Jim Evs : Winter 0708 training

[jimevs]

October


I'm working on 4 week cycles of training through the winter. 3 weeks of solid training with Friday's as a rest day then 1 week of rest and test against various parameters.

Started with the first 4 week cycle this Monday just gone. Looks like this:


Monday PM: Gym

10 mins Upright Cycle
1 x 500m Row

Hang Clean
Back Jerk
Board Press
Dumbell Press
Dumbell Fly
Wide Lat Pulldown
Single Arm Row
Lat Raises
Cable Top/Bottom Curls
Cable Pushdowns
Single Leg Squat (Smith)
Calf Raises

All weights done as follows: Set duration 90 seconds. Weight selection is suitable for 10-12 reps. Lift until failure then rest for 7 seconds, resume lifting again until failure and rest for 7 seconds, repeat until 90 seconds are up - then rest for 90 seconds.


Tuesday PM: Gym

10 mins X-trainer
1 mile treadmill

Hang Snatch
Pullover
Bench Press
Uneven Bench Press
Incline Bench Press
Narrow Lat Pulldown
Pull Ups
Seated Row
Seated Bumbell Shoulder Press
Front Raises
Preacher Curls
Machine Extesions
Back Squat
One Leg Press
Adductor/Abductor Swings

Weights on 90s basis again


Wednesday PM: Track
800m warmup

Ball throwing: Medicine ball 2.2kg

Overhead football throw x50
Rotational football throw x25 each side
Side slings x25 each side
Overhead throw x50
Sit up and throw x 25

Ball throwing: 1.3kg Ball

Single arm (l + r) javelin throws x50 each side

Standing LJ x 25 (Cannot/will not bound yet)

4 x 400m with 4 mins rest between runs


Thursday PM: Gym

10 mins Recumbent Cycle
4 x 100m Row

Hang Clean
Split Jerk
Board Press
Decline Bench Press
Pec Dec
Wide Lat Pulldown
Upright Row
Standing Shoulder Press
Barbell Curls
Dumbell Kickbacks
Front Squat
Step Ups
Iliopsoas/Glute Swings

Weights on 90s basis again


Friday: Rest


Saturday AM

10 mins Treadmill
20 Mins X-Trainer

Hang Clean
Hang Snatch
Back Jerk
Split Jerk
Bench Press
Pull Ups
Weighted Pull Ups
Preacher Curls
Machine Extesions
Back Squat


Saturday PM: Gym

3 x 1 mile - 7 mins rest between runs


Sunday AM: Gym/outdoors

10 mins X-trainer
4 mile run
15 Mins Reccumbent Cycle

[jimevs]

My plans for winter training sort of went out of the window after the first month because of illness and injury. Its also made me realise I need to change my training according to my priorities.

I'm looking to change the way I train from next week - this week I am going to keep going as I have been. Any recommendations in terms of types of training or exercise to fit in with the following information are very welcome!:


Physical things I need to improve or work on (moreso than other areas):

* Reduce body weight - Currently 93kg at 15% body fat

* Improve flexibility in torso (i.e. curvature of the spine) specific to javelin

* Increase the ROM at the right elbow (had surgery in 2000 and ROM is poor)

* Improve strength in legs (power output is reasonable - vertical jump from standing is currently 70cm but stability in block could be improved - continued rehab from ops)

* Continue to rehab torn oblique muscles (Had a tear in the transverse obliques (right side) a month ago which is now better but don't want it to happen again!)

* General fitness (I used to run 38 mins for the 10K, since my last knee op its more like 53 mins!)

* Protect my knees (My next knee surgery (if/when it happens) will be the last time I plan to recover from an op and throw again.


I also need to do some technical analysis from videos in the coming weeks now that I can throw again but technical things I think I need to work on are as follows:

* Long right arm (Biggest ROM in elbow possible and reaching back and waiting)

* High right arm through cross steps and right up to release

* Go straight over the left leg block (currently I have a tendency to have a sideways movement to the right with my hips rather than a straight movement)

* Point control of the spear all the way to release

* Better position of the left arm until release

[wez]

Jim i think i could make a few suggestions although its probably going to upset you a bit so sorry in advance.

