The Overtrainer

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

I guess it's time to keep a journal of my training, maybe I can pinpoint where I'm going wrong or somebody else can spot it. I called it the Overtrainer because many may look at the volume that I'm doing and proclaim that I am doing too much ... we shall see :) .

I train Olympic lifting and Highland Games throws and I try to do both at a fairly high level. I will be cycling both in volume and intensity to try and mitigate over training.

Starting stats:
Body weight = 232.0 pounds
Morning heart rate = 59 BPM
Overall feeling = Slow, old and tired
Still recovering from a three month old surgery (I still have some of the bruises from the cable the doc used for stitches!)

I am tracking my morning heart rate (I immediately take it upon waking) as a way to determine if I am becoming over trained. According to a few studies I read, a raise of 5 or more beats per minute in my morning heart rate is a strong indicator of becoming over trained. This, along with monitoring my fatigue patterns are easy and generally accurate methods of determining over training or if I am just being a wuss.

This week's plan: High volume in throwing, low intensity. I am six weeks into a 12 week lifting cycle, I'm trying something new and I want to see how I hold up.

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead Throws: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16,16,16,16
Standing Throws: 18x3, 16x3
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x4
Full glide throws: 18x3, 16x3
HWFD: 56x2, 62x8, 56x2
LWFD: 28x2, 32x8, 28x2
WOB: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2

O LIFTING
I did not do this today. I had little to no jump in my legs and I didn't eat properly today. Consequently I felt tired and lackluster through my throws training. Upon returning to workout, just the thought of trying to do my workout made me tired ... pushed off until tomorrow.

NOTES
I noticed a lack of explosion today, I was about 2 feet short of where I should be. I usually practice the full spin in the shot but it is too technical for me to learn without constant feedback so I have gone back to the glide. With a 16 in the full spin I'm usually between 37 and 40 feet, with the glide today I was trying to go easy and not really torque it. I wanted to make sure to hit my positions and have proper technique and I hit 37 in 2 out 3 throws ... not bad for feeling no jump in my legs. HWFD, LWFD and WOB went normal, no big deviation.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM

THROWS TRAINING
No training scheduled for today

O LIFTING
Tri-plex: 155x3, 175x3, 195x3, 215x3, 235x3, 255x3, 275x3, 295x3, 315x3
C&J: 240x2+1, 257.5x2+1, 272.5x1+1, 290x2+1
Power Snatch: 195x3, 207.5x1, 220x1, 197.5x3, 185x3, 185x3, 185x2
RDL: 335x3, 377.5x2, 397.5x1, 355x2, 335x2
Front Squat: 300x3, 337.5x1, 375x1/4, 317.5x2, 300x3

POST WORKOUT
2 mile run/hike through the woods with a 12 pound weight vest and two dogs in tow. This took me about 45 minutes.

NOTES
On the power snatch my opener was supposed to be 185 but I was too brain addled to add properly ... I still hit all 3 reps. I did not take my 375 front squat all the way in the hole, but I didn't drop it either so I credited myself with 1/4 rep. On the C&J the notation 2+1 means a clean followed by a full clean and jerk; 2 cleans plus one jerk. C&J was okay, not stellar, power snatches were great and the front squats felt okay, core not strong enough to take 375 in the hole. Legs felt much better than yesterday, had more jump but still not 100%. I ate like I was supposed to today, that made a big difference. This is one of my two big O lifting days in the week with higher volume. I don't include my warm-ups because they aren't considered in my overall volume.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead Throws: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16,16,16,16
Standing Throws: 18x3, 16x3
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x4
Full Glide throws: 18x3, 16x3
HWFD: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2
LWFD: 28x2, 32x8, 28x2
WOB: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2

LIFTING
No O Lifting today, technically an off day from lifting but I went to the gym to do 'maintenance' lifts and rehab lifts ... nothing real intense or too taxing.
Flat Bench: 225x5, 275 3x3, 225x10
Single Leg Curl: 70x10, 90x10, 100 2x10, 80x10
Pull-ups: Body weight 2x8, Body weight 2x6
Seated rows with pause: 80 4x10
Turkish get-ups: 25 3x3, 30x3

NOTES
Throws felt good, wasn't going all out but just trying to hit my positions. I'm really starting to like the glide to power position and pause drill, I think it's already starting to help me feel where I'm supposed to be. In the HWFD and LWFD I was just trying to stay on my toes and hit my positions, working on the follow through without performing a full intensity pull. I really liked what I did in WOB, I've been trying to get a good follow through after I release by stepping forward (if I had done this at Clover I might have cleared 15 feet). Again, not trying to get a big pull, just trying to hit my positions, stay smooth and follow through.

In the weight work out I still try to do everything with some speed, except for the seated rows. On those I actually pause for a three count at full contraction; this is supposed to help the muscles in my shoulder girdle and reduce pain in the shoulder joint. I just started doing the Turkish get-ups about a month or so ago and they have become one of my favorites, although I'm still not that good at them.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning Heart Rate: 54 BPM

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead Throws: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x8
Standing Throws: 18x3, 16x3
Double Pivot Throws: 18x3, 16x3
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x3, 16x3
Full glide throws: 18x3, 16x3
HWFD: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2
LWFD: 28x2, 32x8, 28x2
Hammer: 22x2, 25x2 (handle broke), 22x6

O LIFTING
Snatch Pulls: 287.5x3, 325x2, 355x1, 305x3, 287.5x3, 287.5x3, 287.5x2
Snatch: 177.5x2, 190x2, 202.5x1, 215x2
Hang Clean: 237.5x3, 225x3, 225x1
Rhythm Squat: 225x4x10

NOTES
Throws felt good, the overhead throw in the shot was about a foot further than I have done before and 3 feet further than what I did on Monday. The HWFD was a little rough, off balance at delivery for about half the throws. In LWFD I tried something different in my technique and popped a couple out there with the 32; ~60 feet and ~58 feet. Tried to keep the same technique with my last two throws with the 28 and put them out at ~67 and ~65 feet. With the hammer I focused on trying to keep my right arm straight and better release angles; my throws have been flat all year and that has taken a few feet off of them. Throwing took too long, either I have to speed up or cut out some reps. It was also hot out there, that zapped me a little.

I was little slow with the snatches, muscled a couple of them up. I tore my left palm open on my last set of hang cleans ... dammit. It's in a place I can tape so I shouldn't lose any training time. Low back was a little tight, nothing big.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throws: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Kneeling throws: 18x4, 16x6
Standing throws: 18x4, 16x6
Double pivot throws: 18x4, 16x6
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x4, 16x6
Full glide throws: 18x4, 16x6
Hammer: 22x3, 25x6 (handle broke), 22x9
Sheaf: 16x6, 20x6, 16x6

LIFTING
None scheduled for today

POST WORKOUT
2 mile run/hike through the woods with a 20 pound weight vest and 2 dogs in tow, taking about 45 minutes.

NOTES
This is a long throwing day for me because I do absolutely no lifting. Shot felt good, still not up to max effort, hammer was better and still inconsistent with the sheaf. It took less throws today to get my overhead throw as far as yesterday. Re-introduced myself to the hammer and trying to get cozy with it. Feeling very tired, all that sun and humidity kind of zaps me.

[paul ferency]

Roger, I would think about not training with the 62lb. weight. The 56 is heavy enough! Even at my peak I seldom used the 56 in training opting for a 45 I had. I was able to get more quality reps in the wfd and wob.HBIII also doesn't use the 56 in training and the results speak for themselves. Paul

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Paul, I think I would love to ditch the heavy weights, but I want to get stronger for those specific movements. In the previous 5 weeks before I started posting my workouts I used a 50 pound weight in training and I had a pretty decent WOB at my last games; the HWFD was crap but that was all mental. So how do I get stronger in those unique positions without using heavier weights? I do feel like I should cut back on my HWFD reps.

Next week those heavier reps are cut in half and the week after I do no heavier weights at all, just the normal weight and the 10% under weight. This pattern cycles up and down during my 'off' season and when I get close to competing again I use 10% under weights exclusively. I don't have the experience of HBIII or the other pros, but I'm a scientist at heart and I love to experiment. I don't know what works and what doesn't but I'm willing to try almost anything that is backed up by reason.

Keep the critiques and ideas coming, I want to hear what you think about my training.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM

THROWS TRAINING
Scheduled off day

O LIFTING
Step-ups: 202.5x3, 227.5x1, 240x1, 215x2, 202.5x3
C&J: 240x2+1, 257.5x2+1, 272.5x1+1, 290x2+1
Hang Snatch: 185x3, 207.5x1, 207.5x1, 197.5x2, 185x2
Low Deadlift: 335x3, 377.5x1, 397.5x1, 355x2, 335x3
Twisting Squats: 185x4, 197.5x3, 185x4, 172.5x3

POST WORKOUT
I was going to take the dogs for a run/hike tonight ... the mind was willing but the flesh was spongy and bruised.

NOTES
This is the second big O-lifting day during the week and this one was hit and miss. The block I use for step-ups is about knee high. I really question the use of doing heavy singles on step-ups, not sure if it's beneficial. This was the easiest I have C&J 290 in quite some time. I use the power snatch/clean to focus on a big pull and I use the hang snatch/clean to focus on speed underneath the bar; I need more speed under the bar. The hang snatches did not go well tonight, I was scheduled to hit 220 for a single but I had so much trouble with 207.5 that I decided not to go up. For low deads I stand on a block high enough so the bar is at my shoe tops, these were fairly easy tonight. I think I'm going to use Matt V's pencil tapping test, I really need to guard against overtraining and I had the pleasure to talk with and compete against Dan John (in O-lifting) when I lived in Colorado; Dan always had new and different ideas.

[Matt Brouse]

Twisting Squats: 185x4, 197.5x3, 185x4, 172.5x3

Is the guy wherein you squat and twist over your drive leg closer to the power position than a squat? Seems I say Ryan V demo it in an article some years back...

Always liked the concept but never used them much.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Here's a video of something similar to what I do. I started them in high school when I was throwing the discus, got away from it because I didn't really need them anymore and now I'm back to it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zv-RQSV-PSc

If you're going to do them, as with any exercise, be careful. I'm a 500 lbs. back squatter and as you can see I don't even get to half of my back squat max on these. I take mine all the way in the hole just because that's what I'm used to, I don't see that it's vital to do that especially if you are doing these for throwing purposes.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throws: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Kneeling throws: 18x4, 16x6
Standing throws: 18x4, 16x6
Double pivot throws: 18x4, 16x6
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x4, 16x6
Full glide throw: 18x4, 16x6
Hammer: 22x3, 25x12, 22x3
Sheaf: 16x6, 20x6, 16x6

O LIFTING
None scheduled

POST WORKOUT
2.5 mile run/hike through the woods, no weight vest, this took about 55 minutes.

NOTES
Another long throwing day; I like the Sunday session because I can start throwing mid-morning. Nothing spectacular in the shot, some of the full throws felt very fluid, I had a good rhythm. The hammer went better, it takes a few reps before the body remembers what it's supposed to do. Legs felt a little tired, hope the run/hike clears everything out.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Body Weight: 232.6 pounds
Dan John tap test (via Matt V): 71 times in 10 seconds


THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throws: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Standing throws: 16x4
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 16x4
Full glide throws: 16x4
HWFD: 56x2, 62x4, 50x4, 56x2
LWFD: 28x2, 32x4, 26x4, 28x2
WOB: 56x2, 62x2, 50x2, 56x2

O LIFTING
Good Mornings: 237.3 x3, 267.5x1, 297.5x1, 237.5x3, 237.5x3
Snatch: 190x2, 202.5x2, 215x1, 227.5x1
Power Clean: 237.5x3, 267.5x1, 267.5x1, 252.5x2, 237.5x3, 237.5x3
Snatch Balance: 202.5x3, 227.5x1, 227.5x1, 215x2, 227.5x1, 202.5x2
Rack Jerk: 282.5x2, 317.5x1, 335xmiss

NOTES
Lower back was a little tight all day. Throws felt okay but it felt like I left a lot out on the field; no explosiveness but the distances were there. My first throw with the 50 was further than I've ever thrown it. It was kind of nice to throw during a rain shower, for once it wasn't too hot. It rained off and on for about 45 minutes, didn't really mess with my throws.

I was fearing the lifting due to my back tightness but it turned out my fear was unfounded. The good mornings were okay but this is another exercise were I question the validity of doing heavy singles. The snatch was awesome, I hit 227.5 for the first time in over a year and it was easy, so easy that I wanted to try one heavier but I decided against it. The power cleans were fairly easy as well which left me questioning if I should move my weights up, 237.5 for 3 reps as an opener was just too easy. Snatch balance felt good, I was putting the bar in the correct position and didn't have to fight it at all, which is novel for me. On the rack jerk I started to run out of gas. On my dip and drive I was over my toes, a sign of fatigue and not keeping my low back tight. I fought 317.5 and 335 just crushed me ... I think I left some skin on the bar. After the rains, working out in the garage was very steamy, even with fans running. For not feeling explosive in my throws, my performance in weightlifting was pleasantly unexpected.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 68 in 10s

THROWS TRAINING
None

O LIFTING
RDL: 335x3, 377.5x1, 420x1, 355x2, 335x3, 335x2
C&J: 257.5x2+1, 272.5x2+1, 290x1+1, 307.5x1+jerk miss
Power Snatch: 185x3, 207.5x1, 207.5xmiss, 197.5xmiss
Front Squat: 300x3, 337.5xmiss, I gave up

NOTES
Felt lethargic today ... woke up this morning and was still tired. C&J went surprising well until the last two sets. I didn't do everything I was scheduled to do, left off the Tri-plex pulls completely. There were two sad dogs because I was too tired to take them for the run/hike. Hopefully I'll bounce back tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 69 in 10 s

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Standing throw: 16x4
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 16x4
Full glide throws: 16x4
HWFD: 56x2, 62x2, 50x2, 56x2
LWFD: 28x2, 32x4, 26x4, 28x2
WOB: 56x2, 62x2, 50x2, 56x2

LIFTING
None; right elbow and wrist a little sore so I gave it some time off.

POST WORKOUT
2 mile run/hike with no weight taking about 45 minutes.

NOTES
Throws went really well except for WOB. Threw a couple of long ones on my last two LWFD. The glide is coming along okay, going to do some video work on Friday. Couldn't get my body around in the WOB ... guess I was losing focus. Decided not to go to the gym and do the upper body work, my right elbow and wrist are a little sore. Felt better today, had some better energy levels.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 60 BPM
Tap test: 66

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Kneeling throw: 16x4
Standing throw: 16x4
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 16x4
Full glide throws: 16x4
HWFD: 56x2, 62x2, 50x2, 56x2
LWFD: 28x2, 32x2, 26x2, 28x2
Hammer: 22x3, 25x3, 19x3, 22x3

O LIFTING
Light day scheduled, no actual lifting done.

NOTES
This was the day that I was looking for. Yesterday I had some really good throws up until the WOB. Today I felt fine and expected to have similar results on my throws, but I was wrong. I actually felt good in the shot, my overhead throws went really well, but when I got my 'glide to pause' throws, I noticed that I wasn't moving as far or as quick as I did yesterday. I felt the same as yesterday but I wasn't moving the same: pushing off with less force in the shot, off balance in the HWFD and crowding the trig in the LWFD. By the time I got to the LWFD I wasn't completing my first spin which pushed me forward in the box ... on my last throw I actually stepped on top of the trig. I threw the hammer without spikes because my left hip felt tight. I felt this was beneficial because I did a more natural follow through and hopefully I can carry this feeling through to when I throw with spikes.

So, the heart rate was up but not markedly so and the tap test was lower but not statistically significant. What was significant is that it was a real struggle to just hold the pencil on the tap test and I really tried to go fast. Today's workout gave me some good feedback on how my body begins to react when I do too much. I thought it would be a gradual degradation but it seems like it came on sudden and even more telling is that it happened right after a good workout. None of my muscles feel sore, just 'heavy'.

So what do I do now? Tomorrow is a scheduled long day of throwing, no lifting and Saturday is lifting only. I'm going to press on, hopefully with no lifting today, just throwing tomorrow and lifting only on Saturday I can recover enough to continue. I will also make more use of the stick (http://www.thestick.com) to try and rid my muscles of congestion.

[Bert Sorin]

good insight Roger. Listen to your body, not to a schedule, they only look good on paper. ;)

My suggestion for friday ..... rest.
See you saturday,
Bert

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 60 BPM
Tap test: 67

THROWS TRAINING
None, really. I did do about twenty minutes of plyos (box hops) and some shot drills (hopping drill, glide to power position, hold it, hold it, hoooooooollllld it) this morning. I've done nothing of note since then.

O LIFTING
None scheduled

NOTES
I used the stick today when I could (or when I remembered to) on my legs to get the congestion out. Stretched a little, left hip isn't as bad as it was yesterday. My morning stats weren't any different from yesterday, hopefully I'll see a change tomorrow. I've read some data on the signs of over training but I haven't come across much that says how long it takes to recover from it. I guess it depends on how fast you heal, what your diet is, what you do to recover and how severe the over training is. I'll be down at Bert's open house tomorrow so I'm sure I'll do some sort of physical activity to include lifting, throwing and possibly eating but I'm going to try to keep it to a minimum. I really need some quantifiable data that indicates when I am over trained because as I said yesterday, I felt fine for part of my workout. If I can get a correlation to OT and my morning stats, that will help me fine tune my workouts so that I can get better, stronger and faster without totally breaking my body down.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 71

THROWS TRAINING
None scheduled

O LIFTING
Snatch: 60x4, 60x3, 70x3, 80x2, 90x2, 95x2, 100xmiss, 100x1 (Weights in kg)
C&J: 90x2+1, 100x2+1, 110x2+1, 115x1+1, 120x1+1, 125x1+1 (Weights in kg)

NOTES
Went down to the open house at Sorinex and mingled with the athletic elite. Talked lifting with Stephen Powell and Bert, talked throwing with Bert and Dave Z, watched some strong guys do some amazing things and watched the Crossfit people go through one of their workouts. I renewed acquaintances and met some guys who came from as far away as Columbus, Ohio. Stephen helped me with some technical problems in my lifts and chided me for doing too much in my workouts. I've got some work to do but Stephen and I seem to think that a 130 kg snatch and a 160 kg C&J are attainable goals (to qualify for the American Open I need to total 292 and to qualify for Nationals I need 295). Bert then chided me for lifting too much and tried to convince me to do less lifting and throwing and more recovering. I told Dave my throws training that I have planned for tomorrow and he looked at me like I was crazy. Dave worked on my shot technique with me and gave me some training tips that I will implement. I gathered the advice from Bert, Dave and Stephen and have decided to cut back on the workouts. I've done away with some auxiliary lifts and cut back on some scheduled sets and I've cut back on some scheduled reps in throws training along with changing up the grouping of training certain events. Guys, your advice did not fall on deaf ears. I imagine that the better I get technically, the less volume I will do.

As to the workout, my morning stats were better and I had a really good snatch workout. The C&J was decent as well but I didn't want to get too high in weight with training conditions not being optimal. Stephen was a big help and I will try to implement what he taught me today. I had a great time and will make it a point to train with Bert and crew more often.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 72

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x6
Standing throw: 18x5, 16x10
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x2
Full glide throw: 18x5, 16x10
HWFD: 56x2, 62x3, 50x3, 56x2
Hammer: 22x3, 25x4, 19x4, 22x3

LIFTING
Incline bench: 225x5, 275 3x3, 225x8
Single leg extension: 80x10, 100x10, 120x10, 140x10, 100x10
Pull ups: Body weight x 10, Body weight 3x8
Seated rows w/pause: 80 4x10
Turkish get-ups: 25x3, 30 3x3
Shot put twister exercise that Bert showed me yesterday: 3x8, each side

NOTES
Throws were average, my legs didn't wake up until I threw the hammer. Took video of the glide technique, that should give me something to work on. The hammer was the only throw that went really well; I could feel when I was 'on' and when I was 'off'.

Lifting at the gym was fairly easy, surprised myself on the pull-ups. I could have done more reps but the more fatigued I got the more my shoulder popped. I liked the twister exercise, I learned that I need more flexibility in the lats. Grinding my feet into the ground was causing my calves to cramp, hopefully they'll get used to it because I need to do this one a lot. Looking forward to throws tomorrow. Was going to take the dogs for a hike but got caught up in the Olympic Trials for track and field; a forty year-old man made the pole vault team setting a record for masters and Tyson Gay ran the fastest time ever recorded for a human being in 100 m at 9.68 s. It was wind aided (4.1 m/s I think the wind was) but that is still the fastest anyone has moved through 100 m ... the trials yesterday and today were very inspiring.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 53 BPM
Tap test: 75
Body Weight: 231.2 pounds

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Standing throw: 16x10
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x2
Full glide throw: 16x8
LWFD: 28x2, 26x4, 28x2
WOB: 56x2, 50x4, 56x2

O LIFTING
Snatch: 202.5x3, 215x1;miss, 215x2, 202.5x3
Power clean: 237.5x3, 255 3x2, 237.5 2x3, 225x3
Snatch balance: 202.5x3, 215x2, 202.5x3
Rack jerk: 282.5x3, 300x2, 282.5x3

NOTES
Actually felt pretty good today, the quads were a little tight from yesterday. I think this contributed to the feeling of no explosion and lack of speed. Nothing outstanding in the throws, but they are slowing down for me. I'm getting a better feel for them and if I have a terrible throw I know where I'm going wrong and am able to fix it on the next rep. For instance, my last throw in the 28 was about 10% further than the previous throw. WOB felt pretty good, I was more patient in my turns and this translated to a longer radius. On one of my throws I heard the weight brush my shoe top as I was coming around to my release; this told me that I was getting down more on my legs.

I tried to implement what Stephen taught me in the lifts, I felt like I didn't have that finishing 'snap' on my pulls. Therefore the snatches were a struggle, not as relaxed as they were on Saturday. I was able to make it through the workout despite this feeling of a lack of finishing explosion, the jerks were easier than any of the other lifts. I'm trying to stay flat footed as long as I can on my pulls but today it wasn't going to happen ... maybe tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 76

THROWS TRAINING
None scheduled

O LIFTING
Step-ups: 202.5x3, 215 4x3, 202.5 2x3
Power snatch: 185x3, 197.5 3x2, 185 2x3, 172.5x4
C&J: 272.5x2+2, 290x2+1, 290x1+1, 272.5x2+1
Front squat: 300x3, 317.5 2x2, 300x3

POST WORKOUT
2 mile run/hike, no weight vest taking about 40 minutes.

NOTES
What a difference a day makes. The power snatches were nearly effortless and I felt like I was staying through my heels. The C&J were a little more challenging, more so on the jerks. I was amazed at how easy the front squat was, I was expecting more problems due to lack of stamina in the legs. Legs felt much better today, but not all the way there yet. I had the 'snap' on my pulls but the quads still felt a little fatigued. It's going to take a little while to adjust to the changes that Stephen made in my technique but I feel like the changes are making me a better lifter.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 53 BPM
Tap test: 74

THROWS TRAINING
Twisters: 3x10 each side
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Standing throw: 16x10
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x2
Full glide throw: 16x8
LWFD: 28x2, 26x4, 28x2
WOB: 56x2, 50x4, 56x2
Sheaf: 16x5, 20x5, 16x5

LIFTING
Flat bench: 225x5, 275x3, 295x3, 275x3, 225x10
Single leg extension: 80x10, 100x10, 120x10, 140x10, 100x10
Pull-ups: Body weight x 10, BW 3x8
Seated rows w/pause: 100 4x8
Turkish get-ups: 25 2x3, 30 2x3

NOTES
The overhead throws went great, I hit two further than I have ever thrown before ... can't wait until this translates to the shot. Some things started to fall in place in the shot. Out of the 20 throws I hit 6 where I actually separated my lower body from my upper and the throws went further (surprise surprise). Everything else felt decent, I really like what I'm doing in the WOB. I look forward to a big day of throwing on Friday; I feel like I've been recovering more each day and tomorrow is a light day in throwing and lifting.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS TRAINING
Twisters: 3x10 each side (warm-up)
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Standing throw: 16x10
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x2
Full glide throw: 16x8
LWFD: 28x2, 26x4, 28x2
Hammer: 22x2, 19x6, 22x2

O LIFTING
Snatch Pulls: 287.5x3, 305 4x3, 287.5 2x3
Snatch: 202.5x3, 215xmissx1, 215x2, 202.5x3
Rhythm squats: 225 4x10

NOTES
Throws went pretty well today, hit further in the overhead throw and the standing throw than I have before. Maybe some things are starting to finally sink in. I opened with a couple of decent throws in the hammer (4) and then I had 3 people come up to talk to me during my last 6 throws. I was glad to talk to them and let them know about highland games, but it threw my concentration off and I didn't finish like I wanted to.

