Hammer

Weird day today. I was supposed to have a pilates workout but it got cancelled. I hadn't planned on doing any lower training today, and was feeling pretty beat up from the weekend, so I kept with the plan.

Hammer:
Warmup
Hip swings and circles
Quad/hip flexor stretches
Book opening
Hammer Reaches/Side Bends

Throws:
20 Throws
10 1 winds to 120'
10 full throws to 125'

Felt ok, but I can tell I haven't thrown hammer for 6 weeks. The full throws were obviously missing the finish as I only got an extra 5' out of my full throw.

Training:
Single leg squat
Agility ladder
Agility/Plyo hurdles

Was happy with the agility and hurdle drills as my ankle didn't hurt at all.

Upper / Braemar

Trying to get back on a regular schedule now that my ankle seems to be doing pretty well on it's own. Monday is typically upper and braemar since it's late in the day when I get off work. Today is Memorial day, so I have the day off, and more time to train. I'm working on scheduling plyos 2x per week for both upper and lower so today and Thursday will be upper plyo day and Tomorrow/Friday will be lower. The research shows that 48-72 hours is best between plyo days so that should be good and I plan on rotating the exercises in 3 week waves.

Throws:
26# Braemar
This thing is always a beast and when I haven't thrown it for a while, it's like the HW. It really takes it out of you. It tucks well and throws good, it's just so heavy that it really takes some work to get it moving. I took 20 throws in sets of 5 more like a workout than anything else. Managed around 35' which is where I usually start with this thing at the beginning of the season. My best ever was right around 40 towards the end of the season after all the reps with it started to catch up.

15# OS
My stone is slightly lighter, I tell myself this is because I want to work on the speed...but it's also because I'm too lazy to go find another one, and I like how it tucks.

Took about 9 throws working on the finish with a good block and confident reverse. Managed 48', not great but first time throwing on grass since the injury and my mind is still not into it.

Training:

Bench Bar Throws
65# x3 - 45# x3
Trying to minimize the time between the 65# throw and the 45# throw to work the CNS. Worked through this 5x for 30 touches

Bench
3 week
275x3
315x3
345x8

Snatch
80% x3x5
120kg Hole 6

Band Pull aparts
Light x15 between each set of bench

Landmine
Arcs/Presses
45x10x5

Pullups
x5x4

Not a bad day, was working hard throughout and the plyos felt good. I'd like to push the touches per day into the 100s as my body gets accustomed to the more aggressive movements. I'll try to use 2-3 exercises per day, but I'm working into it.

Sunday Funday

Today was a crazy day. I took yesterday off as I was still pretty beat up and want to come into the next 2 weeks before Utah and Chicago fresh and confident. I spent most of the day outside doing lawn work, mowing, mulching, edging, flower bedding, etc. and was pretty tired going into the training session.

Warm-up
Bike x8 minutes
Hip swings, circles, and lifts
45 degree bounding

Throws:
HWFD
6 one turns, best of right around 37'
6 full throws, right at 40'
Just trying to get the groove back. I was working pretty hard for that 40' throw, but haven't thrown the 56 since my ankle injury. I have a love/hate relationship with the 56 because when it's going good; it will really get out there, but when it's going bad; it just buries me and nothing I can do will dig me out of that hole except to shut it down for the day. I know that the more I throw it, the stronger it gets (weird...something about specificity?) but it's frustrating to not have the distance I want right now.

Training:
Got a trap bar, a Walmart special. Nothing fancy, just a hexagon with thick welds and 70$ out of my pocket. It has short collars but fits 100# plates just as well as 45s so I should be able to load it up.

I got it up to 430 for 10, 8, 6 with 20 shrugs at the end of each. I'm trying to keep up with my long distance training partner in her shrug game so Team Boom can, at the very least, be known for the best traps.

Friday Rehab / Throwing

Today was a long day and my body is feeling pretty beat up and run down. I decided it was a good day to shut it down early, get some rehab and mobility done, and call it good.

