up at the delivery.....Man, you look a LOT better than my rotational throws! Good job!

[eclarkhb]

Hey, that video looks pretty good! Head-chest up at the delivery.....Man, you look a LOT better than my rotational throws! Good job!

Thanks a lot! Tons to improve on, though - that's why I love having the video. I'm using almost no legs, standing straight up & not maintaining the power position - I'm also looking down in the middle of the throw & again at the very end (looking at my feet). And then to top it off I'm throwing from about 2' behind the trigg....

So lots to work on!

[Alan H]

In fact....... I have a bag full of shoes!

1. med-top football cleats. These were my original throwing shoes but they are very tiring on your feet and they are awful in anything but deep grass. But when the day comes that you walk on the field the morning after it rained all night, and nobody has cut the grass for a week, you will bless those freakin' cleats.

2. med-high top artificial turf cleats from Nike. These are the shoes I threw in, on every surface until I bought the turf hogs. I got them for dirt cheap off of ebay, and I LOVED these shoes. I'd not have bought the Turf Hogs if I didn't have an issue with the soles coming unglued from the Nike's. I wish I could show you the bottoms, they are a real miniature square-waffle pattern and the "waffle squares" only stick up between 1/8th and 1/4 of an inch. In contrast to that, the Turf Hog "cleats"...all hundred of them.... are easily longer than 1/4 of an inch. Walking around on pavement, I can feel my feet "wiggle" a little bit when I wear the Hogs.

On those plywood platforms, the Nikes are great. Honestly, running shoes or crosstraining shoes are probably just fine.

3. The Turf Hogs. There are pictures of these all over the internet. I LOVE these shoes on regular grass, and I can't recommend them highly enough.

About the plywood platforms and So Cal Games. I've only been to a few but...

1. Queen Mary in Feb., I am pretty sure you throw off of real grass at Queen Mary

Here's some guy we all know, throwing at Queen Mary a few years ago. You'd think he's have better sense, considering how OLD he is, but...*hey*.




2. Bakersfield...that's not an SAAA Game, and I know for a fact you throw off of natural grass at Bakersfield.
3. Vista ... I THINK that is held on a baseball field, and so some of the throws are off of grass and some are off of a dirt infield.


4. Costa Mesa... you throw off of natural grass. I've been to those Games.
5. Ventura...you know the score, there.
6. Las Vegas ... That's an SHA Game, and the SHA doesn't have the plywood platforms, AND I know that Games is held in a park with lots of grass, so I assume you throw off of grass, there.

The only other Games I throw at, where I throw off of the platforms, is Enumclaw, in Washington.

[Alan H]

Monday was the first Deadlift workout of the offseason

stationary bike 4 minutes
stretch legs/hips in the cage
deadlifts...8 x 185, 3 x 3 x 225, 3 x 2 x 265 wimpy for someone my size but you gotta start somewhere. I'll get there.
core 1 - incline situps ... 17, no wweight
core 2 ... hanging leg lifts, 15
zerchers squats - speed .... 2 x 8 x 115. That's light but I had to use a pre-loaded up bar, all the squat racks were busy
cable pulls...various, for shoulders
towing machine ... 7 m inutes @ <2:30/500m


Today was the first Incline Bench Press Day. I thought I'd ramp up to failure, just to see where that was going to be.

Stretch in the cage
Incline Bench Press ... 15 x bar, 8 x 155, 6 x 175, 195-FAIL
single arm bench rows ... 8 x 3 x 85 pound dumbell, each side.
triceps pull down - cable... 8 x 2 x 70, 8 x 85
seated flies ... 6 x 175 on the stack, 4 x 175 on the stack, 4 x 150 on the stack...*Seriously* olff on this.
Core 1 ... lat pulls on Roman chair... 8 x 2 x 60 pound dumbell, each side.
random upper body...did lat pull downs today 8 x 2 x 160 on the stack

[azwildcat96]

Here's some guy we all know, throwing at Queen Mary a few years ago. You'd think he's have better sense, considering how OLD he is, but...*hey*.

Alan, I just finished the Tucson Celtic Festival Games yesterday, and someone there told me about the Long Beach (Queen Mary) games. Looking at the website, there isn't too much information, only sign-up forms for piping and dancers. Any chance you know more about this event?

[eclarkhb]

Mike P actually has a pair of old fashioned cleats...you know, with the thick round spikes? He ground off all the spikes, down to nubs EXCEPT the one that is right under the ball of his foot- under his big toe. So when he throws rotational stone, he still has some grip but the whole shoe rotates around that one spike. voila, no destroyed knees.

Interesting....

You're going to throw stones on those SAAA plywood platforms with artificial green lawn carpet, huh? Think about a pair of the VS Athletics throwing shoes. They might not cut it on real grass, but I bet they'll work out on the plywood.

Yes, those would absolutely work. They used those turf platforms in Ventura, which was my 1st games. Is that common? Any idea what kind of surface they use at Long Beach or Costa Mesa? Or do I just need to have a bag full of shoes & be prepared for anything?