The heel recovery is actually a bit better out of blocks versus a 2pt or 3 pt start. and yes, I believe having a bit too much anterior tilt exacerbates several problems I have, thought is not severe enough that I think it is the lone culprit because my core strength is good, flexibility pretty good and it wasn’t even bad enough that I didn’t even notice until recently
in the blocks I do the pretty usual 2 and 3 foot lengths then have my shins at right angles with the front block at 45 degrees and the back one click steeper
53 sit-ups in 60s
clean@10x45,5x135,3x185,1x225 full recovery
parallel squat@10x45,5x135,3x225,1x315 full recovery
some 3 pt starts
stretch
notes:
-weights testing today. man, the sit-up test was much harder than I remember. I hit 69 late last fall. I actually got so tired I failed on a rep and had to take a breathe to keep going whereas I just saw my pace slow down in the fall. Probably could’ve gone heavier in the lifts, but since I haven’t been in the weightroom in like a month I didn’t want to risk injury, just check my strength levels (i’m pretty happy to start with over 2xbw in the squat and 1.5xbw in the clean after a month off and not lifting heavy consistently since winter). both lifs were close enough to failure that I know I couldn’t have gone too much heavier. the clean catch was messy and I actually missed my first attempt. the squat felt muscularly challenging, but my cns barely felt touched
-i think i figured out my problem at the start. I was trying to apply force totally parallel to the ground instead of parallel to my body angle, so that’s why the pushing motion was impossible nd my hip height was always too low for each step so i was overstriding. initially I come up faster, but it allows me to come up more gradually overall. heel recovery was lower, pushing motion more definite and the motion looked a lot more like that I see when pros start. i’m curious if its making me any faster (which is obviously the ultimate goal)
-left side outside of my hip cramped up in the sit-up test and is feeling a bit tight
-going to visit family in texas for the next five days, so I’ll probably just do some starts in trainers, some jogging, a few drills, and a buncha bw exercises to start my strength training while down there. I will start a lifting regiment when I return and the emphasis will be shifted away from mechanics and towards strength ad flexibility until july. on the weekends I’ll do some build ups on grass and do some long jumping and maybe some jav throwing
7x10:
-single leg squat (full)
-band Romanian dead lifts
3x10:
-single leg bride (on hands)
-single leg calf raise
-split jumps
Cool down:
-x-band
-Doris flexes
-stretch (Lower body emphasis)
Notes:
-starts actually looked pretty good today. I still end up upright pretty quickly, but I’m definitely pushing for further, heel recovery was lower and knee height was actually pretty solid in about half the runs
7x10 one arm push up, 3’ rest
3x10:
-Pull-up
-Handstand push-up/band shoulder press
-Band biceps curl
-Band side shoulder raise
-Band row
Cool down (shoulder mobility)
Stretch (hip and upper body)
Notes:
-some pretty extreme lower body soreness. Hamstrings were fried, glutes sore and minor lower quad doms
-mightve figured out my accel mechanics. Power outs were good today. I’m upright pretty quick but maybe that’s just my style. I feel much more comfortable and hopefully am running faster. A good top speed position is easier to hit and I feel pretty springy whereas I often feel like I’m dragging during my drive phase. My first step is still too long, though, as my knee lift is higher on that stride than pros and I end up pushing down too much instead of back so I pop up prematurely. The stride actually looks a bit disjointed as if there is a pause
-distance run felt surpsingly easy, though i really only would do them if im on vacation and have no access to a field or track
jog
some sbj’s
7x10 human flag, 3’ rest w/ 3pt starts
3x10:
-band twists
-v sit-up
-band side bends
-prone cobras
cool down (stomach vacuums, standing z’s)
stretch (core, hip flexor)
notes:
-left hamstring real sore, I may have pushed it a bit too hard while starting out exercising again. I won’t be doing much sprinting besides my warm-up until sunday, so hopefully after a day of rest i’m back in business
-my hip height is too high after my first step. I shortened the stride and its definitely smoother, but I still pop up prematurely, i don’t get much of a push from my second stride on. I usually just aim to hit triple ext at a 45 degree angle on my first stride, so i’m not exactly sure how to get my hip height down on that step so I can maintain a lower angle while pushing
so on analysis of some video, I actually had one start where my second step looks really good. it felt kind of weird because it was not a quick step, but it looks FAST on the video, I actually hit all my positions, and my heel recovery isn’t really low, but its also not excessively high. I think I was trying to force stride rate too much at the start whereas pushing as if I’m coming out of the blocks on each of the first couple steps, though stride rate will be slower, I think my power output will be much higher
notes:
-I was right. I was forcing stride rate so instead I treated each driving step like when I exit the blocks and while stride rate went down, I felt way more powerful, and felt wy more of a driving force while accelerating out further and further. heel recovery was down
