TRAINING LOG: Tom Lawrence
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Topic: TRAINING LOG: Tom Lawrence
Posted By: TomLawrence
Subject: TRAINING LOG: Tom Lawrence
Date Posted: 2/15/13 at 10:21am
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I figured I’d jump in here, if anything for the comic relief of my attempts to head north of NOOB. Let’s see, background data: Age: 40 Height / Weight: 5’9” / 196 Weightlifting experience: >20 years = seen it, done it, probably been injured by it. Highland Games experience: 1 year = still a danger to myself and others. Advantages: love doing this, no ego to speak of, have all my own implements, good access to decent gym, probably strong by “regular people” standards. Challenges (not excuses): not a particularly large man, deteriorated rotator cuffs, right bicep tendonitis, not so strong by “highland athlete” standards. Near term competition goals:
actually turn a caber, actually clear the bar with 56# WOB, actually
clear the bar with a sheaf, everything else just needs go farther than it has been. Current programming:
Standby to standby. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Replies:
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 2/15/13 at 11:58am
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I've been inspired! I think I will start a training log today. Up till now I have been too afraid. Welcome to the training log Tom. I look forward to seeing your progress. Good luck in all of you future training and games.  ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 2/15/13 at 1:12pm
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Thanks Glenn. Just doing it for the accountability and feedback. Week of 2/11/13 – 2/15/13 Monday AM – got a tooth filled PM – got a full yearly physical done. PSA normal. Testosterone a bit low. Hmmm… need more bacon and eggs. Did some grip work. Tuesday Early AM – Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara A x3 Mid-day – OHP 1x5@55, 1x5@65, 1x3@85, 1x5@100, 1x5@105, 1x7@115, 5x10@65 Dips 3x10@BW Hanging Leg Raises 2x5 – just got right bicep well enough to be able to hang Foam rolling before bed. Wednesday Early AM – Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara A x5 Mid-day – Dead Lift 1x5@135, 1x5@160, 1x3@190, 1x5@240, 1x5@255, 1x7@270, 5x10@160 14,795 total pounds lifted. Yeahhh! I am Conan! Shrugs 3x15@230 Abs Foam rolling before bed. Thursday Early AM – Yesterday’s dead lifts inform Conan's back that he might wish to take up golf instead. Maybe try for the Olympics. Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara A x5 Foam rolling, humbly at that. Mid-day – Bench Press 1x5@95, 1x5@115, 1x3@155, 1x5@170, 1x5@185, 1x7@195, 5x10@115 Kroc Rows 2x5@55, 1x20@55 I know I need to do better. I'm babying that right bicep. Abs Foam rolling before bed. Friday Early AM – nada Mid-day – Squat 1x5@95, 1x5@115, 1x3@140, 1x5@175, 1x5@185, 1x7@200, 5x10@115 Need to wash the Rehbands. They are only days away from becoming self-aware. Abs Foam rolling due before bed tonight.
------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 2/18/13 at 6:26am
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Saturday and Sunday (2/15 - 2/16) Spent the weekend moving lumber, dirt, and children. Fulfilling and strengthening, but the most rigid program. Ready to kill it this week. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 2/18/13 at 12:12pm
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Monday 55# kettlebell swings to warm up -- one set of 20 both hands, one set of 10 with each hand. Need to do more. 16# stone - threw a few toes-to-board style and a few Braemar style. Tried to do some glides and the honest truth is that I'm just an uncoordinated man. Need a LOT more practice. Best throw was 24'. 22# stone -- this is the size of Blairsville's open stone. Same drills as above and a best throw of 23', which beats my distance at last year's games by almost two feet. Not a bad way to start considering the only way I could be more rusty is if you colored me orange. 20# sheaf -- well it went up every time and I didn't tear a bicep tendon. This is significantly better than is has been. Getting a feel for it at least. Starting small, but starting anyway. Full Ashtanga Yoga practice later tonight. Working on that coordination thing. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 2/19/13 at 10:04pm
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Tuesday Biology and the prejudices of others kept me gym-less today... so I threw instead. LWD 2 x standing throws 8 x full movement throws. Gotta keep practicing until I stop thinking about where my feet are going and start thinking about where the weight is going. Best of the day = 26' which beats my distance at the 2012 Blairsville Games by over a foot. Not too shabby. Hammer 3 x 1 wind = best 33' 3 x 2 winds = best 39.5'. Not a PR in general, but one with this homemade hammer by 6 feet! 6 x 3 winds = best 39' all in the first three throws which landed each within a foot laterally of the other. The last three throws were the same but about two feet shorter. Ye olde training log:  Actually one of my farmer's carry logs, but it's handy for chalking figures on while throwing. Just finished Ashtanga practice, and my focus was terrible; but, I got through it. Need to foam roll and call it a day. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 2/23/13 at 1:42pm
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Week of 2/18/13 – 2/22/13 Nasty <snuck> head cold all week <snuck> Early AM – Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara A x5 Mid-day – Dead Lift 1x5@135, 1x5@160, 1x3@190, 1x3@255, 1x3@275, 1x5@285, 5x10@160 Shrugs 3x15@230 Abs Foam rolling before bed. Thursday Mid-day – Bench Press 1x5@95, 1x5@115, 1x3@155, 1x3@185, 1x3@195, 1x4@205, 5x10@115 Kroc Rows 2x5@60, 1x20@60 Getting better here. Abs Grip work and foam rolling before bed. Friday Mid-day – Squat 1x5@95, 1x5@115, 1x3@140, 1x3@185, 1x3@200, 1x7@210, 5x10@115 Abs Foam rolling before bed. I gotta say, thanks to my fellow NASGeezers who turned me on to foam rolling a couple of weeks ago. It's amazing how effective it is! In addition, I have been using a lacrosse ball on the troublesome right bicep tendons, and they have made more progress toward healing in the last two weeks then in the previous six months.Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 2/24/13 at 7:46pm
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Saturday My back field is a mud trap right now so I did some sheafin' in the driveway with my 20# potato sack sheaf. Best guess is that I was throwing about 10 feet, but from the bit that I filmed I have it on good authority that my technique is decent. I just need more practice. I also have a 16# bag on order with Jason, so I'm looking forward to trying that when it gets here. In the mean time KiltBill gave me some ideas for drills. Sunday Got out right before sunset and threw WOB and LWFD (both homemade implements).
