Lifting Spring 2011

For the rest of this post to make sense, I should clarify a few things. My training is split up into blocks. A training block consists of four weeks; three hard weeks and a down week. The kinds of exercises I do (type, and number of repetitions) and weights of implements I throw during each block are pretty much the same from week to week. The fourth week (down week) serves as a rest period before starting a new block the following week. Each new block consists of different exercises, numbers of reps, etc. Normally, I have between 6 and 8 strength blocks per season but due to the surgeries, I missed about half of them but much to my surprise, my strength levels came back relatively quickly. My current lifting block is a transition phase between strength and speed (moderately heavy weights for two or three reps, focusing on moving quickly) but the one before it was a strength block (heavy weights for one or two reps). You can see some video from my training sessions on my new YouTube Channel. I set lifetime bests in the jerk, split jerk, and snatch as well as squatting over 600 lbs for the first time in a few seasons. All in all, I'm very pleased with the progress I made in a short amount of time. From here, my focus will shift into doing more explosive movements at lighter weights in order to help transfer strength into power and speed, which are very important for throwing far.