So you want to be an athlete?

[Colin]

What kind of fitness regiment do you guys recommend for the gym workouts. I would assume that the legs should get as much if not more of a workout than the arms given that 50% of muscle groups are in the legs.

I may just have to give this a shot next year. The only thing stopping me is that most of the guys that participate every year are bloody huge and a lot are in the strong man competitions year round. We don't have a lot of amateurs.

[Shriner]

Gee, I wish I would have read this before Stone Mtn. Thank you guys for the info, lots of great stuff.

John

[katmills2005]

This is some great information.

I've been trying to help my son who is 12 start into the athletics. He is too young to do any of the adult competition stuff so I've been looking to find ways of helping him. He took it upon himself to use my weed eater for the hammer throw. (weed eater is now dead) With that in mind I've found a friend to help train my son. He uses smaller weights that are more age appropriate.

While many classes including womens are out there, I have not found anything for my son's age group. Young teenagers are simply out of luck when it comes to the games. They usually have something for smaller children, but after about age 10 there really isn't anything until they are old enough to compete with adults at around age 15 or 16.

I'm glad I have some more detailed information to keep his spark of interest alive. Thank you again.

[Chase]

You mentioned that there were age classifications...Are there weight classifications like in boxing? and if so, what are they...I am almost 50, but would like to compete, I weigh about 220 lbs (don't know what that translates to in stone), but would also like to know that too.

Respectfully,

Chase

[N. Campbell]

220 lbs would be about 16 stone. As far as weight classes go there is realy only one called the 190lb and under. Other then that you compete as either a Master, Amature or Pro.

[Chase]

Jeeeze...I'm gonna have to drop more than 30lbs.

[12stones]

This is some great information. Just what I've been looking for. Though, I'm in the same boat as Chase weight-wise. I have to drop quite a few pounds. Though, this may help me on that road.

[Chase]

I saw a few pictures of athletes participating in the highland games and they appear in the 250 plus range...There's no way I could compete at that level...I will be registering for the Houston Highland Games in May 2008...We'll see what happens by then.

[Yaish]

There were a lot of questions in a short time, so let me answer what I can.

As for exercises, the highland games are truly a whole body event. A lot of the strength comes from the arms and shoulders, but then so too the back, legs, etc... Any good general strength training regime will pay dividends when it comes to the games. There are some particular exercises the pro's do, but really you need to focus on the whole body.

That being said, you want to go with routines that force you to use secondary and stabilizer muscles. Skip the machines and stick with freeweights. Do exercises that focus on more than one muscle group at a time. Dead lifts, squats, etc... Use dumb bells for presses rather than barbells. You need to develop strength in balance, not just in specific muscles.
Explosive training is good too. Exercises that promote rapid, dynamic moves will help come game day.


As for children, they do have childrens games at some of the events, but most pediatricians do not recommend young kids do any sort of weight training. Since the HG is definitely a strength event, waiting until he is older is probably a wise idea.
If the school has any sort of track and field team that would be a good place to start though. Many of the Track and Field events started off as Highland events. (shotput, hammer)

For weight classes, you really won't see the Games broken down that way. I can tell you that at 250, I am almost always one of the smallest guys on the field. The more of that weight that comes from muscle the better, but honestly in many cases the extra weight gives you stability. The 56lb weight for distance will throw you around unless you have perfect technique or enough 'ballast' to swing it. Generally if you haven't tried the events before, or are unsure how well you might do then begin in either Novice or C class. Not only will you get more instruction, you'll usually be with people more near your own skill level and therefore it's more fun and competitive.

[Alan H]

I'm about 265, but I *should* weigh about 200 - 210. *ahem*. That said, TimC throws farther than I do in most events and he's about 100 pounds lighter than I am...and there you go. I'm about 6 feet 1 inch and change....and I'm 50 years old.

My gym time is much lile what Yaish says... I don't use machines, much, though I use one for leg squats. My routine takes me about 60 minutes. Here's a typical session.

Arrive...do a little bit of stretching, but not much 'cause I walk 15 minutes to get to the gym. Explosive strength is good!

1.) Jumps...bit hard on the knees, but...I take 30 pound dumbells, one in each hand and from a moderate (very moderate) squat, jump upwards, clearing my feet from the floor about 12-15 times

2.) Inclined-bench sit-ups, maybe 12-20

3.) vertical (not lying horizontal!) leg lifts (works lower abdominals) 12-15

3.) dumbell curls. I started at 20 pounds, finished up 3 weeks ago with 30 pounds, I do about 12-15 on each arm

4.) dumbell triceps extensions with 20 pounds...or sometimes reverse chair pushups for triceps. I might do windmills instead, just for variety on some days.

5.) shoulder shrugs with 40 pounds in each hand. This REALLY helped with soreness after throwing

6.) lower back lifts with no weight or light weight.

7.) leg presses...usually 12 or so with about 300 pounds. I don't go to deep with these, I don't want to blow out my knees.

8.) calf lifts, usually 12-20 with 40 pounds in each hand

9.) butterflys...I actually do these on a machine, and I know the setings, but not the weight.

10.) jumps...no weight, up to a 24 inch box, and step down. I do this until my heart beats hard and tells me to stop.

11.) To finish up I might do some hamstring curls (on a machine) or use a machine for something like chest presses....something I was doing a lot in September was basically imitating the motion of the weight over the bar throw with 60 pound dumbell. I'd only hoist the thing to my shoulder height, though. I did both sides, both arms about 6-10x.

All that, I'd do 2-3x a week. I'd move reasonably quickly from exercise to exercise, as I wanted to get an aerobic component out of it, but that means you have to keep aware of your heart rate.

The other thing I did off and on was swim laps in the pool with pool-buoys between my thighs. That keeps the butt floating and concentrates the workout on the shoulders, latissimus dorsi, and forearm muscles.