2nd Year College Javelin

[tb2010]

hi all,

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:

sex: male
age: 19
height: 5'7"
weight: 145 lbs
bf%: 6-8%
power clean max: 225 lbs
squat max: 365 lbs
bench max: 225 lbs
55m: 6.89
60m: 7.43
100m: 11.56
javelin: 156'xx"
baseball max velocity: 85 mph

fall testing:
sit-ups in 60s - 61
30m standing - 3.94
30m fly - 3.47
500m - 1:18
vertical - 35"
clean: 255 lbs
squat: 365 lbs
season goal: 60m (197 ft)

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

[tb2010]

10/21/2012

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)

[tb2010]

10/27/2012

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

[tb2010]

11/3/2012

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

[tb2010]

11/10/2012

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

[tb2010]

11/18/2012

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*

[tb2010]

11/22/2012

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

[tb2010]

12/5/2012

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

[tb2010]

12/16/2012

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

[tb2010]

12/25

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:

3x8:
-db bench
-glute bridge
-lat pull-down
-db front shoulder raise
-db biceps curl
-calf raise
-bentover raise

really just for vanity reasons, haha.

will return to training a usual (team's program) with the coming of the new year