Rehab:

The usual, single leg balance, agility drills, bike, some low level plyos, and that's pretty much it.

Used the rehab as a warmup for some open stone work. I'm still throwing OS from asphalt which is a little more comfortable mentally as it's a nice smooth surface. It has a little more grip than I would like and I really have to focus on pre-turning the right and keep it grinding around. I'm really liking the MSA but I have to be careful not to rush into the throw and keep my shoulders back. I was able to hit right at 50' which was great, but I'm still having a mental block with the reverse as that is exactly how my injury occurred. What I end up with is a pitcher's block with the R leg up in the air and a very inefficient release. This is good for getting back in the saddle of throwing, but not great for getting back up in distance.

I will probably begin to add some reverses to my plyos to get some confidence with landing.

Upper / Throwing

Rehab is going well and at this point is mostly part of training. I am making a bit of a training shift towards more coordination and footwork and off of heavy training. I feel like the heavy training was good when I was early in the injury because I felt like I was doing something. This made the mental aspect of injury much more manageable. I am really liking the shorter, more intense circuit type workouts with lots of varied movements rather than the sessions prior to my injury. I was able to get out and throw light weight with spikes today as well which was much better.

Throwing:
I'll be putting just the throwing things in here and everything else will go in training, even though I did quite a bit before I threw.

LW
15 throws, 7 one turns to 70', 8 full throws to 75 then 80'
Felt about 75% effort with good timing and connection

Training:
Overhead
135x3x5 working on accelerating the bar and good scapular control

Floor Press
135+80# chain x5
155+80# chain x3x5

Bent Row
155+80# chain x10x4

Suitcase carry
120x4 trips

KB Snatch
70x3x5

Overhead shot throw x10 throws

Agility Ladder

Lower / Rehab / Throwing...kinda

Ankle is feeling better, I was in compression socks all day yesterday and that helped quite a bit with the swelling. Today I did a terrible job with the other general things that keep a body running, like...sleeping, eating, and drinking, because sometimes, I just don't have the drive to keep up with everything. It's hard to keep up with all the nutrition and other things sometimes, and sometimes, I just say screw it. I never feel good about it, but sometimes you just need a break. So I didn't have the best training day, but it wasn't bad either.

Rehab:
Added two leg lands from a light jog to start to mimic the caber plant/pull. I also started some light jogging, but there is still a limp, so it was short lived.

Training:
SSB Squat
155x10
245x10
335x8
425x5
515x5x2
425x5x2

T-Bar row
145x15x5

Arm over Arm sled drag
140# prowler x5

Ab wheel
x10

Clean
Worked up to 130 and did quick response pulls x5-8 each

Throwing:
Too rainy to really throw hammer, but I put the boots on and did single winds dumping to the R. I was able to put about 15 full winds into the same hole, so felt good about the consistency. I really need to be careful about foot placement and turning the R foot out so I don't crank on the outside of my ankle when I'm going through the winds.

Still need to try WOB and Sheaf prior to Utah, but I'm feeling more confident by the day.

Upper / Rehab

Too Rainy to throw...blech. But! I was able to get some open stone in last night. I took about 15 throws and started hitting a little more comfortable reverse position. I'm liking the MSA throwing style, less to think about, more ability to get into the stone. Hopefully it will pay dividends as my ankle progresses.

Rehab:
Agilities, jumps, and balance. Agilities are going well, better foot speed and single leg hops felt much better after warming up

Upper:
Circuit

Bench
135x10
225x10
255x5
295x5
335x8

Snatch Pulls
110x3x5

Landmine
Press
Twist

Med ball put, overhead
18# x10/5 x5

Band Pull Aparts
Light x10x5

Felt ok, bench went well. I'm sore from a pilates continuing ed class I took over the weekend, so this felt about right.

