Martin roy training log

[Alan H]

Woodland 2007 was my first Games as well. I threw in the C class. We had 16 guys in the class that year, Tim Christopher was one of them. Anyway, we didn't have time for both hammers, so we just did heavy hammer.

I stuck the first one .... 59 feet, which I thought was pretty good. Well, heck...for a first Games it IS pretty good. Back then I was throwing with my heels right on the trig board.

I bet you can guess what I did with the next two throws, though. Sheesh.

[Martin Roy]

Out of curiosity I checked the results for my first game at Woodland 2010. Here's the line score:
BS 17'2.5", OS 19'2.5", HWFD 9'3", LWFD 20'3", HH 32'6.25", LH 43'1.25", WOB no height, Caber no toss.

With the caber I recall it was a heavy stick, I think 90lbs or so, and top heavy. There was no way I was going to try to pick it - I knew it wouldn't be safe for me or anyone in the vicinity. So, I held it upright to get a sense of what it felt like and then stepped back to let it go down. I passed the rest of my turns.

Clearly, I wasn't a natural at this. But all it took was that first experience to get me hooked.

[Martin Roy]

The last two days, Tuesday and Wednesday, I began my off-season regimen which will be more focused on lifting and, weather permitting, throwing once a week, most likely on Sunday afternoons. To get things started I will be doing tune-up lifting through the end of the month to signal my body that it's time to get ready for strength training. Beginning in November I start increasing weight.

Tuesday I did upper body sets - seated db overhead press with 30lbs in each hand, and bench press ending at 3 sets of 5 reps at 135 - along with the usual warmup and auxilliary stuff. Wednesday I did squats finishing with 3 sets of 3 reps at 225. All of these I handle easily but I haven't really done much lifting since mid-August so I'm ramping back up.

I'm calling my off-season goals the 1-2-3 program. The numbers refer to 45lbs plates. Thus, by February, I want to be doing sets with 135 on overhead press; sets of 225 on bench; sets with 315 on both squat and deads/rack pulls. Those are the vanity goals, but actually I'm more focused on how I handle the weight as opposed to how much weight I'm lifting. My mantra is the weight is an illusion, form is everything; I not interested at all in one rep max numbers. Overriding goal is to lift, get stronger, and avoid injury, so I can throw farther next year.

Today is a recovery day; daughter has water polo.

[Martin Roy]

Lifting yesterday focused on overhead press. Started with four sets of trap work to loosen and relax upper back and shoulders. Moved to shoulder warm up routine with 15lb dbs - this is a series of six movements, done quickly with light weight, designed to get the entire shoulder warm and ready for heavier work.

Overhead press sequence: barx2x10; 65x2x5; 85x2x5; 95x2x3; 100x2x3

Finished with 3 sets of seated bench row and stretching.

[Martin Roy]

Saturday morning is rack pull day. I set the bar on racks set slightly above mid-shin, several inches below my knee. After appropriate warm ups: 155x2x5, 185x2x5, 205x2x5, 225x3x3, 235x1 just to see how it felt (good).

Finished with lat pulls, ab work, and a long stretch routine.

Just for the record, of all the exercises I have ever done, without doubt, bar none, I hate lat pulls the most. Every time I do them I am reminded of elementary school phys ed and struggling to do even one. I have always sucked at pull ups; I expect I always will. I recall doing ten while in high school during football season my senior year, the high point of my pull up history. Nonetheless, I've decided I should take my medicine and give them another shot; I've resolved to do lat pulls once a week. But I still hate them with enthusiasm.

Two easy days ahead, next lifting will be Tuesday.

[o1d_dude]

Rack pulls done with a wide or snatch grip are excellent for throwers.

One thing I'd recommend is that you drop the total number of sets/reps you're doing from 39 to about 10 reps in total.

After your appropriate warmups, do either 2x5, or 3x3, or 5-3-2, or 6x1. Add weight to the barbell whenever you can.

Your routine should consist of a push, a pull, a squat, a swing, and abs. The infamous "Ab Wheel" is great but don't go overboard....5 reps is plenty....just roll out further as your abs get stronger.

PS. Never take deadlift advice from a guy who has no traps.

[Martin Roy]

I appreciate the comments, Kit.

Re the snatch grip for rack pulls: How does the wider grip translate to throwing? Or, what is the advantage of a snatch grip vs a normal shoulder width grip? My initial thought was that a wide grip doing pulls would place the wrist at an unnatural angle relative to the bar and also put more stress on the elbow joints. At the same time, a wide grip would seem to require your butt to be lower at the start of the lift. ???

[Martin Roy]

Sunday afternoon throwing at Shaffer Park; All by myself (cue music)...
Everyone else had "other" priorities like "work"...come on, really?

In any event, the program for at least the next few weeks is a lot of reps with light weights. Mainly, I want to really nail down a double spin delivery in wfd and a quick explosive delivery in open stone. Also, I want to focus on generating more speed with the hammer and a lot of kettlebell swings for wob.

Today I used a 10lb shot for various toe board drills, followed by many reps on open stone footwork. I'm trying to keep a compact movement through the trig into a power position with an exposive pop. After experimenting with several different styles of footwork over the past couple of years, I finally worked out a style that I'm comfortable with. It's loosely based on Adrianne Wilson but with modifications to suit me. I've seen steady improvement over this past season after settling into this delivery sequence.

I also worked wfd with a 14lb implement. My goal over this off season is to completely switch to a double spin move. In competition I have always used a single spin for both lwfd and hwfd. The main problem has been that I would get dizzy, losing track of my position and balance with two spins. Awhile back I decided that I needed to start doing reps of double spins until it finally slowed down in my mind and, then, I could really begin honing the form. I believe I've finally reached that point. Today I began with first turn drills, followed by line drills, and moved into two spin tosses. It felt easy and natural. Now I just need several thousand more reps.

Capped things off with swings using 27lb and 35lb kettlebells and, in a nod to Kit, a waiter walk using a 16lb shot down the road and back.

[o1d_dude]

For your next waiter walk, carry the 27 lb KB overhead and the 35 lb in the opposite hand by your side. Then switch hands and repeat. Loaded carries are the secret core builder that almost no one appreciates. Go as heavy as you can.

As to the snatch grip deadlift or rack pull, the wider grip mimics the position of your arms when throwing the weights. We don't throw the weight with our arms hanging down by our sides do we? Yes, you might experience some wrist discomfort early on but you should rapidly overcome this. Increasing your grip width gradually will help, too. Be sure to use an overhand grip rather than the standard deadlift mixed grip. Use lifting straps, too. The straps will prevent you from getting elbow pain (epicondylitis).

As an addendum to my earlier post regarding your set and rep scheme, here's a link to the Even Easier Strength program...Dan John's Even Easier Strength.

[Alan H]

Just for anybody reading this log... I TOLD YOU SO.

Marty works flipping hard, and what really has jacked his numbers up the past few seasons is his consistency.