-only mechanical thing left to fix is I tend to look up after my 2nd step, I’d like to keep my head in line with my spine/down a bit more
notes:
-man, my work capacity is gone. doing that many reps was brutal, though on the first reps the weights didn’t feel heavy
-major doms next couple days
drive phase work on grass hill
build-ups on grass
stretch (hips)
notes:
-weight felt very light at first, but as the reps built up my energy levels were depleted
-chest doms couple days to follow
-still working on not cycling/rushing strides while driving
-build-ups felt good. getting more and more comfortale maintaining upright speed
notes:
-gotta get more spring in the lj. I’m braking hard and not getting that much pop
-friend helped me much improve jav release. I think I could throw mid 100’s by baystates (june 22) if I can clean up my release, maybe even further considering my strength levels are pretty decent and with a run up could throw mid-80s in baseball
notes:
-still pretty sore everywhere (obliques, to, from the core day yesterday). after the warm-up and some sets, my lower body soreness disappated, but I still went very easy so that I could get over the soreness stage and not make the dms even worse. doing fewer reps was way easier, and I think I already gained some stamina back because the weight felt noticibly easier to move
notes:
-power outs in the warm up are finally feeling very fluid. my steps were always too choppy or forced to eel this way before, so i think i’m finally getting my driving mechanics down. my 1st 10m was already pretty solid just from strength/explosiveness, i can’t wait to see the damage i do out of the blocks once i’m even better at applying force
-all weights felt much lighter today. again, the lower reps probably helped
-went into the workout with some noticible chest doms, but went away after a set or two. still, by my last set, getting up the 8th rep actually required some considerable effort. i’ve also been improving my benching mechanics (narrower grip to minimize shoulder stress, more arch in back to use more chest, stabler base and core) so that I look like the kids on my team who put up massive benches. right now, 'm not sure its helping me, but i thin as I get used to it I’ll be able to put up heavier weights than I would’ve with my old mechanics
warm-up (bike,erg,jump rope, medball throws, backflip)
7x8 each human flag
3x10:
-cable twists
-bosu ball weighted crunch
-side bends
-ab rollouts
-prone cobras
cool down (stomach vacuums, weighted back bends, standing z’s)
stretch (core)
notes:
-hitting totally straight while parallel was much easier
-not much soreness
-added in an additional ab exercise because my core day was much oblique heavier. the bosu crunch will work full ROM and I’ve always gotten great progress (and doms, haha) from rollouts
6.8.12
full warm-up
7x5 clean@165 (too light, 1 set at 175, last set at 185)
7x8 power squat@250
3x10:
-weighted hyper
-calf raise
-hammy curl
cooldown (x-band, shins)
stretch (lower)
notes:
-still working on looking down during power outs. my body tends to follow my eyes, so looking down will keep me in a driving position better
-starting to really get used to the “driving” mechanics. they dont feel forced anymore. havent taken video in a bit, so hopefully they are still good and I’m running fast
-finally got back to some reasonable weights in my primary lifts. ill be back squatting 300s and cleaning 200s in no time (though once the team program starts I’ll only hit those numbers like once every few weeks because of intensity cycling of the weightroom)
-really torched my cns, my secondary beach lifts i had to do much lighter because I was so exhausted
-work capacity back up/mentally im in lifting mode again. I’ve always had to block out pain and really zone out except for the motion while lifting and I was able to do that today
-even after 6 sets, 185 went up the easiest it ever has in the clean, and I got 5 reps not even close to failing
-i’ve already added a few pounds. I’d love to come into fall training near 160 (as long as bf is under 10% of course), but we’ll see if my weight plateaus like it usually does. i could stop seeing mass gains when I get near 155
note:
-jav throwing i much better when I don’t put too much arm into it, once I try to throw it hard, everything goes haywire. I think my best bet with it would be to get some good run up speed and to continue working on improving my core snap, and just having my arm whip through, as opposed to trying to “throw” it
-surprised that my benching hasn’t skyrocketed like my leg lifts have. definitely starting to add a little upperbody bulk though, my arms aren’t looking super thin anymore and my back is starting to fill out a bit
full warm-up
lj work
javelin work
3 pt starts
hill/stair runs
a couple build ups on grass
light warm-up
7x8 each human flag (quick hold), 3’ rest
3x10:
-each cable twist
-weight bosu ball crunch
-each side bend
-ab rollout
-weighted prone cobra
cool down (core)
stretch (core)
notes:
-hipheight looked low on run ups in lj’s. also, gotta work on my landing and in the air I end up in like a cannon ball instead of having my body extended