I think you do too much gym work! You could balance your training out much better if you only spent 2 days a week grunting in the gym. Instead have 2 days where you work on exercises that will promote your mobility and elastic power instead of building up bulk in every corner.

You will also have more time for good body weight type core exercises and other support work to help keep you away from injury. There are probably 3-4 medball exercises that i personally would like to see you do on a weekly basis to help unlock your stiffness and they are... soccer throw, hip drive chest pass, situp throw (with a big medball behind your back) and swanbeck swing.

Also elbow and shoulder ROM wise i think you need to catch me online and i can explain better a couple of things that i have been shown by the physio that seem to work quite well.

Last bit i don't know if this is the reason your hip goes right but check that when you are in the hip strike position your right foot is not directly inline (behind) with the plant foot, it needs to be a full hips width out from the left so you can actually fully rotate the hip.

Give me a shout if you want to implement any of my suggestions and i'll see what i can help with.

[jimevs]

Hi Wez,

No offence taken - the point of me posting what I did is because I realise the way I am currently training is not the best so I wanted to look for positive ways to change it.

As I think I've mentioned to you, I've joined a gym neart work so one thing I will be using that for is purely cardio and core work 3/4 lunch times a week as it is too small to do any lifting. That should free up some time in the evenings to incorporate more track work, ball throwing, jav throwing etc.

[tshield]

I admire your energy Jim - those are some crushing gym sessions. I can see Wez's point of view here, there is a lot of gym and relatively little throwing. You are also training many (all?) muscle groups heavily on 4 days each week and with Sat - Mon - Tue sessions you are really asking for trouble with overtraining. For well-trained folk there is some good evidence that the optimal frequency (for strength & hypertrophy training) drops to 2 session per week per muscle group and you almost certainly need more than 24 hr rest after Monday's session. If, like me you enjoy the gym sessions, why not do a split of sorts where you emphasize major muscle groups twice each week? (Weightlifting exercises are a little different and can be performed more often). Then you can be in and out much quicker and make better progress.

eg Mon - Thur: Various med ball throws, Snatch, Pullover / Pulley work / Kari's (aka reverse snatch), Bench press, Trunk exercises (eg plate twists, situps etc - when your injury recovers?)

Tue - Fri: Power clean, jerk, front Squat, back squat, lat-pulldown

Note that my suggestions follow a minimalist approach (no curls or kickbacks or extra exercises as these muscles are already well trained and throwers shouldn't overdo arm development).

Also why have you chosen the set format (90 s of work with brief pauses)? These look like a bodybuilding or even a strength-endurance session rather than a thrower's session. Few throwers need or want the athleticism of the bodybuilder so why train like one?

Just some ideas - feel free to ignore.

[jiunlin]

Mr bodybuilder! lol! the iron you are pumping in is much more then my previous' program! lol!

[jimevs]

Hi guys,

Comments taken on board although because I hadn't updated this for a while, a lot of the comments are about what I was doing in Ocotber so there were intentionally very few throwing sessions as I finished my season near the end of September. Also - hypertrophy and some level of conditioning were the focus in the gym, so it did look more like a body building programme than my sessions would at any other time of the year.

Since mid October I've hurt my back 3 times - each issue with the vertebrae in the same place but the referred pain in a slighlty different location. Most recently I hurt my back 2 weeks ago - just a day after a really good throwing session I had with Sam. Was supposed to be throwing this weekend at the Lee Valley conference but had to pull out as I was struggling to walk at the start of last week which I was gutted about as I saw it as a good opportunity.

So now I'm going really easy until the new year and will see how my body feels then. Have some good ideas for back rehab work from Wez and will be able to do a lot of drills and ball throws at some stage in the near future. Main thing is to avoid a few specific lifts which either don't agree with my body or that I do not execute well and work a lot more on the flexibility about my spine.

I don't think I will have lost out really if I train well and wisely from January and start my season later than normal as my throwing technique a few weeks ago was reasonable for me and my jumps were improving as were my lifts. So - if you see me doing something I shouldn't at training (Godfather, Chris, Sadie, Sam, Bonne etc.) give me a clip round the ear and tell me to be sensible!!