I was trying to really focus on pushing through my heels and keeping my pulls flat-footed. I focused on this so much that on my first attempt at 215 I forgot to finish the lift and missed it out front. I love doing rhythm squats; I let the weight fall under gravity and then try to get back up as fast as I can ... it's almost a conditioning exercise.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 75

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Standing throw: 18x5, 16x10
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x2
Full glide throw: 18x5, 16x10
HWFD: 56x2, 50x6, 56x2
Hammer: 22x3, 19x10, 22x3

LIFTING
None scheduled

NOTES
Again, the overhead throws went well, I think I'm going to push it on Sunday and see if I can hit 50 feet (I'm at about 46-47 right now). I hit over 40 feet for the first time with the 18 but all of this will mean nothing if my full throws don't improve along with the overhead throws. I did well in the standing throws; I got behind the shot on a few of the throws (finally) and that was a good feeling. The full throws went well for the most part but I started to crowd the trig on a few of them, I think I was pushing further across the ring. Not hitting any further yet but I hope that will come. The HWFD was normal and I was losing steam on the hammer. I seem to be having a stamina problem with the legs, maybe this is due to the fact that I'm really working over the trigger points in my quads? I had wanted to take the dogs for a run, but someone once told it's not wise to be amongst tall trees when there's sparklers about (thunderstorms :o ).

I had some time to look at video of my throwing session from last Sunday. I look like the most unathletic, uncoordinated creature who ever grabbed hold of a shot. There's plenty to work on, the problem is where to start. I plan to take weekly video to try and detect improvements.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 76

THROWS TRAINING
None scheduled

O LIFTING
RDL: 335x3, 355 3x2, 335 2x2
C&J: 272.5x2+2, 290x1+1, 290x2+1, 272.5x2+1
Front squat: 300x3, 335x2, 365x1, 385x1, 400xmiss

NOTES
The C&J was really challenging today, most of my cleans were very ugly; I had to sit much lower to catch them than I usually do and I was cutting my pulls. I figured this was just a strength or fatigue issue but when I moved on to front squats 300 felt easy. Front squats felt easy the time before (Tuesday) so I decided to test just how easy they were. 335 was easy, 365 was tougher but my form felt solid, 375 was my old PR so why bother doing it again, on 385 I still had pretty solid form (dropped my elbows a bit in the hole) but still managed the lift and dumped 400 coming out of the hole. 400 would have been a sweet PR but I'll take 385 for now.

So I wasn't lacking leg or core strength but the cleans were still tough ... this tells me that I need to take a break from the technical aspect of snatches and C&J. Today gave me the confidence that if I ever get under 160 kg I can stand up with it, now the question is can I jerk it?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 74

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x6
Standing throw: 18x5, 16x10
Glide to power position, pause, throw: 18x2
Full glide throw: 18x5, 16x10
HWFD: 56x2, 50x6, 56x2
Hammer: 22x3, 19x10, 22x3

LIFTING
Plenty scheduled, none actually done.

NOTES
Tried to hit 50' in the overhead but came up short, 47' was the longest. Standing throws went well, full glides did not. HWFD was normal and it feels as if I'm on the verge of a breakthrough with the hammer.

REFLECTIONS
I'm going to give my body a little bit of a break for the next week. I will still be doing some throwing but I won't do any O lifting (I may go to the gym to do the 'maintenance' exercises). I feel my nervous system needs a break from the O lifts, my core could use the break and so could my hands (I'm losing more skin than a leper in an arid climate with a cheese grater and too much time on their hands).

For this next week I'm not going to do any full throws in the shot, just drills and standing throws. It was either Jeff or Bert who commented that sometimes you forget the basics so I'm going to focus on the drills and see if it helps. I will keep doing the full throws in the other events, though.

I've done some reading over the weekend and I reassessed my workouts, strengths, weaknesses and training goals.

O LIFTING WEAKNESSES
1) Pulls are not from the heels
2) Lack of speed underneath the bar
3) Snatches
4) Jerks
5) Overhead squats
6) Cleans
7) Front squats
8) Shoulder strength
9) The mentality that I need to do more

THROWING WEAKNESSES
1) Upper body/lower body separation
2) Full extension/follow through
3) Overall shot technique
4) Upper body too stiff during throws (not relaxed enough)
5) Events, from weakest to strongest: Stone, HWFD, Hammer, LWFD, Sheaf, Caber, WOB

When I first began O Lifting jerks were my strongest aspect and snatches were the weakest. I focused on snatches and cleans and they became stronger, becoming commensurate to what I could do in the jerk. At the beginning of last year WOB was my weakest event and now it's one of my strongest and most consistent. What I need to do is turn my weaknesses into strengths and that is my goal for the short term. The question becomes how I go about doing that.

LIFTING GOALS
Snatch 130 kg (current 110 kg PR), C&J 160 kg (current 150 kg PR)
Overhead squat my body weight (105 kg) for 15 reps
Front squat 182.5 kg
Jerk 182.5 kg

THROWING GOALS
Standing throw with a #16 shot: 40 feet
Full throw: 46 feet
Become more athletic in all of the throws
Highland Games Goals: Stone - 45 feet, HWFD - 35 feet, LWFD - 70 feet, Hammer - 90 feet, Caber - every attempt is a turn, Sheaf - 32 feet, WOB - 16 feet

Any feedback as to how to attain my goals will be appreciated. I plan to cut out a day of throwing (from 5 down to 4) and simplify my lifting routine. The program I was on did help me but I think there are other methods that will benefit me more ... those details will be posted over time.

[Sqeezemasterflash]

To work on the standing throws, really focus on getting further back, and keeping your shoulders level at the start of the throw. Initiate the throw by turning on the right toe, driving the right side up and over the left, and block hard. I also see you doing plenty of overweight stuff, but no underweight stuff. Speed kills, so you might want to look into a 6k or 14# shot.

For the full throw, take a few stands at 80%, mark the average distance, then start doing glide-stops. Glide to the power position, pause, then execute a stand throw. If these aren't going as far as your stands were, re-evaluate what is different about the position you end up in with the glide, versus the stand. Working on this will improve your conversion from the stand.

For overall throwing athleticism, sprints, hill sprints, and jumping drills seem to help.

For upper/lower separation, try putting a long pipe (10' +) across your shoulder, and doing line drills. Really keep the upper body upright, and let the extra length build up the torque. If you're really nuts, try this with a very light caber.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Thanks for the input, Jeff.

I have planned to get an underweight shot and I have been toying with the idea of spending a little extra money to get an adjustable weight shot (http://www.ontrackandfield.com/main/catalog/2008/page07.html). I can see spilling those little pellets all over the place ...

I read about the 'X' drill from Dan Johns website for upper/lower body separation involving a broomstick through a belt loop and one on the shoulders; hell, I've looked goofy before. I can see the benefit to being able to feel the torque, kind of like when I do twisting squats and I let the weight go back as far as it can before I rotate back the other direction.

I've been putting off doing the plyos for too long, I need to get back into them.

Advice taken and implemented (or will be).

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 74
Body weight: 230.8 pounds

I did absolutely nothing today, not even throwing. Plan on doing something tomorrow ...

[Sqeezemasterflash]

I've heard good things about those adjustable shots. The other advice I've heard, is to skip the weights they provide, and use granulated lead instead. You can get much finer adjustments that way.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x6
Kneeling throw: 16x10
Double pivot throw: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x12
LWFD: 28x3, 32x6, 28x3
WOB: 56x3, 60x3, 56x3

POST WORKOUT
2 mile run/hike with 12 pound weight vest taking about 45 minutes.

NOTES
I think I increased my standing throw by about 2 feet today. I really focused on activating the throw with my right foot and twisting through the throw on the balls of my feet (make any sense?). On the double pivot throws all I did was focus on pivoting; I didn't even try to bend at the knees at all. I tried to then carry this through to the standing throws, adding in the legs.

In the LWFD I felt like I was just missing on my timing on the last 3 throws. I decided to take on more throw to see if I could get my timing back together and finally hit one, it was easily 5 feet further than any previous throw. I mention this because it was not so much a physical victory as it was a mental victory. I have now convinced myself that when I need to get things together mentally, I can. WOB again was steady, throwing that 60 sure makes the 56 seem more manageable.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throws: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Double pivot throw: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x18
HWFD: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2
Hammer: 22x3, 25x9, 22x3

NOTES
Hit two big ones in the overhead throw and made some progress in the standing throw ... still not where I need to be though. I made a little breakthrough in the hammer and it happened when I was throwing the heavy one. I loosened up my shoulders and that allowed me to get a longer radius during the rotation. I took too many throws with the heavy one and hit only one big one on my last three with the 22. I now know what this feels like and I hope to continue it the next time I throw the hammer.

Before I went to throw I did some plyos: box hops, 6 sets of 10. I'm starting easy just in case my connective tissue is as old as the rest of me.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 76

THROWS TRAINING
None scheduled

LIFTING
Dead lifts: 225x5, 315x3, 365x2, 405x1, 455x1, 495x1, 525x1, 545x1

NOTES
I wasn't supposed to do any lifting today but I got the idea to see how much I could dead lift. I haven't dead lifted heavy as a lift for some 10 years now and I wanted to see how much I've lost. Had to put a belt on at 525 and 545 was kind of rough so I stopped there. I can live with 545 as my top number in dead lift, but how does that compare with the rest of the lifting world? 545 is 2 1/3 times my body weight, not sure what multiple is considered 'good'.

[Matt V]

Roger,

545 is a good deadlift for someone your size. This is especially true for someone who, a) doesn't train the lift, b) is primarily a thrower. Just as a point of reference, I happened to have a 2002 copy of Powerlifting USA on my desk, which has the Top 100 for the 242 weight class. A lift of 650 gets you on the list.

In my opinion, for anyone weighing over 100 kilos, a triple bodyweight deadlift is very good.

Factoid: Ed Coan pulled 771@242 that year

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Thanks Matt, I searched the internet for an answer and I found everything from 2 times your body weight to 3 times your body weight. I was actually comparing my lift to the guy at the Sorinex open house who, at a body weight of 173 pounds, dead lifted 520 pounds wearing only shorts and a headband :eek: . I feel fine today, no ill effects from yesterday, but trying to max out in this lift does not appeal to me; I will never see the top 100 in power lifting. The thought occurs that maybe I should leave dead lifting to the young.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 53 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x4
Double pivot throw: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x18
HWFD: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2
LWFD: 28x3, 32x6, 28x3

NOTES
Before throwing I did some box hops, 6 sets of 10. Then I did the double glide drill, sort of a one legged hop. The shot is coming along but not as fast as I want it to. The HWFD and LWFD were fairly normal; when I reached back on both events to get a decent throw I was able to do it. It's amazing how much the weather will affect my training. It wasn't overly hot today but it was VERY humid. I noticed my heart racing a little faster than usual and I had to take longer between throws to get my heart rate back down.

I forgot to mention one thing: Matt, thanks for thinking that I'm a thrower but I played football all through high school and college, threw in high school without a throws coach and threw discus one year in college; wasn't good enough to warrant a spot on the track team in college. I'm just a guy who can't do without competition which is why I do the highland games and O lifting. :D

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 82

NOTES
All I have done today is box jumps, 6 sets of 10 and go for a 3 mile run/hike taking about an hour. I think the distances I'm traveling on my hikes is further than what I'm reporting. I can walk a mile at an easy pace in 20 minutes and I am running at least half of the distance that I travel. I'll have to either just walk my paths and time it to get an average distance or get a pedometer and walk it. Anyway, they are fun, I get to see some wildlife (today, a turtle in a stream and a raptor that thought my dogs looked tasty) and I get some work sprinting up and down hills ... the killers are the hills that are all sand.

Tomorrow I'm going to gear back up with the weights and I'm going to take a break from throwing for about a week and see what happens. Ten more weeks to Charleston and I have to get in some quality work in order to compete there.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWING
None this week ... it's going to be hard to not do any but I hear it does a body good if you take a break every now and again.

LIFTING
Incline Bench: 225x5, 275 2x3, 295x3, 225x10
Single leg curl: 60x10, 80x10, 100x10, 110x10, 80x10
Pull ups: Body weight 2x8, 2x6
Seated rows with a pause: 100 4x8
Turkish get ups: 25x3, 30 2x3 1x2
Twisters on a pulley: 60 2x8 each side, 70 2x8 each side

NOTES
Went for a 3 mile run/hike this morning with a 12 pound weight vest taking about an hour.

Lifting went very well this evening, I think working on the trigger points in my shoulder girdle is helping a lot. I did the twister exercise holding on to a handle that was attached to some weight. Initially I did this just to get my hips some work but this also showed me that I pull ever so slightly with my upper body (back mostly). I think this type of exercise can help me focus on relaxing the upper body while working the twisting action from the ground up through the hips.

[Sqeezemasterflash]

Why the leg curls? Needing some extra hamstring work?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Jeff, when I played ball we had a trainer whose philosophy was that everyone's hamstrings are too weak compared to their quads. He had us do twice the number of hamstring sets as quad sets (he had exercises he considered hamstring and others he considered quad). I had already pulled a hamstring before I got to him and after his regimen I never had hamstring problems again. My extra hammy work is a carry over from that and I figure the hamstrings can never be too strong. Has anyone ever heard of a leg strength imbalance where the hams are too strong for the quads? Usually it's the other way around and I'm told this is a big contributer to hamstring pulls.

I'd do reverse hypers but my gym doesn't have that apparatus ... I was thinking of trying to rig something up in my garage using the jerk blocks.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56
Tap test: 79
Body weight: 231.6 pounds

O LIFTING
Front squat: 225x5, 262.5x4, 280x3
C&J: 272.5x2+2, 290x2+1, 290x2+1, 272.5x2+1
Front Squat: 300x3, 317.5x2, 337.5x2
Snatch pulls: 287.5x3, 305x3, 322.5x2, 322.5x2, 287.5x3

POST WORKOUT
2 mile run/hike, no weight vest, taking about 45 minutes.

NOTES
It felt good to get back to the lifts. I felt rusty as I always do after taking a week off, was catching the bar too far into the body on the cleans (I was seeing bugs that weren't there). Some may question why I split up my front squats like I did. The reason is this; I have trouble jumping right into a complex exercise like C&J and snatches, I'm always a little off. So I have decided to do some other simpler exercise first to get myself ready for the more complex stuff ... it worked today. C&J went really well, easier than I expected and the snatch pulls were fantastic. I concentrated on keeping my feet flat as long as possible and getting back to my heels quickly after the finish of the pull.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Step up: 202.5x3, 215x3, 215x3, 215x3, 202.5x2
Snatch: 202.5x3, 215x2, 215x2, 202.5x3, 177.5x3
Overhead Squat: 177.5x3, 202.5x3, 230x3
Box jumps: 4x10

NOTES
I think I did one too many sets of step-ups, should have done only 2 sets at 215. They felt really strong until the last set where I broke form a little. This was a very consistent snatch day for me, I hit everything I wanted to do. That being said, it could have gone better. It wasn't until my very last set of snatches that my technique set in. 177.5 felt so easy it was like I was doing 135 ... wish I would have had that form from the start. I kept the weight closer to my body and tighter to my hips on the extension and it just flew up over my head. Overhead squat was exhausting a little painful on the wrists; this always happens to me after a week off. My goal is to hit 230 for 10-15 reps, I've got a long way to go.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 53 BPM
Tap test: 82

LIFTING
Flat bench: 225x5, 275x3, 295 2x3, 225x10
Single leg extension: 80x10, 100x10, 120x10, 140x10, 150x10, 110x10
Pull up: Body weight 4x8
Seated rows with pause: 100 4x8
Turkish get ups: 25x3, 30 3x3
Twisters with pulley: 62.5x8 each side

NOTES
Fairly easy day today, surprised by the absence of soreness so far. Usually I get a little sore the first week back but not this time around. I'm itching to get back throwing ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 83

O LIFTING
Overhead squat: 177.5x3, 202.5x3, 230x1, 177.5x3
Hang snatch: 162.5x3, 185x3, 197.5x2, 185x3
Power clean: 225x3, 237.5x3, 252.5x2, 237.5x3
Rack jerk: 247.5x3, 282.5x3, 300x1

NOTES
The overhead stuff hurt today. Overhead squats hurt my shoulder because I couldn't get it in the proper spot, hurt the wrists, hurt the elbow ... when did I get old? The OS did help with the hang snatch though, I felt more solid on them. Power cleans went well, but a little draining. By the time I got to jerks I was running low on energy; supposed to hit a double at 300 and do one down set at 282.5. My muscles feel good though, no soreness yet which is good. COMPLETE day off tomorrow, then a big day on Saturday with both snatch and C&J.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 81

NOTES
Walked the longer path that I usually run/hike on the weekends so I could get a better estimate of how far it is. I figure I can cover a mile in 20 minutes and it took me nearly an hour and twenty minutes this evening meaning that path is closer to 4 miles than my earlier reported 3 miles. I'm guessing the shorter path is closer to 3 miles than my stated 2 miles.

That is all I did today, no weights or throwing. Plan to pick up throwing again on Sunday with a long throwing day. I read the chapter from the NTCA handbook on the shot and found a few more drills to help me with the upper/lower body separation, can't wait to try them out.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 78

O LIFTING
Snatch: 177.5x3, 202.5x2, 215x1, 227.5xmiss, 240x1
C&J: 240x2+1, 272.5x1+1, 290xmiss, 307.5x1+1, 325xmiss
Front squat: 262.5x3, 300x3, 337.5x2, 355x1


NOTES
I was fairly solid in the snatch up to 227.5, which I missed out front. I figured I would try 240 because I had not attempted a really heavy snatch in quite some time. To my surprise I was able to nail it. I have hit 115 kg once and 110 kg twice in my life (in practice, never at a competition) and this was some two or three years ago. The 240 that I hit today, nearly 110 kg, is the 4th heaviest snatch I have ever made so I'm pretty happy about that. I was hoping that my C&J would follow suit but it was not to be today. I still have to be happy with 307.5 which is nearly 140 kg. What disappointed me about the C&J was that none of them felt really solid, I fought every single one of them. I want 140 kg to feel solid, I need to feel like I can hit this weight no matter what. The miss at 325 was a bad miss, I never got underneath the bar ... oh well, just more work to do on cleans. Today did give me a confidence boost because I essentially totaled 250 kg which is 5 kg off my competition best.

I've got a few more weeks of trying to hit heavier lifts in the snatch and C&J and then I scale it back as I get back towards competing in the highland games. While I'm in the highland season I don't go any heavier than 70% and I work on speed and power. After that I will make a big push to get to the 130 kg snatch and 160 kg C&J goals before next spring. Just a little long range planning here, but if I get very comfortable with 110 in the snatch and 150 in the C&J I will look to start competing in O lifting again.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead shot: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x6
Double pivot throw: 18x3, 16x3
Standing throw: 18x6, 16x12
Full glide throw: 16x6
Sheaf: 16x5, 20x5, 16x5

LIFTING
Incline bench: 225x5, 275x3, 295x3, 295x3, 225x10
Single leg curl: 80x10, 100x10, 110 2x10, 90x10
Pull ups: Body weight 1x10, 3x8
Seated row with pause: 100 4x8
Turkish get up: 30 2x3, 35 2x2

NOTES
The less technical things went well in the throws but when I got to the more technical they did not go as well. For example, I hit 48' twice in the overhead throw, furthest I have thrown, but the full glide was about two feet sub par. I was supposed to throw the hammer but it just got too hot too quick this morning. I'm thinking that I should stick to drills until I can get some good upper/lower body separation. Lifting felt fairly easy, I increased weight in the turkish get ups, I guess I should also increase the reps a little as well.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 79
Body weight: 230.2 pounds

THROWS TRAINING
None scheduled

O LIFTING
Front squat: 225x5, 262.5x4, 280x3
C&J: 272.5x2+2, 290x2+1, 307.5xmiss, 272.5x1+1, 240x3+2
Front Squat: 300x2, 317.5x2
Snatch pull: 287.5x3, 305x3

NOTES
Before working out I warmed up by doing some shot drills using a wadded up rag for a shot and I finally felt some torque. I felt like I executed some throws correctly and I could tell when my shoulders got ahead of my hips; chalk this one up as a victory. On the C&J the first two sets felt solid and I was surprised that I missed 307.5, guess I wasn't focused enough. Didn't do everything I was supposed to, I ran out of gas.

I get to attempt 325 on the C&J again on Saturday so I'm looking forward to that.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x8
Standing throw: 16x10
LWFD: 28x3, 32x6, 28x3
WOB: 56x2, 62x2, 56x2

O LIFTING
Step up: 202.5x3, 215 2x3, 202.5x2
Snatch: 202.5x3, 215x2, 227.5xmiss, 202.5x2
Overhead squat: Not gonna happen today

NOTES
Throws were so-so today. Every once in a while I felt the torque that I think I should be feeling but it's not translating to increased distance in the shot. On my last three throws with the 28 I tried to pull my left knee in to my right knee and wow did that work. I was turning faster than I was accustomed to and didn't land under control ergo my throws weren't necessarily longer, but they were just as far and I was out of control. A few more practices under my belt and I should be able to get the knees together and stay in control ... looking for big things when that happens. I didn't try the same thing in the WOB, I didn't want to push my luck.

I can tell I'm doing something different in the shot because my low back, just on top of the hip on the right side was sore today. This was the cause for the abbreviated work out and the lack luster performance, I'm guessing. More shot tomorrow, no O lifting until Thursday, hopefully the soreness will subside.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 78

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 18x6, 16x10
Standing throw: 18x6, 16x a bunch
Full throw: 16x6
HWFD: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2
Hammer: 22x3, 25x6, 22x3

LIFTING
Nada, I was too frustrated with throwing.

NOTES
This was one of the most frustrating throwing days I have had. I finally did something right in the standing throw with no reverse, I know this because my last two were out there 3-4 feet further than any of the others. So I moved on to a full standing throw and they were on the order of 6 inches further than the throws with no reverse ... WTF?:confused: Kept at it, and kept at it with minimal improvement. The full throws were only 1-2' further than the standing throw with no reverse, I was a little angry. Moved on to HWFD and this was a little off too, tried keeping the knees together. This is a little tougher with the HWFD than the LWFD for me. So when I started the hammer, it started to rain a little. No big deal, except I kept losing my grip due to the rain. This was very frustrating because I felt 'on' in the hammer. On the couple of throws where I was able to keep my grip I launched it. Two of my throws with the 25 pound hammer were 75-77 feet and one of my last three throws with the 22 was over 85 feet ... those are big for me. It was frustrating because now that I have my orbit in a better place I'm working on speed. When I have to start thinking about my grip I pull my arms in a little and the hammer flies out flat ... I knew I could have had one out there close to 90 feet if not for the rain. :mad: I was too pissed to go to the gym so I called it a day. From reading some other journals today this anger/frustration thing seems to be a theme.

In the standing throw with no reverse I start with my hips perpendicular to the trig and my shoulders twisted 90 degrees back to the right. Then I focus on activating my right foot and grinding it into the ground like the ground stole something from me and I come up and finish the throw. What I found today is if I start with hips and shoulders perpendicular to the trig, twist my shoulders back to the right fluidly and again focus on starting the right foot, that's when my throw went 3-4 feet further. I tried to do the same thing with a full reverse to no avail ... looks like it's time to get the video camera out. I think the full reverse throw should be markedly further than the the no reverse throw, on the order of a couple of feet, not a couple of inches.

[Rory]

Thats interesting that you want to compete in O lifting. Are there many competitions around your area? Can anyone compete if they wish?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

When I lived in Colorado I competed 3 or 4 times a year. There has been some chaos at the national level offices for weightlifting and competitions are down but in the recent past the southeast has been a hot bed for O lifting. Once I start my new job in just under a month teaching at Midland Valley high school, I plan on organizing an O lifting team and trying to get some competitions together across the state. I have some contacts in Columbia, Greenville, Savannah and Atlanta. I have not seen any competitions in the past in my immediate area, but there have been some in Beaufort, Savannah and Columbia. When those competitions have rolled around I have not been in competition shape but like I said, if I can hit 110 snatch and 140 C&J for openers, I'll jump back into it.

