TRAINING LOG: Duncan McCallum

Oh...SNAP!

Strict presses tonight.

Done son.

Coming from you, that's a SERIOUS compliment Shawn.

I have no choice Shawn. We spoke when I first blew this knee up; the Games are my passion. For better or worse, this Sport has become part of my identity...if only in the way I hope I really am.

I've seen a guy with one leg turn a caber; hell, Myles has a Gameboy on top of his heart, and he still throws. This Games community helped raise close to $20,000 for the son of a thrower most of us will never meet on the field.

Stuff like the above (and Craig pwning some kid on the dodgeball court) make the choice between me staying in and taking the hits or quitting no choice at all.

With that being said, I powered the FAKK up tonight squatting. 550 last week, 565 this week. I knew I wanted a higher number if I could, so I skipped some of the intermediate sets (275, 365) to save a little gas for the coup de grace.

Workout called for 6; I managed 3 and 3/4. Then got smashed. Hooray for American made safety bars.

Took my lifting high (read: o2 deprivation) and hit the field for a little Contrary Throwing. An hour or so of line drills, and then 6 tosses with the 28.

Oh my.

Thanks TRob...would've been better if I'd finished the set.

Soon.

Son of a Bench
Barx5
135x5
185x5
225x5
275x5
315x5
335x5
365x4
405x3x2
Five doubles with 405

225 3x20
Kurlz

Roadtrip.

3x20 with 225.......

Wtf is wrong with you?

jsully wrote: 3x20 with 225....... Wtf is wrong with you?

Not really strong Nate...just motivated.

Now to get my technique in line with whatever strength level I have achieved...THAT will be the test.

Lifts and Throws
Deads for speed...made it to 455 and then BLAM...hit the wall. No speed there.

Throws
Braemar x10 w/long of 38+ 24.5 lb stone. Ok, question time: Statistically speaking, I am more likely to PR with a heavier stone (17+ open, 23+ Braemar) than I am with a lighter implement. I practice on a field that is relatively flat and MAYBE a shade uphill, and I seem to throw this heavier Braemar further, without fouling, than I throw a lighter stone in a Games. Does this happen to anyone else?

Open x15 w/long of 52 16lb stone
Lot of fouls here, but the right foot is FINALLY pre-turned and my fouls are the result of pushing off hard and crushing my block leg. More to do tomorrow. Average distance was 48 and change, so that's encouraging.

LWFD x15 w/long of 81
Nothing spectacular here, just easy and consistent. Shane Sutherland told me once when I was struggling to hit 70' that once I finally did, I would never really have trouble hitting it again. Tonight I went as slow as humanly possible and still averaged 73' across the first five throws. Nothing on them. Didn't even hook grip. Sprinting to the trig didn't add much, so that is clearly a weak point, but to put so little on it and get that much out of it makes it all ok. For now.

Light hammer x20 w/long of 121'
This is just a hecking shiftshow. Absolutely no consistency here. The 121 was followed by a 108'. Hammers are definitely, IMO, the weakest part of my overall. Sigh, more throws.

LOL
I guess what I mean is: I am throwing easy throws and landing between 70 and 75' every time I touch the weight. In the rain on a train, with a fox in a box, I can do that much at least.

When I REALLY try to hustle...you know the feeling...I'm not getting much more out of it at all. Relative to the effort I mean.

Probably boils down to LOFT.

Word.

I typically do what you mentioned on Wednesday walkthrough or Thursday night beer-in-the-trig-mental session.

I'll be the first to admit I am the KING of practice PR's and then going to the Games and making a mess of it. Happened in California fo' damn sure. I never inflate my numbers, and if anything, I underestimate distances to keep myself hungry, but man alive, I am getting SO SICK of throwing well in practice and then getting smoked on Saturday. Looks spurious.

HWFD, Ostone, and Light Hammer again tomorrow.

You just answered your own question, Dunc. Your first (and maybe even second) attempt? Slow it down a little. Get out the RIGHT throw. Far will come from that. Plus, you'll have it in pocket, it'll clear your mind and you can concentrate on how to make the next one BETTER. Not further or harder, just better.

Squats today. Abs killin.

So, after watching the video, a few things came to light.
1. My orbits are getting smoother, but not smooth enough.
2. I am starting to catch the hammer further back (Jake and Sean) but am not really applying that much more force to it.
3. Must start throwing HARDER in practice...these light reps are great, don't get me wrong, but I guess I'm not putting enough on it to get the orbits/low points where I want. You know how maintaining strict squat form is sometimes harder with just the bar or 135, and you can only really lock it in when you get to a few wheels? Same thing here.
4. White, on me at least, is not slimming.

Light Hammer

Thank you Sean. I really have been paying attention, and it is encouraging to see it is beginning to show, if only just a little. I heard someone say once that "Your goal shouldn't be to train something until you can do it right, but so you can't do it wrong."

I was mulling that over and then got my Contrarian DVD, and it all kinda lined up...hence the 100 throws. I hit the wall after sixty; you can tell because I keep duffing the hammer and there is no mustard on it there at the finish. But the principle is sound.

Great opportunity this weekend against Swamp Dynasty Thompson and a Mike Beech who has started finding his groove.

Let's go 120'.

Thanks for the coaching Frozenkilt.

Hang on a sec, there big boy. Your last line is 8:00-4 with a huge lift to finish. That's my "more snap on the finish, the push up.''

I wanna be his Lois Lane