NEW SITE MATTVINCENT.NET

As of right now I will be doing all of my updating on my new site MattVincent.net .  This site has been in the works for some time and will provide me with better layout and control of the information I am trying to get out.

Please if you a reader and enjoy know that everything is going to remain the same just at new location.  Also please Repost the link if you want.

You will also notice that I have a store and soon I will be releasing a Strength Training Manual for the Highland Games.  This will happen hopefully later this week if not very shortly after that.

Check everything out and enjoy.

thanks

M@

Track Meet Shot-put PR.

Even though training lately has not been as planned ( 10 days out of throwing shot).  I made the commitment and followed through.  I threw today at LSU's 1st indoor track meet of the season.  Getting the opportunity to compete with a bunch of young kids is always fun and humbling.  I still have some work to do but there is a big throw lurking if I can get it together.  All in all for the minimal time I have had to get re-accustomed to throwing in a ring I ma happy with today's results.

Best throw was 58'11.5"
Had warm ups over 60 and a 62' foul.

58'11.5" is an all time pr for me in the shot so I am happy with today.  If nothing else I got the chance to compete.  I love the feeling from it.  Taking the training and putting it to the test.  Facing this type of thing head on and being able to prove yourself is always going to make me stronger.

I have a Clinic and the Kickoff games next weekend.  Even though my scores don't count toward the HG ranking I don't care I get the chance to compete and throw.  It is what I love doing.  Then another Track meet probably my last one for the season.

ARTICLE: Deload week Q&A

I posted about wanting to do a Q&A on the blog here are a couple of the questions I got.  I will try and address the others but I think my week is about over and I will be back on the road all day tomorrow.  

Hey matt what's your training schedule a week out of comp?

This depends on what time of the year it is for me.  I will have games in the first half of the year that I will not break from training at all for it.  This would be for early season games, where I still have a good chance to make strength gains and throwing far is not the biggest concern. 

For a big game later in the season like a championship game, or something where there is a good chance of hitting numbers that will help with qualifying marks.  So for a game where I am trying to peak I try to start tapering my training about 4 weeks out.  At this time of year I am doing much more throwing than lifting.  So I will be trying to throw 3-4 days a weeks training then back off 1-2 days prior to competition.  My lifting at this time is very light and fast.  Usually one lift a day for about 3-5 sets of 2-3 at low percentages like 50%.  After lifting I go and throw.  I am hitting all of the events at least once during the training week. 

A simple break down of this would be:
Day 1
Squat 3-5 x 2-3 @ 50-60%
stone x 15 - 20
hwfd x 15-20
16 hammer x 10-15

Day 2
Push press: 3-5 x 2-3 @ 50-60%
stone x 10-15
lwfd x 15-20
22 hammer x 10-15

Day 3
Deadlift: 3-5 x 2-3 @ 50-60%
caber x 5-10
WOB x 10
Sheaf x 10

Day 4
Bench: 3-5 x 2-3 @ 50-60%
hit anything that felt bad or just recovery work.  ie stretching rolling.
If throwing no more than 5 throws per event.  Including warm-up

 I will knock this out Mon-Thurs and take Fri off for travel.  I will also do recovery work once I get done traveling.  This is what I do and seems to be very similar to the way my weeks were planned while throwing in college.  Hope this helps.  This is going to vary a little bit for everyone depending on your schedule and what typw of shape you are in.  If you need more rest then take it if not throw.  If you feel you are to beat up after a games then get in better throwing shape.  the only way to do this is throwing more.



What's the technique you use for the free arm in WFD and stone...do you have any mental cues?

The free arm is a counter balance for part of throw and should remain loose.  By remaining loose I mean you are not pulling with it during the throw.  This will lead to being out of position by the time you hit a power position and you will be dragging the weight or blown past the power position in the stone.

As far as mental cues for stone or weights I have a couple.  I will try to explain.

STONE:
I am trying to shift my weight over the left leg in the back of the ring.  This is going to help me be more balanced and allow me to drive straight to the trig as well as get off of the left out of the back.


Point at the sector.  As I turn toward the sector out of the back I try and point my left arm toward where I want to throw and find my focal point on the horizon.  I try to hold this as long as I can.  This will cause my upper body to freeze a bit and let the legs wrap under me.  This creates torque and separation for the power position.

Those are my two biggest right now.  The rest of the throw for me is just reacting form hitting good postions form those keys.


WFD:  For me the entire throw happens in the moment after the cast and starting the drive.  So I have a lot I am thinking about at that time.

Push down and sink:  When my feet hit the ground after the cast I want the weight to be around 9 Oclock (sector is 12 oclock).  When this happens I am trying to drive the weight down and out to six oclock and sink down on the legs loading them for the drive to the trig.   I want this to be the part in the orbit where the weight is the farthest from me.  Once I feel this change of the orbit and elongation of the weight.  I go to the drive.

Sprint: I am driving off that back foot and shifting my weight over to the left leg.  This allows me to drive straight to the trig with both legs still bent and loaded so I can pull again when I land.

Lift:  Once I hit this position I am driving the right foot around pushing the hip through and trying to lift the weight up and out.

I hope this helps.  These are my current cues for throwing and will be till this part of my throw becomes auto matic.  Once it does I will start tryiong to find another part of the throw to work on that affects the distance.

If you are new to the throws you need to get the basics dialed in so that all of the basics become muscle memory.  You need a ton of repeptions.  Quit worrying so much about distance, once you are doing the right things the distance will take care of it self.  Start slow and build speed.  Smooth is fast and not the other way around.  If you are tryign to go fast you will be out of control and probably fall down.