Upper / Rehab / LW

Ankle did ok today at work. It got a little swollen but felt ok during rehab and warm ups that I felt good about trying to do some throwing. I'm working more on landing and takeoff mechanics on the single leg. I feel better about working at a slight angle because I have less plantarflexion propulsion and more hip work. It's specific to the throws but not for WOB, Sheaf, or caber. I'll need to start to get more comfortable on the single leg plyos for those to feel better. I'm planning on making some plyo hurdles out of PVC in the next few weeks to get some work in on those for coordination and rehab.

Rehab:
Added jumping and landing today which was fine. Agilities are starting to speed up and feel more natural again.

Throwing:
LW, took about 10-15 throws total. 10 one turn, and 5 full. This is the first time throwing full, the grass was tall and I felt pretty uncomfortable landing after the cast but it started to reduce as I built confidence. I'm still working in flats to avoid torque in the ankle with spikes, but I think spikes would be better for the first turn.

Upper:
Standing Press
135x10x4 with quick response and acceleration at the top

Landmine press in throwing position working on core bracing and quick press
100# x5-10 x4

Landmine row
145 x15 x4

Hammer Winds
22 x10 x4

Not a bad day, here's a vid of my rehab and a few throws.

Extra Day!

Since I wasn't happy with how Tuesday went as I was rushed in the gym, I decided to get an extra day of lifting in. Whoop says good recovery today, so I thought "Why waste it!?"

Rehab
The usual, single leg hops are coming along. I'm emphasizing landing, which is no problem, it's the quick response jump after landing that causes pain. I'm working a lot on dorsiflexion and weighted eccentric heel lifts to try to manage that. Nothing will really help that except for time.

Training
Hatfield Squats
Worked up to 425x10x4

Side Lunge
45x50

Good enough!

Tried to get some work on the quads then... NormaTec!

Lower / Rehab / Hammer?

I had to get in earlier than usual today as I had some afternoon meetings and stuff to get done. As a result, the ankle was a lot stiffer and took a lot longer to warm up. It never really loosened up all the way and was sore during most of the workout. 

Rehab:

Nothing new here, I was able to actually get the ankle to dorsiflex enough to get a calf stretch, which was new and exciting. The agility work is going well and the unilateral standing is getting more natural. There is still a lot of substitution and inhibition that I can feel when I stand on one leg but it is getting better. The goal is single leg hops in the next two weeks. Double leg hops are fine now and lateral movement doesn't seem to bother it.

Hammer:

Single winds in the boots. The ankle definitely doesn't like this movement the most. I had pain digging in, and if I catch too far to the left, it pulls on the outside of the ankle. I also couldn't tolerate the brace in the boot due to lateral compression. So that was part of it. No measure here, was able to get about 3 full throws in at an easy 50% without too much pain.

I have a continuing ed class all weekend so thought I would try the MSA open stone as I think that will be the best option going forward since the full spin is probably out due to the torque on the right. I think it went well, I can't reverse yet and accidentally did on one throw (Habit). It definitely isn't ready, but I was happy that there was minimal pain.

Training:

I had to rush through since I added open stone.

Hatfield Squat

155x10

245x10

335x10

425x10x2

Walking lunges

x4

Landmine twists

x10x4

Standing suitcase obliques

110x15x3

Decent day, happy with the throws.

Upper / Rehab / Braemar

The ankle is starting to feel a little more "normal". I still get pain first thing in the morning after being plantarflexed all night but after loosening up and getting it moving, it does pretty well throughout the day. There are definitely still proprioceptive deficits with single leg stance and vestibular challenges but much better. I have really been doing a lot of long duration DF stretches to improve capsular mobility which has helped a lot with the loaded DF during plyos

Rehab:

Nothing new, agility ladder is better today and single leg hops are less painful.

Braemar:

Starting to get back into a normal schedule of throwing. 18# stone throw, working on R leg push as there is still a lot of hesitancy there, and getting my hip through. No measure, but I got probably 15 throws in without issue.