Yes, anyone can compete but you usually need the proper equipment, that being proper shoes and singlet. It's not like highland games, you usually have to pay to play too.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap Test: 81

THROWS
None scheduled

O LIFTING
Overhead squat: 177.5x3, 202.5x3, 230x4, 177.5x3
Power snatch: 162.5x3, 185x3, 197.5x2, 185x3
Hang clean: 207.5x3, 237.5x3, 252.5x2, 237.5x3
Rack jerk: 247.5x3, 282.5x3, 300x2, 282.5x3

POST WORKOUT
Quick 40 minute hike, no running, no weight vest, just the three dogs (we now have 3 dogs as of last Sunday).

NOTES
The word of the day, boys and girls, is RHYTHM. Usually, when I pull the bar from the floor I get tension on the bar first so I don't jerk it off the ground. Today I was very fluid; just got down grabbed the bar and went. This rhythm was much better, the lifts went much easier and I went through my workout faster. My problem in the overhead squat is the sore elbow. When I get down in the hole and start to come out, the extra force causes pain in my right elbow and I bend it. This causes balance issues and I have trouble holding it on the way up. This is very disappointing because a few years ago I was able to overhead squat 275 pounds ... hopefully I can get this problem cleared up soon. Despite that this was the best lifting day I have had in quite a while. I hit everything I was supposed to, one more rep in OS at 230 than last time I did them, snatches and cleans were very solid and I had plenty of energy left to do the jerks and do them well. If this could only carry over to throws training tomorrow ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,20,18,16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 18x3, 16x6, 18x3
Standing throw: 18x3, 16x10
Full throw: 18x3, 16x4
HWFD: 56x2, 62x4, 56x2
LWFD: 28x3, 32x6, 28x3

LIFTING
None scheduled

NOTES
Finally! I had a decent day throwing in all areas. Things weren't looking so good in the shot until I got to the full throws but they weren't looking bad either. The series for my final 4 full throws: 38', 38.5', 40', 39' ... I'm happy with those for now. On the HWFD I tried again to tuck my left knee to my right knee on the spins and found this difficult but I was still near or at my average distances. My pride today was my LWFD. The opening series went 60', 62.5', 62.5'. Then I took my 6 throws with the heavier weight and had a great last series. I have mixed feelings about posting these numbers but here it goes: 65', 67.5' and I measured the last one exactly, 69'3". In the LWFD I find it much easier to bring my left knee into my right knee, I can tell this speeds up my spins a little and it translates into the distance. There are still some things I can do better therefore some bigger throws should be there in the future. What makes this all the better is I had to deal with the distractions of 3 different people approaching me at different times and asking me about the highland games.

Now I'm riding a high, two good days of workouts, and I have to carry this through until tomorrow. I get to attempt 240 in the snatch and 325 in the C&J and I'm really feeling good about hitting both. I must remember RHYTHM ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
None scheduled

O LIFTING
Snatch: 177.5x3, 202.5x2, 215x1, 227.5x1, 240x1
C&J: 240x3+2, 275x1+1, 290x1+1, 307.5x1+1, 325x1+miss

NOTES
Today was the big day. I was fairly solid on all the snatches, hit 227.5 fairly easily and 240 was a little easier than last week, still had to go way down in the hole to get it. I was focused more on the C&J today, I really wanted to get 325. The clean at 307.5 was solid but the jerk was a little shaky. I got the clean at 325 but missed the jerk; I got it up overhead but couldn't lock it out. I was fairly pleased with my performance today and I decided to reward myself by not doing front squats. I also got a massive cramp in my right forearm when I was taking off the weights to get ready for front squats so that factored into my decision a little as well. I've been working over my forearm for the last 45 minutes with the stick, but it's still pretty sore.

Looking ahead, next week I come back down in weight but the week after that I'm attempting 115 kg in the snatch and 155 kg in the C&J. That will be my last heavy work until November and if I can solidify my technique between August and November I look for a fairly decent increase in my PRs by next March. Maybe my right elbow and shoulder will get better with the lighter loads between August and November ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56
Tap test: 80

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 18x3, 16x8
Standing throw: 16x4, 18x3, 16x14
Glide to pause, throw: 18x3
Full throw: 16x4
Hammer: 25x9
Sheaf: 16x5, 20x5, 16x5

LIFTING
None

NOTES
I was happy with nearly every phase of throwing today. I was more consistent with my standing throw and my glide to pause throws were actually a little further than my standing throws. The full throws weren't any further than they were on Friday, but they were all in that neighborhood (38'-40') and I'm always happy with consistency. When I got to the hammer I found out my 22 handle was broken so I couldn't use it today. No biggie, I thought to myself, there's no reason I can't whip a 25 pound hammer 80 feet. I never hit 80, but I was very close and every throw was over 75 feet except for the first one. I had a real good feel for the pulls on the hammer and I'm looking forward to applying that pull with speed next week when I start working the lighter hammer. The sheaf was the sheaf, not much more I can say about that. When I got home the plan was to get cleaned up and go to the gym but I got very tired ... maybe it was the humidity. I'm thinking I lost a lot of water today and my body was telling me to take it easy.

At the end of my hammer another person came up to me to ask about what I was doing. This guy actually had been to some highland games and I tried talking him into doing some games this year. He's over 45 and he has a 16 year old son and I told him it would be great if they were both out on the field at Waxhaw. I have noticed that every single person that has talked to me has said that they've driven by and have seen me throw a few times before they actually come over to talk to me; curiosity gets the best of them.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 78
Body weight: 230.2

THROWS TRAINING
None

O LIFTING
Front Squat: 225x5, 265x4, 280x3
C&J: 275x2+2, 275x2+1, 290x2+1, 275x2+1, 240x3+3
Front Squat: 300x3, 317.5x2, 337.5x2
Snatch Pull: 287.5x3, 305x3, 325x2, 325x2

NOTES
I do believe I was dehydrated yesterday, I woke up this morning with a headache. Despite that the workout went well but I fear I am getting into a bad habit. On my cleans, especially the heavier ones, I find that as I squat up out of the hole I rotate forward onto my toes ... this is bad. Is it fatigue? A weak core? Am I cutting my pull? I don't what it is I'm doing but I have to fix it. The odd thing is that I'm receiving the bar too far back on the shoulders into the neck. On the heavy front squats I don't rotate forward and that's what's making them easy for me, the cleans should be just as easy. On the plus side I finally hit a few jerks in the groove. They flew right up and I locked them right over my ears. When I hit this groove it makes the jerks sooooo much easier on my shoulder and elbow. Snatch pulls went well, I was able to keep my low back locked through the lift but I wasn't as far back on my heels as I need to be.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x6
Standing throw: 16x12
Full throw: 16x4
LWFD: 28x3, 26x6, 28x3
WOB: 56x2, 50x4, 56x2

O LIFTING
Step up: 202.5x3, 215x3, 215x3, 202.5x3
Snatch: 202.5x3 202.5x2, 215x1+miss
Overhead squat: 230x4, 230x gosh it's hot, think I'll drop this and go inside.

NOTES
Nothing spectacular in throws today, but I was very happy with my WOB. I was thinking today, when I finally get some aspect of my technique down, how long should I concentrate on that and not move on to other things? I'm the type of thrower (and lifter) that if I do something correct once, I have a tendency to move on. I believe this to be counterproductive because as time goes by, I will 'forget' how to do that thing I finally got right. For example, if I feel I did a good block on my standing throw and the shot goes 36 feet, should I stay with working on the block until 50% of my throws are at the same distance? 75%? 90%? At what point do I say I'm proficient with that technique and I move on to working on other things? I hope this makes sense ...

As to lifting, damn it was humid. Step-ups felt great, warming up for the snatch felt good but then a couple of sets in I started to lose some steam. I jumped right to 230 on the overhead squats because I had already been taking all of my snatches down in the hole so no need to work up to 230, might as well get to it. Plus I knew I was fading and I wanted to get to 230 ... as you can see it didn't work out so well.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x4
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x6
Standing throw: 16x18
Full throw: 16x12
HWFD: 56x2, 50x4, 56x2
Hammer: 22x3, 19x6

LIFTING
None, I was too squishy.

NOTES
Color me a dorkfish; I realized today that I have been doing South African throws completely wrong the whole time. I have been starting with the wrong foot forward, I'm going to try it the CORRECT way and see how it goes. Throws today were fairly awesome. On my last four overhead throws with the 16 I hit 49 feet on my second throw. Took two more and both were over 48, good enough for me, time to move on. I did two things in my standing throws today and they gave a one foot improvement on my previous standing PR; as Chubbs would say, 'It's all in the hips!'. When I initiated my throw, along with turning the right foot I made a slight movement with my hips towards the trig. The second thing I did was I figured out what my left side was for. Hips, then block equals better throw ... imagine that. In the twelve full throws, four of them were 40 feet or a little better and I'm very pleased with that. Standing throw at 37, full at 40 ... I'm getting there. The HWFD goes well when I remember to get low and use my legs. Hammer was frustrating as hell. I was on, and I mean on in the hammer and then I lost it. I didn't lose my technique, I lost the hammer. I don't know if my spray tacky went flat or if the high humidity was affecting it but I could not get the stuff to become sticky. I relaxed through my first throw with the 19 and it went great. On the second throw I felt the pull and sped up, pulled and sped up and suddenly the hammer was off in the woods. See, where I practice borders on this nature area with trail in the middle of town where people go for walks. I orient myself so that if I do lose the hammer, it goes off in the woods and doesn't stand a chance of hurting anyone. The vegetation has been loving all of the recent rain, it was thick and tall. It took me close to 10 minutes to find my hammer. After that I could never get a good grip so I relaxed through my last few throws and then gave up. I was soaking wet by the time I was done, my shorts were soaked through so I decided not to subject people at the gym to that.

The tacky I use is a tape adherent and the stuff I bought was specifically made for wet conditions. I don't like to use things like Brock's magic tacky because I like to keep my skin on my hands. I was just wondering if anyone has had problems with tacky tape adherent suddenly becoming untacky.

[Bert Sorin]

Roger,
Good post, sounds like things are going better.
My thoughts (in random order):

1. yes,the left side is used to "slam the door" on the shot. Glad you are using the hips. make sure the shot stays BEHIND the hips, and the hips DRAG the shot through the throw, not push it, that is the last thing you do. (as in the last 1-2' of the throw)

2. Now that you stand 40', work on it from time to time and see how many throws it takes you to hit 10 throws at 38'+. This will build confidence, and get some higher end reps. You will have to stay focused.

3. I use gloves with the hammer, I love Brock's tacky, but hate sticky stuff. I am kind of a priss. :) That keeps your sweat from affecting it too much. less clean up too. I wrap my handles hockey style so I have less chance of losing the hammer in training, and don't have to use as much tacky. I don't care if I bathe in it during comp.

Keep up the good work.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 78

NOTES
No throws, no lifting, no anything today. I felt tired and had a headache most of the day; this made me think that I am dehydrated a little. Sweated buckets during Tuesday's workout and sweated swimming pools yesterday so dehydration might be the correct culprit. Drank a lot all day but still not doing much better.

Hang on there a minute, Bert. I don't have a 40 foot standing throw yet, I'm at 37. I have a 40 foot full throw so I will keep doing stands for the majority of my shot work. I had a hard time mentally going away from practicing the full throws but the results I have achieved from concentrating on standing throws has eased my mind.

I have tiny hands and have trouble wearing gloves and still be able to grab the hammer. I like the hockey stick treatment idea tho, I hadn't done anything to the handles because I kept breaking them but I think I have that problem fixed. I don't like to get too sticky as well, which is why I like to use the tape adherent. It loses its stickiness after 3 or 4 throws and I like this aspect, I don't hold on to things that I don't want to like water bottles.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 52 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS TRAINING
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x4
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x12
HWFD: 56x2, 50x4, 56x2
LWFD: 28x3, 26x6, 28x3

LIFTING
None scheduled

NOTES
Today was a rough one. When I started the shot things felt good and the distances were there. In fact I was looking forward to a big day when I hit a new PR in the overhead throw on my second attempt. Then half way through the shot the fatigue, heat and humidity took hold. I was determined to push through but it took a lot of focus. This was the most effort I had to give to get average to sub-par distances that I can remember. This one will have to be a mental victory because I had to increase my focus to hold my technique but in retrospect I should have packed it in after the shot. I think I'm still dehydrated a little and throwing this evening didn't help things ... I still plan on hitting the weights tomorrow.

Along the lines of Bert's thoughts about injury, I find that I injure myself most often when I get fatigued. Fatigue means loss of technique, that leads to bad positions which in my case means sore joints. If you can learn the things that you do which indicates fatigue, you can head things off at the pass (as long as you aren't stubborn).

[Ketch]

Hey Roger,
I really enjoy reading your posts. B/C you have been consistent on tracking your TAP test, have you found any correlation between the # of taps and your performance that day?
Thanks,
BJ

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

BJ;

First, I don't have a good baseline for the upper end of my tap test. I started right in the middle of things, not when I've been rested. With that in mind my test has ranged from from a high of 81 or 82 down to a low of 66. When my tap test drops below 75 or so, I know I'm going to have a rough day. I remember one day when I was really trying hard to go fast and I could only reach something in the high 60's, that translated to a bad day of training and I ended up taking a day or two off. When I take a few days off of everything (throwing and lifting) I plan to go through this journal and make a graph of my tap test and heart rate, reduce that data to determine a correlation, and compare that data to how my workouts went.

That's not to say the tap test is a solid predictor for my performance. For example, the past few days I have started my workouts okay but I wasn't able to finish strong and I don't think that had anything to do with neuromuscular fatigue. I pin the blame more on the South Carolina summer, that humidity really kills me. I sweat a lot, especially during my throws training and I think I'm at a net negative on my hydration levels. I'm still trying to figure out how to get optimum hydration when I've lost more fluid than I should. If I drink great quantities in a short time my body gets the signal that I have an abundance of water and it tries to get rid of it. If I sip water all day I don't think that has been enough volume to recover. The obvious solution is to take a day or two off, which I plan on doing next week. Now, how do I know I'm dehydrated? I don't know for sure, but I've been sweating an ocean and going to bed and waking up with headaches that have no cause (like a hangover) ... usually the reason for that is lack of water.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS
None scheduled

O LIFTING
Snatch: 177.5x3, 202.5x2, 215x1, 227.5xmiss, 227.5x1
C&J: 240x2+2, 272.5x2+1, 290x1+1, 307.5x1+miss
Front squat: 300x3, 317.5x2, 337.5xmiss

NOTES
I steeled my resolve and was really focused on my technique today. I knew I had to be focused if I was going to get through this workout. Again, things started off well, in fact my first two sets of snatches were easy, but then it got worse. The 227.5 felt like it was so much more than that, I had to double check just to make sure I had the right weights on. The C&J was tough too, I ended one set early. I was feeling a little tired on the front squats and had a sub-par day with that. Tomorrow I'm scheduled to throw and if I don't feel well enough to throw in the AM then I won't throw at all ... supposed to be another hot one.

I have a problem with my right elbow in that I cannot straighten it fully. I've been working the muscles in my forearm, biceps, triceps and shoulder girdle to release the trigger points. My arm is slowly getting straighter but the muscles are seriously complaining the whole time and there is actually more pain now than there was before I started releasing the trigger. I'm starting to wonder if this is worth it because the pain is starting to really affect the overhead portions of my lifts.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 80

NOTES
Did not feel well when I awoke this morning so I decided to just take the whole day off. Tomorrow I get back to the weights, I'm anticipating feeling much better. The weather forecast is for extreme heat through Thursday, I'll have to watch the hydration levels especially when I'm out throwing.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 81
Body weight: 230.8 pounds

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Front squat: 225x5, 262.5x4, 280x3
C&J: 275x2+2, 275x2+1, 290x2+1, 290x2+1, 240x3+2
Front Squat: 280x3, 280 2x2
Snatch pull: 287.5x3, 305x3, 322.5 2x2

NOTES
I always hate taking a throwing day off because I am so far behind technically but I am so glad I didn't do anything yesterday. I took some steps to try and stay cool during my workout and I feel like they worked. I wasn't feeling super strong but I must have been feeling something because I didn't use a belt at 290 ... in that neighborhood I usually start to belt up, especially if I am doing overhead work. I was very pleased with the workout and I don't feel like I lost all that much water, but I was sweating pretty good by the end. Sometimes those days off really pay for themselves; tomorrow it's supposed to be 100 by the time I start to lift. :(

After all that crying I did yesterday about my elbow, it actually felt really good today. I spent all day yesterday stretching my biceps, triceps, shoulder and lats ... the elbow's a little sore now but it wasn't bad before the workout.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
Are you kidding me? Do you know how hot it is out there?

O LIFTING
Step up: 202.5x3, 215 2x3, 202.5x3
Snatch: 202.5x3, 202.5x2, 215x2, 215x1xmiss, 177.5x2
Overhead squat: 230x5

NOTES
This was a strange workout. It was hot and I was feeling that heat, but I was doing okay up until my last rep with 215 in the snatch. I tried to bring that rep closer into my hips and succeeded too well, the bar hit me really hard across the hips. This kind of messed me up for the last two things I had to do. I did only one set of overhead squats because at the end of that set I had the 'heart racing so fast you feel like you're going to puke feeling'. Tomorrow is supposed to be another hot one ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x4
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x12
Full throw: 16x6
Hammer: 22x3, 19x6, 22x3

LIFTING
None

NOTES
Sweet llamas of the bahamas it was hot out there. No clouds, no breeze, just blue sky and blazing sun. The throws training was a little abbreviated, but I was able to do a lot of what I wanted to. Instead of doing the glide today I did the South African correctly; things felt easy and I was happy with the distance. Maybe I'll go back to it ... in the SA I find it easier to keep my right foot rotating than I do in the glide. I really wanted to do the hammer today because I took Bert's advice on treatment of the hammer handle. I took some friction tape and wrapped the handle and this really helped with my grip, I feel stupid that I didn't think of it before. Use of the friction tape got me to thinking how else I could use it. When I throw the weights I use the hook grip and sometimes I have trouble keeping my grip in the WOB. I usually tape my thumb and I'm wondering if using the friction tape wouldn't help me hang on to the weights.

Didn't go to the gym today, got a little tired and a little busy.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
RDL: 292.5x4, 335x3, 377.5x2, 335x3
Rack Jerk: 247.5x3, 282.5x2, 300x2, 282.5x2
Hang snatch: 162.5x3, 185x3, 185x3, 185x2

NOTES
Another hot one today, but there were thunderstorms on the way. I waited until the storms built and it cooled off, which made my workout a little better. I was a little surprised that when I started the RDLs my low back was a little sore and my right lat was tight. Things loosened up and I was very happy with my rack jerk. On the rack jerk I broke things down and went through my technique piece by piece and I found a problem. I have this bad habit of 'cheating down' in my jerks. What that means is when I have the weight on my shoulders I bend my knees a little and I'm not standing up straight. This causes little problems like being a little too far forward but mostly not getting a good dip. I do this without realizing it and when I focused on standing up straight before my dip, the jerks went a little easier. This is my last heavy week which means after a week off I get to go lighter and fix my technique. Dragomir Cioroslan once told me that 10 quick reps at about 60% of your max will show you where your flaws are ... I'll do this for clean, jerk and snatch at some point in my next training cycle.

[Ketch]

Hey Roger,
Thanks for getting back to me. I just started tracking the tap test and I am going to compare it to the # of A, B, C, D days I have to see if there is a correlation. I look forward to see what you find out about your training.

Thanks again and stay hydrated!

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

BJ, it's easier to stay hydrated when it's not 100 degrees outside. Today was paradise compared to the last 4 or 5.

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x12
HWFD: 56x2, 50x4, 56x2
LWFD: 28x3, 26x6, 28x4

LIFTING
None

NOTES
The standing throw went pretty well today, I was pleased with my progress. Of my last 6 throws, 4 of them were over 37 feet and my last throw was 38'4", a new best. I have mixed feelings about my last throw being my best; in competition I won't get 6 throws, but I had enough stamina to get a best throw on my 24th attempt. The WFD were awful, I was high on my legs and impatient. I had one decent throw in the HWFD, the LWFD was a little better. I could feel my technique coming around and I took one extra throw at the end and that one was my best.

I was wondering what causes me to get high on my legs and become impatient. I knew what I was doing as I was throwing but I couldn't correct it. Maybe not enough mental toughness and focus? Maybe too focused and not relaxed enough?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 78

Today was a very disappointing day. The plan was to try and hit 100% in the snatch and C&J but as the day wore on the chances of my workout actually happening dwindled. When I awoke this morning my right elbow was very stiff and a little sore. I worked it over the whole day, massage and trigger points, but as the workout time drew near I didn't think my elbow was good enough as to not hinder my workout. The elbow feels better now than it did this morning and I have a greater range of motion. The plan now is to workout tomorrow in the late morning. I think my elbow will be well enough that it won't affect my lifts a great deal and this will be my last workout for a week.

As to my elbow, it is causing me great amounts of frustration. There is nothing really wrong with it, no tears, strains, pulls or breaks, I just can't get it all the way straight. The more I stretch it, the more the inside of my elbow hurts. I'm sure the problem lies within the muscles on my right side as I abuse that side greatly in my throws training. I was hoping that if I kept up with trigger point release, self massage and stretching I would see some improvement ... so far I haven't. I need more patience or become one.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 83

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Snatch: 177.5x2, 202.5x1, 227.5x1, 240x1, 252.5xmiss
C&J: 240x2+2, 275x1+1, 307.5x1+1, 325x1+1, 342.5xmiss

NOTES
The elbow was MUCH better today, but still a little sore. It didn't really affect me in the snatch but the rack in the C&J bothered it a bit (probably flexibility issues). I was pleased with the snatch, but I hit everything I expected to. I was able to get under the 252.5, felt the weight but couldn't secure it above my head. It was a miss but I expect to be hitting that with regularity in the fall because it wasn't a huge miss. I was pleasantly surprised by my C&J because I was unsure if I could get 325. It was a struggle, I caught the weight out front a little in the clean but the jerk was solid. I was able to get underneath 342.5 but couldn't rack it in the hole.

All in all I was happy with my performance today, totaling 257.5kg which is a new single day practice PR for me. I feel like in the heat of a competition I would probably be able to hit 112.5 or 115 in the snatch and 150 or 152.5 in the C&J which are respectable numbers ... or at least I thought they were until I watched O lifting this afternoon from the Olympics. My snatch and C&J are too far apart, with a 150 C&J I should be able to snatch 125 or 130. Look at the numbers for the O lifters from today in the men's 56kg class, their lifts are within 30kg of each other. In case you want to see more O lifting you can go to http://www.nbcolympics.com/weightlifting/index.html and watch the vids from most of the sessions. What I have liked is that you get to see ALL the lifts, not just the ones NBC thinks are interesting.

THINGS TO WORK ON IN THE SNATCH
1) Bar trajectory: It is too far out front on the catch, not far enough behind me.
2) Quicker second pull: Seeing how it's supposed to be done has shown me that I'm too slow in the second pull.
3) Overhead strength: I'm not confident that I can lock in the heavier weights.

THINGS TO WORK ON IN THE C&J
1) Bar trajectory: Same problem as in the snatch.
2) Quicker second pull: Ditto.
3) Speed under the bar: If I can pull myself around the bar, I can get in a better receiving position.
4) Flexibility: On the rack in the clean I need to get my elbows higher to secure the bar better.
5) Stay in the pull/push longer: I rush the lift in my attempt to be fast. In physics Power is the Work done divided by the Time, with Work being the Force applied times the Distance the Force is applied through [P=(F*d)/t]. If I apply that force through a small distance I won't generate as much Power.

[Rory]

Roger,

Congrats on the practice PR's. I'd like to get with you and have you critique my lifts sometime. I've never actually been taught properly, I just studied videos and taught myself. I think it would help to have someone who knows what they are doing watching what I do wrong.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Rory,

Thanks for that and I was thinking that it was kind of odd that I didn't PR in the snatch or the C&J but I did in combined total. I'm looking forward to the fall and planning on getting new PRs in everything.

I'd be happy to show you what I know. I started off in O lifting just they way that you described, by watching videos and trying to learn without a coach. But it is much like the highland games in that the more meets you attend, the more knowledge you will gain. It is unlike the HG in that most lifters won't want to give up their secrets unless you pay them (get them to coach you). I paid a decent sum of money to go to the OTC and get certified as a club coach, this means I know the basics but not much past that. I had some great resources, Dragomir Cioroslan, Pete Kelley, Andy Tysz and Paul Fleschler. I learned a lot but I could be making greater gains if I had someone with me all the time watching and telling me what I need to do to get better. Most of us don't have a coach so we have to do what we can. I'd like to refer you to one of my earlier posts where you can find the links to watch some of the best in the world at Olympic lifting, you can learn a lot from those videos.

