So you want to be an athlete?

[Alan H]

Here in California there aren't any weight classes. It's like this...

Professionals
Class A amateur...the good guys
Class B amateur...the intermediates
Class C amateur...the novices...I threw in Class C for most of this season, I was the old guy!

Masters 40 - 49 (years, not I.Q.)
Master 50+

Sometimes the Masters get divided up like this: 40-45, 46-49, 50-60, 60+

It kind of depends on how many guys show up. Note that here in Nor Cal we have a solid contingent of women that show up to throw. At Woodland I think there were 16 ladies on the field...all in one class.

[N. Campbell]

Hey Chase and 12stones, check out nasgaweb.com it has become the official site of heavy athletics. Look for a guy posting on there called M-BAAB. His name is Mike Baab and he is down in the Texas area, really good thrower. Send a PM out to him or post in the Newbie section I am sure he can give you some great advice.

About the weight classes, you do not have to try and get your weight up or down to get into the 190lb class. Most guys I know run in the 260-330lb range, I myself run about 290lb. The 190lb class I do not believe is even used much in most states.

[fhpdo]

Katmills,
I will second Yaish on this , be careful about having your 12 year old train with heavy weights. He is not through growing yet and this can stress most parts of his body. If you can find get him into a Track and Field type setting , that will go a long towards proper technique and the strength will come in time.
John

[TimC]

Hey guys,

Don't let size or age keep you from trying this. I'm 44 y/o, 5' 8" and 175 lbs (on a good day). Just go out and try to be better that your last toss. It doesn't matter how you compare to anyone but yourself. At the games, there are spectators and participants - being a participant is a lot more fun...and life is too short (and so am I) not to have fun.

-Tim

[Chase]

Hey Guys,

Some really great advice and workout information...As I mentioned in another post, I competed in Lumberjack competitions in my twenties, so I'm used to some obscure training methods...In Iraq, I have to train for the job - "Train as you fight, Fight as you train" "Train hard, Fight easy" "Sweat more now, Bleed less later" I'm sure you're all familiar with those cliches.

I do a lot of endurance training, combatives, and weapons training, but will add strength training now that I've got a bit more information about the sport...I'm 48 years old, currently 6' tall and weigh 220lbs...If 250lbs is the smallest guy on the field, then you might as well call me tiny...LOL.

Again, thanks for the tips

Chase

[TimC]

I'm 48 years old, currently 6' tall and weigh 220lbs...If 250lbs is the smallest guy on the field, then you might as well call me tiny...LOL.
Chase

Ah...at 5' 8" and 175, I've been asked if I was the waterboy! Don't worry about being the smallest guy out there. I pretty much got that label all to myself.

-Tim

[Chase]

This is my current condition:

[Alan H]

This is my current condition:

You're in just fine shape, hell, lots better than I am..... Don't forget that a LOT of this stuff is balance and drills, drills, drills. Strength helps, but it doens't matter HOW strong you are, you can't muscle around a 52 pound weight for distance. You gotta know HOW to do it. So go to Gamesand work out with a coupleof other guys and watch the videos and make your own gear to practice with.

I bet any money you could get a dozen guys to try the events over in Iraq. Look up "mjolnir hammers" online and get a look at what that actual implements look like. You can probably scrounge junk up from around the Base to make something that'll work. A four foot PVC handle, 1 inch diameter, some duct tape and 16 pounds of dumbell weights is close enough to a light Scottish hammer. That's what TimC and I use for practice. Find an old pole about 14-16 feet long and 70 - 100 pounds and taper it a bit and round off the end and you've got a caber.

[Chase]

we have a sledge hammer and a shot-put (8lbs) and one of the guys is putting together a couple of 12 foot length 2x4's to measure 20 feet (there aren't many trees or wooden poles where I'm at) and we have this thing called a kettle ball that weighs 24 lbs, so I'm using that...I hop and lunge whenever I can and when I'm on mission, I'm wearing about 93 lbs of ballistic protection and load bearing tactical items including weapons and ammo...Eight flights of stairs is brutal with all that stuff on.

I'm really excited about the competition...These threads are motivating too...Thanks a bunch everyone...I really enjoy XMTS

Chase

[Big Homestead]

I'd like to add my two cents here:

Cage Fighting, I love it and I compete in it. I think I have some workouts that would help you guys. See, I can't do weighted squats in the gym as my lower back hates me for it. So instead I hill sprint. Find something steep and tall and sprint is repeatedly once a week. My legs are pretty big and very strong. If you are a little guy, thrown on a weighted vest when you do it, your going to see improvement.

However, I"m not your mommy or your Dr. So, talk to a Dr. before doing anything. Warm up before sprinting said hills by warming up with a few laps of jogging and do some plain squats with no weight.

Cheers and blessings.