Upper:

Still liking the circuit nature as I really feel a lot more warmed up for my top sets in the main lift and I feel more athletic, which I like.

Bench 

135x10

225x10

Pad

285x5

325x3

365x4

Med ball overhead

x5x5

Snatch pulls

110kg x3x5 (this still hurts a bit, better when I'm "downhill" on the platform)

Band Pull Aparts

Physioball core

stir the pot

pike

I also did quite a few overhead shot throws with the 8kg shot. No pain with those

Cold shower and NormaTec to finish. The ankle was swollen after this workout, but minimal pain.

Saturday Rehab/Upper/ and more throwing!

My ankle has been feeling stiff and sore in the morning. I know it's probably from being plantarflexed all night but there is no way I'll be able to sleep in a night splint. So I just stretch it out first thing in the morning and it seems to be doing ok. It feels like kind of a capsular stretch in the posterior ankle but also may be achilles compressing the os trigonum. It feels like the long duration stretches that I have been doing have been helping the DF tolerance, so I'll keep going with those. 

Rehab:

Working more standing balance with vestibular challenges to get better at maintaining balance with the rotational movements. I've also been adding planted rotation on the R which is going well. More work on the agility ladder shows good improvement in the lateral movements and bilateral support hops, but single leg hops are still pretty iffy. I'm going to be making some agility hurdles to work more LE plyometrics which should improved the confidence. 

Throwing:

Since the loaded rotational movements felt ok, I felt like at least standing weight throw would go well.

28# stands x10

Decided to risk it a bit and do a one turn. After a few times through the trig without the weight, I felt confident it would be ok.

28# one turns x4

Only one felt rough and it was due to a lot of plantarflexion at the finish. Felt good for the next 3 but a little fatigued and decided to call it before I got sore. I stepped one out to a little over 70' so I was very happy with that. 

Training:

In keeping with the "Circuit" type workouts I've been liking, I did the following in circuit style

Med ball overhead throws

18x10x5

Standing / backwards sled drags

90# prowler x7

Ab wheel

x10x7

Floor Press

225x10x7

KB Snatch

70 or 106 x a few

Everything felt good today and I was very excited about the weight throws. 

Lower/Rehab...and Throwing!

Felt good throughout the day, the rotational tolerance is improving so I thought maybe I could do some standing throws and see how it felt today!

Rehab:
The usual, working through the agility ladder is getting better. I have better impact tolerance and foot speed and less hesitancy on landing with the high knees. There is still joint discomfort but it is getting better.

Throws:
Braemar 18# stone, no measure, no reverse, and no right side drive.

Training:
I'm liking the circuit type training, I feel more athletic and am able to superset more explosive movements and strength movements which I feel like stimulates the nervous system a little more. I've also noticed my main movements feel better and stronger since I've essentially built in a very long full body warm up. For example:

Snatch pulls (the ankle did not like these the most) 70kg x10x5

SSB Squat
155x10
245x8
335x6
Work sets
385x3
435x1 (new PR) then 2 more holding on to the rack (the ankle really didn't like the single)
475x10

Walking Lunges
BW down the driveway x5

Landmine
L pull/R push
R push in finish position
Twists

Ankle was the most sore from the snatch pulls and the unassisted squat single but otherwise, it was a good solid day. I'm very excited about the throws, which is about 1 week earlier than I had anticipated.

Wednesday

So, felt tired this morning. I have been fatigued all week, ever since sleeping terribly on Saturday night and then going crazy on Sunday. I have set a goal to try to get at minimum 8 hours every night and my Whoop should help track that well. Since it's such a quick turn around for me on Wednesday night when I get off work at 7pm and have to be back at 6:45am, there isn't time for much. I decided quick rehab, compression, eat, and bed would be a good plan.

