Training Update!

It’s March! That means that outdoor season is beginning to peek its head around the corner. I feel like I’m more prepared than I might have been if I hadn’t gone to Australia last month, but I’ve still got a lot of work to do! Oh, watch my videos from Perth and Sydney.

I didn’t necessarily taper for my competitions in Perth and Sydney, but the trip fell on the block that we had decided would be a “rest block,” so my lifting was extremely light and my volume otherwise allowed for tons of rest. Those facts contribute to my belief that I should have thrown further, but that is all in the past now, and I learned a lot down under. I need more power, and I still have some major technical things to really lock in.

The week after I arrived home was a rest/recovery week in which I did three 20-minute runs coupled with three general strength circuits on each of those running days. You wouldn’t believe how much I needed that rest week; 1:00am felt like the afternoon and 8:30am seemed like night time! I’m of the opinion that jumping into a normal schedule helps you adjust to a new time zone quickly, so perhaps all that rest just allowed me to be lazy. Maybe that’s okay for once. :)

Learning what I did about how throwing felt in competition makes me overjoyed with what I’m doing this block; I think it’s exactly what I needed. I’m throwing heavy javelins (800- and 700-grams), doing crossover sled pulls, throwing med balls and lifting heavy for the first time in what feels like years because my back is stable enough to handle it. I have split hang cleans, back pulls, bench, pretty heavy pullovers, squats, and weighted pull-ups all in the different lifting sessions I do throughout a week.

I’m loving it.

I’m definitely not the strongest javelin thrower in the world, but it’s always fun to see improvement! After someone laughed about my bench press ability last year, I’m really happy to have it in my program. :) I also know a highly accomplished men’s javelin thrower who is kind of obsessed with benching, so it can’t be a bad idea to get my numbers up a little bit!

Even though I’m pretty excited about all of this volume, I’ve experienced enough injury to be really careful about doing my pre-habilitation. I started going to see Dr. Mike Rintala in north San Diego county in January, and the exercises he's teaching me have made massive differences in how my body feels-not only in a day of training, but throughout an entire block. Being diligent about doing them really helped me stay whole without therapy while I was in Australia. Going to see him regularly plus activating my muscle groups with the exercises before practice has been awesome. I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying it!

I’m planning a blog post on shoulder stability exercises and ways to keep your arm intact for later this week! Stay tuned. Also, feel free to like me on facebook.