Ashtanga practice and foam rolling before bed. Chiropractor tomorrow. We'll see if she notices anything different from all the foam rolling I have been doing. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 2/25/13 at 7:41pm
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Monday Took the day off from training. My chiropractor also happens to be an advanced martial artist, so my visit today can be summarized as a sound beating by a large blond woman. The upshot is that the myofascial release I have been doing on my right bicep tendons has helped so much that she's impressed and waived off any other treatment besides some soft tissue manipulation. I also have my back and neck slightly torqued out of place from the recent throwing so she put things back where they are supposed to be. I asked her if I should lay off throwing and she said, "Absolutely not. You'll have to do it sooner or later, so you might as well get it done while we're following you and fixing the weak points as we go." Were I not a married man.... The down side is that I'm in significant pain from the adjustment, so I will limit my conditioning to foam rolling tonight and that's it. Time to catch up on the UFC157 recording I made. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: C Cook
Date Posted: 3/01/13 at 9:24pm
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Tom, I'm getting together with a couple of guys on Monday to throw in Blue Ridge about 4:00pm. Weather forecast looks good for now. If interested, give me a call. 828-735-2953. Chris
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Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/02/13 at 12:30pm
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Chris -- PM sent. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/02/13 at 12:54pm
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Week of 2/25/13 – 3/1/13 Monday Chiropractor abuse. Tuesday Early AM – Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara A x5 Mid-day –Compressed workout due to time Dead Lift 1x5@135, 1x5@160, 1x3@190, 1x5@240, 1x3@270, 1x5@285 New DL calculated 1RM = 332 OHP 1x5@55, 1x5@65, 1x3@80, 1x5@100, 1x3@115, 1x4@125 New OHP calculated 1RM = 141 Abs Foam rolling before bed. Wednesday Went shooting. Decided I need to save up to buy a Beretta Nano. Thursday Early AM – Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara A x5 Mid-day – Bench Press 1x5@95, 1x5@115, 1x3@135, 1x5@170, 1x3@195, 1x4@215, 5x10@115 New BP calculated 1RM =243 Kroc Rows 2x5@65, 1x20@65 per side. Getting better hear Abs Foam rolling before bed. Friday Early AM – Ashtanga Yoga Surya Namaskara A x5 Mid-day – Squat 1x5@95, 1x5@115, 1x3@140, 1x5@175, 1x3@200, 1x6@220, 5x10@115 New Squat calculated 1RM =264 Rehab curls with a 20 lb straight bar. Abs Progress is progress, no matter how slow.------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/03/13 at 4:27pm
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Sunday 3/3/13 20# Sheaf Practice Threw about ten times including some snatch-from-the-right-foot drills. Best guess is that I am throwing about 12 feet and the bag is generally coming down right behind me. Chalk that up to training tips that KiltBill gave me.  How do you guys make your own standards, or practice without them? I'm guessing I'd clear a bar, but I'd rather not guess if I can help it. Comic event of the day happened when the stitching on my sheaf caught one of the lace hooks on my right boot and I tried to throw myself with the fork.  O-stone Practice 16# 3xBraemar style with a best throw of 23' 7" 16# 3xspinning with a best throw of 19' This was my first try at spinning and it didn't suck as bad as I thought it would. 20# 3x Braemar style with a best throw of 22' 8" 20# tried the KiltBill / AlanH "Crow Hop" style with a best throw of 24' 9" Well whadya know? Back to 16# with the "Crow Hop" style and a new best throw of 25' 4"! Now we're cooking! I think I'll stick with the "Crow Hop" and keep working on spins, but a 2' improvement across the board is pretty darn good for a first try. Really dang cold outside. Ready for some warmer weather. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: BrittneyBoswell
Date Posted: 3/03/13 at 5:14pm
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We use a baseball field backstop or tennis court fence at the local high school to check sheaf throws. ------------- Highland Games - The drama is so high, because the stakes are so low. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/03/13 at 7:13pm
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Excellent idea! I wouldn't have come up with that on my own, so I'm glad I asked. Thanks Brittney. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/05/13 at 8:03am
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Looking good Tom. I can't do a full spin either. The stone either comes off my neck and I rip my arm off or I almost fall on my face. I throw open better with a crow hop but I have been working on one that is a partial spin and it's not too bad. My standards are made of chain link fence top rail. ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/05/13 at 8:21am
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Thanks Glenn. This is a deload week at the gym, so not much to report from the weight room. I ended up with very sore neck muscles after Sunday's throwing. I don't know if it was the sheaf or the stones, but I'm guessing it will get better with time, practice, and strengthening. To paraphrase something one of the pros (might have been Craig) told me when I was first starting out, "There's no amount of not throwing that will make you a better thrower. Now get out there and throw." Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/05/13 at 8:40pm
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Not really an update, but more of a mini-rant. My regular gym is shut down for the week for remodeling, so I went to another where get a pass. It was exactly what Brooks Kubick calls "fern and chrome land" in his book Dinosaur Training. Holy crap what a shiny plastic house. It even had those plastic-coated octagonal plates. Felt like putting chalk on everything just so it wouldn't all look so new! Did deload levels of OHP, some dips, hanging leg raises, abs. Nothing useful to report. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/06/13 at 8:27pm
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Deload continues. Dead lifts 3 sets of 5 @ 135, 165, and 195 Good mornings 3 sets of 5 @ 95 Hang Cleans 3 sets of 5 @ 65. Just working on the motor plan. I need to work these into my program as assistance exercises if I can get the movement nailed down. Practiced o-stone spins in the kitchen while cooking quesadillas tonight, and it scared the bejeebus out of my two-year old, Roland. He thought Daddy was having some kind of problem. That tells me I'm still at the buffoon end of the spectrum rather than the beast end of the spectrum! Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Duncan McCallum
Date Posted: 3/06/13 at 8:31pm
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"It was exactly what Brooks Kubick calls "fern and chrome land" in his book Dinosaur Training. Holy crap what a shiny plastic house. It even had those plastic-coated octagonal plates. Felt like putting chalk on everything just so it wouldn't all look so new!" Do it...and let the English see you do it. ------------- The man in the arena. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/06/13 at 9:09pm
You take out the Stairmasters and I'll meet you in the middle!  ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Duncan McCallum wrote:Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/07/13 at 2:39pm
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Thursday 3/7 Deload week continues in "fern and chrome land" Bench press 1x5@95, 1x5@115, 1x5@135 CG press 3x10@95 Shrugs 2x20@225 Some kind of row thing that they have instead of a T-bar 2x20@some 45's on it. There's still snow on the ground at home, but I did see a big ball of fire in the sky today that I vaguely recognize as the Sun. It's supposed to be warm and pretty this weekend, so hopefully I can go try Brittney's baseball backstop suggestion at the park. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: KiltBill
Date Posted: 3/08/13 at 7:27am
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Tom, I made my sheaf tower out of a 16' cattle gate spilt length wise in half. If you have the room and are interested let me know and I'll take some close up pictures. ------------- Remember Kay Cummings, Father of the Highland Games in the Southeast and my friend. Lets Go Run With The Big Dogs! |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/08/13 at 8:44am
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PM sent, Bill.