Rehab:
Felt decent today and decided to try the rower. I have been wanting to get to it as I feel like to foot angle will allow me to work into DF and PF with each rowing stroke but I wanted to wait until I felt better about controlling that motion. I got loosened up and then hit it followed by yoga. Yoga is another one of my goals to get back to to try to improve my general recovery and get back into throwing shape. I've slacked off on general mobility since this ankle injury and need to get back into so when the ankle is ready, I will be too.

Standing ABCs both legs, still definitely different on the R.

Standing leg swings, working on tolerating the rotation moment at the ankle with the leg swings. No pain, good confidence.

Heel/Toe Raises. Getting better here, improved ROM and tolerance.

Rowing: 5 minutes, decent pace ankle felt ok

Yoga: Worked through the first few stretches of the Throga sequence I do. Mostly felt ok.

NormaTec compression

Bed.

The ankle is feeling better. I was able to do some standing rotation on the R on the cement without issue, minimal friction but felt stable without the brace. Hopefully this leads to getting back in the field sooner. I will try to get some sheaf throws in in the next few days as I think the stationary nature will be fine. I may also try some WOB with the standards to get some reps in and feel the ankle out.

Upper / Rehab

Felt better this morning, spent most of it outside mowing and doing some maintenance.

Rehab:
Pumps/Circles/Alphabet standing. Definitely less coordinated on the R.
Heel Raises: 70# x10x3
Toe Raises: Off edge of platform x10x3
Foam Balance: Lots
Agility ladder: High Knees, Side Shuffle, Carioca. Feeling more confident on the lateral moves.


Training:
I did a circuit of sorts today. I liked it. It made me feel like an athlete and not just a lifter.

Bench
275x3
305x3
345x8

Arm over arm drag
90x5

Med ball throw
Overhead up, back, and single arm reps
18x10x5

Landmine Arcs
45x10x5

Band Pull Aparts
Light x10x5

Ankle held up well for the throws and drags. I was able to drag the sled back down backwards without issue today. Good day.

Monday

Shit.

Felt terrible all day, didn't sleep well over the weekend. Was really beat up from the marathon yesterday and decided to call it a day. I did rehab, but nothing else.

Rehab:

The usual.

NormaTec.

Bed.

Weekend

Saturday
No training today, just rehab. I've been using the NormaTec boots and really feel like they help reduce the swelling and pressure sensitivity in my ankle. Hopefully I can get them to let me have a pair on the cheap!

Rehab:
Nothing new. Feeling more comfortable with weight bearing but having pain in the posterior ankle. I'm thinking it may just be some capsular tightness or irritation in the posterior tib. Who knows, I may have sprained the deltoid ligament too and that's what hurts medially.

Sunday
Marathon day. Early morning, pick up Amanda, drive to stadium and set up the NormaTec booth. We had 7 units running pretty much non-stop the whole day until about 1:30. It wasn't until 3:30 that I got home. I brought a unit home and put my feet up, spent about 30 minutes in compression and then hit the rehab.

Rehab:

Starting to do more on my feet so I've been wearing the ASO. It seems to help and I feel much better doing more dynamic closed chain movements. Calf strength is still lagging behind so I did more loaded heel lifts today which were tolerated well. The biggest news was I was able to get through the agility ladder with side-side shuffle and high knees. It was a bit sketchy on the high knees but the side-side felt pretty good.

Check out the vid --->

Making progress!

Lower / Rehab

Doing ok today, got the afternoon off of work so I can get all the NormaTec gear sorted and ready for the marathon this weekend. It will be nice to be done with that, and hopefully I can score a deal on a system for the season.

Rehab seems to be going well, I'm getting some impingement pain in anterior and posterior talocrural joint, hopefully that's just something that needs to get worked out.

Rehab:

Pumps, circles, alphabet

Single leg stance airex

LAX ball roll sole of foot

Standing weight swings 28#, feels good to at least get the weight back into my hand. Just working on the first part of the throw, not actually moving my feet except to shift weight and this didn't hurt today with the brace on. It did hurt last Saturday, so I'm making progress.