If your goal is to use the O lifts to improve power for your sport then your technique doesn't have to be impeccable, you just have to be proficient. If your goal is to lift huge weights over your head then you need to be solid technically.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 81

NOTES
Did not do a thing today, but thought about it, does that count? I also watched some weightlifting, does that count?

I finally found the trigger point on my right side that will ease the pain in my elbow a bit ... it's in my tricep. When I hit it my whole tricep spasmed but the elbow felt better, gonna keep working that one.

Plan to throw a little tomorrow, I want to take it a little easy this week.

[Matt Brouse]

Did not do a thing today, but thought about it, does that count? I also watched some weightlifting, does that count?

Absolutely.

[Bert Sorin]

visualization...very important. :)

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 61 BPM
Tap test: 78

NOTES
I did some more visualizing today, along with some more watching of O lifting last night. I had planned on doing an easy throwing session today, but didn't get a chance to do it. Tomorrow I will definitely do something.

Should it concern me that I'm not working out and my morning heart rate seems to be going up?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 80

NOTES
I wasn't able to do any throwing today, had to take care of some things. This is turning out to be a very busy week for me ... hopefully I can find some time to do some throwing tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 83

NOTES
DAMMIT!!! Too busy again to do anything, maybe tomorrow. On the bright side, my tap test is up a little.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 52 BPM
Tap test: 83

NOTES
I am so happy that it rained this afternoon, ruining my plans, but that's okay I had other stuff to do. I have embarked on my new career as a high school science teacher and there has been so much to do the week before school. I will do something tomorrow, I promise this ... tap test was still high :D

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 84

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x4
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x12
Hammer: 19x12
Sheaf: 16x15

NOTES
I'm going to make up for all of my missed time in one day. Went out to throw a little this morning and overall things went well. I did a little different warm up and I think this helped; I did 3 sets of box jumps before throwing and that seemed to wake up my legs more than my normal warm up. I didn't feel all that fast today, but I was patient. This translated into standing throws without the reverse at 35 feet and full standing throws at 38 feet. The hammer went better once I remembered how to unhinge my shoulders at about 6 throws in. The sheaf went great after not touching it for nearly two weeks, better than when I practice regularly.

Some special notes about the hammer: When I throw the 10% heavier hammer, it is going slower and I can feel the pull from the left side. When throwing the normal weight hammer, I don't feel it as much and I hardly ever feel it on the 10% under weight hammer. Today, after I figured out my shoulder issues I concentrated on the left side pull with the lighter hammer. Because it's lighter the hammer gets to my right side very quickly and I don't get a very long pull. So I focused on starting that left side pull sooner and I was beginning to start the pull close to the same spot that I do with the heavier hammer. My last two throws today when I got the timing of the left side pull better flew 7 or 8 feet further than any of my other throws. I'm excited about this as I feel if I can start that left side pull as quickly as I can and get a bigger orbit with my hips (to make that pull longer) then I can get closer to my goal of over 90 feet in the hammer.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x4
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x6
Standing throw: 16x6
Full throw: 16x12
HWFD: 50x9
LWFD: 26x12

NOTES
Maybe two-a-days for throwing isn't such a good idea. My distances in the shot weren't as far as this morning, but they were within a foot. When I got to the WFD it was like my body forgot how to do them. My distances were about average, but the effort the get them that far was more than it should have been. That is all except for my very last throw with the LWFD, it felt effortless and it was my farthest throw of the night. It will take one or two more practices to get back into the groove of pulling long, letting the ground come to me, tucking the left knee in, staying long at the release and following through.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 48 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16,16,18,20,16x4
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x12
Standing throw: 16x6
Full throw: 16x12
Hammer: 19x12
WOB: 50x9

NOTES
Well, I must have done something well in the hammer yesterday because every muscle that is used to twist my upper body is sore. I felt it in the shot, hammer and WOB. I'm able to throw 35 feet consistently in the standing throw with no reverse and I'm able to hit 38 feet with the reverse; are these numbers too close together? Should my standing throw with the reverse be further compared to the no reverse throw? I was happy with the full throw in that every one was over 38 feet and I popped a few over the 40 foot line. Now it's time to build on that. The hammer went well again, I put one over 95 feet with the 19 ... that's pretty good for me. After one or two throws in the WOB I'm right back into form. I think that's because the WOB is not as technical as everything else.

I felt like I had more speed today, but I was still able to stay patient in the shot. Things still aren't where they were last week technique-wise, but I had great jump. One thing that is concerning me is my morning heart rate. Some may think that 48 BPM was a typo, but it wasn't. I didn't believe it the first time so I did it again and it was the same. Over the past few days it has been oscillating wildly and I can't pinpoint any differences from day to day. I thought maybe it was lower the earlier I wake up or the more sleep I get makes it slower, etc. but the two days it has been really low have had opposite conditions. Maybe I'm just getting into hibernation mode for the winter.

[Matt Brouse]

Who's to say, really. Some will excel (at high levels) with a no-reverse style of through. I know when I played with it as a drill from time to time I actually threw pretty well with it...helped me to discover I was not driving my right leg through the earth as long or consistently as I could have been. A classic case of being to eager to reverse and grunt into the ball.

I'm sure Bert or others can offer more insightful insight into the matter of reverse vs. no-reverse throw discrepancy.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 81
Body weight: 229.6 pounds

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Front squat: 225x5, 262.5x4, 280x3
C&J: 240, 5 sets of 3+2

NOTES
First, thanks for the input Matt, I know what you mean about driving off the right leg. In the standing throw and the full throw I feel like I'm trying to get to the front too quickly and not use my right leg and hip long enough.

Today had to be a quick workout, I've become very busy. This week starts the speed and technique training and so far so good, considering that I felt tired and rushed. Watching the lifters at the Olympics has helped me visualize my own technique, those lifters (men and women) are so dynamic. One major thing I have learned by watching them is that I don't need to get my legs completely straight on the pull. I need to accelerate all the way through the lift and if my max acceleration occurs before my legs get completely straight then that's fine. I don't think I've seen one lifter at the Olympics straighten their legs completely, I have always seen a slight bend in their knees at the apex of their pull.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Step up: 202.5x3, 215x3, 215x3, 202.5x3
Snatch: 177.5x5 sets of 3

NOTES
Not a lot of time today, had to make it short. No chance to throw and I rushed through the snatch. I think if I weren't rushed I would have done sets of 5; sets of 3 didn't really challenge me. My goal is by the third or fourth set, I am fatigued enough that I have to focus on technique but not so tired that I can't get the weight. I was able to finish this workout in about 40 minutes. Hopefully I can throw tomorrow.

[Matt Brouse]

I need to accelerate all the way through the lift and if my max acceleration occurs before my legs get completely straight then that's fine.

Certainly better than the alternative.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Matt, since I started my O lifting career I had always been under the impression that I would get a better pull if I pulled longer and this meant getting my legs completely straight (the triple extension). I have read some documents on teaching the shot that tells coaches not to stress getting the legs fully extended as most athletes will attain their max acceleration before the legs get straight. This was reinforced after watching the O lifting in the Olympics and noting that every lifter I saw achieved max acceleration before triple extension was reached. Knowing this has allowed me to go into a more natural lifting technique instead of trying to force myself into one that makes sense on paper.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Got rained out today so I did some plyos, throwing drills and worked over the heavy bag a little. I'm starting to get a little distressed because there are some many things I need to work and I feel like I'm running out of time; Charleston is coming up on September 20. I wonder if anyone else gets this feeling of being unprepared and how they combat it.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 84

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
RDL: 295x3, 335x3, 375x2, 295x3
Hang snatch: 177.5x4 sets of 3
Power clean: 207.5x4 sets of 5
Rack jerk: 247.5x4 sets of 4

NOTES
I know that 70% of my snatch is 177.5 because I did that earlier this week. So when doing hang snatches I put on 177.5, which is 70% of my snatch but slightly more than 75% of my hang snatch ... ooops. That's what I get for not looking at my workout sheets before loading the weights. Again, I wanted to hit sets of 5 and I thought it would be no problem today because the RDLs felt really easy and I had some more time today. The 177.5 was challenging but I was able to hit every rep but had to limit myself to sets of 3. The power cleans did exactly what I wanted them to, the last few reps on the last two sets I had to really focus on technique. Rack jerks were better, funny how that works when you do them properly; I stood tall, kept my chest up and kept driving until my arms were straight. Good day, quick day ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Got rained out again today so no throwing. Spent some time in the garage doing some box jumps, drills and working over the heavy bag. Lifting is on tap for tomorrow and if I'm feeling froggy (and have the time) I may throw a little.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Snatch: 177.5x4 sets of 5, 1 set of 3
C&J: 240x5 sets of 3+2

NOTES
Today was a great workout. The traps were still a tiny bit sore from Thursday's workout and they're even more sore now ... that's a good thing :D. The sets of 5 in the snatch did exactly what I needed them to do. As I got to my third set, I was starting to fatigue and had to rely on technique more. In the last three sets I was hitting the sweet spot at the hips and in the receive position overhead. I didn't get 5 reps in the last set, I was getting very tired and that transferred over to the C&J. I was very proud of myself in that every rep I did I took down to a full squat, even my warm up reps. This is a good habit to get into and in some cases it makes the lift easier. I didn't do my front squats today because I was just too fatigued. Looks like I need some more conditioning. Everything felt fast today which is what I need to feel. Hopefully this will carry over to my throws tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 84

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x6
Standing throw: 16x6
Full throw: 16x12
Hammer: 19x12
HWFD: 50x6

LIFTING
None

NOTES
As I expected I was a little flat today. My legs were a little fatigued from yesterday but I was still able to get through the whole workout with good technique. I felt the need to get more reps in the full throw because I think I'm getting too 'step' oriented; when I'm doing the standing throw and sometimes with the full throw I think in steps and therefore I throw in steps. I was warned about this happening by some throwers who were at the Sorinex open house. I needed to get into a rhythm in the full throw and by the time I got to the last four I was just throwing, I wasn't thinking.

Brian Clay won the gold medal in the decathlon and one of the things that impressed me the most was that he threw the shot just over 53 feet. That's nothing compared to the shot putters, right? But Brian is only 5'10" and 183 pounds ... if he can throw a 16 pound shot 53 feet, then I should be able to hit at least 45. He didn't do too bad in the discus (over 176 feet) or the javelin (almost 233 feet) either.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
No time today and even if I did I was too tired to get any good work done. It seems the more I get done the more I have to do. I look forward to trying to throw tomorrow on some fresh legs.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
As I got home I thought I would have enough time to throw. I sat down, took my shoes off, got deafened by a lightning strike overhead and decided that indoors was the place for me. I will try again on Wednesday, the forecast looks better. I should be able to get back into a regular schedule by next week as things should have settled down by then.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

I haven't been able to train for the past few days and it appears that I might be without internet service for the next few. Despite the fact I have no workouts to post, I will still post my morning stats, mostly for my benefit.

WEDNESDAY
Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 79

THURSDAY
Morning heart rate: 61 BPM
tap test: 78

FRIDAY
Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81

SATURDAY
Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 84

SUNDAY
Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 82

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

I'm back, bitches!!!

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 78

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x6
Standing throw: 16x12
Full throw: 16x6
HWFD: 50x6
LWFD: 26x12

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Things have calmed down a little and I was able to throw a little day. Felt a little out of sorts and the speed was there in the beginning but the stamina was missing. I have a short time to work into shape before Charleston, hopefully I can get it done.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x6
Standing throw: 16x12, 20x2
Full throw: 16x6, 20x2
Hammer: 19x12
Sheaf: 20x12

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
At Charleston we will be throwing a heavy stone (20 or 22) so I took a few throws with a 20 pound stone today to get a feel for the thing. I can throw a 20 pound stone nearly as far as I throw a 16 pound shot, is this normal? First time I've thrown a hammer in a while and it showed. The distances weren't there and I kept whacking the ground on my spins. The sheaf went great though, I was tossing the 20 pound as this is what we will throw at Charleston. Again I felt like I was quick, but too quick at times. My feet got way ahead of me and I was thrown off balance.

[Bert Sorin]

I have found that I can throw a heavier stone proportionally further than a light stone also, I believe this is the reason:

The heavier stone puts you in better positions, stays behind the hip longer, and gives you something to feel. It feels more like weightlifting, and you can keep up with it's speed. The light shots require more of a "chasing" effect, and discipline to keep the ball back, also more speed to make them go further. If your arm goes cannot go faster than 15m/s (just an estimate), then you have a speed limit that will coorelate to a certain distance of the stone, almost regardless of wt. My suggestion, learn to throw the 14lb and 6k further, and the 16 will go.

See you in C Town
B

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 61 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Step up: 177.5 x 4 sets of 5
Hang snatch: 162.5 x 5 sets of 4

NOTES
Didn't do a whole lot tonight, didn't have too much time, but what I did do felt okay. My core is sore from yesterday and I could really feel it. My wrists always complain after some time off, it will just take a few workouts before they get used to the positions again.

Bert, thanks for the advice and I hope your biceps heals enough for you to push the limits at Charleston. I have tried to train with a lighter shot but I just get frustrated because I can't 'feel' it ... I'm an impatient thrower as it is. How should I train with the 14 pound shot? Keep at it until I can feel the 'weight' of it (force generated) pushing back against me as I throw? Or should I set a distance goal and keep training with it until I hit that? For instance, if I throw the 16 40 feet, should I keep at the 14 until I hit 45 feet? (The 14 is 12.5% lighter than the 16 so I should be able to throw it 12.5% further) I like that squeezing the right butt cheek cue, I'm going to try and use that too.

[Bert Sorin]

I really don't know the official coorelation of the light balls, but I would just say, if you throw it much further than you did when you started, you are getting it. You will feel it "work" after a while. I used to be able to only throw 50' with the 14lb. stone. (when I was going about 48-49' with the 15.5lb.) When I got the 14 to go 55', my 15.5 jumped to 52, 53, then 54' in a few weeks. I think if I got back on the 14 for a while, I could work it up to 57+, which would probably make the 15.5 jump again. I generally use the 1' per .3lb. at the 50' thrower (with the 16lb.) level.
Example: 50' w/ 16lb. = 56' with 14' (all things being equal with timing etc)

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 82

THROWS
HWFD: 50x9
LWFD: 26x12
WOB: 50x6

LIFTING
None

NOTES
I felt like I was just missing on my distance throws. I was drifting to the left in the box and ending up nearly out of the box ... I almost never drift that far out. If I can fix this tiny problem I will be able to get some decent distances at Charleston. I was really excited with my WOB. All of my throws were good but one went especially well. I've theorized that if I can transfer weight to the left leg and step through with the right leg upon release I can get a bigger throw. On one of the six throws I did this and wow did it make a difference; the weight went over a foot higher than my other throws. I find it interesting that I was telling my body to do this on every rep but I was able to perform on one rep only.

In the stone I guess I should be of the mind that I am strong enough but I need to get better positioning. This means that I will be practicing with the 14 for most of my reps and according to what Bert has said this should transfer to the 16 and 20. On the bright side the 14 will be easier on my body :D

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x6
Standing throw: 16x6
Full throw: 16x6
Hammer: 22x12
Sheaf: 20x8

LIFTING
None

NOTES
I was able to get some work done in the shot, improve upon a few things. I wanted to use the 19 pound hammer but on my first throw I broke the handle so I went to the 22 ... it is not looking so good. I need a lot more work in hammer and I don't expect it to turn around before Charleston. The sheaf was good again, if I practice it again before this Saturday it will be for only a few tosses. I didn't have time to perform any O lifting today, I figure right now it's more important to get reps in with the throws.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 78

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 16x4
Standing throw: 16x4
Full throw: 16x6
HWFD: 50x6
LWFD: 26x a lot

LIFTING
None

NOTES
Great evening for throwing, cool with a breeze. Had some good jump but lousy technique. Kept throwing the LWFD until I could 'feel' it ... this has me a little worried about Charleston but what can I do? I'll just go and do my best and try to pick up with the regular workouts after Charleston. I think it would be pointless to go through my O Lifting workouts because they will just make me sore and slow by the end of the week. I didn't do anything on Sunday or Monday ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 52 BPM
Tap test: 74

THROWS
Sheaf: 20x6
Hammer: 22x8
10 20 yard sprints w/12 pound weight vest

LIFTING
None

NOTES
Another great evening for throwing, but I didn't have time to do much. I like using the sheaf as a warmup, it's not too technical. Hammer was still off and I felt really slow in the sprints but maybe that was due to the weight vest.

I have a big decision to make ... the AD of Charleston didn't receive my entry form due to an email snafu and he can add me to the list but he isn't exactly prepared for me. I don't feel right with my throws as I haven't been able to train normally for the past 3 weeks. So, should I go ahead and head down to Charleston and compete even when I know I won't be near my best or should I just wait until my next game two weeks later? I'm leaning towards waiting but I do have some new throwing shoes to try out :D

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 78

NOTES
Didn't do any workouts on Thursday.

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x6
Standing throw: 14x18
Full throw: 14x12
Hammer: 22x12
Sheaf: 16x8

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
I decided not to go to Charleston, I have some work to catch up on but the main deciding factor was what the scale told me. I haven't been able to work out on a regular basis and I stepped on the scale this morning and it startled me ... I've lost at least seven pounds in the last few weeks. This is not a good thing for me and I'm guessing that at least half of that weight was muscle. I need to get back on track, get stronger and gain some of that weight back. I wouldn't mind weighing 224 but it has to be a shredded 224.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Tri-plex: 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 195x3, 215x3, 235x3, 255x3, 275x3, 295x3
Snatch: 165x4, 177.5 x 3 sets of 3
Front squat: 225 x 4 sets of 4
20 yd sprints: 12 pound weight vest x 10

NOTES
When I woke up this morning I felt that pang of regret for not being at Charleston today, but I think that was for the best. I felt good and quick during the workout but I also felt a little weak. I was feeling good enough to do some sprints to wrap up the workout and those went better than they did a few days ago. I hope to get a lot of good, quality work in the next two weeks and get ready for the Hartwell games.

[Rory]

Don't worry man, well kick some ass at Hartwell!

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Thanks Rory, at Hartwell I plan on getting game ready and my big game is Stone Mountain three weeks later. I have some technical issues to work out before Hartwell and Stone.

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 82

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x12
Standing throw: 14x12
Full throw: 14x6
HWFD: 50x9
LWFD: 26x12

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Nothing went all that great today, worked out some kinks in the HWFD and it's finally coming along, but the LWFD was really frustrating. I'm still drifting out of the box to the left and the weight is coming out late. My timing is off and I need to fix it soon. If my momentum is carrying me out of the box to the left it means it's not going into the weight and propelling it forward thus the 5-7 feet deficit on my throws. The problem is I don't how to fix this problem ... yet.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 77

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Front squat: 225x4, 260x3, 285x2
C&J: 240 x 3 sets of 3
Snatch pull: 250 x 3 sets of 3

NOTES
Not only am I weak but I also have no stamina. It's hard to believe a month ago I was cleaning over 300 pounds ... how far I have fallen. Hopefully it comes back quickly and my muscles can awake from their dormancy. I didn't have much time and I rushed through what I was able to do. Tomorrow night I won't have much time either, I have to choose between throwing and lifting.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

TUESDAY
Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 81

Did nothing today ... no time!

WEDNESDAY
Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 82

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x6
Standing throw: 14x12
Full Throw: 14x8
Hammer: 22x12
WOB: 50x9
20 yd sprints w/12 pound vest x 10

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit dammit!! On my last sprint I think I pulled my hamstring low towards the back of the knee. Everything was feeling like I was getting back on track too! Dammit dammit dammit!! There's a chance it might just be a cramp, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

In the shot I was trying to actively reach towards the back of the ring with my left arm as my hips were moving to the front. What I felt was a great stretch down my left side, from the shoulder down through the hip. When I was able to do this properly my throws had 4 or 5 more feet on them ... that's a big difference. This is something to work on. The hammer went better too, I feel like I'm nearly there in technique, need to open up the shoulders a bit more and push bigger circles with my hips. The WOB is getting very consistent for me, but I want more. On my highest throw today I heard the weight skim the top of my right shoe; now this sound will be giving me mixed feelings. I don't want to hit my foot with the weight because that would hurt really bad but when I hear that sound I know the weight is going high. The sprints felt good and I actually felt a little faster ... dammit dammit dammit!!!

[Bert Sorin]

Ouch! Take care of that hammie Roger! That's why I don't sprint, back in 2004 I tweaked the hammie, and no more for me. Get well soon!

[Ketch]

I hope everything works out with your leg. Being just 1 year outside a pretty substantial muscle tear in the leg, I know how frustrating it can be. Just take care of it and you will be as good as new.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
Really light stuff, no explosive movements.

NOTES
Well, I'm 99% sure that it's a tear and not a cramp. Despite that, I'm pressing on. Lots of work with The Stick, massage when I can, ice for now (heat will come later), ROM and stretching, ibuprofen to reduce swelling and light work to get blood moving. The tear is fairly low and in the muscle belly, which is good. I can walk normally unless I have to flex my quad too much or have to move suddenly. Odd thing is I can squat okay, but an RDL type of movement is just plain not gonna happen right now. I'll do some light tosses tomorrow, probably just drills with the stick and 2 pound ball, and see how it goes.

Thanks for the well wishes guys, I'm just terribly frustrated.

[Bert Sorin]

Don't be afraid to rest. I mean, really....... I mean, really Roger, don't freak out, you train your a$$ off all year, taking some time will not hurt you. Heck I had a tear in my bicep 4 weeks ago, rested a few weeks, and had one of my best games ever. You'll be fine. Good luck. Go fishing or something.
Bert

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

FRIDAY
Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 77

NOTES
Didn't do anything today, just tried to massage, ice and rehab.

SATURDAY
Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 20-14 x a lot
LWFD: 26x15

O LIFTING
Back squat: 225x5x6

NOTES
The thought occurs that I don't have a tear in my hamstring but instead have a serious spasm. The further thought occurs that I am one serious weenie. Throws went pretty well today despite the fact that I was wrapped up like a mummy. I didn't have any problems with the hammie, but I didn't go close to 100% either. This is what made me think that I don't have a hamstring tear. I also have a history of back spasms, calf cramps and quad cramps so maybe I just have a bad spasm. I need a better understanding of how the body works but I have a hard time understanding why squats and such don't hurt, but anything that stretches the hamstring is where I experience problems.

It seems that when I go out to practice I am drifting aimlessly and don't seem to make much progress. Today I decided that I'm going to identify a problem, come up with a solution and try to fix that one problem.

SHOT
Problem: Chest falls away and down upon delivery.
Solution: Squeeze the shoulder blades together on the block.

In order to activate squeezing my shoulder blades together I focused on ripping my left elbow straight through and then back on the block, causing my shoulder blades to come together resulting in the chest staying up. This evolved into reaching to the back with my left arm and pulling my left elbow through in a straight line from front to back. I did this over and over with all of the shots I had so I could get as many reps in with the time I had. I felt more torque in my core but more so down by the hips. What I had been doing is sweeping my left arm in a big arc until I got to the front and then trying to block. This caused me to over-rotate and end up facing to the left instead of straight forward in the throwing sector. Focusing on pulling the left arm straight through from back to front, leading with the elbow fixed more than one problem; over-rotation, chest ending down and a lack luster weight transfer to the left leg. Bert had told me that I need to drag the shot through the throw and that never registered with me because I was focused on the shot. Focusing on my left elbow and the front side of the throw forced me into dragging the shot through the throw. I didn't keep track of any of my distances until my last few throws and at a 75% effort I threw a 20 pound shot 32 feet ... that is REALLY good for me.

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, ending up out of the box to the left.
Solution: Stay in my pulls longer, keep the right arm relaxed upon release.

The solution is easier to say than it is to implement, thus the need for 15 throws. My last throw I finally had the technique that I wanted and I ended there, my throws were all over the place up until then (coming out early to the right, late to the left). The last throw was right down the middle and my furthest of the day. At what I felt was a 75% effort my last throw was about 7 feet off my PR, so not bad.

During lifting, I didn't feel the hamstring at all. I didn't go very heavy at all and didn't move at the speed I usually do, but things felt great. All I did was squats, didn't want to push it. Now time to ice and rehab ... see Bert? I can take some time off :cool:

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81
Body weight: 228.2 pounds

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x16
Hammer: 22x16
WOB: 50x9

O LIFTING
Back Squat: 225x5x6

NOTES
I was afraid that these three events and the caber would put the most strain on my hamstring. The sheaf was the event that stressed it the most today and I wasn't trying to go at 100% effort. Hartwell is this weekend and I have to gear back during competition so that I insure that I am healthy for Stone Mountain. It's going to be hard to reign in those competitive juices ...