------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/08/13 at 12:09pm
Friday 3/8 No idea why I updated every day this week. Guess I'm just lonely.  Last day of deload: Squats 95x5, 115x5, 145x5 Rehab curls with a 20# straight bar 2x15 Calf raises on seated plate-loadable LifeFitness monkeybars 2x20@145 Back hypers 2x15 Looking forward to throwing tomorrow. I have new stuff to try! Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/09/13 at 8:27pm
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Saturday, 3/9/13 Packed up the truck and drove out to Meeks Park (which coincidentally is where the Blairsville games are held each June). It wasn't raining for the first time in a while, so the park was full of people. Good to see and good to expose community to some HG training. 20# homemade sheaf by a softball backstop. 5 bottom up drills from my right boot, 10 full throws, and 5 more bottom up drills. I had the camera sitting on the ground so it's shot from this weird German cinema kind of angle. I believe each panel in the backstop is 8', so the whole thing is then 16'. Looking at where I'm hitting puts me at throwing 12'-13' which is about right for where I am right now. The good news is that I'm hitting the fence hard enough that I believe I would be clearing a bar at that height. Critiques are welcome if you can decipher the Deutsch angle. Heavy Hammer in a different softball field making some divots in right field. 3 x full winds with no release, followed by 11 throws. I sweet-talked a lady nearby into filming one of them for me from the other side of the fence, and it happened to be the best throw of the day. 41' which is a PR for my homemade hammer. Critiques please! One of my throws went off angle because I over-turned on release, and one skipped the ground at the low point on my third wind and went short. All the other throws hit in a very small area. Precision... I has it:  Training Log Addendum: Little Duncan completed a half-mile during his training today. This is a PR for him.  New video soon! Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 7:41pm
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Sunday, 3/10 As cool and fun as yesterday's practice was, today was awful. I just couldn't get my body sorted out today -- weak, uncoordinated, off-balance, and dizzy. Those days happen, and I am banking that I did enough useful things that I'll get stronger in spite of the failures. LWFD -- about twenty throws. Only three of them were fair with the longest only 24'. All the rest were either no-release or egregious fouls. It was one of those practices where I was just a mess all over the approach and felt like the weight was throwing me. Gonna let it go and do better next time. Caber (14', 130 pounds) -- five attempts with no successful picks. I'm going to make a 16' 2x6 Matt Vincent Special later this week to get more length with less weight. Then I'll work up to the full 20' version eventually. Spent the rest of my practice time re-welding my 56# homemade weight. I busted one of the plates loose the last time I threw WOB. It's ugly, but 6011 electrodes are cheap. I love the smell of burning flux and steel in the morning.  Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 9:20pm
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Tom, From one noob to another. On sheaf keep your arms straighter. The left arm should not bend at all. Swing back farther and drive hard to the right foot before checking. watch some of Mckims sheaf tosses you will see that he cranks his right arm back so far it is almost straight up. Your block at the shoulder is good but you need more speed. My best throws happen when I focus on driving hard off the right leg and blocking on the left. On hammer, maybe a little more hip and knee motion and keep your low point of orbit to the right. Beware of the start. In this video I see that you are not lifting the hammer till it gets to your left foot. That sets your low point to far to the left then you corrected it on your second turn and the last turn it was to the left again. focus on popping the hammer up with long arms at the start. your low point of orbit will migrate to the left no matter what you do so start it pretty far to the right. The release looks pretty good to me. Nice long arms and an open chest. Did you weld your plates together on your hammer? I made one with no welds and I got 10 throws out of it  ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 9:29pm
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------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 9:35pm
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------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 9:36pm
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Thanks Glenn. The hammer plates were (heavily) JB Welded together and so far they've held. I spotted exactly the same things you did on hammer, so that is good corroboration. I'll also keep the left arm in mind on sheaf. As soon as my 16# bag arrives from Jason, I'll be able to drop a bit lower and keep the plane of the swing closer to my legs as well. I appreciate the feedback brother, Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 9:49pm
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Found this on page 9 of youtube after searching sheaf toss tutorial. It should be on page 1 ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 10:02pm
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Ok, I watched this video last fall and have based most of my sheaf off of it . I went from 20 feet with a 16# to now 25 feet. I quote him all of the time "this is a violet event" "between to panes of glass". I had no idea who Duncan was then. Took me forever to find this video again but glad I did.
------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 10:03pm
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Hope these videos help Tom. Keep up the hard work
------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/10/13 at 11:12pm
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I had seen the Spidersheaf video, but not the other. Thanks again! I didn't clear the bar at my local games last year, and it was because I hadn't taken the event seriously. This season I am on a mission to become a Sheafasaurus. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/11/13 at 8:49pm
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Monday 3/11 This is going to be a weird week. My bride is headed out town so I will be close to home to take care of Today was Ashtanga Yoga primary series full session and shortly before that I went back out to the trig to try to get some of my cool back. I managed about ten throws with LWFD and only fouled one of them. I still didn't throw squat for distance, but at least I threw. Afterward I checked back in Throwing Lab and think I figured out my problem. I'm casting and pushing with my arm, not my body. In Matt's words, "do not use your arm to muscle the weight. You will lose." Well there's my problem. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/14/13 at 6:58pm
