just starting a new journal because the title of my old one is now inaccurate since I’ve been switched to the throwing group for javelin. some stats/info:
walked onto my university’s team in my first year as a short sprinter. did indoor track and baseball fr-jr years in hs, did indoor and outdoor track as a sr. in baseball, I threw very hard, but could not aim. college coach saw my arm in a team game of tennis-ball dodgeball and was very impressed. he inquired if I had ever tried javelin, and I had told him that my sr yr I fooled around with it, but had never seriously committed training to it. the summer after my 1st year I entered a local meet and my measured throw, which was shorter than all my arm-up throws, went 156’xx" (and this was with a very low quality implement).
I told my coach about it when I came back to school and he decided that I should cross-train with the throwers. after the first fall testing for the sprinters, hurdlers and jumpers (shj group), my coach decided that I should train full time with the throwers. the other javelin thrower on the team has a pr in the 220s. my throwing coach thinks I should surely throw 180s this year. if I can throw 185 ft, I get on the team’s “shoe list” meaning I get the sponsors gear. I chose my goal because if I throw in the 60m’s then it’s very likely that I will score in my conference’s championship meet
I can’t write down specific workouts or anything like that, but will be using this journal to track my progress fitness, strength and event specific wise. primary changes in training philosophy are in conditioning (only twice a week, much easier than the shj group’s. warm-up is much shorter and is less drill based), lifting (only squat twice a week, but heavier. depth only to half, not to full, more upperbody. 500 reps of core 4x per week as opposed to 1x) and technique work (throw 3 times a week before lifting/conditioning)
any input or advice is much appreciated by anyone who takes a look on here. I will post videos when I can
notes:
-right shoulder experiencing much soreness between rotator cuff and my shoulder being to weak/ inflexible to not prematurely break at the elbow. have been icing and self-massaging it
-core is already looking much more developed just from a couple weeks of increased core work
-having trouble blocking with my front leg, but I think this will be improved by when I get my jav boots as if I don’t cushion the blow then my foot slides out
-working on “leaving the jav behind” more and whipping my arm right from the retracted position through release. currently, my body wants to bend my arm to a right angle, then throw. did work with girls jav and weighted balls and these felt better. I’ll be able to do it great once my shoulder gets back into throwing shape (haven’t thrown anything very often since I quit baseball)
notes:
-shoulder soreness fading as my arm gets in better condition
-finally able to get leg to block by not gliding as much on standing throws. whip action of arm is better, i was trying to come too over the top with no tilt
notes:
-bit of a break through this week. arm is staying back longer naturally, so I’m no longer having to force it so bad. footwork much improved by adding in penultimate step instead of just standing throw. javelin flight seems to be very much dictated by my lower body mechanics since I just kid of let it fly from the ground up. block leg is getting there
-threw about 50m without jav spikes, from a penultimate step, with cruddy javelin. feeling good about progress after today. i want 185 ft for the spring
-labrum and hamstring soreness pretty common. as my blocking leg gets better, i am feeling more fatigue in my left oblique and lower back. occasional trap and triceps soreness from lifting. back of knees a bit sore sometimes too. probably from switching from full depth lifts to either parallel or power variations
-stretching schedule is as follows: basic stretches: every day, javelin specific stretches & shoulder ice: after throwing, track center stretches: after lifting
notes:
-measured out some penultimate throws indoors and was cracking 45m. if I can add 15m before the season begins, between improved mechanics and adding the run-up and jav spikes, id be psyched
-arm still was creeping in, but I can fix it between increasing my throwing arms ROM, keeping it back as long as possible and releasing the javelin at the proper location so I can throw it on a line
-starting to get the hang of blocking, but I need to improve its consistency and work on my lower body rotation as the back foot strikes. still feel like I’m getting locked up on the front leg, often