SHEAF
Problem: The sheaf does not follow the same trajectory on every throw.
Solution: Keep the fork close to the body during the entire motion.

My proposed solution turned out to be an incorrect one, or least one that i couldn't master and get to work properly. What did end up working was actively pulling with the left side; when I felt the weight in my left hand the bag flew the way I wanted it to.

HAMMER
Problem: Flat trajectory, short radius in the orbit, low speed upon release.
Solution: Release to the sky, relax the shoulders, pull from the left side an follow through upon release.

I finally started to get better technique on my third set of four. Because I was actively trying to relax my hamstring, I found out what my hammer spikes are for. I finally felt my toes anchor in and the hammer try to pull me out of the ground instead of trying to counter the hammer's momentum with my body by sitting down when the hammer hits the top of the orbit. It's a natural reflex, I think, to try and pull the hammer into the orbit with your shoulders. I think my shoulders and upper body should stay relaxed and my toes (hammer spikes) should dictate the orbit for the hammer.

WOB
Problem: Weak follow through.
Solution: Get a good weight transfer to the left and step through to the right after release.

I didn't enact my solution today, I felt that the weight transfer to the left would stress my hamstring too much. So, every throw was pretty much like they've always been and I didn't make any progress today technically.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

MONDAY
Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 76

NOTES
Didn't do anything today except rest, ice and rehab.

TUESDAY
Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 78

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x10
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x6
Standing throw: 14x6
Full throw: 14x8
HWFD: 50x6
LWFD: 26x10

O LIFTING
Tri-plex pull: 135x6x3
Back squat: 225x3x5, 275x2x3

NOTES
I threw a bomb in one of my full throws, 6 feet further than my second furthest of the day. At first I couldn't believe it, thought I got the wrong mark but there weren't any other marks out there so that had to be the one. I knew it was a good throw because it felt like I had good power and position but I didn't think it went that far. I'm disappointed that I couldn't hit another throw like that but it's a start ...

SHOT
Problem: Chest falls away upon delivery.
Solution: Rip straight through with the left elbow to squeeze the shoulder blades together.
I think I'm starting to get the hang of it, but I need more practice before it becomes second nature. Tonight I had to consciously think about the front side, I want to get to the point where I can go back to focusing on the feet, legs and hips.

HWFD
Problem: I suck at this. Need a higher orbit and longer pulls.
Solution: Over-emphasize my movements, push the weight higher.
Easier said than done, yet again. I need to take some measurements and get some numbers in my head. There is a minimum velocity the weight needs to have to achieve any certain orbit, I want to the weight to actually pull me when it's on the way up and I'm not feeling that yet. Once I get the calculation for minimum velocity, I'll have something to shoot for.

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, ending up out of the box to the left.
Solution: Stay in my pulls longer, keep the right arm relaxed upon release, pull long and hard at the end.
I had a few throws were I finally felt like I was floating through the air and the weight was pulling me around. Those throws went farther than they've been going the last few weeks, but still about 8 feet short of what I can and have done. I need more work to iron out technical issues, not bringing my left knee in on the rotations like I used.

Lifting went well, on the Tri-plex pulls I could feel my hamstring but it wasn't a bad type of pain, more like a stretched sore muscle type of pain. I'm hoping that by Saturday my hamstring will be well enough that it won't feel 135 pounds ... most cabers weight less than this and it's the same type of motion.

On a morning heart rate note, I think I know why my heart rate varies ... it depends on what time I wake up. Check out this article (http://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/whatsnew/package.jsp?name=fte/worstwakeuptime/worstwakeuptime) that Japanese researchers did.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x8
Hammer: 19x12

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Last day of working out before Hartwell. Hammie felt okay, but I could still feel it twinge when I pushed it too far. I've got to keep telling myself that Hartwell is just a tune-up for Stone Mountain.

SHEAF
Problem: The sheaf does not follow the same trajectory on every throw.
Solution: Actively pull with the left side, feel the weight of the sheaf in the left hand.
Well, this seems to be working. 7 out of the 8 throws went where I wanted them to.

HAMMER
Problem: Flat trajectory, short radius in the orbit, low speed upon release.
Solution: Release to the sky, relax the shoulders, pull from the left side an follow through upon release.
Things are slowly getting better, but not fast enough for me. Still feel slow and tight.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Just rest and rehab tonight, more rest tomorrow and then competition on Saturday. I like having the journal here online because I can review things Friday night and remind myself of what has worked and what hasn't.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

FRIDAY
Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 80

Travel day, didn't do any real workouts. Just tried to massage the hamstring and get prepared for competition.

SATURDAY
Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
Stone: 38 feet and some change
HWFD: 29 feet and change
LWFD: 64 feet and change
Hammer: 79 feet and change
Caber: 11:00
Sheaf: 28 feet
WOB: 13 feet

NOTES
I basically performed a little better than I thought I would. My furthest throw in the stone did not feel good technically but it was still a foot further than I was hoping for. The HWFD was about two feet further than I expected and the LWFD was four feet further so those were all plusses. The hammer was right where I expected it, which was still crap. The caber was decent, but I had only one turn. The sheaf height was expected and the WOB was sub-par; I was expecting 14 feet at the least. I didn't feel my hamstring all day and as the day wore on I became less and less conscious of it. This wasn't a bad outing for about 80-85% effort.

I have to become more comfortable in the box with the stone and when I do I expect nothing below 40 feet. I have to become more proficient with the HWFD as there are guys who I compete against regularly throwing 32-34 feet. The LWFD is on schedule, still had a left drift problem, nearly fouled one of my throws. The hammer needs some SERIOUS work. I was hoping that I would get a little extra oomph on competition day and bust something out in low 80's but today showed I need to re-double my efforts in the hammer. I consciously took it easy in the caber as I feared this might be the biggest strain on my hamstring. The sheaf is okay, I could use an extra 2-4 feet and I was just tight in the WOB. I barely cleared 12 and it took 3 tries to clear 13; I was pulling in with my shoulder and arm upon release. The more attempts I had the better I got but I could never get into my groove.

Stone Mountain is in two weeks and I expect my hamstring to be at a point where I can go close to or at 100% and try for some bigger distances.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 53 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
Standing throw, no reverse: 14-20 x 20
Standing throw: 14x4
Full throw: 14x6
Hammer: 19x8

O LIFTING
Back squat: 225x5, 275x3x5

NOTES
I wasn't too tired from yesterday's game so I did some light throwing today, trying to work some kinks out.

SHOT
Problem: Chest falls away upon delivery.
Solution: Drive the left arm up instead of straight through, then pull the elbow down and in.
Jeff Baty recommended that I throw the left arm up and over instead of straight through and it seems to work a little better. It feels like it slows down my throw but what I think is actually happening is that I'm in a better position and this creates a longer movement in the throw ... the trajectory on the shot certainly was better, not as flat. This is why I need a coach; a coach could correct these things as they happen.

HAMMER
Problem: Flat trajectory, short radius in the orbit, low speed upon release.
Solution: Keep the arms loose, push the right hip out and get out over the right leg more.
Last year when I was throwing the hammer well I was really pushing side to side, getting a good bend in the legs. I watched Mike P. throw and he pushes his hips out to the front and Mike gets awesome speed on the hammer, so I tried to copy this. It seems that I can't do it correctly and it hasn't worked for me. So today I went back to the side to side thing and that seems to work better for me. I'm going to focus on getting a good pull/push with this over the next two weeks. Maybe when I get more proficient with this technique it will turn into something that looks like what Mike does.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

MONDAY
Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 79

NOTES
Did nothing of note, not much time.

TUESDAY
Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 82

THROWS
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x18
HWFD: 50x9
LWFD: 26x8

O LIFTING
Light hang snatches, 6 sets.

NOTES
Hamstring felt good, body felt slow. The light hang snatches felt good, I didn't feel my hamstring at all but I didn't push the weight.

SHOT
Problem: Little to no leg drive.
Solution: Really force the right knee to twist in on every throw.
I slowed down today and focused on driving that right knee in along with taking the left arm over the top to the block. I started to get in a groove on my last few throws, felt the torque in the hips.

HWFD
Problem: No speed, low orbit.
Solution: Stay in the pull longer, try to push the weight up.
I just suck at this, there are no two ways around that. Didn't get any good throws today, time to break out the video camera and analyze technique.

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, low orbit.
Solution: Get faster out of the back, relax the arm and let the weight carry up.
Again, no good throws today. I was slow and couldn't finish strong ... I'm beginning to hate my low calorie days.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

WEDNESDAY

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 77

NOTES
Late meetings + Rain = no throwing ... too lazy to workout too.

THURSDAY

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x6, 20x4
Standing throw: 14x4
Full throw: 14x6
Hammer: 19x10

O LIFTING
Light snatches

NOTES
Had a great throws night. I had the furthest overhead throws and hammer throws since the end of August. The standing throws without the reverse were the farthest I have thrown. The disappointing part was that when I moved on to the reverse and the full throws, they weren't that much further ... one thing at a time I guess. I felt my hammer winds in my lats, finally!

SHOT
Problem: Little to no leg drive.
Solution: Really force the right knee to twist in on every throw.
This got better tonight and I was coming over the top the the left arm to the block. I haven't gotten the hang of coming over the top in the full throws. When I did do that, my throws were way off. On the two throws that I came straight through with the left arm the throws were further ... it will just take more work.

HAMMER
Problem: Flat trajectory, short radius in the orbit, low speed upon release.
Solution: Keep the arms loose, push the right hip out and get out over the right leg more.
FINALLY got the arms loose and was pulling from the lats. Not out over my knees enough for my tastes but tonight was a victory. Got eight more feet on the throws when I relaxed my arms and was able to reproduce that for four of my last five throws. I don't know why it's such a mental battle to relax my arms but I have to focus on that and forget about everything else.

[Rory]

Nice work Roger, Its nice to finally get some breakthroughs in your training. I like the systematic approach to your throwing. It lets beginners like me really see how to take an organized approach to getting better at each throw.

Keep truckin...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Thanks Rory, I'm jealous of your clean numbers. I'll get back up there by December, as long as this old body holds out. I don't feel like I'm improving, just getting back to where I was.

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x16
HWFD: 50x12

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Either I'm going to learn how to throw the HWFD or it will break me. I don't expect things to come around by next weekend, but I expect to be throwing the HWFD in the 35-37 feet range by next year ... no reason for these substandard throws.

SHEAF
Problem: The sheaf does not follow the same trajectory on every throw.
Solution: Actively pull with the left side, feel the weight of the sheaf in the left hand.
It seems things are going better in the sheaf, hard to tell without towers. Tonight I tried to pull through the release instead of blocking and I pulled it off tonight without too much trouble. If I keep working at this I should be able to hit 32 feet at games.

HWFD
Problem: No speed, low orbit.
Solution: Stay in the pull longer, try to push the weight up.
I'm just going to keep throwing this thing until it finally clicks for me ... call this the Goergen approach if you will. I've been off balance upon delivery and I couldn't figure out why. I think it's because I'm leaving the weight too far behind me and I'm not pulling long enough. I think I got better in my last few throws, but we'll see if that holds up in the next practice.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 52 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x6
Full throw: 14x6
Standing throw, no reverse: 21x6
HWFD: Line drills; 50 x 3 sets x until I got dizzy, 50x6
LWFD: 26x8

O LIFTING
Step up: 135x5x5
Hang snatch: 145x4x3

NOTES
Things started to come together today. In between sets in the shot, while I sit there in my chair staring off into space, I try to break down my throws and figure out how I can improve them. Today I was hit by the obviousness that I can't apply force to the shot if I'm not in contact with the ground. The reason this hit me was that I was thinking about keeping my chest up and how I look at the end of my throws ... this made me recall pictures of myself throwing and I remembered that often my feet are off the ground and the stone is still in my hand. Just this change in mental paradigm helped me make my throws better.

I didn't feel my hamstring at all while lifting but I'm still going to keep the weights light this week and the next. Only three games left this year, no reason to crank up the weight before my games come to an end.

SHOT
Problem: Little to no leg drive, chest falls away upon release.
Solution: Really force the right knee to twist in on every throw, pull the left elbow over and squeeze shoulder blades together before release.
It's getting better, little by little. I figured out that the reason my throws with the reverse are only a little longer than the no reverse throws is the contact with the ground thing, I lose contact too early when I try to reverse. At the end of the session I picked the biggest, ugliest stone I have to try and get prepared for the Stone Mountain games. Last year I hit 24 feet with that ugly stone, this year I hope to get something over 26.

HWFD
Problem: No speed, low orbit.
Solution: Stay in the pull longer, try to push the weight up.
The line drills helped me get the feel for the weight and it helped my balance. Four of my six throws were marginally better than yesterday with my last throw proving that I CAN hit 35 feet. I don't know exactly what's different, maybe it's just familiarity.

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, low orbit.
Solution: Get faster out of the back, relax the arm and let the weight carry up.
This went a little better as well with the distances starting to be where they were earlier this year. I'm still off balance and not hitting my spots as well as I need to, but even with those problems I was satisfied with the distances.

[Rory]

Roger,

Yes that is exactly the warm up I am talking about. Good links...

Damn, I am jealous! How did you get the chance to meet Coach B and workout with him?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Well, I flew to San Diego, called up Mike and asked if I could come up and workout out, he said yes, so I drove to Bonsall and saw how to properly fit a BUNCH of equipment into a 2-car garage.

Mike is a marine and that shows in how he coaches the kids. He has a kind of long, curvy driveway that has a fairly steep incline to it. If he feels your conditioning isn't where it needs to be he makes you load some weight in a wheel barrow and then push it up and down his driveway ... I wish I had a steep driveway, that makes for some strong hamstrings.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 78
Body weight: 228.2 pounds

NOTES
I had planned to throw a little today but by the time I got around to getting ready to throw, it started to rain so I nixed it. Probably a good idea, I was kind of sore and a little jacked up after watching some BIG hits in some football games today ... this RB was running with the ball, then he was hit by a linebacker but the ball kept going :D When I played I lived for those hits.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x8
Hammer: 19x10
WOB: 50x8

O LIFTING
Cleans: Some light sets to test the hamstring, then 235x3x3

NOTES
My technique didn't feel like it was quite there but the distances sure were. I was feeling kind of tired today but when I finally got warmed up I felt great, physically. I hope this means that there are good things to come this weekend. On another positive note I seemed to have gained two pounds.

SHEAF
Problem: The sheaf does not follow the same trajectory on every throw.
Solution: Actively pull with the left side, feel the weight of the sheaf in the left hand.
I'm getting a little bit better at pulling all the way through at the end of my throw. I find that I can put a little adjustment on the flight of the bag with this altered technique ... maybe I'm on to something?

HAMMER
Problem: Flat trajectory, short radius in the orbit, low speed upon release.
Solution: Keep the arms loose, push the right hip out and get out over the right leg more.
Wow was my trajectory ever flat today, that's the bad news. The good news is that my throws were further than they were last time I threw. I felt like I had some good velocity on most of them as I was getting out over my knees more. If I can adjust that trajectory and release just a little higher (maybe a little longer pull?) I think 90 feet is just around the corner.

WOB
Problem: Weak follow through.
Solution: Get a good weight transfer to the left and step through to the right after release.
Sometimes I'm just coasting through my throws and the problem is that I'm not aware of it. I became aware of that tonight and got back on track in the WOB. The technique wasn't completely there but I was back to getting some longer pulls. I got after it and stepped through on a couple of throws like I want to, the problem is that my release is still a little erratic; sometimes it goes wide right and I still haven't gotten the balance quite right. Some more reps here and that step through should be second nature, let's hope it translates to higher throws.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw: 14x6, 21x6
HWFD: 50x6
LWFD: 26x8

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
Couldn't get 'on' tonight, still had a few decent throws.

SHOT
Problem: Little to no leg drive, chest falls away upon release.
Solution: Really force the right knee to twist in on every throw, pull the left elbow over and squeeze shoulder blades together before release.
This is getting better, my standing throw is approaching the distance of my full throw. Tonight was a struggle though, I felt a little fatigued. When I wanted a decent throw I really had to reach back to get one.

HWFD
Problem: No speed, low orbit.
Solution: Stay in the pull longer, try to push the weight up.
Even though this was a struggle, my average throws are getting further. Didn't have any as far as the last time I threw this but my shortest throw was 4 feet further than my shortest throw from last time.

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, low orbit.
Solution: Get faster out of the back, relax the arm and let the weight carry up.
Absolutely awful. I'm hoping that this is just due to fatigue. Drifting out of the box to the left, off balance, flat throws and low velocity. I'm thinking about getting in a few throws of the LW tomorrow ... my performance tonight is making me nervous.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x8
Hammer: 19x8
WOB: 50x6
LWFD: 26x5

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
It seems that my low back was a little fatigued yesterday, but I didn't realize it. How do I know that it was? Well, today it was tight but it seemed that I was moving a little freer during my warm up. Yesterday my throws weren't that great and today they were much better. I have to be able to figure out some tell-tale sign that my back is fatigued because it seems that I can't tell ... it never feels tired and when I finally do feel the tightness it's a day too late.

SHEAF
Problem: The sheaf does not follow the same trajectory on every throw.
Solution: Actively pull with the left side, feel the weight of the sheaf in the left hand. Pull through the end of the throw and do not block.
The sheaf seems to be going a little better but I am not consistent enough on the flight path. 2 out of every 3 throws goes where I want it to but the third throw flies off to my left ... I need to figure out what causes this and fix it.

HAMMER
Problem: Flat trajectory, short radius in the orbit, low speed upon release.
Solution: Keep the arms loose, push the right hip out and get out over the right leg more.
I'm getting a better pull on the release and my last two throws equaled the farthest I have ever thrown ... but it felt like they didn't take much effort. This is a definitive step in the right direction and I could feel the hammer better; I was generating enough momentum that it pulled my arms straight.

WOB
Problem: Weak follow through.
Solution: Get a good weight transfer to the left and step through to the right after release.
I'm getting a better follow through on the release but the step through is not where I want it to be. The height is getting better and it seems that I get into a good rhythm by my third or fourth throw; this is a problem in most other events but not in the WOB where you get 3 attempts at every height.

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, low orbit.
Solution: Get faster out of the back, relax the arm and let the weight carry up.
I took some throws just to set my mind straight. I did something a little different in my setup out of the back and I think it helped. I noticed that when I enter my back swing my right foot turns out at a nearly 45 degree angle. When I entered the back of the box I stepped down toe-heel to try and focus on keeping the right foot set. This seemed to help with balance, speed and timing and I need to remember to do this come Sunday. My last two throws were a little further than I have thrown yet this year, I just hope it stays with me.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 80

THROWS
None

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
All I did today was my warm up to get ready for throwing/workout but didn't actually work out. Tomorrow I may do some light snatches but that's it. To everyone who's throwing at Stone this weekend, I hope you set some PRs, I plan to throw well myself.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

FRIDAY
Morning heart rate: 61 BPM
Tap test: 81

NOTES
I did some light snatches, nothing heavier than 135 pounds, 6 sets. Physically, everything feels decent.

SATURDAY
Morning heart rate: 53 BPM
Tap test: 82

NOTES
Just got done with my usual warm-up; I wanted to do something before I was confined to a car for 2.5 hours. The weather looks to be cool for tomorrow but that shouldn't affect my performance ... starting to get those pre-game butterflies.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: ??
Tap test: ??

THROWS
28 lb. stone: 26 feet
HWFD: 30 feet
LWFD: 59 feet
Hammer: 83 feet
Caber: 75 degrees
Sheaf: 30 feet
WOB: 14 feet

NOTES
That stone is just too big for my hand, but I did add two feet to my throw over last year. I had one around 27 or 28 feet but fouled it. HWFD was a bit of a struggle but 30 feet was okay. I threw two long ones in the LWFD (around 67 or 68) but got fouled by judge Ross Morrison ... I still have yet to know where I fouled when I ended up in the middle of the box, didn't step over the trig and didn't foul the back line. Ross fouled Chris Leming's first two throws and Mike Derrick's first throw; Chris's first throw was around 80 feet and Mike had a long one too. The hammer was okay, felt like I had more in me but instead of relaxing I got tighter and nearly passed out on my second throw. 83 feet is nice, but I felt like I had 90 feet in me that day. The caber just sucks for me right now, my timing is off and I'm slow. The sheaf went better after I relaxed and trusted the new technique. The higher the bar went, the more I trusted the technique and the higher the bag flew. On my last attempt at 31 feet the bag went 32 or 33 feet but didn't go over the bar ... I was happy with the sheaf. In the WOB it took me too long to get in a groove but I cleared 14 feet on my last attempt. Mike and I went to 14'8" and Mike cleared it ... I came close but couldn't finish with a good follow through and that left me short about 2 or 4 inches.

All in all it was a good day, put I'm paying for it today. The right elbow is sore to the touch and my low back is a little sore as well. Waxhaw is this Saturday and I hope to come back strong ... I've never really had a great game at Waxhaw and I hope to change that this year.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

MONDAY
Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 77

NOTES
Did nothing, just trying to recover.

TUESDAY
Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 78

THROWS
Full throw, shot: 14x20

O LIFTING
None

NOTES
I felt that I needed to try and get some practice in with the the full throw because I focused on the standing throw for the last two weeks and I can go back to the full throw at Waxhaw. The elbow is still really sore but I was able to get some decent throws; I was trying to go at about 80%. I'll probably do some more of the same tomorrow, with taking a few throws in some of the other events. I think when I'm done with my season I'll go see a doctor and see what we can do about fixing my right arm.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

I did not train at all this past week, so I have nothing to report until now.

Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 82

Stone: 38'
HWFD: 28'
LWFD: 64'
Hammer: 84'
Caber: 12:30
Sheaf: 26'
WOB:13'

NOTES
Stone: I fouled a long throw, it was at about 42 or 43 feet. While I wasn't happy with my final score or fouling I was happy with hitting over 40 feet because it means at least I'm making some progress.
HWFD: This was crap because I suck at this. I couldn't accelerate through the finish and my orbits were flat. This will be an area of intense focus in the off-season.
LWFD: I left about 5-6 feet on the field ... again, no acceleration through the finish. The top three guys were all over 70 feet and 6 of the 9 throwers were over 60 feet ... I remember when 64 feet would get second or third place at any game, not fifth.
Hammer: Again, I left about 5-6 feet on the field. I hit 84, which is decent but I had more. Even my fellow competitors were telling me that it looked like I had more in me, I just have to figure out how to get it out on game day. On the bright side, I noticed a technique flaw in Josh Aydlette's hammer and the change helped him to a PR of 93 feet and 97 feet in extras.
Caber: I had 3 turns, but this was an easy stick. I think 6 of the 9 guys had at least one turn.
Sheaf: 26 feet may not look great, but this was an ugly bag and we weighed it after we were done throwing ... nearly 19 pounds. Usually, with a terrible bag like this I would go out at 20 or 22 so I'm happy with my change in mental state.
WOB: Crap, crap, crap. My legs must have been fatigued because I was high up on them and couldn't get down. None of my throws felt right and I should have had 14 feet easy.

One more game next Saturday and I'm going to try to somehow loosen up for my throws as I feel my biggest problem today was staying too tight and not letting it all hang out. This was my best overall performance at Waxhaw though, and I have to be happy with that.

Props to Jeff for beating his nemesis and for winning the B division. I know Jeff had more in him and didn't hit his best distances but he got a sword today and was better than anyone else in the B field today; you showed up when it mattered Jeff and that's admirable. Now let's see if you can do it two weeks in a row ;)

Matt V, I'm not sure how you did today but I hope you hit the numbers you wanted to. Have a good off-season and come back strong next year, I hope to see you in the A's with Jeff.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 54 BPM
Tap test: 79

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Full throw: 14x12

NOTES
I was still a little wiped out from yesterday but I wanted to do something active. In addition to throws with the actual shot, I did a lot of drills. I tied an elastic band to a stationary object and held on to it with my left hand as I went through a full throw.

SHOT
Problem: Upper body does not stay behind the lower body.
Solution: Wait for the body (legs) to come up before coming around with the left arm to open up for the throw.
I was trying to extend my legs before even thinking about rotating around for the block. I attempted this many times in drills before I moved on to the shot. Once I was able to feel the separation and was able to repeat it four times in a row, I moved on to trying it with the shot. In 12 throws, I was 85% successful with 6 of the throws, not successful at all with 4 throws and about 50% successful with the other 2. I wasn't trying to go all out today, just wanted to get some work in.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

MONDAY
Morning heart rate: 53 BPM
Tap test: 80

NOTES
All I did was some warmup exercises like sprints and overhead throws ... no real throwing.