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Tuesday 3/12 Beach muscles workout just to keep things moving Bench 5x5@135 Incline Bench 5x5@95 Kroc Rows 2x5@60, 1x20@60 each hand I did something else too, but I can't remember what it was. Wednesday 3/13 Finished welding my 56# Glued and screwed a 16' training caber (see Throwing Lab pg.49) Ashtanga Surynamaskara set Got word from Jason Clevenger that my 16# sheaf is on the way. Me = stoked. Thursday 3/14 Ashtanga Surynamaskara set. Shaped and sanded the new caber and applied three coats of Bullseye shellac to make it sexy. Photo below. O-stone Practice 16# 3xBraemar, best was 22'4" 16# 10xhop/glide, best was 25' 20# 5xhop/glide, best was 24" Precision was great if not the distances, to that point that I was landing successive throws on the marker stone from the previous throw. HWFD (a.k.a. current nemesis) 5 or 6 double turns, best throw was 10' 8" The technique troubles I'm having with LWFD are doubled. Go figure. This one just makes me feel weak, so I need to find my way into it and own it. New practice caber here:  I will weigh it tomorrow. I will also weld up a light hammer tomorrow to start throwing. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/16/13 at 5:08pm
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Friday 3/15 Moved 21 bags of topsoil up and down steps for a landscaping project. Welded a new Light Hammer head. Entertained In-Laws Saturday 3/16 = good, bad, and ugly The good -- I finished my new light hammer, including painting it orange, so that I will be able to find it should I accidentally wing it into the woods here. My new Clevenger sheaf also came today, so I know what I'm doing tomorrow if I am able.  The bad -- threw WOB today and it was awful. I scored a 4GB FlipVideo off eBay this week so I was able to film the throws for technical review. The short version is that it is clear that I'm throwing with my arm and not my legs and back. In the process, I really strained my right trapezius from the point of origin at my shoulder all the way up to my ear. I don't think anything tore, but it sure is burning. The ugly -- after the trapezius injury, for some reason I thought it would be a good idea to practice caber with my new 16'. I weighed it at 80#, so piece of cake right? Unfortunately, I found out why you don't practice caber on high ground in March. It was really windy up in the garden and a gust caught it as soon as I tried to make the first pick, and I stupidly tried to save it. It went sideways from my right shoulder across the back of the neck (right over the same trapezius), and when the top end hit, the bottom third rebounded and caught me across the back of the skull. My whole right arm when numb and everything went yellow for a second. I figured that was a good time to end the practice. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 3/16/13 at 10:21pm
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Hope you are okay Tom. When are your first games of 2013? ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/17/13 at 4:59am
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I think I'll be fine. Just very sore. We'll see how long it take to stop hurting. My first games should be the Triad Highland Games on April 27 in Greensboro, NC. One of my sisters lives there. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/17/13 at 8:02pm
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Sunday 3/17 Conditioning
Sheaf Threw my new Clevenger bag until I got tired. It was dark outside and I have no idea how high it was going. I was just working on putting it up with good technique. Back to normal yoga and weights staring tomorrow. It will be good to be back on my normal program. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: KiltBill
Date Posted: 3/18/13 at 5:30am
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https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=478024032250911&set=a.123339171052734.32318.109293189123999&type=1&ref=nf Tom, Your prowler work rocks, course the Prowler Flu could come from you or the prowler! Slow and steady on the training, don't want no concussions or torn muscles. Great work. ------------- Remember Kay Cummings, Father of the Highland Games in the Southeast and my friend. Lets Go Run With The Big Dogs! |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/18/13 at 11:15am
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Thanks Bill. Chiropractor today said that I'm okay apart from being foolish. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Duncan McCallum
Date Posted: 3/18/13 at 12:13pm
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Good work Tom...stay at it! ------------- The man in the arena. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/20/13 at 7:39pm
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Monday 3/18 Took the day off everything to let my trapezius heal a little bit more, to recover from my chiropractic adjustment, and to clear my head. I think I did have a very mild concussion -- fatigue out of nowhere, difficulty focusing, etc. Also won the HAN Golden Scoop contest, so free HAN for six months =  Tuesday 3/19 Surya Namaskara A morning yoga. OHP 55x5, 75x5, 85x3, 105x5, 110x5, 120x7, 5x10@75 Hanging Leg Raises 3x5 (bicep is now able to support me hanging for all three sets) Dips 3x10 Abs All signs of head fuzziness are gone. Barbells fix everything!  Wednesday 3/20 Deadlift 125x5, 160x5, 190x3, 240x5, 255x5, 270x6, 3x10@160 then ran out of gas and time. Abs I also think I have a plan to put up my own crossbar for WOB and sheaf for very cheap. Standby for the proof in photos if I can pull it off. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/22/13 at 12:01pm
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Thursday 3/21 (Happy Spring North America!) Bench Press 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 170x5, 185x5, 195x7, 5x10@115 Feeling a pinch in my right wrist. Plate Wrist Curls 4x10 each hand with a 10. Aforementioned pinch gone now. Kroc Rows 2x5@70, 1x11@70 per hand. Can't really call this Kroc Rows at those low reps. Will step back to 65. Abs Trap still bugging me, so I passed on yoga. Friday 3/22 (Snowed again this morning... Screw Spring North America!) Squats 95x5, 115x5, 140x3, 175x5, 185x5, 200x10. Felt real wobbly after this for some reason so I skipped the BBB sets and did assistance work that allowed me to sit down. Leg Extensions 3x10 Leg Curls 3x10 Rehab Curls 3x10 with a 40# straight bar. Didn't suck! I think those tendons are really getting better. Abs Going to try to eat better and sleep more this weekend to get rebalanced for lifting next week. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/26/13 at 7:51am
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Nothing too exciting. Saturday 3/23 Raining sideways so no throwing. Re-welded my 56# again. Fixed it good this time by preheating the steel with MAPP gas first. Sunday 3/24 Snowing sideways so no throwing. Full Ashtanga session in the evening. Monday 3/25 Snowing sideways again so no throwing. 56# kettlebell swings x 40 Grip work. Update on my Sheaf / WOB standards and crossbar master plan: I have the bar made. 10" PVC with eyebolts at the end for mounting, an eyebolt in the center to hang a measuring rope, all silicone sealed to keep out the wasps, sand filled to dampen swinging, and duct taped fluorescent green so I can see it in film.  Step 2 will be hanging it here:  This is a TVA power line run in my back field. If I already have giant steel poles, why not use them? Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Sean
Date Posted: 3/26/13 at 8:00am
You want the power engineer answer to that? 
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Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/26/13 at 9:30am
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I cleared it with the EMC, but if you see an imminent danger please let me know! FWIW -- There are brackets part way up, so I won't be putting anything near the wires themselves. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Sean
Date Posted: 3/26/13 at 9:36am
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Nah, I'm just FFFFFing with you. The poles themselves are fine, grounded and insulated from the lines.