Walking, Step throughs

Heel raise, toe raise

Plyos
Supported, front/back, side/side. Probably 50 touches

Training:

Med ball throw
18# overhead, side, semi-braemar

Deadlift
worked up to 405 from the floor and then 10 lockouts from below the knee. Good to have to stop the weight and then pull it, plus it doesn't put much stress on the ankle from the DF at the first pull

Squat
SSB
135x10
225x10
315x10
405x10x2 (Hatfield)

Ab Wheel

Spent about 30' in the NormaTec boots, I think that helped quite a bit to flush out the legs. I'd like to try them with a high volume leg day and see how I feel the next day.

Upper / Rehab

The ankle has been feeling a little more sore today, I did the normal rehab, but am having some lateral abutment pain from some of the pronation I've been having and I am still pretty sensitive over the distal malleolus medial and lateral. I did go for a walk over the noon hour and did GameReady but still sore. After evening rehab, it did start to feel better. 

Rehab:

The usual, 

Added standing bar supported plyos two leg hops, side-side hops, and single leg hops. There was some pain with the landing, but minimized with increased use of the UE.

Training:

Tried reverse band seated OHP today, I suck so much at overhead pressing. It's the worst. I was able to grind a few reps at 225 with the Average bands, but my band tension is unequal and it was so slow and terrible. I dropped to 185 and did probably 5 sets of 3ish at decent speed. 

Med Ball toss / shot releases

18# x10x3

Ab wheel roll outs

x10x3

Pullups x8x3

Floor Press / Bent Row

225x10x3

Didn't feel real motivated today but felt like I got a decent workout in. I've come a long way, but it feels like I'm so far away from actually throwing that I get frustrated. 

Wednesday Update

No training on Wednesday as per usual programming, but I did rehab all day.

BOSU Balls stands improve to >60s, minimal pain in the posterior tib and ROM is improving. Getting out of the boot has helped mentally and physically. I am going to try to get into some off the shelf orthotics to give better rearfoot support and medial posting and start into some very low level plyometrics.

There is no way I'm going full body weight plyos yet, but the research is pretty clear that the sooner you can get back to pain free plyos the better your recovery and risk of re-injury. Plyos will start seated, with quick response heel raises/jumps with minimal weight.

I spread some lawn fertilizer tonight and stepped in a hole, big surprise, which resulted in quick PF of the ankle and a good amount of pain, but it was short lived and doesn't seem any worse the wear. Good news.

Get better every day.

Upper / Lower / Rehab

Feeling better today. I wore the Nanos with a medial heel wedge for the morning and didn't have much trouble but was a little achy by noon. I did rehab round two of more AROM, PROM, closed chain work, and balance/proprioception which helped and then did the following:

Back to 5-3-1 as I felt the best I have for as little actual throwing that I was doing when I was at the Arnold. I did 5-3-1 leading up to that and really felt like I had a good base of strength. With this ankle, my throwing volume is going to be way down, so I feel like if I can get back a good base of strength, that should help...right?

Bench
135x10
225x10
255x5
285x5
325x10
No wrist wraps on any sets, using pad of course

Bench was super setted with rope sled drag and band pull aparts

Squat
SSB, downhill to reduce dorsiflexion with a towel as a medial post to reduce pain, which actually worked very well.
135x10
225x10
315x10x3 Rack assist for last 2 sets, good quad activation, minimal pain. Happy Athlete!

Med ball toss
18# x10x3

Med ball shot toss
18# x10x3

Get better every day

Mondays

I was in the boot for most of the work day and it SUCKED. I was so sore by about 4:00 that I had to take it off. I wore the wrong shoes, and the boot was throwing my hips and back way off that everything hurt almost equally. I decided against training tonight and just did some easy ROM and closed chain rehab and went to bed...ugh, waste of a day.