TUESDAY
Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 81

NOTES
Did nothing today.

WEDNESDAY
Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 78

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x8
Standing throw, no reverse: 14x6
Full throw: 14x4
HWFD: 50x5
LWFD: 26x8

NOTES
Nothing seemed to be on tonight. Going to try a few throws again tomorrow.

SHOT
Problem: Upper body does not stay behind the lower body.
Solution: Wait for the body (legs) to come up before coming around with the left arm to open up for the throw.
I just couldn't do this, I couldn't make my body wait until the legs were extended like I did on Sunday. I need to figure what the difference is between the two days.

HWFD
Problem: No speed, low orbit.
Solution: Stay in the pull longer, try to push the weight up.
All of the throws were flat and all at about the same distance. Good news, my first throw was farther than my typical first throw. Bad news, none of the throws got any further.

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, low orbit.
Solution: Get faster out of the back, relax the arm and let the weight carry up.
I don't want to talk about it.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 81

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x8
LWFD: 26x6
WOB: 50x5

NOTES
This will be my last throws practice for a while. I'm excited to get back to lifting as I haven't done any of this in three weeks. I think I won't touch a throwing weight until December at the earliest ... maybe later if it's too cold.

SHEAF
Problem: The sheaf does not follow the same trajectory on every throw.
Solution: Actively pull with the left side, feel the weight of the sheaf in the left hand. Pull through the end of the throw and do not block.
I'm finding that when I pull really hard, the sheaf goes off to my left. I began to wonder if standing perpendicular to the crossbar would be a good idea ...

LWFD
Problem: No acceleration at the end, low orbit.
Solution: Get faster out of the back, relax the arm and let the weight carry up.
Much better than yesterday. The distances may not have been as far but I stayed balanced and in the box. I wasn't trying to go all out, I was trying to get my footwork right and get a good feel for the weight again.

WOB
Problem: Weak follow through.
Solution: Get a good weight transfer to the left and step through to the right after release.
Figured out one of my problems. I've been trying to get into my pull too quickly and this messes up the timing. I relaxed through the throw and pulled longer ... this seems to work better.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

FRIDAY
Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 81

NOTES
Travel day, no workout.

SATURDAY
Morning heart rate: ??
Tap test: ??

The horrible, no good, very bad game:
Stone: 37'
HWFD: 30'
LWFD: 59'
Hammer: 80'
Caber: 12:00
Sheaf: 26'
WOB: 12'

NOTES
Stone: Didn't foul any throws, but didn't do anything right either.
HWFD: 30 feet is okay, but I should have been around 32 feet.
LWFD: This was terrible, I couldn't relax.
Hammer: I was thinking long pull at the end, I just wasn't doing it.
Caber: The only bright spot of the day. I had three turns (10:00, 12:00 and 11:30) and actually won this event ... sometimes it's better to be lucky than good.
Sheaf: I stood perpendicular to the crossbar and it worked up until 28 feet. At 28 I changed up my technique, not on purpose, by tightening up and shortening my pull.
WOB: I don't want to talk about it.

I'm tired of sucking at the games, I have GOT to get better in the off season. This means changing up the training and using the resources available to me (I'll be visiting Bert and Jeff, I'm giving you guys fair warning). The following list will be the minimum distances I will accept at all games next year, anything less will be considered a failure.

Stone: 43'
HWFD: 33'
LWFD: 66'
Hammer: 90'
Caber: 12:00
Sheaf: 30'
WOB: 14'

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 52 BPM
Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
Step-ups: 145x5x5
Snatch: 145x4x5
Overhead squat: 165x4x5

NOTES
Took it easy, just getting back into things. During the snatch I had a lot more pop then I thought I would but I tried to go deliberately slow to emphasize some technical issues. I've always had a problem getting my elbows high on the pull and I've kind of put off working on it. Today I worked on it and it helped so much with the balance, I need to keep doing this until it becomes second nature. The step-ups went well on the right leg, better than expected, but the left leg was really weak. For the next couple of weeks I plan to push the weight on secondary exercises like the squats and pulls but keep the weight on the full lifts relatively light so I can work on technique.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Just warm up exercises today, try to workout a little soreness.

NOTES
I was sore in all the right places today and it felt great. I will have to resist the urge to start pushing heavy weights before I get into shape again. Today was a struggle to take the day off but 45 minutes of warm up/stretching exercises took the edge off.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 56 BPM
Tap test: 78

O LIFTING
RDL: 295x5, 345x5, 375x3, 395x3x3
Hang Snatch: 135x5x5
Power Clean: 205x5x4

NOTES
Again, I stayed light with the olympic moves but I dared a little heavier with the RDLs. Went slow through the lifts and focused on arm motion and moving my body around the bar ... I must become one with the bar. It's going to be tough to keep the weights low, I always want to push it but I need to get my technique better. Hopefully going heavier in the secondary lifts will satisfy the lust to go heavy and push myself.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 52 BPM (I slept in :D )
Tap test: 83

O LIFTING
Snatch: 135x5, 165x4x3
C&J: 185x4, 225x4x2
Front squat: 285x4x3

NOTES
Things felt good, if a little slow. The front squats felt a little off so I kept the weight low. I felt it in my knees too much and not enough in the glutes ... I wasn't sitting back with it. Fatigue was an issue and I'm guessing that by the time I got to front squats my back was too fatigued to keep proper technique. I find that after taking some time off my strength comes back fairly quickly but conditioning is always an issue, gonna have to take care of that.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 59 BPM
Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Front squat: 225x5, 285x3x3
Snatch pulls: 225x5, 275x4x3

NOTES
I was thrown off schedule by not working out on Saturday and then working out on Sunday so I didn't want to do too much today. The front squats are still a little off, need to sit back more. I'm guessing that my core strength is a little weak right now thus the inability to sit back and keep the weight racked where it needs to be. The pulls went just fine, I plan to keep pushing the weight total higher until my technique breaks and then I'll stay at that weight. Gotta get stronger and get some mass back ...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: 57 BPM
Tap test: 79

O LIFTING
Step-up: 135x5, 185x5, 205x3x3
Snatch: 135x5, 165x4x3
Overhead squat: 165x3x3

NOTES
Legs are fatiguing quickly but everything went smoothly. I'm really focusing on technique and moving deliberately through the motion on snatch. My midsection was sore today but I could still find my positions and set my back well. Tomorrow is a day off from lifting, I'm hoping things will start feeling smoother in another week or so.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

WEDNESDAY
Morning heart rate: 58 BPM
Tap test: 78

NOTES
Didn't do anything worth posting.

THURSDAY
Morning heart rate: 55 BPM
Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
RDL: 295x5, 345x3, 395x3, 425x3, 445x2x3
Hang snatch: 135x4, 165x6x3
Power clean: 205x4, 235x3x3

NOTES
The day off really helped, felt strong in the RDLs and hang snatch, the low back and core were stronger today. Got in a groove in the hang snatches and did a few more sets than I was supposed to but I wanted to cement in good technique while I could. The weight felt really easy, and then came the power cleans. Made it through only three sets of these because I was getting tired.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

I had planned to do some sprints and whatnot on Friday but the rain nixed that idea. On Saturday I had planned to do a normal workout, but then my head started swimming and every little movement made me want to heave; I didn't want to see my lunch again so I did nothing. Whenever these things happen and I miss workouts, I feel like I get further and further behind and I won't be able to achieve my goals.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Morning heart rate: I'm going to stop doing this as I have not seen a relation between this and my training. There is a stronger correlation between what time I wake up and what my heart rate is.
Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Front squat: 225x5, 275x2x3, 295x2x3, 315x2x2
Snatch pull: 225x3, 275x3, 305x3x3
Power clean: 185x3, 225x4x3

NOTES
I was going to workout yesterday and it started off with some conditioning training. I'll spare the details but I wasn't able to finish conditioning, I never worked out and I am still a little dehydrated today. Today's workout went well, considering, but I did fatigue easily. I'm weak on the core strength, that's all that's holding me back on going heavier on the front squats. The cleans felt easy for the first set or two, then the rubber legs set in. Hopefully things go better tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
Tri-plex pull: 135x3, 155x3, 175x3, 195x3, 215x3, 235x3, 255x3, 275x3, 295x3
Step up: 145x2x5, 175x2x4, 195x2x3
Trap snatch: 95x5x7

NOTES
It was cold so I had to move quick. I was a little stronger in the step-ups than I thought I would have been, I was still feeling a little wiped out from the weekend. The plan was to do hang snatches but as I was warming up for snatches I did a set of trap snatches and I could feel the active shrug and I sat underneath the bar well so I decided to continue on with those. The higher reps did me some good by keeping me warm and by allowing me to work on my technique as the larger muscles got fatigued. They felt great, I was more active with the upper body and after a few sets the weight started to settle in a good groove overhead. Excellent progress was made on technique tonight, I hope it sticks.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

NOTES
Mostly rested today, did do a little warm up and conditioning work ... just feeling like I'm not doing enough work. Will hit the weights again tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
RDL: 295x5, 365x3, 415x3, 445x3, 465x2x3
Hang clean: 225x5x3
Rhythm squat: 225x5x10

NOTES
I kind of surprised myself in the RDLs, I figured the heavy sets would break my form but I was able to keep my back tight and still move quickly. Hang cleans went well and in the rhythm squats I sat in the hole for a few seconds on the first rep of each set to push my flexibility. Feels like my body is coming around, I plan to go heavier next week in the secondary lifts.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

NOTES
Friday nights are usually my throwing workouts but since I am taking a break from that for a while I wanted to do something ... I feel lazy if I don't. I decided to do something involving conditioning, but I still wanted a strength component. So I did something I can best describe as 'Farmer's Walk Suicides'. I got out my dumbbells from the 30s up to the 75s; I set up a flag 20 yards away from my starting spot and carried the 30s to that flag as quickly as I could. Then I would sprint back to my starting point and repeat with each successively heavier set of dumbbells. This made for only ten sets, but that was enough for me. Dumb idea? I'm not sure yet, I didn't injure myself and it felt pretty taxing ... not sure if I want to do it again but I probably will. I need to be able to do this two times through so I can at least get my dumbbells back inside the garage.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

O LIFTING
Snatch: 135x5, 155x3, 175x2x3, 195x3, 205x3
C&J: 185x5+5, 225x3+3 (3 sets)
Front squat: 275x3, 315x2, 345x1

NOTES
Suh-weet! The plan was do 3 or 4 sets of 3 at 175 in the snatch but it felt a little too easy. I thought 195 would be a challenge but it wasn't. I thought 205 would crush me or at least prove to be difficult, I might get one rep or two after a miss but I was very smooth with a capital smoo. All three reps were solid with the last one being a near over-pull. I didn't think I would be able to go this heavy this soon so this was a pleasant surprise. I did back off on the rest of the workout and next week I want to see what happens with the C&J.

I have two different techniques in the snatch; in my low power technique I don't jump my feet out and when I really yank on the bar I jump my feet out. The reason I was so impressed with myself tonight is that I wasn't jumping my feet out but instead I was quick underneath the bar ... I usually don't do that and instead rely on a big pull. Now I just have to combine the big pull with the quicks under the bar.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

CONDITIONING
Plyos: Box jumpsx5x15, One legged broad jumpsx2x20 yards each leg
Farmer's Walk Suicides: 4 times through with the following sets of dumbbells; 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 x20 yards

NOTES
Those suicides are going to kill me, good thing I saved those for last. When I was finished with them I felt like I had asthma .. I hope this turns out to be worth it. I may look into getting heavier dumbbells once my cardiovascular conditioning gets where it needs to be; it isn't the weight that's challenging right now. Everything that I did today was done while wearing a 20 pound weight vest.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

O LIFTING
Front squat: 275x4, 315x2, 345x2x1
Power clean: 185x3, 245x2x2
Snatch pull: 225x3, 275x3, 305x3

NOTES
This was a rough day. Low energy levels and not much motivation. It was a miracle that I made it through the front squats, I was supposed to do more sets on the power cleans and pulls ... too tired.

TUESDAY
Tap test: 79

Just wasn't feeling it today so I decided to kick back. Hopefully I can get some more rest and hit it hard tomorrow ... I have nights like the last two, read the other logs and just feel lazy and weak.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

CONDITIONING
Box hops: 3x15
20 yd sprints: 6
FWS: 4 times through; 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 x20 yards

NOTES
Today was a scheduled day off; I did some of the Farmer's Walk Suicides, sprints and box hops and called it a day. Still not feeling well, the energy levels aren't there, need more rest I guess.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

THROWS
Kneeling put: 14,16,16,18,20,14,16,16,18,20
Side crunch throw: 14,16,16,18,20,14,16,16,18,20, 14x4

NOTES
I hadn't planned on doing anything today but the weather was so nice, I couldn't resist. Besides, I slept for 11 hours and that cured what ailed me. In the side crunch throw I'm in a standing throw position and I crunch down as far as I can on my right side then pivot through and throw. The last time I did these I marked my furthest throw with the 14; today I beat that mark by 5 feet :). I had no real plan for today, just wanted to do something in the warm sunshine.

I think I'm waaaaaaaay behind the curve on this but last night I was reading about the Conjugate Training system. Something really stood out to me as I was reading an article by a guy trying to sing the praises of the system; he said that you didn't train for your first bench press or squat therefore it's not necessary to train for a bigger bench by benching all the time. Not sure if this makes sense to you, the reader but it clicked with me. I don't need to train C&J, snatch, HWFD, shot or whatever every training session. I felt like that since my technique is poor that I need to spend a lot of time on technique. Now I feel more comfortable doing more varied training and spending less time on the specific throws, C&J and snatch.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Front Squat: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x1, 345x1, 365x1
Step up: 155x3x10, 155x8
Turkish get up: 15x3x5, each side
Poor man's reverse hypers: 4x10, no weight

NOTES
I spent the last two days re-tooling my workouts. I'm going to stick to this plan and I expect good results. My core strength is where I'm the weakest as I'm not fond of doing exercises that target the core specifically. This is what is limiting me in the front squats as 365 did not tax my legs but I nearly lost the weight on the way up. I had more stamina than I thought I would in the step ups. I want to do reverse hypers but I can't justify spending a lot of money on a machine for that so I threw a couple of pieces of wood across my jerk blocks. The jerk blocks are high enough so my feet do not hit the ground and for now this is an adequate apparatus. Once I work out the bugs I'll figure out some way to add weight to my feet; I'm thinking either by holding a dumbbell between my ankles or using the weight vest across my feet.

In a few weeks I plan on taking some pictures of my garage gym set up so that the people who read this are less confused when I refer to certain things like my poor man's reverse hypers set up. I'd like to see a section on here dedicated to images of the different gyms we all work out in; some of us my get some ideas from the set ups other guys use.

[Matt V]

"I'd like to see a section on here dedicated to images of the different gyms we all work out in; some of us my get some ideas from the set ups other guys use"

Sounds good to me. I'll send in some pictures of the old garage, er...Vargo Performance Center. It'll make people wonder how I've done as well as I have. :rolleyes:

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

O LIFTING
Rack Jerk: 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 255x3, 275x1, 295x1
Clean curl: 135x4x8
Reverse hypers: 15x4x10

NOTES
I am weak and suck at jerks right now. I kind of want to blame the cold for the poor performance but I can't ... I was warm enough and I kept moving so I never got cold. I'm doing clean curls because dammit, I want to do something with my biceps (gotta look good for the beach, right?). I try to keep them straight up and down, no swinging away from the body. I was able to hold a 15 pound dumbbell between my ankles for the reverse hypers but if I go much heavier in weight I'll need to figure out some other way to add weight.

Matt, I'd love to see your gym but you're going to have to wait a couple of weeks to see mine. I need to hide all of my experimental stuff out of the picture frame so none of you can steal my secrets!! Maybe once we get the ball rolling some more people will post pictures of where they workout.

[Bert Sorin]

Hey Roger,
Good to hear you are varying the training some, its amazing the gains you can make by switching to some exercises that you are not as strong. You don't have to stay with them forever, but extremists in any lifting discipline almost always are unbalanced for actual sports.

IMHO, Powerlifting (for the sake of actual competitive powerlifting) has very little coorelation to speed / power sports as far as effectiveness. Olympic lifting is closer, but still leaves a lot to be desired, as the technical work needed to be mastered taxes the CNS to the extent that learning the throws (or other sport) often suffers. Also, the actual technique of olympic lifting counter-acts some of the movements that are needed to produce speed on an implement. Lifting AS a sport (oly or power) is actually geared not so much to become stronger, but to move the most weight with the least effort, ROM or best use of extranious gear. Lifting FOR a sport is about getting stronger first and formost, fixing functional weaknesses, and if possible mimicking patterns in the sports movement to become more effective on the field.

Example - and olympic competiton squat clean (especially with today's catapault technique) does not stress the importance of triple extension (hips, knees and ankles), and the LESS you move the bar (in % of your body height) and are able to drop to "go get the bar", the better of an Oly lifter you are. The guys that pull the bar 70% of their height are actuall considered poor lifters, because they are not efficient enough, around 55% is much better. Its not how strong you are, it's how good you are at moving a weight a short distance and getting under it, then the strength comes in to squat it up (which is why front squats are such a good exercise for strength). This is the exact opposite of what you are looking for in the throws (and many other sports). You want to move the weight the longest possible path (to increase radius, thus speed of the implement). You do not want to drop during the extension phase, in fact, that is detremental, for you never achieve triple extension. I have seen too many 400lb. cleaners that could not throw much over 200' in the oly hammer (and they were actual college hammer throwers), and they were pretty bad in the HG. Conversely, if you get a high level thrower (or someone who understands how to move weights fast), they can almost always apply their bodies to power or even Oly lifting with relative success. Almost every decent thrower I know can clean well north of 350lb., but I know a boat-load of guys who can squat clean 300-400lb. that cannot throw and implement to save their life.
In closing - as a thrower (or other power sport athlete ; football, basketball, sprinter) I would modify olympic lifting TYPE movements to get the most out of them for your application. Examples would be: clean and snatch grip hi-pulls, RDL, Jump Shrugs, push press, a "high catch" push jerk, overhead shot put heave, heavy med ball shoulder vertical throws (using legs).

Just my 3 cents.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Just my 3 cents.

Cheapskate.

Funny you should mention the CNS stuff because I was just thinking about that last night during my workout. I thought that maybe my CNS would be better off since I'm not doing as many technical moves during my workouts. I'm going to try the same thing with throwing, just not sure how I'm going to do that with the distance events. How do I train the HWFD and LWFD without doing the full throws every workout? Not sure, but I'll figure something out.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tuesday's tap test: 80

Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
Clean: 170x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Step up: 135x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Front squat: 225x2x8, 225x6

NOTES
I was going to do some conditioning stuff yesterday ... plyos, sprints and the like but I decided it was too cold. Tonight was my dynamic workout and I know the numbers don't look challenging but I found it a bit tough. The weight was easy, the number of sets wasn't too bad, the tough bit was keeping up the intensity. I tried to perform every rep as if it were my max ... this was tough to do for 6 sets let alone 12. I was able to work on my technique as I proceeded through my sets and I was happy with that progress; surprised myself on the front squats, wasn't sure I'd be able to get that many reps. Looking forward to the soreness tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

CONDITIONING
FWS: 4 times through; 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 x20 yards
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Box hops: 5x10
Reverse hypers: 20 pounds x 4x10
Turkish get up: 15x2x3 each side

NOTES
Everything was done while wearing a 20 pound weight vest. My legs felt like jello dipped in molasses on a cold day. Nothing was really sore, just dead. My toes were dragging the ground during the sprints. On the turkish get-ups my lower abs started to cramp ... I tried to push through but couldn't get more than 2 sets.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
Snatch: 125x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Rack Jerk: 175x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Snatch grip high pull: 135x12, 155x3x10

NOTES
Another dynamic day and my legs were better than yesterday. Again, it was hard to keep the intensity up, performing every set of snatches and jerks as if they were 1 RM, but I did better than last time. I have noticed that my technique gets better as the sets wear on, as long as I keep focus. Hard to gauge the proper weight for the high pulls since these aren't a real staple of my workouts. Another two weeks of this before a little break then ratchet it up a bit (hopefully) ... wish I had a tendo unit :( . Santa Sorin? :D

I read on Matt's post that he was heading down to Sorinex tomorrow, wish I had known; I would have made plans to go down there as well. I don't know if Bert wants a lot of guys in his gym at once but I, like Matt, train alone in a cold, cold garage and it's nice to train with other human beings every now and again.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

THROWS
Overhead throw: 20x15
360 spins: 63x9, 32x9

CONDITIONING
Box hops: 5x10
Reverse hypers: 20x4x10
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds
Sprints: 4x20 yds

NOTES
The goal in the overhead throw was to throw it as far as I could, hoping that my last throw would be the farthest. It seemed that I peaked on my 8th throw with the next five being within a foot of my furthest. I was determined to make my last throw the furthest of the day and I happened to improve my mark by nearly a foot. I saw the 360 drills on Ketch's website and thought I would give them a try without knowing the purpose or what they would help me with. In the distance throws I don't complete my first spin and I found that the 360 drills helped with this. Hopefully they'll help with speed, balance and positioning of the weight out of the back. I couldn't make a full 360 without putting my right foot back down, the furthest I got was 270. All of the conditioning work was done with a 20 pound weight vest. When I was a young lad, I had enough hops to grab a basketball rim ... I want to be able to do that again. Right now it appears that I'm about a foot short, it's not looking good.

[Ketch]

Hey Roger, glad you liked the drill. That drill is so useful in many ways. I have found (and still am finding) it very useful. The cast is so important to the rest of the throw and I still need a lot of work with it.

I always over-rotate and get way ahead of it. So I use it to keep prevent myself from leading with my chin and dragging it behind me, which KILLS the sprint phase.

Thanks for checking out the site and good luck in your quest in getting rim again!

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

O LIFTING
Overhead squat: 95x3, 135x3, 155x3, 185x3, 205x3, 225x1, 245x1, 255x1, 265xmiss
Good morning: 225x10, 225x4x12
Reverse hypers: 20x3x10
Turkish get up: 15x3x3

NOTES
I missed at 265 on the overhead squat due to not being tight enough through the shoulders. As I go down with the heavier weights I take it kind of slow but then I come out of the hole really fast. If I don't have my shoulders tight enough there's a little compression thing that happens from the wrists down to the shoulders and this kind of hurts. I backed off on the reverse hypers and turkish get ups because of all the core work I already had done ... I've never done high rep good mornings before and towards the end, they weren't pleasant.

It's been more than a couple of years since I tried to max in the overhead squat. I hit 275 the last time I did so I'm okay with hitting 255 today. Next week I'm going to max in back squat and it's been years since I maxed in that as well. I prefer to do step-ups instead of back squats but I see a greater potential for injury on a max effort step-up than on a back squat. My last best effort was 495, butt to the heels, and if I can get within 20 pounds of that I will be very happy.

[Bert Sorin]

Roger,
You know we love people to come and train with us. And you are more than welcome anytime.

Maybe the invitation should look somewhat like this:



Dearest Roger,
You are cordially invited to attend the Sorinex Exercise Equipment weekly training extravaganza. This repititious event will begin Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday of each week this winter, starting at approximately 5:30 pm and lasting until 8:00. List of possible actitivites may include lifting of heavy weights, throwing of steel, wood or stone implements, and the occasional jumping exercise.
Please feel free to RSVP if you will be able to attend.

Sincerely,
Bert Sorin

[Bert Sorin]

Hey Roger,
Where was it that you got that fork for me a few years ago? It was a good one, holds the world record now (Eric's 36'). I might order another. Thanks man.
Seriously, come train with us.
Bert

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Bert;

Thanks for the invite, now that it has been formalized I feel that I can now accept. I've been very busy the past couple of days but things should ease up in two weeks. I'll come train a couple of times if you guys are there.

My first thought as to why you are asking about a new fork is that you broke that one ... what did you do? WHAT DID YOU DO?!?!