I wouldn't toss sheaf over them, but WOB over a pole between them? Perfect :)
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Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/26/13 at 10:45am
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Thanks Sean! Had me worried for a minute. Incidentally I saved a 140 pound section and a 160 pound section of the old wood poles that used to be there and use them for farmer's carry. Waste not... ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 3/31/13 at 8:20pm
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Tuesday 3/26 - Friday 3/29 Absolute BASTAGE of a week!  It was the 3 week of the standard 5/3/1 cycle. Apart from being pressed for time due to work, all went well and I set a couple PRs, in dead lift and bench if I remember correctly. My workout log is in my gym bag in my office about 100 miles from here... Also did my regular yoga and started doing a short kettle bell session each night with swings and goblet squats. No throwing at all due to snow, rain, and dark. I was so frustrated by this that I tried just throwing in the dark Wednesday night. Ended up losing my 16# and 20# stones in the woods and really proving that line drills in the dark are a bad idea. Can't get the time back, so I'll just have to work harder this week. I did recover the 16# and 20# later in the week. As anyone interested in my novice ramblings has seen by now, if conditions are not right to throw, then I still try to do something related -- usually working on my homemade equipment. Gotta keep the hands and the brain occupied. So... I scored an antique three-tine fork head off eBay last week and used some of the bad weather and dark time to recondition, sharpen, smooth, and polish it. If possible I'll mount it to a new handle tomorrow and get the taping started. I'm thinking about naming it "Serenity" = from old and rusty to high-flying and shiny. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/01/13 at 10:43pm
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Monday 4/1 Chiropractor says everything is top notch. Right on. Got the kids to bed and had about thirty minutes to go throw before it got dark! Hallelujah! LWFD Three throws from power position = abyssmal. Nearly dislocated my shoulder. Six full movement throws = one foul, two no-releases due to loss of control, one fair throw, two that I actually succeeded in throwing myself to the ground. WTF!!! I clearly have some kind of fundamental errors in the gross motor department, and now it has got in my head. Time to start completely over. Picking up a 15 pound kettle bell tomorrow to work on line drills until I no longer have to think about it. If that doesn't work, I'll step down to a 10 pound kettle bell. Reviewing a lot of Jake Sullivan vids as well. Heavy Hammer Felt very stiff, but actually successful. Threw until I got tired and lost the light. Mostly just working on form and whether to go with two or three winds. Tonight two was winning. Acceleration Therapy Went on a two hour motorcycle ride in the dark and the cold to clear my head and to pick up a Team Duncan donation from two counties over. Came back with the reminder that this is supposed to be fun. If it isn't fun, then I have two choices: quit now or bring it back to a place where it is fun again. Choosing the latter. Back to the gym tomorrow. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 4/02/13 at 8:10am
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Take it easy on those "power position" throws you can tear something real easy. Treat it more like a drill rather than a throw. When you say full throw I assume you mean 2 turns. If I were you I would work more on a single turn. Driving to the trig hard. I heard somewhere that 90% of the throw is in the second turn. Master it then move on to the double turn. Be careful! Don't fall and hurt your wrist like I did. It still hurts and makes training very difficult. ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/02/13 at 8:14am
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Thanks Glenn. I absorbed the impact of both falls with my a$$. Embarrassing but not injurious. I'm correcting my attitude first -- then my form. Distance will follow. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Duncan McCallum
Date Posted: 4/02/13 at 8:16am
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We will.fix.it.Friday. ------------- The man in the arena. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/02/13 at 8:18am
You have your work cut out for you sir. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 4/02/13 at 8:22am
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Wondering when Duncan is coming to Indiana to fix my WFD?
------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: Duncan McCallum
Date Posted: 4/02/13 at 11:22am
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I've had the best teachers Tom...I'll give you the gospel. I'll fix Tom and then Tom can help you W. ------------- The man in the arena. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/02/13 at 8:11pm
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Tuesday 4/2 Gym: OHP 55x5, 70x5, 85x3, 105x5, 120x3, 130x3, 70x10 for five more sets HLR 3x8 Dips 3x10 Tacos x3 mmmmm... Home: Braemar 16# x 5 Glide 16# x 5 Braemar 20# x5 Finished machining tang on antique fork head and mounted it to a new fork handle. Waiting for silicone adhesive to cure before taping. Sheaf is nervous. I can tell. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/03/13 at 10:10pm
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Wednesday 4/3/13 Gym: Dead Lift 135x5, 160x5, 190x3, 240x5, 270x3, 305x3, 160x10 for five more sets. Good to be over 300. Back Hyperextensions 3x15 Abs Home: Just a couple line drills with a 20# kettlebell. Felt ok! Controlled, pain free, and light on my feet. 55# kettlebell swings and goblet squats Foam rolling. Need to get back to more of this. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/06/13 at 4:09am
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Thursday 4/4/13 Gym: Bench Press 95x5, 115x5, 135x3, 170x5, 195x3, 215x4, 115x10 for five more sets Kroc Rows 2x5, 1x20 @ 70 each hand Abs Home: Kettlebell work and foam rolling Re-epoxied new old fork head to its handle. The silicone stuff I had tried didn't cure. Friday 4/5/13 Gym: Squat 95x5, 115x5, 140x3, 175x5, 200x3, 225x4 Leg Extensions 3x10 Leg Curls 3x10 Abs Home: Kettlebell work and grip work Taped up new old fork. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/09/13 at 10:23pm
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Saturday 4/6/13 Child care and suffering asthma attacks from the pollen bloom. Spent a few minutes finishing my new-old sheaf fork. Turns out the head is pre-WWII. Sunday 4/7/13 Hung my crossbar. Monday 4/8/13 Did some sheaf drills and throws. I need to fix some hooking and to not step out as far from the bar, but I think I have the set up for better practices now. Tuesday 4/9/13 Gym: Deload week OHP - 45x5, 70x5, 85x5 Dips 2x10 HLR 2x5 (bicep did okay) Chinups 1x5 (risky, but bicep did okay) Rehab Curls 20x10, 30x10, 40x10 (no trouble) Abs Home: Light Hammer -- first time ever throwing one for a real practice. I really liked it, and had a lot of fun. Focusing on the orbit, keeping the body loose, and really opening into the sector on the release. Each throw was better than the last, and by the time I had to stop, the best throw was at 56'. Not too shabby for a first try. Product Review for the Addidas Turf Hog LX after a couple of practices in them, rendered Dr. Seuss style: I do not like these cleats at all Back to throwing in my Hi-Tec hiking boots. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/14/13 at 10:55pm
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Wednesday 4/10 Deload Dead Lift 135x5, 165x5, 195x5 Deload Squats 95x5, 115x5, 145x5 Abs Got in, got it, got out Thursday 4/11 Deload Bench Press 85x5, 115x5, 135x5 T-bars 3x10@50 Tricep PD 3x10@65 Abs Friday 4/12 = Mini Throwing Clinic with Duncan McCallum (I was the 'mini' he was the 'clinic') Light Hammer -- a few one winds, a lot of two winds
Sheaf -- new old fork and the crossbar was set @13'. I lost count of how many tosses I did.
