I am glad everyone likes my message to the ladies.
The workout today took a much different turn. We are running various tests in order to find out what aspects of training need to be addressed. Todays tests had to do with maximum power output in different training scenarios. You will see what I mean.
1. Globe Trotters - We did these out in the field, much more space and farther throws.
2. Overhead Shot Heaves - I got 40' 5" This was not bad. 40 feet is about my best. (when training throwing, which I have not been doing much of) So I am pretty happy to hit my limit even though this type of skill was not being trained.
3. Standing Broad Jump - I hit 7' again, not bad for a mid-280's guy. I have some improvement to make here.
4. Standing Triple Jump - 20' 4" is what I hit on this one. Again, not bad for never having done this.
5. Tendo Tested Med Ball Throws - We attached the Tendo to our wrist and threw 3 trys at 20lb, 40lb, 60lb, 80lb, 100lb, and 20lb again. This was interesting. Absolute power increased for both the Cannon and I as we increased in weight. We were looking for a point where power would drop off. We need heavier med balls.
I threw a 7% higher power output the second time around with the 20lb. I thought this was interesting. Apparently using the heavier weight increased my nervous system activity. Pretty cool. This is a concept I should work into my power training.
The Cannon won the above 4 "events." So he gets 4 points.
6. Speed Bench Press - Since we did not find a point where power dropped off on the med ball throws we moved onto the bench press. We used the Tendo here as well to measure power. We did sets of three, with a separation between the reps. We added 20lbs per set. And kept increasing, with the goal of finding when absolute power started dropping.
My power output is pretty good under a heavier load. I hit 100 watts at 100kg. I would have most likely kept increasing power as we increased the weight. This is a dodgy exercise for me though, I tend to get shoulder issues if I use too much volume. So I cut it off.
7. Shrugs - 1 set 60 reps
I won the above 2 "events."
8. Back Extension / Reverse Fly - couple sets 10 reps.
PWO - The Usual
Thoughts -
Todays testing really got me thinking about the relationship (and difference) between speed-strength and strength-speed. I have pretty good strength-speed. (a situation where weight is the "more important" factor, over speed) When I was competing in strongman I moved 400lbs faster than 135lbs.
The snafu is that strength-speed does not carry over into speed-strength (a situation where speed is the "more important" factor over load) This means I am going to have to look a little harder at my training, if I am going to be a decent thrower. Example -
The Cybernetic Cannon threw higher power outputs than me in all of the medicine ball throws. I thought I would take him when we got to the 80lb and 100lb med balls. This was not the case though. I was still unable to recruit muscle fast enough, even at a seemingly higher load, against someone I am a bit stronger than.
So perhaps speed-strength is significant to higher weight than I initially thought.
I was more powerful on the bench press when we got to heavier weights. (specifically when we got over 200lbs) The issue is that non of the implements in highland games weigh over 200lbs. So I am at a disadvantage when it comes to speed-strength.
These are my thoughts for now. I would be interested to hear others thoughts on my current situation. I am thinking about changing the way I think about power training in general.
THE SCORE -
The Internet Surgeon - 10
The Cybernetic Cannon - 8
This NEMESISING is going to get interesting. Right now we each have a "kryptonite" so to speak. As out training evolves over time, our weaknesses will be fewer and fewer. This will be real interesting after the next year.