notes:
-understanding of mechanics getting much better. now just to get myself to do them well. throwing shoulder flexibility is a bit of a limiting factor for me now, but it is steadily improving. i am able to do the whole body motion correctly, but just need to be able to do it consistently with the actual jav
-finally gaining some weight. starting with the team’s first meet in december (no jav in indoors so I will not be participating) I will start doing daily weigh-ins. I realize my weight will fluctuate, but I’d like to look at trends
-mismeasured the penultimate throws from earlier weeks, but I am pretty certain I will be able to get to 45m before the season begins, and can hopefully add the remaining 15m I want between the full run-up and unloading/peaking
-need to work on rotating hips as opposed to lunging to front leg, and keeping my elbow up so I can get the arm-whipping action easier. also, blocking with the front leg is coming along. need to reduce body tilt, flight height should result more from my block and the javelin’s natural flight as opposed to just trying to sky it. my release angle is naturally too high (>45*). I’d like to see it at 30-35*
notes:
-noticed that my strength in the power variations of olympic lifts is much lower than it used to be. I’l take this opportunity to really key in on good mechanics in the lifts since I won’t be pushing for pr’s anyways. perhaps the lessening of sprinting has moved me down the force-time curve. my squat is doing better than it has in a long time
-mechanics steadily improving, legwork is getting a bit more consistent. have started raising my arm a bit to prep my throw so i can come more over the top and compensate for my lack of freakish flexibility (which is improving, btw. slowly but surely)
-mostly weighted ball work this week trying to get my 3-step form perfect with the ball, then transfer to the jav, then to the 5 step then to full runs
-hips keep coming back when I’m throwing, though I think this might be the result of collapsing my block leg back instead of coming up and over it. perhaps more shoulder flexibility and momentum forwards will cure this on its own
Testing (from last week):
power clean - 250 lbs
bench - 200
power snatch - 160
squat - 385
weigh in -> 145 lbs
notes:
-happy with the strength gains I’ve seen. definite pr’s in all those lifts. disappointed that my bench is so down, but because flexibility is the primary concern for me right now as far as my upper body goes, once I can hits the correct positions then I will worry about getting chest strength back up
-the mobility work that I have endlessly been doing is beginning to pay off. with a fairly soft throw, I can do everything with the correct mechanics and get good “lift” on my jav flight. it’s primarily allowing my throwing arm to act as a whip and just be relaxed. as my shoulder flexibility and strength continue to work up, I’m sure I will be able to put more and more oomf into my throws. just if I try to throw it too had, my arm wimps out and tightens up
notes:
-back home for break. will no longer have access to throwing an actual javelin indoors (or outdoors for that matter, much too cold in MA), but I will have access to medballs, resistance bands, possibly a turbo jav, and i will probably fill a tennisball with coins til it weighs 800g
-took a real easy week after the testing week, then this past week was low percentage lifts, but much higher reps than I was used to. got very sore, but also noticed some good muscle development
-shoulder mobility is definitely improving. I can hit the positions with an implement and without, but now its about strengthening that range of motion and keeping my shoulder healthy. over break I will probably keep any real throwing on the easy side and really stretch, ice and strengthen my shoulders. If i can hit my positions and have a fresh shoulder, the results will be monstrous when I get back to campus in january
-weight gain beginning to look a bit more obvious. still not as chesty as I have been as I havent been benching, but armsize is starting to come back, and back, core and legs look stronger than ever. bf% stabled out, I gained a bit once I started eating to gain weight, but it hasnt increased anymore and it still seems to be sitting at <10%
-also feeling faster than ever, hips looser and able to do the human flag better than ever. definitely not in the endurance shape I have been in, but the added strength is obvious to me when I do accelerations. I’m kind of curious what I’d run a 60 in. ironically, without sprint training, I think I could run 7.2s right now
notes:
-merry christmas everyone!