Everything else was discussion of techniques until the boss lady put the big guy to work sorting Team Duncan t-shirts, which he did with the skill of an experienced AD. Friday PM was Conditioning
Saturday 4/13 Took my sons to the Kiwanis County Fair as a reward for their perseverance the night before. Little Duncan got to ride the super slide. Sunday 4/14 Conditioning through landscaping -- moved soil, sectioned up a blown down tree, carried logs, split firewood. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/15/13 at 11:00pm
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Monday 4/15 LWFD (climbing back up to zero) 20# kettle bell: throws from the board x3, single turns x6, doubles x 6ish. -- Focusing on positions, making the orbit high on the side toward the sector, trying to stay relaxed. -- Did ok. Normal stretch. No bicep or trapezius trouble. Huh... relaxing helped. 28# weight: throws from the board x3 (these just suck), single turns x2 (suck worse), doubles x 6ish. -- Same as before: focusing on positions, making the orbit high on the side toward the sector, trying to stay relaxed. -- Started to feel better. Staying relaxed is definitely the key for me. When I tighten up it appears to be the main contributor to ganking everything up from the feet to the brain. -- It isn't pretty and it isn't far, but my new zero is much better than my old zero. I only fouled once, and I didn't get hurt. -- I also beat my old PR by over a foot. Huh.... I may be onto something here. Things to fix next after thinking about it lot and reviewing other's videos: -- Get my hand over so my thumb rather than my palm faces the sector. I think this will help me keep from bicep-ing it around and relying on already damaged musculature before I pick the 56# back up. -- Get a better sense of each position and where the pull is in each case. This will just take reps. -- More reps. Conditioning -- walked with a horse around a training ring for an hour while safety spotting Duncan for hippotherapy. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/17/13 at 4:09am
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Tuesday 4/16 Heavy Hammer 3 x one wind 3 x two winds 3 x three winds 3 x two winds Working on applying the technique refinements from my LH session on Friday. Distances were average for me, so I'm not there yet. Two wind throws still seem to be the way to go. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/18/13 at 9:57pm
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Wednesday 4/17 - compressed workout, no volume sets Dead Lift 130×5, 165×5, 195×3, 245×5, 265×5, 280×5 Back Hyperextensions 2x15 Hanging Leg Raises 2x8 Thursday 4/18 - compressed workout, no volume sets Bench Press 95×5, 115×5, 140×3, 175×5, 185×5, 200×5 OHP 55×5, 70×5, 85×3, 110×5, 115×5, 120×5 Throwing in the few minutes before dark, putting in the time to get the reps -- LWFD single turn drills a la Gene Flynn http:////www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeAZhEWKpxE" rel="nofollow - http:////www.youtube.com/watch?v=CeAZhEWKpxE with a 20# kettle bell. Not bad. I have to keep reminding myself to sloooowwww down. Hit the positions. Work on being smooth. Far will follow. I did a bunch of these. WOB drills with a 20# kettle bell. Just working on the position and motor planning. Trying to be smooth until it's time to be explosive. Put it over the bar. Pick it back up. Repeat. I did a bunch of these until it got too dark to be safe. Nine days until the Triad Highland Games in Greensboro, NC. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/22/13 at 12:05pm
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Friday 4/19 - compressed workout, no volume sets Squats 95×5, 120×5, 145×3, 185×5, 195×5, 205×5 Rehab Curls (straight bar) 20x10, 40x10, 50x10 Not bad. Abs Also, a good 28# and 56# set of WFD weights arrived today from Mike Landrich. He was kind enough to paint them bright yellow for me, because I have been known to wing my throwing implements off in the woods. One step closer to "real" equipment. Saturday 4/20 - woodworking. Sunday 4/21 - my throwing area is eight inches deep in clover, so I finally took the snow blade off the garden tractor and got it ready to mow the field instead -- in other words, did conditioning by moving big pieces of steel around. Conditioning -- toddler prowlers for 1 mile. Seven days until the Triad Highland Games in Greensboro, NC. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/22/13 at 10:22pm
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Monday 4/22 Celebrated Earth Day by mowing down a bunch of clover. Good mulch for the fallow garden, and now I have my throwing field back and my kids can get to the swing set without a map. Evening throwing after dark: Light Hammer 3 x multiple winds with no release 10 x 2 wind throws at about 80%. Just putting in the reps. Distances were respectable for me. Felt good. HWFD Three casts from the board. Six or so single turn throws (a la previously mentioned Gene Flynn video). Getting over my fear of the 56#. I forget who posted it, but somebody mentioned working primarily the 56# WFD because it won't let you cheat. You have to stick the positions, and because it's slower, you have time watch yourself do just that. I can see that now. Anyway, beat my distance from the 2012 Blairsville Games by almost two feet. Moar reps! Also it was just a great feeling practice. Orion on one side, rising gibbous moon on the other, Polaris straight out from the trig. Nice and cool outside and plenty of moonlight to be safe. Righteous. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/23/13 at 9:28pm
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Tuesday 4/23 Gym - compressed workout, no volume sets Deadlift 130×5, 165×5, 195×3, 265×3, 280×3, 295×3 Good Mornings 3x10@95 HLR 1x10, 1x5 all the bicep would take Abs More throws by moonlight WOB 20# kettle bell x 5 for warmup 56# x 6 all "no heights" with the bar at 9' Am I discouraged? Hell no. The last time I practiced WOB, I strained my trapezius. No trouble this time. 20# kettle bell a few more times just working on form. Determined that I need to get my head further back to get the right path on the weight. Good to know. Stones 16# Braemar x 3 16# Open x 10 20# Braemar x3 20# Open x 5 Spins are a no-go right now. Glides are barely functional. I'm going to stick with the Hebert Hop. It works every time. Otherwise working on the components of good form. Everything felt good. Four days until Triad Highland Games in Greensboro, NC. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/26/13 at 8:16am
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Wednesday 4/24 - compressed workout, no volume sets. Last gym day this week. Bench Press 95×5, 115×5, 140×3, 185×3, 200×3, 210×3 OHP 55×5, 70×5, 85×3, 115×3, 120×3, 130×3 Abs No throwing this night because it was raining, so there was no moon. Thursday 4/25 Lifted a large Subway turkey on wheat. Reps got easier the longer I went. Throws 22# Hammer 3 x wind ups with no release 3 x 1 wind throws 3 x 2 wind throws Felt good 28# WFD 3 x standing throws 3 x single turn throws 5 x full throws. Still not pretty, but much better than it was. Friday 4/26 Going to sheaf a little this morning after it warms up, then pack up and head to NC. Triad HG start in the morning. It will by my first games of the season and only my second games ever. Regardless of how I do in the pool of athletes, I feel so much more prepared than I did at last year's Blairsville games. One of the things Duncan McCallum talked to me about when he came to visit for the March for Babies, was (badly paraphrased), "Practice until you are at home in the trig. That way when you get to competition and there are crowds and music and funnel cakes, you will still feel like you are in a comfortable and familiar place." I'm going to keep that in mind and have fun. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: dWood
Date Posted: 4/26/13 at 9:37am
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Go for the diet funnel cakes! Throw high and far. Good luck! ------------- JUST BRING IT / SPEED KILLS..BUT STRENGTH PUNISHES |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 4/27/13 at 4:00pm
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Okay Okay How did you do? Hurry post something.
