Alan H's 2012-2013 OFF-season log

[Alan H]

I got a break in my day which I didn't expect, so I grabbed it and got in some gym time. This is still just sort of getting the joints ready and remembering what to do. I'm not pushing anything hard, yet.


20 minute brisk walk over to the gym...neglected to do Donna's combination warmup - tsk tsk

2-D hip stretches... owww.
Goblet squats... 2 x 5 x 40 ...really liked this. I seriously "sat" into them, and stayed down for a while. I think I'll up the weight to 60 next time and do 'em again

Back squat .... 2 x 8 x 135 nice and easy. Started rounding my back at the end of the second 8
Overhead Press .... 2 x 8 x 115, 6 x 155...a little harder than I'd planned to go.
Deadlift .... 3 x 6 x 185 no problem. Did 135 last time, this is a better weight. Will just stay here for another week or so.
Flat Bench Press .... 6 x 135, 2 x 6 x 155

situps ... incline board, no weight, did 15 -- pathetic!
reverse wrist curls .... did a "bunch" both hands with both the 15 pound and 10 pound dumbells. Right wrist is significantly weaker than left wrist.

rowing machine ... res. = 8, 5 min <2:30/500m
stretch cage, very short just hammies and gracilis

Felt good.

[Alan H]

I just couldn't STAND it so I went out after work and threw some heavy hammer in the dark...probably about 8 tosses before the handle busted. I really feel it in the extreme lower back and hips.

[LitTrog]

Thanks to the clock change, all evening throws will be in the dark. Kinda fun! I just hope you don't squish any amorous youngsters.

[o1d_dude]

reverse wrist curls .... did a "bunch" both hands with both the 15 pound and 10 pound dumbells. Right wrist is significantly weaker than left wrist.

Undoubtedly due to a lifetime of holding things down with your left hand and pound on it with your right.

Grab a sledge of modest size with one hand, hold it at the bottom of the handle out in front of you hammer head up, and then ease it back toward you. Hilarity ensues.

[Alan H]

another comfy stuff day, but good....got the blood flowing and stretched out my hips a bit.

Stationary bike ....4 minutes
Donna's combination warmup .... screwed it up, but basically 8x on the right and 5x on the left.

goblet squats .... 3 x 6 x 60 really sat into 'em, chest up, butt out.
Overhead press, dumbells .... 6 x 55, 2 x 6 x 45 ... much harder than using a single bare
Sumo deadlift high pulls .... 3 x 6 x 95, pop the bar over eye-level. Heart rate buster!
Flat bench press .... 3 x 6 x 155 easy
reverse wrist curls in lieu of doing the sledgehammer on the nose thingy! ... 2 x 10 x 10lbs each wrist
ab rollouts ... 10, belly button on the floor
situps ... 10, incline board. pathetic, but hey.

[Alan H]

Rogers post got me thinking about goals for next season. I don't normally make them up until about February, but here's some "non-binding discussion" while I consider next week, which will be sort of a transition week to full-on weight-training after Thanksgiving.

#1 goal... go to Scotland and throw and do well and have fun. I don't expect to win anything, but I want to make some respectable tosses with the implements, including the 56 pounder. The Big Moment for me will be picking and tossing the caber at Inverary. That will be No Joke, Inverary is the SHGA Caber Championships and a lot of first-tier Pro's will be there. I will have to handle the same caber that they handle. I want to pick that thing, control it, get it going and give it three respectable, manly tosses. Seeing as the thing will probably be 18 feet and about 120 pounds, that's pretty serious. I don't expect to turn it, but I want to give a good accounting of myself.

Aside from that...

Open Stone... I want to consistently throw over 32 feet. Every Games -> 32+. I'm not aiming for a big PR here, though it'd be great to see 36, but instead of One Big One, I want to see the end of the roller coaster of 33 at one Games and 29 at another.

Braemar Stone... got 27 feet+ twice this season, I want to see 28, but I'm not "focused" on this, so lower priority.

Heavy Weight for Distance (42)... I've thrown over 35 in practice, with a 44 pound weight, so I want to see if I can heave the 42'er out to 36 next year. I own 34, now, proved that to myself...time to move up. (56) I have no number goal in mind for the 56 pounder next year, but I suppose that 26+ would be good. I just want to develop technique and strength such that heaving the 56'er for distance is a THROW and not a desperate attempt to not embarrass myself in public!

