Periodization for throwing and my next cycle (Part 1 of 2)

We all know exactly how to apply this to weightlifting, but why don't we apply it to throwing?

There's a stereotype that American throwers spend too much time in the weight room, think too much about

maximal strength, or don't throw any farther than their international counterparts despite being much stronger. There is some truth to this, I think. It is definitely NOT true, however, that Americans by and large are any stronger than other throwers out there. Spend a few minutes on youtube and you'll see videos of Tomasz Majewski, Gerd Kanter, Joachim Olsen, Manuel Martinez, and Tibor Gescek either lifting incredible weights, or talking about how they lifted incredible weights in their prime. I also don't need to reiterate to anyone who knows how amazingly strong Jacko Gill is for his age.

Regardless of nationality, some throwers and their coaches might be stronger than they need to be or incorporate too much general strength into their program but not enough throwing. I was talking to a coach at one university this year who had their throwers take 12 throws in a practice, then head into the weight room. Yes, TWELVE throws. They weren't tapering for a big championship or resting for a special mid-season meet, thats just all that the athletes took in most practices. This same coached talked a lot with me about what days they lift, what exercises they do, the exact percentages of max they lift at, exactly how they were going to work into the next weight room cycle, etc. Whereas throwing practice consisted of a general warm-up, 12 throws with only a little general coaching, then practice was done.  Is 12 throws a day really enough to teach your body how to use that added strength/speed?  I don't think so. What good is all that work in the weight room going to be if you're barely applying any of it to your throwing?

The more into coaching I get, the more this way of thinking blows my mind. The majority of throwers/coaches are so very specific and so meticulous when it comes to their weightlifting, but are very general and unstructured when it comes to the circle. How many athletes/coaches have you met that can tell you exactly how much they bench, squat, and clean, but if you ask what their personal bests are, they say "Um, I don't know, like, 50 feet..."? How many have you met that can tell you the exact volume-load of this month's lifting cycle, but can't tell you how many throws they take in a practice?  How many practices have you seen where there is no plan from the coach, but instead, "Ok, take some more throws...well, that wasn't great, maybe take one with the 6k...ok, back to the 16...wait, that didn't look good, try this drill..."?  If an athlete is weak in a lift, then you prescribe a certain amount of sets and reps at a certain intensity to raise that lift.  If an athlete has a consistent technical flaw, why wouldn't you prescribe an exact plan of drills/throws to try to correct it, and do it consistently until they improve?

Martin Bingisser has written extensively about how Dr. Anitoliy Bondarchuck trains his athletes.  The more I read about Dr. B's methods, the more I realize I have to learn, because they are that intricate.  The main idea behind his methods, though, seems to be that everything must be based off of throwing first.  Determine your workout in the circle first; number of throws, with what implement, intensity of throws and frequency of sessions. Then you decide what assistance/general exercises you'll do in the weight room, their intensity, frequency, etc.  Plenty of other coaches and athletes have started training like this, I only mentioned Dr. B because he's obviously the most prominent.

So the next time you're planning a training cycle think about things like: How many throws will you take? What implements (different weights)? What will the intensity of the throws be (what distance that corresponds to a certain % of your "max"?) What order will the throws/drills be? Most importantly, all the general athletic work you do needs to be channeled into your technique so the implement goes further - so how are you going to accomplish that?

I will go into how I plan to accomplish that in my next post...