I bought that fork at a local hardware store here in Aiken. If you want me to pick up another, I certainly can do that and bring it to you on my way up to train.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 76

O LIFTING
RDL: 225x3, 315x3, 365x3, 415x3, 455x1, 475x1, 505x1
Clean grip high pull: 135x12, 155x10, 175x3x10
Turkish get up: 15x4x3

NOTES
I've never tried to max on RDLs and failure was determined by when my back could no longer stay arched on the pull. I nearly broke at 505 so that's where I decided to stop ... low back is getting fatigued. I'm not as good at the clean grip high pulls as I am with the snatch grip, I think this has something to do with my shoulder flexibility.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

THROWS
Overhead throw: 20x15
360 spins: 63x9, 32x9

CONDITIONING
FWS: 4 times through; 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 x20 yards
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds
Sprints: 4x20 yds

NOTES
FINALLY a clement evening. I wanted to do more throwing but didn't have a lot of time and felt like the conditioning was more important. Still not able to get all the way around in the 360 spins, about the same as it was last time. Legs were sore, I found that a little weird. That could have been due to working out some knots in the quads, not sure. I am feeling the itch to get back into the full throws, maybe this weekend.

[Bert Sorin]

Wow, that s a big RDL. Damn.

Yes, could you bring me another Union Fork when you come up next, actually, I need it kinda soon, no, mine is not broken. Blasphemy!

Thanks Man!

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 83

O LIFTING
Hang clean: 150x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Front squat: 185x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Step up: 150x3x10

NOTES
Where I grew up, if you heard thunder in December it meant the world was coming to an end ... this is a little weird to me.

Had to go quick tonight, not a lot of time, which made for an intense workout. I know the weights don't look impressive but I feel like I'm getting a lot of good work in. The extra sets are helpful in getting the technique better.

Now before you go getting all impressed on the RDLs, let's make sure we're talking about the same thing. I perform RDLs off of blocks where the bar is set about 2-3 inches below the knees. The legs are nearly straight, the hips are back, shoulders are back, back tight and arched, ease into it with constant acceleration to the top. If I break form I call that a miss. I was taught the RDL off of blocks because this was supposed to target the speed and strength of the second pull in the O lifts, which is where all of your velocity is generated. I still do these as fast as I can and if I'm going slow, like you typically see in a max dead lift, I take the weight back down ... I hate doing things slowly. If it takes me more than one or two seconds to complete a lift then I'm going too slow.

Bert, I'll check that hardware store when I get a chance, won't be more than a couple of weeks (merry Xmas, ya bastard) ... should I get all of the ones they have in stock or what?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

THROWS
Overhead throw: 20x15
360 Spins: 32x10, 63x3

CONDITIONING
FWS: 2 times through; 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 x20 yards
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Box Hops: 4x15

NOTES
I forgot to mention one thing yesterday; how high can I jump right after doing 12 sets of cleans, 12 sets of front squats and 3 sets of set ups? Pretty damn high as it turns out ... higher than I expected, got close to ten feet. But today, my legs were about dead. I was able to make it through the overhead throws but that was about it. I furthered my best throw by a few inches but nearly all throws were under my previous best. The hammies started to get tight on the sprints and I didn't perform the box hops with the same fervor that I normally do. I'm still not making it all the way around on the 360 spins so I tried a spin without the weight. Found out I can't get all the way around without weight, is this a problem?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Snatch grip pulls: 205x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Hang snatch: 115x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Rack jerk: 175x4x10
Turkish get up: 15x4x3

NOTES
This was kind of a late one, I usually start my workouts before 6pm. In the pulls I was trying to get the bar as high as I could but the main goal was just to move fast, this got difficult at about the eighth set. The hang snatch started as more of a trap snatch due to the light weight, the low back felt fatigued about half way through. Rack jerks were better, I didn't have to worry about heavy weight and could focus on technique. I usually get in the mental mode of just getting the weight up, no matter what it takes.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

THROWS
Kneeling throws: 14x10
Side crunch throws: 14x15
45 lb. bar standing throw drill: 3 sets of 5
45 lb. bar SA drills: 3 sets of 5

CONDITIONING
Olympic hops: 2x10 yds
FWS: 4 times through; 35, 45, 55, 65, 75 x20 yards

NOTES
I beat my previous best on the side crunch throw by about a foot on four of the 15 throws. I'm happy with the way my drills are progressing but these are very simple moves; I'm not sure when I should increase the complexity, I feel the weight of the throwing season already approaching. I don't know how else to list the drills I did with the 45 pound bar, I'm sure most throwers have seen/done these drills before of going through the throwing motions with the bar across the shoulders.

The improvised farmer's walks aren't getting any better, it appears that my conditioning isn't improving. I felt it a lot in my hamstrings today, they weren't tight but I could feel them get pumped. I was supposed to do some 20 yard sprints as well but I was just too gassed. Maybe things will improve when I take my week off.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
Back squat: 225x3, 315x3, 365x3, 405x3, 435x1, 465x1, 485x1
Step up: 155x3x10

NOTES
Didn't have a lot of time today, got involved in something that took longer than I thought. The back squats are olympic squats; high on the back and butt to the heels. The last time I went heavy on these was about 3 years ago and my max at that time was 495. I was happy with 485 today, I think I could have gotten 505 but I was moving too slow at 485 for my tastes (slowed down just out of the hole near parallel) so I didn't go heavier. I limited my sets in the step ups, got stuff to finish. The hammies still felt pumped, is this a good or bad thing? Looking at the schedule I'm supposed to go heavy in low dead lifts, this should prove to be interesting.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 83

O LIFTING
Low dead lift: 225x3, 275x3, 325x3, 365x3, 395x3, 415x1, 445x1, 465x1
Rack jerk: 225x2x8, 225x6
Turkish get up: 35x2x3

NOTES
In doing low deads I stand on a block that's about 4 inches tall which puts the bar right at my shoe tops. This is not an exercise that I ever thought I would attempt a max in but I was surprised at how heavy I could go. 465 is only 80 pounds away from my dead lift max this summer of 545 and when I was finished I realized that I never put a belt on. The rack jerks killed me, I was sure I could get sets of 10 with 225 but my conditioning isn't up to snuff. I jerk, drop the weight on the blocks, catch it on the bounce and go again. Surprising night, got some good work in, feeling good. I don't particularly care to have big lifts off the ground like deads and RDLs but they have to transfer to O lifting and throwing in some way, right?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Sweet gorilla of manilla! I miss one day and I have an entire library of posts to catch up on ... so many workouts to read, it's great!

TUESDAY
Tap test: 78

WEDNESDAY
Tap test: 79

O LIFTING
Back squat: 245x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Power clean: 150x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Overhead squat: 150x2x10

NOTES
The schedule was to do some throwing and conditioning yesterday, just wasn't feeling it so I took the whole night off. Tonight, the back squats were easy, the weight was light enough that I could let gravity take over on the way down and blow out of the hole quickly. In the cleans I was focusing on pulling long and high and again, I know the weights aren't impressive but something is working ... I'm feeling good and feeling strong. Friday is the last O lifting workout for a week then I think I'm going to do this 3 week cycle again, trying for some bigger PRs in the various lifts and increasing the dynamic weights by 5%. The OS still hurts the wrists and shoulders when I get fatigued, thus only two sets. Blew off the turkish get ups and reverse hypers, think I'm going to have to get some bands from Bert to make the reverse hypers better.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

NOTES
Wax and wane ... another day of low energy levels and my legs were actually a little sore. I decided to do nothing but remedial TV watching. I hit the weights again tomorrow then relax for a week doing some conditioning and plyos. I have got to find some actual drills for the HWFD and LWFD ...

[Ketch]

Hey Roger,
I found that these drills seemed to help me out quit a bit.

1. 360's
2. Braemar Throws- the final pull when you throw.This seems to help my timing of the pull alot.
3. Cast and drop-kinda single spin but you drop the weight at the low point in the back
4. Cast, Sprint and Drop- cast it, sprint, and drop it a the low point when you hit the final pull for release
5. Line Drills- start as though you were going to throw, cast it then do multiply turns/sprints. Started adding these at the end of last season and it really helped me learn to be patience with the weight and not rush ahead of it.

if you want, I will get some vid's and post them next time we go throw a little...probably saturday if the weather holds.

Hope this helps!

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

O LIFTING
Snatch grip high pull: 155x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Hang snatch: 125x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets

NOTES
I went to Sorinex to train, I was anxious to see the new setup with the all the new racks. Stephen Powell was there and we were able to talk a little training as well. I was supposed to do more than just the two exercises but I got caught up in talking about different training methods and techniques. This was my last lifting day for about a week, I'm going to enjoy this week of down time. It was a good day, Bert got his new pitchfork and I went home with some bands for training :) .

BJ; I'll start doing some of those drills today, thanks for the input. The one drill that confuses me is the braemar throw, I can't quite conceive how that one is done. Is it like a standing throw in the shot? If it is, I can see the difficulty in performing that, especially with the heavy weight. Line Drills are something I've done before when I started to learn the full 2-spin, I guess I should keep up with them.

[Ketch]

No problem Roger. I hope it helps you out. The braemar is def. a tough throw. I do it with the 28 b/c it more forgiving:) I just started incorporating them the last couple months, but it def. has made a big difference with my timing upon release. I think the key for me was really pitching high in the back, focusing on sinking my body down as the weight approaches the low point and not getting ahead of it.

I think Dickens has a vid somewhere of it...i will get it from him to post it.

Btw, i thought you mentioned you are a teacher...me too...nice to have a long break huh!?!

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 76

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x16
360 spins: 26x6
LW Braemar: 26x10
Cobra-like pulls from the shoulder: 26x6 each side
Cobra-like pulls from the ground: 26x6 each side

NOTES
I tried what I thought was a braemar throw in the LWFD and if my release in the full throw looks anything like these, it's a wonder I can get it past 50 feet. They were flat, I had no low point or high point to speak of, I lost connection to the weight, the weight trailed behind me and my arm wasn't relaxed. I realized this after the first throw and it took me 9 more before I felt I made some correction ... these were tough. I will continue with these as I can see how these will teach me how to stay connected to the weight through the final pull. The cobra-like pulls are something I discussed with Bert last night; I want a hammer drill that doesn't involve actually throwing the hammer. I use my 26 WFD, I hold the ring in one hand and the weight in the other above my shoulder (if I'm holding the weight in my right hand then I put it above my right shoulder). Then I throw the weight down and pull through a hammer-type movement through the release ... I REALLY liked these. Then I moved to letting the weight rest on the ground and going through the same hammer motion. The trick with this one is trying to stay connected to the weight through the entire movement ... I didn't like these as much as the others where I start the weight above my shoulder.

Yep, I'm a teacher too and I'm just happy that I can finally get some work done.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x3, 20x6, 16x3
360 spins: 26x3, 42x3
WFD braemar throws: 26x4, 42x4
Cast and drop: 26x3, 42x3
Cast, sprint and drop: 26x3, 42x3
Cobra throw from the shoulder: 26x4 each side, 32x4 each side

NOTES
First time I've done the sheaf in a while, it works well for a warm up. I finally figured out why the sheaf flies off early sometimes; if I slow down at all through the final pull the sheaf won't go where I want it to. If I keep accelerating all the way through the throw, the sheaf flies perfectly ... imagine that. The 360 spins went much better than last time. In fact, I was rotating through 450 or 540 on occasion; I'm thinking that over-rotating is just as bad as under-rotating. When I do the braemar throws everything feels out of sync and uncoordinated, I feel like Efrem the retarded athlete. I can't be thinking about throwing, I have to concentrate on staying connected to the weight. I'm not sure I did the other drills the way they are supposed to be done, I just did them how I thought they should be done. In the cast, sprint and drop I spun two more times after I dropped the weight (due to momentum) so I'm wondering if I should slow down for these drills.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

MONDAY
Tap test: 77

Did absolutely nothing, except yard work.

TUESDAY
Tap test: 80

THROWS
Some kneeling throws with the 16
45 lb. bar drills
Full throw drills with softball

NOTES
I didn't keep track of reps today, just did some light work until I felt like stopping. I was going to use one of the green bands that Bert gave me for some drills but that thing was waaaaay too strong, good thing he gave me a band for girls as well. I also cut and trimmed some trees today so my arms were pretty dead for throwing; I did all of the cutting with hand saws.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 83

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x??
Cobras: 26x??, 32x??

CONDITIONING
Sprints: 20yds x 4
Backward sprints: 20yds x 4
FWS: 2 times through, 35, 45, 55, 65 ,75 x 20 yds

NOTES
Time to stop being lazy and do something. I start back up with the weights tomorrow so I wanted to do something a little active today. Didn't keep track of reps, just did some things until I felt like not doing them anymore ... today was a nice workout atmosphere with the fog and the warmth.

I have an idea for a caber training device; if it works I'll post pictures and if not you'll never hear about it again.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
Front squat: 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 345x1, 365x1, 385x1, 405xmiss
Step up: 165x4x8
Turkish get up: 35x3x3

NOTES
I have never been able to front squat over 400 pounds and today held true to form. The legs are plenty strong; when I hit the bottom I rocket right back up with my hips heading skyward and my shoulders heading towards the ground. I need more core strengthening and technique work on front squats, I feel I don't sit back enough. I won't get to max on front squats again for another month, maybe I'll hit the 405 then.

[Bert Sorin]

try "Front Grunts" (partial "lock-outs" off the pins or straps in a front squat position) They get your core strong, and acclimate the body to heavy as hell weight on the chest. We generally work up to almost 150% of current front squat max. Maybe this will help.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Rack jerks: 135x5, 185x3, 225x3, 275x3, 305x1, 325x1, 345xmiss
Clean curls: 135x10, 155x3x8
Reverse hyper: 25x3x10

NOTES
How can an attempt at 325 go so easy and then I get crushed by 345? I don't think the strength falls off that quickly, it must be technique and/or mental focus. 325 is about 30 pounds shy of my PR in the jerks so this isn't all that bad. Besides, they went much better than last time. With the clean curls I was focusing on the catapult technique that Stephen showed me last week at Sorinex ... these went well.

On the front grunts, how low do you usually start? I think I already do something like this when I get under the weight on rack jerks I just never go heavier than what I can jerk. It would seem natural to add these in after rack jerks but maybe I should do them right after dynamic squats?

Alright, so far my caber training device is holding up. I was able to finish putting it together today and I tried it out and it's holding together. Okay, so it's not a device but a manufactured caber. I bought a 16' 4x4 at Lowe's and a 4 inch six foot fence post and bolted them together. The trick was coming up with a method to keep them together without having them break. I started by drilling a 1.25 inch hole 12 inches deep in the 4x4 and the post. I then glued a hardwood dowel into this hole in both pieces of wood with a glue that sets using water due to the dampness of the pressure treated wood. I did this because my plan called for using a metal rod to keep the two pieces of wood connected and pressure treated lumber isn't made out of hardwood; I thought the metal rod would quickly split the wood without reinforcement. I then drilled a 0.75 inch hole 12 inches deep in each piece and used a 2 foot long 0.75 inch threaded metal rod to connect the two pieces. To keep the two pieces tightly connected I used four foot long pieces of metal strapping and some lag bolts. I then cut it down to 21' long, shaped the pick end and tested it out. I call it Frankencaber and I hope the pictures can explain the story better.

So far, so good. It's held together and I don't see any splitting after a few attempts to turn it. In my experience the longer cabers are harder to turn than the heavier shorter ones so this is the path I chose for training. When I picked it it was very balanced and easy to control. I'm thinking of bolting some weights (2.5 pound plates) to one side or the other at the top of the caber to throw the balance off and make it more like a competition caber. The cost for materials was under $50, it took a few hours to get it together and if it lasts for one season's practice I will consider that worth it.

I can't figure out how to paste in the pictures I took, maybe Jeff can help me out. Until then you'll just have to use your imagination.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

THROWS
Kneeling throw: 16x6, 14x3
Crunch throw: 14x3
Standing throw: 14x12
WFD Braemar: 26x10
Caber: 5 attempts

CONDITIONING
Sprints: 4x20 yds
FWS: 4 times through, 35, 45, 55, 65 ,75 x 20 yds

NOTES
On my last caber attempt, Frankencaber cracked. The good news is it didn't break completely and it didn't crack at the joint, it cracked about one third the way down from the top. Gentlemen, we can rebuild it, we have the technology; DUCT TAPE. I think a 6x6 would probably have been better and stronger. The Farmer's Walk Suicides finally got better, I wasn't as winded as I have been in the past. It was a beautiful day to be outside, two hours had gone by before I knew it.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

O LIFTING
Step up: 165x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Clean: 205x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Front squat: 225x3x8
Front grunt: 315x3x2, with green bands

NOTES
The step ups were tougher than I expected and the cleans were easier. With the front squats I spent some quality time in the hole making sure my chest was up and that I drove my elbows up as I started to come out of the hole. I thought the front grunts would be a good exercise to use my new bands on; I looped them around the bar and anchored them to the floor with the heaviest dumbbells I have. I may never do those bastards again, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I started with the bar about 2 inches below my chest, got under it in a front squat position and tried to lift. I nearly passed out on the first attempt trying to get the bar to move but I felt my hips come up before my chest did. I repositioned, got my hips under the bar more and gave it one more shot. These things are going to teach me to keep my hips under the bar and in proper position or they are going to hurt me. Three sets was enough for me, next time I think I'll try these without the bands to determine how much force they are exerting.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

CONDITIONING
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds
Box hops: 5x15
FWS: 2 times through, 35, 45, 55, 65 ,75 x 20 yds

NOTES
Didn't really want to do anything today, but the legs were a little sore and congested from yesterday and I needed to work that out. Also, it was a little chilly, I guess I've been spoiled by the decent weather lately. After I was done I tried some verticals to see how close I am to ten feet. I was able to hit 9'6" in four out of six jumps; I'm getting closer, I just have to keep at it. This is a standing jump, no run up.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

O LIFTING
Rack Jerk: 195x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Snatch: 140x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Clean grip high pull: 225x4x6

NOTES
Rack jerks went well, focusing on performing the move at 100% effort and stepping out with with front leg really helped. With the snatch I focused on the catapult technique, it's going to take a while for my thighs to get accustomed to this. The collision with the bar is a lot harder and after the snatches and high pulls the fronts of my thighs are really raw.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

O LIFTING
Overhead squat: 135x3, 165x3, 185x3, 215x3, 235x3, 255x1, 275x1, 285x ouchy-wa-wa
Good mornings: 255x4x10
Turkish get up: 35x3x3

NOTES
I didn't do anything yesterday, but I was supposed to. Is was just wet enough to totally quash my already low motivation.

The overhead squats went great, I matched my previous PR at 275. I lost the 285 coming out of the hole, lost it behind me which really stretched out the shoulders. Everything was feeling good today and I focused on the catapult technique in the good mornings. Sometimes coming up really fast and hard in a good morning is a bad thing because the bar comes off the shoulders a little bit and then crashes back down.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x6
Side crunch throws: 14x5
Standing throws: 14x10

CONDITIONING
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds

NOTES
The left leg was tight and started to cramp yesterday afternoon and I felt beat up (paying for Sunday's workout) so I didn't work out yesterday. Had a max effort on RDLs planned and I was looking forward to that, oh well. Today was the second day of track conditioning and I get out there and do the drills and run with the kids, then get into the gym and show them how to lift ... it's amazing how little these kids know about what it takes to compete. During the standing throws today I started to feel like I was pulling the shot through ring, almost as an afterthought. It wasn't going much further than my best efforts from before but it took less effort to get it there. I wasn't trying to throw the shot way out there, I was trying to focus on dragging the through the ring with my hips leading. I wanted to do more reps because it felt like the technique was setting in, but I stopped after 10.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

O LIFTING
Front squat: 205x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Hang cleans: 165x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Step up: 165x4x8
Reverse hyper: 35x3x10

NOTES
I am so tired but I surprised myself by finishing this workout. I wanted to quit after hang cleans but figured how long could the step ups take? I'm really itching to start going heavy in the O lifts as what I'm doing feels really light. I didn't feel like I was very quick tonight, going to bed soon after I write this might help. Doing the track conditioning with the kids after school may take its toll but I'm hoping that I'll be better for it. After three days of simple things like walking lunges and other dynamic warm ups, up hill sprints and plyometrics they are beginning to hate me :D .

[Rory]

Roger,

You better go heavy soon, brother! Even I am getting impatient!

I'm looking forward to a "snatch off" competition in the future...

[Ketch]

Hey Roger, i remember an old post you had about the braemar WFD. It is definitely a tough drill.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqKww9_XcvI

This is a video of Dave Brown at a clinic he did with some of us a year or so ago. It was pretty sick...he tossed the HWFD over 34ft ...braemar style:eek:
hope this helps

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Okay, I have a lot of catching up to do and I will post the workouts in individual posts ... it helps me keep track of the days. But first to respond back to Rory and BJ.

Rory;

Your snatches are impressive and if I were snatching that much weight that often I would have already been worn out and beat down by now. I am guessing that you are not catching the weight all the way down in the hole and I think with a little work on technique your snatch could be as high as 120 or 125 kg.

I haven't decided when to start going heavy in the O lifts, so I'll leave it in your hands. I have one more week on my current lifting cycle, then a week off. For the next cycle you get to decide if I go once more through maxing out on Fronts, Backs and Overheads while doing the O lifts dynamically or switch it up to going heavy in the O lifts ... you say it and I'll do it.

BJ;

That video helped and it hurt. That was basically what I had in mind for the braemar, Dave Brown made it look so easy and mine don't even come close to looking like that. That video hurt my pride, I can't two spin the HWFD 34 feet :( . If I ever get some video up of my braemar throws you'll see my discus background showing through.

To everyone;

I want to hear what you think about training with a slosh pipe. I was thinking about making one for me and then making another for the track athletes I am coaching. When you train with just weights you never have to worry or correct the balance of the weights (usually). It seems like using a slosh pipe would be more like training with something that's 'alive'. There's a gym in Augusta that specializes in MMA stuff and I've been thinking about going there once a week so I can get some human against human struggle ... I haven't had any of that since I quit playing football and I think it's hurt my all around strength. Thoughts about how big of a pipe to make for myself? How big of one to make for the high school kids? Should I even use one with the high school kids?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 76

THROWS
Braemar WFD: 26x5, 32x5
Cobras for the hammer: 26x6 each side
Kneeling throws: 20x3, 16x6, 14x3

CONDITIONING
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Backwards Sprints: 4x20 yds
FWS: 2 times through, 35, 45, 55, 65 ,75 x 20 yds

NOTES
After going through a track conditioning workout with the kids, I was kind of tired when I got home. I knew that if I sat down I wouldn't get back up so I went right into the workout immediately and I had some pretty decent results. Things felt loose for the most part, maybe because I was already tired from track? Whatever it was, I hope my body remembers what this feels like. For instance, I could feel the cobras pull on the shoulder because my arm was loose.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

O LIFTING
Snatch grip high pulls: 175x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Power snatch: 140x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Clean curls: 175x3x8

NOTES
During track practice I took my throwers and we did some simple baseline tests. During the standing broad jump, they wanted to see how far I could jump and if I could out jump the furthest mark (8'6" set by a girl who is a long jumper that wants to throw as well, I can't wait to see what she can do in the throws!). So I take my first jump and I hit 8'4". I was okay with that but the kids goaded me into trying once more, to save my pride. I gave it a better effort and reached out with my legs to try and grab some more distance. We were doing this on the football field, which was damp, and I was wearing some shoes that don't have the greatest traction on wet grass. I landed, one foot slipped out forward and my weight compressed my left leg all the way down and kind of hurt my left knee. The good news is I hit 9'6" (heel to heel measurement) and I didn't notice any pain in my knee through my O lifting workout. Bad news is I did notice that I didn't have the same pop that I usually do. The power snatches went well enough, I guess it was a good thing they were power snatches and not full snatches.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

THROWS
Hammer winds: 16x3x5 each side, 26x3x5 each side
Wandering shot throws: 14x about 12
Standing throw: 14x3, 18x4, 14x10

CONDITIONING
Box jumps: 3x15
FWS: 4 times through, 35, 45, 55, 65 ,75 x 20 yds

NOTES
My left knee was stiff today so I decided to not do anything during throws that would torque my left knee. I massaged the leg with the stick and went after the trigger points with my back body buddy (I didn't invent the name). I'm amazed at how treating the trigger points makes everything feel MUCH better. In the past when I hurt a joint I was focused on the joint, not realizing that the muscle surrounding the joint probably had some trauma as well. After massaging and pressure point treatment off and on throughout the day my knee felt like new but I still didn't want to put it through any torque. To warmup for the shot I wanted to take a few easy throws, focusing on torquing the hips and putting the shot as an after thought. I was too lazy to get the shot, come back to the trig, take another throw and repeat. So I just walked around my throwing area and eventually got back to the trig, thus the Wandering Shot Throw. When I took the standing throws with the 18 I was very happy to throw it about 33 or 34 feet; this is much better than last year. The disappointing part is that it was only 4 or 5 feet less than my standing throw with the 14 today. After I was finished with everything I flexed my left leg straight and squeezed, felt a pop in the knee and it felt much better ... I'll have to see how it is tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

O LIFTING
Back squat: 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 415x1, 435x1, 455x1, 485x1, 505x1 (PR), 515x1 (PR)
Step up: 175x3x8
Front grunt: 315x2, 365x2, 385x2, 415x2, 435x2

NOTES
Set two PRs in the back squat which surprised me. I wasn't really feeling it today, 415 felt heavy coming out of the rack. Hell, everything felt heavy coming out of the rack but once I got set the actual squat wasn't too bad. 515 wasn't as pretty as I like and this was a modest 15 pound PR over my previous best. The best thing is that the last time I set my PR was more than five years ago; you can get stronger after 35. I didn't use the bands in the front grunts and 435 felt a little easier than using the bands with 315. My PR in the front squat is 385 so I went only 50 pounds heavier than that, I was kind of tired after the squat work.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

O LIFTING
Low dead lift: 225x3, 275x3, 315x3, 365x3, 415x1, 445x1, 465x1, 485x1, 505xmiss
Rack Jerk: 225x3x8
Reverse Hyper: 25x3x10

NOTES
Energy levels and motivation kind of low so I was amazed that I made it through this workout. Went heavier in the low deads than last time and I'm getting better at the jerks. I think the miss in the low deads was due to lack of will. I'm looking forward to my week off, maybe I can get some good quality rest. The knee was still a little stiff but as it warmed up I never noticed it.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

NOTES
Feel a little beat up today so I didn't do any throwing or conditioning. During the track workout today I showed the kids Turkish get ups ... they loathe me but I'm having so much fun. I'm not really looking forward to workouts later this week, it's supposed to get cold.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Catching up ...