-in jav, throws were, again, much better while relaxed. I have some video, and its because I release the jav with my arm at more vertical an angle, so the flight is much striaghter. i’m also slowing down a ton in my crossovers, and am practically just running forward with my shoulders twisted instead of crossing over. everything i’m doing wrong is pretty obvious fixes, but it might be a lot to put on my plate with only a couple days more practice til baystates
-in the starts, my last one looks pretty solid. i just really need to make sure my leg ends up parallel to the ground while my plant leg is hitting triple extension, or my heel recovery kicks up and I end up cycling instead of pushing. I think part of the cycling problem is arising from my hip height being to high while exiting my starting stance. I will try running with lower hip height at the start next time I’m running to see if that can fix up some of the angle problems I’m having. I think my leg will naturally stay more bent if I’m lower to the ground, and more bend will make the pushing motion necessary and natural. my hip height does tend to be lower on my better starts, so possibly that’s the key
full warm-up
3 pt starts
7x3 clean@185,195,205 (too heavy)
7x5 power squat@275,315(too heavy)
3x10:
-weighted hyper
-calf raise
-hammy curl
cool down
stretch
notes:
-i got it. finally I’m able to accelerate without thinking and my stride rate is high without thinking about it. keeping my com lower was all i needed to do. with just trying to go faster, I was hitting pretty close to triple ext, knee height got to a minimum to perpendicular to my body, no overstriding occurred, stride rate was high, stride length not bad and I could do it mindlessly and it led to a god transition position. mechanics are finally all set, i don’t think I need to tinker with anything anymore, just maybe tweaks here and there if coaches tell me, but I finally feel comofrtable at all stages in the race
-went too heavy on the primary lifts today. I think the running faster than I normally do took a toll on me, and I also went up a lot in weights just because I was getting excited about putting up solid numbers again (over 200 and over 300). I’ll make sure not to do that next lower day
javelin approach work
3 pt starts
lj approach work
functional warm-up
7x5 bench@165 (too light), 3’ rest
3x8:
-lat pull down
-db shoulder press
-db biceps curl
-side shoulder raise
-db bentover pull
cool down
stretch
notes:
-found my cue today. “pop” to exit my stance or blocks and this puts me in a triple extension stance, the “scramble” to get me to accelerate
-went lighter rather than heavier in the bench because I didn’t want to risk two days in a row of overdoing the weight and not hitting the reps. reps were still a bit of work, but wasn’t struggling by the last rep, arms still felt fresh when testing some push-ups
jav apporahc work
lj “flat-flat” work
3 pt starts/a couple flys
lj approach work
warm-up
7x5 each human flag (short hold), 3’ rest
3x8:
-each cable twist
-bosu ball weighted crunch
-each side bend
-ab rollout
-weighted prone cobra
cool down
stretch
notes:
-watched a race of donovan bailey breaking the wr, and I noticed that the elastic response his hip flexor had while launching his knee up was ridiculous. I then thought about the natural anterior tilt I tend to have, and maybe that’s why I’m having so much back side at the start and why if I don’t force em up my knees dont go up. my coach also makes this reference to “uncooked spaghetti vs. cooked spaghettit” as if you flick the hard piece on one end it goes shooting across the table whereas the wet spaghetti collapses on itself and barely goes anywhere. by making sure my abs were nice and tight (but nothing else), my hip tilt got to neutral and I wasn’t collapsing on each step. knees got up, was getting elastic responses I normally don’t, backside mechanics were minimized and I could do it without thinking about anything but tight core. I was even getting hip rotation I normally don’t
-concentrating on keeping my hips neutral for exercises now and I will put added emphasis on my hip ROM to a neutral/slightly posterior tilt/keeping my core tight. hip height was huge on the flys
-noticed two things wrong with my start still. on my second step, my arm flys out practically straight on the back swing. I think keeping it at a bit more of an angle would give me a better elastic response in the shoulder. also, on my second step, heel recovery is still often too high (to pass under my body, but over my knee it actually has to travel downwards). after that it gets to an acceptable point. when my second step is a push parallel to my body angle as opposed to trying to push directly back, it happens less. i think these things might be more idiosyncracies than things terribly hampering my start (especially since I’ve never turned out a fast time) so I’m not going to steer away from keeping things natural, though maybe some cueing during drills will starighten that stuff out and just being aware of them
full warm-up
jav approach
lj “flat-flats”
3 pt starts
7x3 clean@200, 3’ rest
7x5 power squat@300, 3’ rest
3x8:
-hyper
-calf raise
-hammy curl
cool down
stretch
notes:
-made sure to keep core tight and hip neutral as compared to my trunk. definitely helped my clean, but getting down to parallel in squats was more difficult. maybe I was just too aggressive with the weight in that exercise
