So in my last post, I talked a little about periodization, how many coaches and throwers seem to go about it, and my developing philosophy on it as it pertains to throwing. Basically, my view on things is that when many coaches/throwers make a periodized plan, the lifting plans are way too meticulous and the throwing plans are very general, or even non-existant. I and some other coaches/athletes are in a minority who think that throwing plans must be much more meticulous, and all weightlifting/general athletic work must be based off of throwing. Here now, I will go into how I plan on getting all the general athletic work I do channeled into my technique to make the hammer go further.
A bit of background info first...for a few years, my goal has been the 2012 Olympic Trials. After last year, where I threw a whopping 51m, things weren't looking too good, but I wasn't giving up that easily. This year, I decided I was going to train like crazy and improve as much as I could over the next two years in order to qualify for 2012. Then, between a car accident last September, finals/straining my back last December, and collecting data for my thesis in March/April, I spent a total of 14 weeks this year either rehabbing or in the library instead of training. This year = down the tubes. And unless the top 400 hammer throwers in the country all decide to retire, I won't be qualifying for the 2012 trials. Who cares though? I'll keep throwing anyway.
So, I've decided that I'll start training for the 2012 season now. My initial plan was just to focus on the 6k hammer, and throw the 7.26 sparingly until I can throw the 6k a distance that warrants a new PB with the 7.26k. My 7.26k pb is 54.59, so I'm shooting for 64m with the 6k before I seriously train for the 7.26k again. However, a couple of meets have sprung up throughout June/July that I figure I want to try to throw in, and I would like to get a semi-respectable mark in them. That leads us to my current training program, which is basically a short term plan to get the 7.26k to go far (click it to enlarge it)...
In my next and final post on the subject, I'll go into all the details about my program.
I think your current plan of adding in the 8.2kg hammer is a good approach and better than the alternative you were looking at.
ReplyDeleteThrowing just light implements has some benefits, but also some disadvantages. Throwing a heavier hammer is the best way to develop the strength you need to throw further. I also began with the same approach: keep throwing light hammers until you reach the distance you want with the heavier hammers. However you'll eventually run into a plateau with this approach since you need a little more variety and you need the strength only the heavier hammers can give you.
Thanks for the response. When I said I was going to focus on the 6k, I didn't mean I wasn't going to throw it exclusively, just that I was going to make that my "main" hammer until I throw it the distance that I want. Basically, after this cycle, I'll shift my whole spectrum of hammers down - so instead of the 7k being my main hammer and the 8.2k being a light one, the 6k will be my main hammer and the 7k will be a heavy one. Then, once I throw the 6k 64m, I'll shift the spectrum of hammers back up so that the 7k is my main one...know what I mean?
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