Tap test: 76

O LIFTING
Back Squat: 265x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Power Clean: 165x10x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets

NOTES
A little chilly and I was a little tired. Overhead squats were supposed to be done as well but I blew them off. The left knee was still a little stiff but it's getting better.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 76

CONDITIONING
Turkish get ups: 5x3x3
Olympic hops: 3x10 yds
Military run: 3x50 yds
Medicine ball twists: 15x3x10
Lunges: 3x10 yds
Sprints: 3x50 yds

NOTES
The head track coach wanted to put the kids through a boot camp type of workout and he came up with this routine with some input from me. Every kid had to have a partner in order to do some of the things and we had an odd number so I went through it with the odd man out while wearing a 20 pound weight vest. We went through the routine 3 times, I didn't want to kill the kids and it was a little chilly outside. That cold air pouring into my lungs kind of made my chest tight and if this was happening to me then I could safely assume the kids were experiencing the same thing. I didn't do anything when I got home, I was a little tired and grades were due on Friday ... I'm sure BJ can commiserate.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

NOTES
I did not workout, it was too damned cold. My hat is off to you, Matt V, you're a better man than I am. I did manage to make a slosh pipe .... 10'x6".

[Ketch]

grades...ugh....mine are do this Friday and I have to find the reading level of all my students (1-1 assessment)...i hate the end of the quarter(s)...

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

THROWS
Hammer winds: 16x10, 26x10
Cobras: 26x5 each side, 32x5 each side
Caber attempts: 5

NOTES
I was looking forward to trying out the slosh pipe but as it turns out it only works if the water is fluid and not frozen. My attempts to shore up my caber have made it very heavy ... I weighed it and it's about 135 pounds, it started out at about 100. I haven't been able to turn it but if I do I'll be confident that I can turn most competition cabers. I feel like I'm getting out more on my legs in the hammer winds and I'm in better positions.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

BJ, what grade(s) do you teach? I teach Science at the high school level and I have 127 students, it's maddening to make sure all of my ducks are in a row.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

THROWS
360 spins: 26x5, 50x5
Single spin and drop: 26x5, 50x5
Spin, sprint and drop: 26x5, 50x5
Braemar throw: 26x15

CONDITIONING
Slosh pipe carry, zercher postion: 4x60 yds, the pipe weighed about 38 pounds
Slosh pipe lunges, zercher position: 2x10 yds

NOTES
The 360 spins were very easy and I felt well balanced. I'm not sure how to go about the progression for the drills, if I should do braemars then spins or the reverse, either way makes sense to me. I figured something out in the braemars, not sure what it is that I have figured out but the weight went five feet further after about half way through my throws. The slosh pipe carries were tough, tougher than 38 pounds has a right to be. I was feeling froggy so I did lunges with the slosh pipe and not only did it take a long time just to go ten yards, it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I was supposed to do some sprints to end up with, but the slosh pipe carries wasted me. I'm looking forward to not lifting this week and just doing throwing and conditioning. Next week I plan on going heavy in the O lifts instead of going heavy in the auxiliary lifts.

There, all caught up.

[Ketch]

That's gotta be maddening indeed!

I teach 2nd Grade. All subject areas (except specials) and I have a fully inclusive classroom with 23 kids with 9 IEP students. It's never a dull moment:D fortunatley I have a co-teacher for part of the day.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

THROWS
Overhead throw: 10x25 lb medicine ball
Wall ball: 10x25 lb medicine ball
Caber: 3 attempts

CONDITIONING
Slosh pipe carry, zercher position: 2x100 yds
Slosh pipe lunges, zercher position: 2x10 yds
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds

NOTES
The abs were quite sore today, that slosh pipe really works. That 100 yard carry nearly killed me, especially the second one. I've never had my abs so fatigued that I felt like I would collapse in half. That caber must have soaked up some water because it feels much heavier than 135 pounds. I was unsteady getting down and ready for the pick and it was tough to get off the ground but once I got it in my hands it felt good to be able to hold and balance that much weight ... still can't turn it. I had to try out the medicine balls that I made just to make sure they would hold, they did.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

CONDITIONING
Slosh pipe carry, zercher position: 3x100 yds
Slosh pipe lunges, zercher position: 2x10 yds
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds

NOTES
I got home just in time to do these as the snow was ending and the sun was coming out. I tried to get through this as quickly as possible, it was a tad nipply outside. I'm taking this 4" slosh pipe to school to torture the track kids and I think I'll make a 6" version for myself, then start timing my carries.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

CONDITIONING
Slammers: 25x5x10
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Olympic hops: 4x10yds
Planks: 2x30 seconds, 2x60 seconds
Side planks: 2x15 seconds, each side

LIFTS
Bench press: 135x10, 225x5x5, 275x2x3
Pull ups: Body weight x 5x5

NOTES
I introduced the track team to planks and slammers with medicine balls. After we finished our mandatory sets of planks, we ran a contest to see who could go the longest. It turned out to be a female athlete (the one I have pegged for O lifting :) ) and she lasted 3 minutes and 49 seconds. They hated slammers, after 5 sets everyone was sucking wind big time. After the track workout was finished I decided it was time to crank up the upper body workouts again so I started slowly with light bench press and pull ups.

[gking]

Roger,1st off thanks for all the tips youve given me at games .Anyway, I'm finding your training very incitefull . I have one question what is the tap test ? Is this something to test for overtraining ? This is a bad habit of mine . So I need all the incite I can get . If you have time to explain I'd be mighty appreciative . Thanks

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Glenn;

No problem on the tips, anything to help another athlete who thinks I'm someone else :D . I appreciate that you find my training log insightful, I feel like I'm making this up as I go.

I got the tap test from Dan John via Matt V. I was a little frustrated that I could tell when I was over trained only when it was too late. I was looking for something that would tip me off before I got too far over trained and it led me to two things: morning heart rate and the tap test. I did the morning heart rate for a while and didn't find any recognizable correlation. I did notice a relation between the tap test and having a CNS overload; when my tap test dropped by 10% or more I had a fairly poor training day.

To perform the tap test you take a pen or pencil and make as many tap marks on a piece of paper as you can in 10 seconds. When you establish a baseline, a number that correlates to good training days, you base the rest of your numbers on this baseline. When your tap test drops by 10%, or whatever number determines a crappy training day, then you know to take a break. I've been going by this and I know that if my tap test is below about 74 or so, it might be time to take it easy. When I played football I was accustomed to training 6 to 8 hours a day in the off season so I tried to apply the same work ethic to O lifting and throwing ... it didn't work. If I had worried about over training while playing football I might have been a better player, and I definitely would have pissed off some coaches and trainers (most of my coaches/trainers had antiquated ideas on training). I've never been one to listen to my body, I listened to my coaches even if they didn't always know what they were doing. Now I'm learning to listen to my body.

[gking]

LOL on the someone else thing . I will be using the tap . I work a 12hr night shift and constantly teeter back and forth from overtraining partly due to that . thanks again for the feedback RATTLESNAKE .

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

NOTES
I convinced the other track coach that we could do something just as fun as ultimate frisbee and still get some good training in for everyone. We came up with a relay race where the kids got to choose who did what event and it was boys versus girls. The events included slammers with a medicine ball, lunges, backward lunges, olympic hops, bear crawls, crab walk, slosh pipe carry and a 120 yard sprint. The first time through the guys won by about 5 yards. The second time through the girls switched up who did what and they put the 200 meter girl last for the sprint (don't know why they didn't do this the first time). The second race was much closer with the girls winning by about a step or two. The guys were so confident they could beat the girls no matter what, they put a newbie in for the sprint without knowing what his abilities were. Going in to the the sprint, the guys had a ten yard lead ... it was great to watch that girl make up those 10 yards and just smoke that guy. When we were officially done, some people stuck around to see how far they could carry the slosh pipe. The girls had a 3" pipe and the boys had a 4" pipe. One of the guys made it the 100 yards and one girl mad it further than 100 yards. I can't wait to see them on Monday and ask how their abs feel.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

THROWS
Caber: 3 attempts
Cobra: 32x10 each side

CONDITIONING
Slosh pipe carry: 2x40 yards
Sprints: 4x20 yards
Backward sprints: 4x20 yards

NOTES
First, a moment of silence for my caber ... it finally broke but it didn't break at the joint I made. Since it didn't last very long, I need to go a new route for practicing for the caber: get a 12 foot 6x6 and use the same type of joint, get a barn pole and work it into shape or get an actual tree. I don't know which way I'm going to go yet. I made a new slosh pipe for myself and since the 4" one wasn't challenging enough I went with a 6" pipe, which turned out to be very challenging. I started with it 2/3 full but that was too heavy; when I was finally able to pick it up the rush of water to the other side was too much for me to handle. I had to take it down to about half full and at this point I could use but it was still tough. I had planned on doing more conditioning but the slosh pipe carry wore me out.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

O LIFTING
C&J: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 255x2, 275x1, 295x1, 315x1
Step up: 155x4x10
Turkish get up: 35x3x3

NOTES
I was pleased with my performance in the C&J, I didn't think I'd be able to break 300 today. As it turns out I was able to get 315 which isn't great compared to my all time PR (142.5 kg to 155 kg) but I was pleased because I haven't been north of 140 kg too many times in the past 3 years. The jerks were more solid than the cleans which harkens back to the days when I first started O lifting. I'm going to max in the C&J the next two weeks and I hope to get back up to my PR of 340 pounds. I'm going to max out on snatch tomorrow and I don't think I will do very well, if I'm able to get over 200 pounds I'll be happy ... I usually don't have two good days of O lifting in a row.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

O LIFTING
Snatch: 135x3, 165x3, 185x3, 205x1, 225x1, 245xmiss
RDL: 345x20


NOTES
I didn't have a lot of time, I was supposed to do more sets of RDLs but I figured one set of as many as I could do would suffice. Doing 20 reps at 345 pounds told me a couple of things: I need to significantly increase the weight of my RDLs and 345 wasn't heavy enough to break my form even at 20 reps but it was enough to make my ass cramp. I'm not sure exactly how long it took me to get through 20 reps because I didn't time it but it did take the last third of Four Big Speakers by Whale and the first third of Spank My Booty (Reprise) by Lords of Acid. I was happy with the snatches, 225 was relatively easy and I was quickly under 245 but I wasn't solid enough in the catch, it blew me out. On the plus side 245 is only 7 pounds less than my max, maybe I should have made smaller jumps in weight. It felt like my pulls were much stronger and I think I was solid in the catapult technique (hat tip to Stephen Powell).

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 79

THROWS
Overhead throw: 20x3, 16x6
Standing throw: 14x3, 16x6
Braemar weight throw: 26x8, 42x4
LWFD: 26x4

CONDITIONING
Slosh pipe carry (6" pipe): 2x40 yds
Sprints: 2x20 yds
Backward sprints: 2x20 yds

NOTES
I've been real busy the last few days so I have missed a few workouts. I really didn't have time tonight but I had to do something. Everything went great, I was within a foot or so of my PRs in each exercise right out of the box. I set a new PR in the standing throw with the 14 in only 3 throws. That 6" slosh pipe is a bitch ... you know it's working when you start to question your own sanity while you're performing the exercise. It does take a lot out of me, I was sucking wind after each carry.

So working with the slosh pipe has got me to thinking of other ways I can use and I have a question for the throwers out there. Would it be beneficial to use a small slosh pipe (3") for throwing drills? Use it like you would a 45 pound bar going through full spins? I thought it might be useful to put it across my shoulders in the south african drill as it might help teach me to drag that right side through the throw. Thoughts?

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 76

CONDITIONING
Seal jacks x 20, Thrusters x 10, 60 yard sprint, Slammers x 10 (20 lb. ball), Bear crawl x 20 yards, Overhead lunge (25 lb. ball) x 20 yards, Plank x 30 seconds, Crab walk x 20 yards, V-ups x 15, Olympic hop x 20 yards, Overhead lunge (25 lb. ball) x 20 yards, stadium run.

NOTES
This was the circuit the head track coach and I came up with to send our kids through on the last day of conditioning yesterday. We had a competition against the softball girls, there were 24 people for each side and we let the softball girls use a smaller medicine ball for slammers and a smaller medicine ball for overhead lunges (8 lb. ball) ... track ended up winning :) . We told the kids that the coaches would go through it too but we didn't have enough time yesterday so we did it today. The other coach and I did it for time, I came in at just over 7 minutes and he came in at just under 6 minutes ... never again. I am an all-out max effort explosive athlete, not a crossfit-type of workout machine like Rory, this thing about killed me and I am still paying for it as I type this. I was supposed to hit the weights tonight but my legs are jello, I'll do the workout tomorrow.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 81

THROWS (am)
Sheaf: 14x16 lbs.
Hammer: 14x19 lbs.
HWFD: 10x50 lbs.

NOTES
I have not done the full throws since the end of the season last year and I was a little apprehensive just stepping right in to it. I treated this like a Dynamic Effort day by doing sets of two with a little rest in between. I had only one bad throw in the sheaf (it didn't go where I wanted it to), the hammer ended up a little further than last year and the HWFD, well that was very encouraging. Like the other guys on here I don't like to post my distances but these distances are simply amazing for me especially for not practicing the actual throws for so long. My first 4 throws were all just under 35 feet, not bad considering that's where I was last year with this weight. Then my last 6 throws were all over 35 feet with 3 being over 37 and my longest was 38'3". First, I tried to tamp down my exuberance because this was only 50 pounds and not the full 56, but it's only a 6 pound difference (10%) so if I extrapolate to the heavier weight I should be able to throw it at least 33 or 34 feet, right? I won't find out if this is accurate until I throw in my first game. The plan calls for doing only underweight and overweight throws and drills in between competitions. My thoughts also went to what Bert had said about the HWFD being the barometer for the rest of the throws in the Highland Games ... if my HW has come up this dramatically I'm looking forward to see what I can do with the LW. In any case, this is good reinforcement for varied training methods and showing that I don't have to perform the full throws every day in order to improve.

O LIFTING (pm)
Snatch: 125x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Back squat: 255x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
High pull: 175x3x8

NOTES
I was able to keep focus through the first two exercises and perform the reps as quickly as I could. I just thought back to how my throws felt and how I was accelerating all the way through the throw; I was trying to copy that in the lifts. The high pulls were a little off, I was very tired by the time I got to them. This was a great training day.

On an unrelated note, does anyone know what happens when iron shots are left in a metal barrel outside during the off season of track? I spent the bulk of my day cleaning rust off the shots and preparing them to be painted. I know track isn't a high priority at most schools but someone could have shown a little effort and store the shots indoors. Even if I wanted to use the barrel again I can't because the bottom was rusted through ... one of the shots and two of the wooden discs are completely ruined and unusable. Just a rant out of frustration because I now have to use our limited funds to replace equipment; we could have used that money to buy new uniforms if someone had taken 30 minutes to put the barrel inside the storage trailer.

[csuthrower04]

Roger at least you guys have shots... I am having to go out of pocket and buy shots and discs so that the kids have something to train with. We have about 6 hurldes from 1990, 1/2 of a high jump pit, A LJ/TJ runway overgrown with grass, and those are the facility highlights. Gotta love SC track and field huh. Good luck on the first official day tomorrow!!

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet.

-Chinese proverb

I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. So I said: Got any shoes you're not using?

-Steven Wright (Comedian)

'Nuff said Jarred, I will no longer complain. A thought occurs; do you have any outlets of Play it Again Sports where you are? I know there's at least one in Columbia, I plan on calling them ASAP for used track equipment. I may even sift through ebay and Craig's List. If I find some usable stuff I'll let you know.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x4, 20x2
Side crunch throw: 20x10
Hammer winds: 32x10
360 spins: 63x3, 32x3
Braemar throws: 62x8
Single spin throws: 32x8

CONDITIONING
6" slosh pipe carry: 4x20 yds

NOTES
I've been out of action for the past week; illness and work. I'll miss 2-3 days of training next week due to travel so I'm going to get a lot in this weekend. Everything went really well today, set a new PR in the overhead throw with the 20. The 360 spins are on target, I feel like they are teaching me to push through the right foot longer and stay in contact with the ground as long as possible. Had some decent distances in the single spin throws, trying to braemar 63 pounds is rather difficult. I don't have my lungs back yet, I got winded very easy so I didn't do much conditioning.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Full throw: 14x14
LWFD: 26x14
WOB: 50x8

O LIFTING
C&J: 135x3, 185x3, 235x1, 285x1

NOTES
Well, I tried but I wasn't able to throw and finish my Oly workout. I had a 15 minute break between the two and my energy levels felt okay but I am still suffering form the head cold. I felt like my head nearly exploded when I cleaned 285 so that ended it for me. I think I would have had the same problem whether I threw first or not. I set a new PR in the overhead throw with the 16 and the full throw with the 14. I was satisfied with my progress in the full throw in the shot, I was consistently further than I was last year but I felt like I could have done better. I was slow across the ring in the LWFD but I had some pretty decent finishes; my distances were comparable to last year. The WOB went okay, I was surprised that my form was there right from the start. After about 7 throws my form began to break down so I stopped at 8 attempts.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: N/A

O LIFTING
C&J: 170X12X2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Rack Jerk: 175x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Front squat: 225x3x10

NOTES
I got back early this afternoon after being forced to go to Hilton Head for the past 3 days. At Hilton Head all I did was take short runs/walks on the beach. It was good to get back to the weights and explosive movements now that my head cold is nearly gone. The front squats winded me so I left it at three sets. I wanted to do some front grunts as well but I figured it was best to not push it too hard ... yet.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x5
Standing throw: 14x6
Full throw: 14x8

NOTES
Beautiful day, got home late, threw as long as I could before it got too dark. I wasn't happy with the full throw, my timing was off, maybe due to a little fatigue.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

O LIFTING
Snatch: 130x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Back squat: 255x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
High Pull: 185x4x8

NOTES
My technique wasn't there on at least half the reps in the snatch, but my velocity sure was. I didn't feel like I had a ton of energy but the intensity of the workout was acceptable. The high pulls really finished off my energy, I was trying to focus on the catapult technique. I enjoy the dynamic days a lot more than the max effort days; dynamic days take a lot more mental energy but I feel I need to focus on the lifts rather than see how much I can lift.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 76

THROWS
Sheaf: 16x14
Hammer: 19x14
HWFD: 50x6

NOTES
My legs were fatigued which threw my technique off in some of my throws. Today I reasoned that no matter how much effort I feel I can put into my throws, I need to know what my top speed is and I need to make sure that I'm at this speed at the end of my throw. I think my throws don't go so well at times because I achieve my maximum velocity before my release and not at the point of release. My legs were too tired to go through conditioning today, maybe I'll do some tomorrow if I'm feeling froggy.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 84

O LIFTING
C&J: 135x3, 185x3, 225x3, 275x1, 305x1, 325xmiss, 325x1
Good morning: 275x4x8

CONDITIONING
Slosh pipe carry: 4x40 yds
Sprints: 10x20 yds
Plyos

NOTES
I missed 325 badly and I was disappointed in myself so I tried it again with the intent of just getting under the weight. On the second attempt I caught the weight very low and managed to stand up with it. The jerk was very strong and I felt okay with my effort but I had hoped to go heavier. Once I was finished with everything and I was able to sit down, I thought about it some more ... 325 is only about 5 pounds less than my competition PR of 150 kilos and 15 pounds less my my training PR ... not bad. So for the next week I'm going to be focused on trying to get 335 or 340 in the C&J. I wasn't really worn out at the end of the lifting (maybe the jumps in weight are too big in the C&J) so I did some conditioning to try and work the soreness out of the legs. Everything was fairly easy, maybe this is just my body bouncing back from being sick.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Sheaf: 16x14
Hammer: 19x14
HWFD: 50x12

NOTES
This is my first workout in almost a week ... life keeps getting in the way. I've felt tired all day, my throws weren't consistent although I did come up with a couple of good ones in each event. I think today was more mental fatigue than physical, it was hard to focus. I felt like I should have done more due to missing so much time but that probably would have been a bad idea.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 78

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x6
Full throw: 14x10
LWFD: 26x6
WOB: 50x6

Slosh pipe carry: 4x20 yds
Sprints: 4x20 yds
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds

NOTES
I need to get more consistent with my workouts, getting to the weights once every week or so isn't cutting it. I've noticed a drop off in my throws but I think it's more mental than physical. I'm going to go back to doing mostly drills and hitting the full throws only rarely.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 82

THROWS
Hammer winds: 26x8, 16x8
WFD braemar: 26x4, 32x8, 42x4, 26x4
WOB side slings: 42x8

CONDITIONING
Plyos
Sprints: 10x20yds
Slosh pipe: 4x20yds

NOTES
Good day today, figured some things out. Got up on the right toe and twisted the right knee in on a few of the braemar throws ... the weight goes further when I do this. The side slings are essentially braemar throws for spinners in the WOB. Today my mental game was in order and it made a huge difference; sometimes it's a relief to not have to focus on the full throw and just do some drills.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 83

O LIFTING
Snatch: 135x3, 165x3, 185x3, 205x1, 225x1, 245 x miss
RDL: 225x12, 315x3x8

CONDITIONING
Sprints: 10x20 yds
Backward sprints: 4x20 yds
Plyos

NOTES
It's good to get back in the saddle. I haven't maxed on snatch in what feels like ages and I'm pretty happy getting 225 today, considering my back/upper hip was feeling a bit wonky. 245 wasn't a bad miss but I could tell the technique was lacking; not back on the heels enough, not finishing the pull, not dropping down low enough. I stayed light on the RDLs but when my hip starts to feel like this it's not the weight that affects it, it's the reps so I kept the reps down ... I should have gone heavier. I stretched after lifting and used the stick, that thing is magic. Hip/back feels okay and I'm looking forward to STAYING ON SCHEDULE dammit.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 80

THROWS
Overhead throw: 16x10
Standing throw: 16x8
Sheaf: 16x14

LIFTING
Flat bench: 225x12, 275x3x3, 225x10
Pull ups: Body weight x 5x6

NOTES
Weird day. I did some shot work with my track kids and the stand throw was the result of a competition with one of the male throwers. He wanted to see if he could throw a 12 further than I could throw a 16 ... I told him I would do a standing throw without a reverse and he could throw it however he wanted. He tried to throw like he had seen some people do on TV but was never taught; the glide. The lesson he learned was that he could throw further standing than he could with the glide, technique counts! I had him by 3 or 4 feet on every throw but he did set a new PR. I then went to the school gym, did the weights then went home and had enough time to do the sheaf only.

[Roger Crazy Wolf]

Tap test: 77

O LIFTING
Cleans: 170x12x2, 45 seconds of rest between sets
Rack Jerk: 215x3x8

NOTES
Got home late, practice went long ... I helped out the hurdlers and I had this kid improving on every run; I couldn't walk away from that. Had to cut out the rep effort on front squats but I was happy with my tempo. Including warm ups and everything I went through it in about 40 minutes. First track meet on Monday, gotta test my throwers to see who I'm taking.