------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/28/13 at 5:08pm
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Back from Triad HG - long drive home in the rain with my sons bored in the back seat, but home safely. The Games were fun and the weather cooperated, so good news there. They ran the As and the Women together, three women (one of which was Adriane Wilson), and I don't know how many As, but I'm going to guess ten or twelve. The B group where I was had 10. My events in order:
I call a complete hat trick for the games: 1) didn't get hurt, 2) had fun, 3) did well. I have no idea where I placed in the field, but if they key it into the database, I will post an update. I'm pretty sure I wasn't last. I also got to meet Adriane Wilson and Wes Kiser while I was there, so bonus on that. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 4/29/13 at 10:36am
5 PR's wow Tom way to go.  ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/29/13 at 9:15pm
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Thanks Glenn. I have a long way to go, but that doesn't take away at all from how far I've come. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Alan H
Date Posted: 4/30/13 at 2:02pm
EXACTLY. Well done, Tom! ------------- Alan Hebert Geezer-In-Training |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/30/13 at 8:11pm
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Monday 4/29 Very sore from Triad. Went to get Then she made me pay.  Tuesday 4/30 Gym: OHP 55×5, 70×5, 85×3, 110×5, 120×3, 135×2, then 5x10@70 for speed. HLR 8, 8, 5 bicep giving out. Abs Throwing: 20# stone -- toes to board x3, Braemar x3, Open (hop) x 3. Best open was 22' 28# stone -- toes to board x3, Braemar x3. Best Braemar was 15' 3" I'm still throwing too much forward and not enough up. Need to get my chest up and a good 45 degree push going. Beautiful sunset up in the field. Free show. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 4/30/13 at 10:34pm
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Some pictures from Triad WOB (the one good release)  Heavy Hammer (how's that for height?)  Caber (I look much more impressive than I was)  ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/06/13 at 6:28am
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Pretty much lost the rest of last week between work schedule, weather, and the plague that has been going around. I'm going to chalk it up to a mental health break and hit it hard back in the gym today. If it would stop raining for five minutes, I'd be able to throw! Even if it doesn't it's bordering on warm enough to throw height events in the rain. We'll see. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/07/13 at 6:42am
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Monday 5/6 Gym (repeating last cycle due to liftus interruptus): OHP 55×5, 70×5, 85×3, 110×5, 115×5, 120×7, then 5x10@70 for speed, but only got 7 on the last two sets. Not as strong as I had hoped, but I think I'm still getting over being ill. Abs Throwing: Sheaf -- trying out a new fork with longer tines, a longer handle, and 25% or so less weight. Gotta find the new rhythm, but the bag was going up. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/07/13 at 9:11pm
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Tuesday 5/7 Gym: Muscle Snatches 45x5, 65x5, 75x5 High Pulls 75x5, 85x5, 95x5 Brand new to both muscle snatches and high pulls. I'm sure I looked like a complete idiot learning the movements, but hey... I moved the dang weight. Deadlifts 130×5, 165×5, 195×3, 245×5, 265×5, 280×7 Throwing: Light Hammer 3 x 5winds with no release A dozen or so two winds at about 85% - 90% working on position, staying loose, speed of the head, and proper release. 3 x two winds at 100% last one dropped at about 54' which I believe is a PR for the conditions in my sector. These are getting better all the time. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/08/13 at 8:21pm
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Wednesday 5/8 No gym today. Throwing: WOB practice with the bar set at the 10' opening height I missed at Triad HG 5 x 20# kettlebell. All cleared easily. 5 x 40# kettlebell. None cleared, but I hit the bar three times. Pull just wasn't really there tonight. No biggie; tomorrow is another day. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/09/13 at 9:29pm
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Thursday 5/9 Reverse of yesterday -- all gym, no throwing. Bench Press 95×5, 115×5, 140×3, 175×5, 185×5, 200×5 Kroc Rows 2x5@55 per side, 1x20@65 per side Abs A little yoga tonight. Feeling beat-up from WOB practice last night. I'll take that to mean I worked hard and am getting stronger. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/12/13 at 11:04pm
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Friday 5/10 Squats 95×5, 120×5, 145×3, 185×5, 195×5, 205×7 Rehab Curls 40X10, 50x10, 60x10 Not bad. Abs Body just worn down this week. Lots of time on the road making me hurt. Need to rest over the weekend. Saturday 5/11 and Sunday 5/12 Dodging rain, playing with kids, honoring my wife for Mothers' Day, and resting the body. Also got the back field mowed and a new trig placed and lined. This one is a little flatter and less beat up than the one I was using, so I hope to have a better time with the WFDs. Back to throwing tomorrow. 13 days until Gallabrae in Greenville. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/13/13 at 8:54pm
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Monday 5/13 Pic of the new set up -- the distance from the trig to the woods is 75', so a near term LH goal is to hit the trees! The cone and dark stripe of earth is at 12' from the trig. Everything from the trig forward is up slightly up hill. My sheaf/WOB standards and bar is to the left. Right now it has a max height of about 15' so I need to mount the ropes higher.  Throwing today: Light Hammer
HWFD
Sheaf
------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/14/13 at 10:05pm
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Tuesday 5/14 Really abbreviated gym time. Got in, got it, got out. OHP 55×5, 70×5, 85×3, 115×3, 120×3, 130×5 Abs Throwing Stones: 16# Braemar x 5 best was 20' 3" Hop x 5 best was 23' 5" Single turn x 5, best was approx 20'. Looked like a whiskey drunk fairy. 20# Braemar x 5 best was 21' 8" Hop x 3 best was 22" Ran out of daylight at that point. Did all these throws in rapid succession with no real rest between other than shagging the stone. Not the best session but I'm getting better loft and trying to hit the 45 degree push more consistently. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Duncan McCallum
Date Posted: 5/15/13 at 5:24am
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Keep working that technique Tom. Distance and speed will come. Noddin my head like yeah... ------------- The man in the arena. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/15/13 at 6:04am
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^^^ Duncan sighting! Thanks man. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/15/13 at 10:05pm
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Wednesday 5/15 Lots of stress going on at work and at home. Sooo... we pull. Muscle Snatches 65x5, 75x5, 85x5 Still getting the technique and motor planning on these. Dead Lifts 135×5, 165×5, 195×3, 265×3, 280×3, 295×5 Yeah. Good Mornings 3x10 @ 115 Abs Barbells fix everything. Not throwing tonight. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: Alan H