-been having some health problems lately, so I’ve decided to take it a bit easier as far as the training goes until I get some sorted out and can get a little rested from finals from school. also, giving the shoulder a rest, as I’ve been feeling a little pain, though as I’ve gotten more flexible the pain has gotten substantialy better
I’ve been using the bike workout from the cf store, doing some usual stretching, taking lots of rest and doing core as usual with the following circuits on my hard work day. I’ve also done some footwork drills with some shoulder stretching here or there:
Starting to get a little ancy, I think I’m freshened up and ready to go back full steam training. I will start tomorrow with the full workouts, and hopefully that means I’ll get over the soreness stage for next week and then back at school I’ll be moving full steam
Will be doing throwing drills and conditioning twice a week and lifting and doing abs twice a week. I will be stretching and icing every day, also. I might do some turbo jav throwing as well. will do a weigh in tomorrow
shoulder’s feeling better, still some twinges if I push the ROM too far, but with stretching and taking care of it, I think it’ll be alright as there is no pain so long as I am careful with throwing
decided I’ll just weigh in when I get back to school. getting much more comfortable with the jav mechanics, can’t wait to start doing some more spear throws. shoulder mobility has greatly increased, but still not quite where I need it to be as I will still experience pain if I throw hard as I cannot reach that ROM yet (I am not tensing up, my arm is like a whip getting power from my hips and core, just when I throw too hard, I am not strong enough in the contorted position that one hits while throwing so it’ll hurt). back training full steam, first lift session felt GREAT, but also got some mega doms the next day.
have been diagnosed with a sleeping disorder so i have been prescribed some stimulant type medications and am beginning treatment. it’s unfortunate that I do not sleep properly, because I am sure this effects my recovery, but at least with some treatment, I will not need to battle excessive fatigue without some help. i cannot remember the last time that i wasn’t on the verge of sleep, and I get more than 8 hours of bed time every night
notes:
-whip action improving. realized i was tightening my core too, arm motion is easier when i get my power from the ground up. jav flight is improving
-calorie intake has lessened, yet soreness and weight gain still better than ever. perhaps treatment for whatever fatigue disorder i have going on is aiding in my training too. people are noticing upper body weight gain and fat increase seems to appear minimal
notes:
-been taking the last week and probably this upcoming week very light. I plan to take my usual end of season 3 week break now, and when I return to training I probably will just do bodybuilding work and some yoga for flexibility until it becomes more suitable for outdoor training. then I will start to add in some throwing, fitness and speedwork back in, take like a week off before the team program starts again, then will hop right back into full training.
-mechanics are getting much improved. I feel that I am finally able to throw from the ground up, and the difference that is apparent in my javelin standing throws flight and medball work velocity is huge. I really feel like if I can just get enough mass that I am not at too big a disadvantage concerning weight, strength and leverage, that I could be very competitive i the ivy league for javelin. I rarely meet anybody that has a more explosive arm than I do and i’m pretty fast compared to other jav throwers so I’m very confident I will be able to be successful in my new event. my coach will definitely think its funny if I can contribute points at the heptagonal championships in the jav after letting me on the team as a very mediocre sprinter
notes:
-back home for the semester. won’t be competing for the ncaa until spring 2014. will retain eligibility and re-enter track as a sophomore. plan on concentrating purely on adding mass and increasing flexibility possibly until summer, but i may start doing some throwing of the javelin in spring if the weather is nice and i decide to stay at home for the summer.
-at 5’7" tall, i would like to get up to 165 lbs. any thicker than that and I think ROM will be hampered, but I think the strength I would have at that size, so long as I have excellent flexibility, will help make up for my shorter levers. i plan to compete with my 6 ft plus counter parts by being faster, stronger and more flexible.
-I plan to not really do any conditioning so that I can have a higher calorie surplus and lift bodybuilding style at least until I’m carrying the mass I want. I will also do tons of mobility work. i plan to lift four days a week with a 2/2 upper/lower split and commit the other two days to yoga (one day off). I will incorporate unloading more seriously than i have in the past as i’ve realized my strength plateaus are what seem to inhibit my muscle growth and unloading every once or twice a month prevents this. i will start a new journal once i have training to document. i am currently receiving treatment for hypersomnia, but my doctors all said the more exercise the better for me, so i will continu t train hard (but not overtrain) even though I’m not really healthy enough to currently be a student or compete or stick to a division 1 training regiment.
-feeling much more comfortable making my body do the “whip” motion that really gets some arm velocity going.