Light weight for distance:...This year I proved to myself that 50+ was no fluke, I did it three Games in a row. I topped out at 53 and change at Dixon and I know that there's more in the tank, I've thrown 56-58 in practice. So I'd like to see a 56+ in 2013. More to the point, I'd like to throw over 50 feet in 2/3rds of the Games I'll do next season, and never, ever less than 47..

Light Hammer. SO so so so so so stuck in hammers. My 87 foot PR from Monterey 2010 is getting long in the tooth. It's time to do with hammers, what I did with weights this year, and that's first- match my 2010 PR and then break it. So my first goal is to break 87 feet.

Heavy Hammer This one I can put a number on. My 2010 PR of 70 and change is starting to eat at me. I went 69' 9" twice this season and fouled a 71 footer at Monterey. I want to go 70+.

Weight over Bar: 14. That's all that need be said. Everybody reading this log knows why. I don't care about consistancy, I just want that damn 14 feet. Just ONCE in my career---- 14.

Sheaf: 26. I Need to build consistency, and that's tough because we don't throw sheaf in that many Games. My PR right now is 25.

Caber: OK, I'm just going to put it out there. I want to at least get on the podium at Pleasanton....and preferably repeat my Pleasanton Caber Championship. This is now only the second only "goal" that I've ever put down that actually involves "beating the other guys". Every other goal that I've ever elucidated is about MY numbers, taken alone. So this is pretty unusual. Not only is it unusual, it's not going to be easy, either. I look at the current guys in the class and who's "coming in" and I think it's unrealistic to aim for being on the podium for the overall, again. But the Caber Championships? Maybe....I could get up there again, for that, if I really work at it.

Next Years Schedule
February: Queen Mary : B Class or Masters, not sure which one, yet
March: Bakersfield B Class
April: Ardenwood (won't throw, just being the AD) ....Woodland: B class, possibly Masters on Sunday
May: Costa Mesa B Class
June: Watsonville: B Class and/or Team Championships and/or Masters....depends on when/where the Team Champs get scheduled

July: SCOTLAND! ... Stirling Highland Games, Inverary Highland Games, Inverness Highland Games, Airth Highland Games all in the span of 18 days!

August: Probably no Games....might throw at Monterey, or possibly judge. Duke Kahanamoku?
September: Pleasanton Highland Games, Fresno or Dixon Games
October: Seaside Games in Ventura.

TOTAL: somewhere between 12-15 events.

[Alan H]

Right knee is sore again. It got much better during the first two weeks of this "break" but now has been bothering me again for about a week. I think it's just super-tight hamstrings. I'm stretching a lot and spent about half an hour on the foam roller last night. Hope it gets better.

[o1d_dude]

Worthy goals, especially traveling to Scotland and competing there.

As to your hammer goals, you need to build yourself some more hammers. We (Rattlesnake and Magni Corps) use 10 lb, 12lb, 14 lb, 16 lb, and 22lb hammers for our Hammer-Rama training sessions.

Start off with the lightest hammer and throw it three times, move up to the next hammer and throw it three times. Repeat until you've thrown the 22 lb. That makes 15 throws in total yet it's still highly manageable. Concentrate on catching the weight so you can feel the pull just over your right foot. When you do this with the very light hammers, you will probably need to work extra hard to maintain your balance which is the reason for this type of training. By the time you reach the regulation weight hammers, you will be dialed in and able to throw harder with relative ease. Equally important you become accustomed to seeing the hammer fly far and settle for nothing less. I do not recommend throwing anything heavier than a 22 lb hammer as I and others have not found it to be helpful. YMMV.

Ten years ago, I was throwing over 100' with the 14 lb hammer and in the high 80's-low 90's with the 16 lb. I now struggle to put them in the mid-80's. On the other hand, I'm now throwing the heavy hammer 66'-68' in practice which I've not done since 2000 and I weigh 25 lbs less. With the heavy hammer I find it easier to reliably catch the pull. The drop in Light Hammer distances vs Heavy Hammer is undoubtedly due to the loss of fast twitch strength as we age. We work with what he have.

[RogerWS76]

I think these Hammer-Rama sessions have helped me more than any other thing in the Hammer events. My scores in both events improved over ten feet in each event but more importantly, it was after doing Hammer-Rama training that for the light hammer at least, they started to get consistent! In the last 7 games of the year in the Light Hammer I never had a light hammer throw under 83 and I averaged almost 87 feet.

[Martin Roy]

Alan, what kind of knee pain are you experiencing (ache, sharp, etc.) and what part of the knee is hurting?