April Training Update
With temperatures reaching 25º C (77º F) in Zürich over the weekend, it’s hard to believe I have to wait another month for the season to start. It feels like summer has already arrived. But when I talk with my friends in Kamloops and Seattle I realize that summer has definitely not arrived. That’s good since another month will give me more time to fine-tune my technique. My finaceé is out of town for a few weeks, which has give me more time to party focus on this task.
I spent some of the extra time visiting coach Samuele Dazio on Friday in Ticino. I first met with Dazio at the Swiss Athletics Hammer Workshop in March. Immediately he gave me some fresh ideas on how to improve my technique. Since then we have remained in contact and I hope to visit him once or twice a month in the future. Bondarchuk continues to write my training programs, but is has been difficult to work on technique without him watching me in person. I thought it would be easier since I also trained away from him while I was in law school, but what I forgot is that even in law school I visited him for a few days each month. I need those few days. As much as I think email, YouTube and self-coaching can improve my technique, there is no replacement for someone watching you and giving instant feedback. Dazio was an accomplished thrower himself and coaches the same basics principles as Bondarchuk, so it has been a great match.
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Hi Martin,
Your orbit has improved making for a much better balance in your throws. In terms of intensity one of the differences between Bonderchuk and Zaitchouk is Zaitchouk is very careful about the number of maximum throws taken in a practice session. He says that each athlete has only 3-8 hard throws in his body and this does not vary very much from practice session to practice session. The number is individual to the athlete. You can find out your personal limit by having someone watch you throw. You warm-up then start throwing maximally. The observer counts the number of throws until it seems you slightly lose feel/coordination. For most athletes I have coached the number is 4-5.
Joe
Thanks Joe. Since we normally only take around 15 throws per session, I can take most of my throws hard after the warm up throws. But when the focus is on distance, then I often forget about the other technical points I need to fix. Having a coach around, even a javelin coach who would come to watch weekly last summer, reminds me that I’m there to work on technique too. And, lo and behold, the distance gets even better when you don’t focus on it. It’s one of those things that every thrower knows but is rarely used since it is counter-intuitive.