Alan H's 2012 in season log

[Alan H]

Good work, Alan.

Remember to post up with your left leg as you drive your hips forward to deliver the stone. You can drill this by placing your post foot on top of the trig and doing some puts. This will emphasize the post.

I was thinking about exactly this issue last night as I drove home. I block pretty well (I think) when I stand my throws, but I'm not at all sure where I'm at when I glide. I think I need some video.

[o1d_dude]

Tremendously helpful video is, young Jedi.

[Alan H]

Sunday throws. I'd advertised it to pretty much everybody in the CHAC but the iffy weather kept everybody else home but me.

Hammer day. I did about 50 winds in sets of 8 or 10. This burned up my core and IT bands pretty fast, but I'm getting better. The mojo is slowly coming back. Then did about 8 single-turn-and-deliver, because Duncan McCallum does 'em and they look useful. These started out well and went downhill. Best of about 81. Then did about a dozen full-throws. These were OK, nothing special but I didn't fall all over myself and my radius is pretty good. I'm keeping my head out of the way at the delivery, which is good. Distances are off by about 5-8 feet which sucks, but it'll get there.

At this point I was toast, but I went ahead and did some open stone glides. MUST get my left side active...MUST. Then did some Braemar with my 21.5 pounder and this was actually pretty reasonable. I finished up with 8 sprint phase drills with the 28'er, and I was completed fried.

And THEN I went and make a new 10 pound and a new 16 pound sheaf. My 16 is light, but I've stuffed the bag as full as I can with straw. I'm gonna have to weasel a 4 pound rock into the middle of the thing.

[Alan H]

Goals for practice between now and April 14th:

A. Get my hammer mojo back on track, even if the #'s aren't quite up where they should be. No more throwing myself all over the place, lock it in. Work the core, let the ball be long, long, long. REEEEELAAAAAXX. Lift and catch 'way back on the right side.

B. Drill the LWFD until the new first turn technique and "butt down" is second nature. I don't want to think, just want to DO in the trig

C. Drastically improve my pissant feeble left side in Braemar and Open Stone. Push-pull. I'm ignoring the pull. MUST change that.

No more "talk" about video'ing myself. Get the camera out and DO IT.

[Alan H]

Solo workout tonight.

Started out with some stone throw warmups

Then 75% crank standing throws, REALLY ramming the left side around. Did about 8 of those.
Then 8 full-crank standing throws with the 16.2 stone...everything at 31 feet...good but not outstanding.
Then about a dozen glides. Started out awful, got better. Everything after the first two at 31. So my glides really truly are on par with my standing throws, now. AND,. they're reproducible. It's time to start gliding in competition.

I did two with the 15.8 stone..HAHAHA...33 feet.

Hammer... 40 winds in sets of 6-8 --- MUCH better tonight.
Then about a dozen full throws, go hard. Started out poorly with a couple around 77-78, then settled in. Everything else at 80-81 with two at 83+. This is still off a bit, but the mojo is coming back.

Then some Braemar stone, just for yucks, about 8 throws. Tried to really hit the block super-hard after watching some video of Beth Burton throw Braemar at the WWC.. Nice! Everything at 26-27, a few threatening to go almost 28. This is with my 21. 5 stone. Happy with this.

[o1d_dude]

You've got a real passion for the stones. As a rock monger myself, I admire that.

Here's some video for you to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a9I7ZFp7p0

John Gallagher. Dave Garman judging the throws.

Throws, drills, weight and band training, more throws; there is a LOT of information to be gleaned from this clip.

[Alan H]

You've got a real passion for the stones. As a rock monger myself, I admire that.

Here's some video for you to watch:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a9I7ZFp7p0

John Gallagher. Dave Garman judging the throws.

Throws, drills, weight and band training, more throws; there is a LOT of information to be gleaned from this clip.

Actually, it's not so much that I have a passion for them, as I suck at them! The old adage...."practice what you're bad at"... is where I'm at. What I really love is hammer...LWFD is next. But I'm a pretty good hammer thrower, and the next guy up the local ladder is Kel Mulrey, and he's throwing 100 feet. Ain't any time soon that I'm dropping in a 100 foot hammer throw.

I think this season that my LWFD will be mostly in the low 50's and my HWFD will mostly be 32-33-34. That's good. But my stones are 'way down the local lads list, especially now that Roger Saunders is throwing 33-34 regularly. Steve Elliott is regularly at 32-33. Joe Elliott, 33-34. Larry Sisseck dropped in two at 32 feet at Queen Mary! Good on Larry!!! If THEY can throw 32-33-34, there's no reason that I can't throw that distance. It's not so much that I want to BEAT THEM, but the yardstick is there...they can do it, why can't I?

-----But to get there, I gotta put in the work. Truth is, I work harder than any other current 50-59 Nor Cal Master. But if I didn't do that, I'd be throwing a whole lot less far than I am, right now.

.....And a little work never bothered me, none.

[Alan H]

About that video...at 2:20, he's doing "active foot, heel drive, arm strike" work with a rubber band in the gym. I do that exact same thing, now and then, with a cable machine. Huh.... I figured nobody else did that. Kinda reassuring!

The pylo box-band exercise!!!!!!! Yes, I love it! OK, that's going on my "in season" gym list! EXCELLENT!

the last ten throws at the end illustrate something perfectly, that I've come to learn with stones. Stones are NOT a strength event. They're a speed event. It's not about being a hulking brute. It's all about how FAST you can accelerate that rock. Strength only gives you the ability to accelerate quickly. But massive strength without speed is useless on the field. Save it for a powerlifting meet.

My Braemar Mantra????

"Cmon Alan...FAST, all the way from the bottom"

[Alan H]

ALSO, I've stopped logging at NASGA, for now. Lots of things have contributed to this decision, so this is now my primary log.

[GoodGirlGonePlaid]

So, from looking at the video, the exercise he does, kind of reminds me of the hip/ leg positions for throwing a back crosses (but higher).
It makes me kind of want to "punch" the put. Does that make sense?
It may help