I hope that both of these answers help. 

Strength 9.2 Push Press PR 369 and 389

Finishing up last week of my pre-season strength block.  Test week has gone pretty well despite my head not really being in it.  I am already mentally starting to shift a more to throwing and moving faster.  The next block is 5 weeks of speed and power really looking forward to this.

I am planning on throwing in a track meet next weekend here in town at LSU.  Should be a good time, but I wish I had more time to throw to get ready.  Hoping to get out and throw today some.  Need to hit hammers and caber so that I stop sucking at the so bad..

standard warm-up:
Push Press:
bar x 10
135 x 3
225 x 2
315 x 1
315 x 1
365 x 1
369 x 1 PR
389 x 1 PR ( Looks like I may have jerked it a bit more than I planned.)


DL:  Umm this was a huge disaster.  My warm-up weights felt good, then when I hit 600 it was like gravity turned on and it was stuck to the floor.  Oh well fight another day.

Training music:  Fake shark Real zombie.

Last week while in OKC I had a chance to go and see the movie The Grey.   I thought this movie was awesome and much deeper concepts than I expected.  If you like things that are awesome go see it.  If you go see it and don't like it chances are you are not awesome.  Speaking of awesome My wife and I are watching Drive  tonight.  I have seen it and she has not.  Another great film however the trailer is a bit misleading to what the actual film is.

Article: Quit Trying to Reinvent the Wheel

Straight Bars and Straight Weight, keeping Russia awesome 

          

           Strength Training is just like anything else out there.  There are infinite different combinations of things you can do to get where you are going.  This can lead to some confusing thoughts for beginning athletes.  Where do you get your information from?  Do you follow the newest fad?  Do you train like guys who are strong?  Well there is no simple answer to this.  Chances are the people that you are aspiring to be like all train differently.  However all successful strength athletes have a couple basic things in common.  If you want to get stronger the best way to get there is big multi joint lifts.  This is nothing new and everyone doing it right knows this and already does it. 

·         SQUAT

·         BENCH

·         DEADLIFT

·         OVERHEAD PRESS

·         CLEAN

·         SNATCH

That is it.  If you want to get stronger and perform better at sports do these.  Now that we have the 6 basic lifts that are guaranteed when coupled with any program worth a damn will make you stronger.  Your job is not to fuck this up.  Think about it like cooking.  You don’t buy a good steak and cover it in 5 types of sauce then other ingredients.   You add simple guaranteed good things like salt and pepper, cook it rare, and eat it.  This is no different than people who take great exercises and apply shit to them they don’t need.  These things should be your focus.  I have said it before and it still stands true.  No one cares how much you can good morning or curl.  Like ordering potatoes with a side of steak, it’s just dumb

Sticking to a plan that has you hitting each of these lifts consistently and working hard is all you really need.  Figure out how much time you have and what are the other goals that your program needs to address.  This will give you the information needed to decide on sets, reps, and percentages.  If you are trying to be a world class sprinter you don’t need to spend a lot of weeks with max weights on your back moving slowly.  On the other end of the spectrum if you are Powerlifting or weightlifting no amount of reps with 50% is going to get you ready to handle max loads.  Base your training on your sport.  If you are throwing, why would you try and train like fat guys in layers of gear who can’t move quickly? 

In short there are a ton of options out there when it comes to bars and accessories.  I have all of them and have used them all at one point or another.  After long discussions with other respected strength athletes they all come to the same conclusion.  Everyone serious about lifting goes though the same phases.  You start out new and focus on the basics.  This continues to get filtered with new thoughts, ideas, and accessories till it is unrecognizable.  Then mature lifters return to the basics again because they always work.  The basics work, just don’t try and fix what is not broken.  You are not unique and don’t have special needs.  Hard work and time applied to simple ideas make the steadiest gains. 

Strength 9.1- 685 squat PR 425 bench PR

This week is test week for me and honestly with the last two weeks feeling like shit I did not know how it would go.  But none the less I managed to get my head together, Smash in a pre-workout shake (makes a big difference for me) put on some big short (still spandex) and go smash some fucking weights.

Standard warm-up


Squat:
Bar x 10
135 x 10
225 x 3
315 x 3
405 x 1
495 x 1
585 x 1
635 x 1
685 x 1 PR
I count bumpers at 45.  I also count buffalo bar at 45 even thought it is 55.  Deal with it.  If not the weight is 677 and still a PR.

Bench:
bar x 10
135 x 5
225 x 3
315 x 1
365 x 1
425 x 1 PR
again as above stated.  Actual weight is 417 and still a PR so I m stoked.

Hip still a bit tight thanks to the help of Equi-block warm shorts and lots of rolling.  Felt good but hindered depth a little I'm happy and counting it.  These will be my last heavy ME singles of the season.  Everything else here will still be heavy and going for RM instead.  Get ready to throw far not lift slow.

2*6*12 Throwing and TOSSAPOLOOZA!

Real American!!

Another TOSSAPOLOOZA is in the books.  We got a real butt fucking from the weather but made the best of it by throwing some modded indoor implements and shot-puts.  Throwing + jokes + burgers + home brewed beer = good times.  The night ended with lots of drinks at local bar playing some super competitive darts and Golden Tee.

So I am still tired form eating shitty, drinking, and not sleeping, but the show bust go on.  I headed out to LSU to go and do some tossing today.  This is probably my last chance to get in a ring and throw shot before the meet in two weeks.

Tossing:
Shot:
stands: x 5
fulls: x 10

Working on getting over the left side out of the back and getting the left foot down instead of letting it float.  Seems to be getting better and putting me in a much better position.  We will see how it goes.