The Thrower's Page
EVENTS
Shot
Discus
Hammer
Javelin
STATS
Rankings
Age
Combos
Both hands
Other
FACILITIES
Layout
Sectors
Indoor
Outdoor
Insert
Racks
Overlapping
Repair
INFORMATION
NEW: Shoes
Paint your disc
Short wires
Physics
Pants
Training
Charting
Youth
High School
College
Wt. pentathlon
OPINION
Chip
Handle
Specs
Doping
Measuring
Timing: Designing a Training Schedule
This is an outline of how to implement the training schedule. There are three basic time frames. In college, we use fancy words to describe them: the macrocycle, the mesocyclem, and the microcycle. But we can think of them as just an annual, monthly, and weekly time frame.
The Macrocycle is a useful time frame to layout different training element emphasis at different times of the year. The main consideration in this long time frame is to adjust the proper volume and intensity throughout the season.
Volume refers to the quantity of activity, while intensity is how hard you do it. For example, in weight training, volume would be the total number of reps and sets while intensity would be what percentage of your max. In running, volume is distance and intensity is pace. In sprints, volume is total distance of all intervals and intensity is what percentage effort level (speed).
In the fall, football season can substitute for fall conditioning. Dedicated throwers that participate in a fall sport should also try to do light technique work once a week throughout the fall. Volleyball is good for girls. No additional conditioning is necessary.
If you don't participate in a fall sport, try to develop a general strength and conditioning base. Start with moderate volume and build to high volume, and low intensity building to moderate intensity. The early fall is the time to make sure athletes are proficient with their olympic movement form with light weight, and to introduce throwers new to the olympic lifts with proper technique.
During the fall, individual athletes may work on weaknesses: javelin throwers may work on weak rotator muscles by prioritizing biweekly sessions on the Nautilus rotary shoulder machine. Lots of volume on torso exercises. The test quadrathlon measures progress of conditioning, and can be tested up to once every 4 weeks.
Fall technique: now is the time to try new events. Gliders may try spinning, hammer throwers may try the toe turn. Lots of volume of balance drills, technique drills. The fall is the time to eliminate ingrained habits. Little or no full throws. The field is not lined during the fall because we are not concerned with distance thrown.
Also in fall, fun variety in practice: intrasquad strongman contests, highland games events, and/or a weight pentathlon are some of the activities.
Also in fall: throws with heavy implements until tired helps to build a conditioning base. Athletes can literally "throw" themselves into shape.
Winter: indoor season. Throws will increase in volume, and weight training will decrease slightly in volume. Intensity in both throwing and lifting will increase to moderate-high. You will have a mini-peak/mini-taper toward the end of indoor season.
Spring: outdoor season.
In general, you will "train through" the early meets, meaning you will continue with your heavy training and lifting cycle and throw in competition possibly slightly fatigued, tired, and/or sore from training. You will first taper with your weights in that you will drop most assistive exercises. However, you will continue to do your primary lifts at a high intensity. Reps and sets will become fewer.
The volume of throws will decrease before the major meet like the district meet, or the meet the week before, if you have not qualified yet. At first, weight training volume decreases, but throwing volume remains high. Then throwing volume is the last to be tapered. ALso, there is more throwing of lightweight implements in the spring to work on speed.
After the season is over, you may take a week off vacation, then do active rest. During the summer, you may do a general strength building program, or you may prepare for a weightlifting meet, a powerlifting meet, do some highland games competitions, or participate in another sport. Active rest means you stay active in some activity that you enjoy--one that is not mentally taxing.
The mesoocycle
This is a period of 1-2 months within which we want to observe progress. In order to observe progress, we have to do some similar activities so that we can measure our progress within the cycle. The shortest time to make an increment of progress is a week, but we do not expect progress every week. However, we definitely anticipate a long-term improving trend over the course of one mesocycle.
Then between mesocycles, we may have a whole new set of weekly activities. This keeps things fresh--prevents stagnation.
The Microcycle is usually thought of as a week of training activities. During the season, it is usually built around the Saturday competitions, although some high schools have mid-week meets. It usually goes like this: Sunday, being the day after the meet, is a rest day. Most training is Monday through Thursday. Meet preparation is Friday, which involves an abbreviated session of a few good throws.
Some training activities include puds, plyos, running, and agilities. Each of these elements should probably be done once a week. The puds and plyos should be done earlier in the week when there is an upcoming meet.
Throwing can be done for conditioning or for speed. High-volume-high-intensity throwing can improve strength and conditioning. However, not all throwing sessions should involve going all-out for a long session. One can also concentrate on correcting or modifying an element in the throw. There are throwing drills with or without implements. There are also heavy and light implements.
Each throwing session should probably involve some brief warmup activities: agilities and running. However, also once a week, you should do some additional running or stretching at the end.
It is in the microcycle that we think of combining warmup, "load," and recovery activities. A load activity is one that has a high training load, and requires recovery. A recovery activity is mentally and physically easy ("low-load") and actually helps the thrower recover faster. A warmup activity prepares the athlete for a load activity. Total workload is volume times intensity.
In designing the weekly schedule, we need to be mindful of not placing similar, high-load activities on consecutive days.
Training index | The Thrower's Page