EXCELLENT post! I've been an athlete all my life and really had to change my training for highland games. Alan's right--we're not body builders. Everything we do involves strength through movement. You could bench press a house, but throwing a 56 pound WFD will tie you in knots and have you using muscles you thought you didn't have.

I took all the exercises I learned in re-hab for my knee and realised that they did the same thing as Alan points out.(Box jumps, ball squats etc) I never knew how important core strength and balance was until I got involved in HGs. All it took was my first games and the soreness afterward to realize I'd been training incorrectly.

Explosive power is something that you have to build. Do the exercises above and see what a difference it will make in your PR's. If you are new at HGs, start off exercising like this and you won't have to learn it the hard way.

Remember--we don't compete in games--we survive them. Nothing worse than being completely spent and sore already and looking up at that WOB with a 56 in your hand ;-) That caber you tested before you started feels like it gained 50 pounds by the time you go to pick it.

Gods I love this stuff ;-)