Date Posted: 5/16/13 at 1:51pm
Nice setup, Tom. I'm enjoying the telephone pole uprights....just a tiny tad bit beefier than what I set up for our practice group!! ------------- Alan Hebert Geezer-In-Training |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/16/13 at 10:09pm
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Thursday 5/16 Gym: Kroc Rows 2x5@55 per arm, 2x15@70 per arm Bench Press 95×5, 115×5, 140×3, 185×3, 200×3, 210×5, then 5x10@115 for speed Abs Throws: Heavy Hammer = 2x 5wind warmups, 10 not-full-power throws, 3 full power throws Sheaf = bunch of throws, no love. Need to start over with some drills. Alan -- I need a taller ladder and two eye bolts with toggles on them to move my rope guides up higher. Of course, if I have another sheaf practice like tonight... grrr... Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/20/13 at 9:13am
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Friday 5/17 Squats 95×5, 120×5, 145×3, 195×3, 205×3, 220×6 Rehab Curls 40x10, 50x10, 60x10 Leg Extensions 3x10 @ 70/s Calf Ext 2x20 narrow then wide No throwing. Body trashed. Saturday 5/18 Conditioning by assisting/carrying a 38 pound son for most of the day. Duncan had three birthday parties to go to, the first of which was his own, which we had at the local gymnastics center. The little guy is now 6. Where does the time go? Three generations: me, Duncan, and Poppa. Note the Team Dickens shirt!  Right bicep trashed by the end of the day. Buggerall. Sunday 5/19 Bicep more trashed than I realized. Need to rehab it before next weekend's games. Worked on sheaf fork a little, and planned a new piece of conditioning equipment. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: KiltBill
Date Posted: 5/20/13 at 12:48pm
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Mueller neoprene elbow sleeves will help. Wear them when you throw. ------------- Remember Kay Cummings, Father of the Highland Games in the Southeast and my friend. Lets Go Run With The Big Dogs! |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/20/13 at 1:29pm
I do! I'm actually wearing one in the gym photo above. I don't think I could get by without them. I have an old tendon injury that is taking forever to heal (like they do), but the old lacrosse ball, ice, TigerBalm treatment does wonders. I restarted that today, and threw sheaf no problem. More on that later. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/20/13 at 10:21pm
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5/20/13 Sheaf! After last Thursday's disappointment, I had an epiphany about the way I was blocking; so I went back out today and got my mojo back. All it took was blocking a bit higher and staying relaxed until the point of explosion. My bar is currently set at 15.5' and I cleared it ten times in a row, some of which were by multiple feet. Considering my current PR is 18', I think I'm back on track. Started with 5 bottom up drills, then twenty throws with alternating forks. All good. Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/21/13 at 9:49pm
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5/21/13 Gym -- compressed workout, no volume sets OHP 55×5, 70×5, 85×3, 110×5, 120×3, 135×5 Dead Lift 130×5, 165×5, 195×3, 245×5, 280×3, 315x3 Good strong day Throwing LH 2x5winds no release, 5x80%, 3x100% Nice and easy LWFD 3xsingle-turn, 10xfull-turn. Ended up messy just due to fatigue. Four days until the Greenville Scottish Games. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/22/13 at 9:34pm
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5/22/13 Gym -- compressed workout, no volume sets Bench Press 95×5, 115×5, 140×3, 175×5, 200×3, 220×2 Squat 95×5, 120×5, 145×3, 185×5, 205×3, 235×3 Last lifting day this week. No throwing. I'm so sore from yesterday's combination of OHP, dead lifts, and throwing that I just need to give the body a break. Three days until the Greenville Scottish Games. ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: TomLawrence
Date Posted: 5/27/13 at 10:27pm
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5/25/13 Greater Greenville Scottish Games and Highland Festival, Greenville, South Carolina This was by far the largest Highland Games I have been to. There was one group of As, two groups of Bs, two groups of Masters ('young' and 'old'), and one group of Women. I threw in the 'young' Masters group, which was ages 40-49. There were eight of us, and it was an extraordinarily fun group that included John Allen, Dave Fulford, and Randy McClure. I also got to meet Eric Snow while I was there and to see Adriane and Joe Wilson again. They are always fun. Events in order of competition: Heavy Hammer -- 50' 10" for 5th. Not a PR but not far from it. Light Hammer -- 68' 9" for 6th. PR. Braemar Stone (22#) -- 21' 10" for 6th. Not bad, but not great. Open Stone (16#) -- 27' 4" for 5th. Also not bad, but not great. HWFD (42#) -- 19' 4" for 7th. Weak, must work on this. LWFD (28#) -- 29' 9" for 8th. Weak, must work on this. Sheaf (16#) -- 16' for 7th. Took three tries. The next height was 19' which I missed. I am throwing about 18.5' on average. WOB (42#) -- 10' for 7th. It took three tries to clear 9', but finally Dave, Randy, and especially John, said, "Get your head out of the way and look up at the bar!" Then I cleared 10' on the first try. By the time we were throwing 11', I was out of gas and hit the rotation right that I was throwing with only one person between or right after myself. I am throwing high enough, but I am throwing straight up, so it's not going over. Still, I had never heighted in this event before, so this was a major accomplishment. Caber (marked 18' 2" and 115#) -- 15 degrees for 6th. This was an ugly piece of lumber. It was pretty much all knots, and very top heavy. The people with lots of experience were able to turn it. Those of us with less, could not. Nature of the beast. This was a very professionally run game. John and his crew were top notch, and since I followed Wheaton's Law, I hope to be welcomed back next year. Photos -- Up was not clearly not the problem. Over was the problem:  Ugly caber:  Duncan was practicing on the track (went 3/4 of a mile) while I was throwing stones and WFDs. While he was there, he met a nice girl, but we understand she's already spoken for. Little brother Roland playing in the long jump sand in the background:  Blairsville in two weeks! Tom ------------- Aim high. Stay hungry. |
Posted By: wsciscoe
Date Posted: 5/28/13 at 6:16pm
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A few things Tom: First, You and your son are inspiring to me and many more here on NASGA so Keep it up. Second, Take a step back on the WOB. I like to be almost directly under the bar. If you aren't careful you can develop a bad habit of trying to throw it behind you. Focus on throwing straight up this will put all of the energy into height. The slight natural curve of the throw will push it behind you. (same on sheaf) Third, Big fat sticks move fast but want to turn really bad. When the timing is right it will turn easier than you think it should ------------- Old enough to know better. Still too young to care. |