The holiday period was crazy for me, as I’m sure it was for a lot of people. I’m happy to be back to my normal routine, but they came at a great time since I was deloading for a week anyway.
This week I’ve been getting back into more intensity and a bit more volume and I’m feeling good, both mentally and physically. During my deload I was feeling frustrated and run down, so it probably came a week too late-or it could have just been the combination of Christmas, a wedding, and New Year’s all in a week span.
My velocity numbers are climbing again and I’ve started using some different drill variations on one of my high output days. If you read my most recent post, then you know that for some athletes I use drills other than running throws for their pulldowns. I’m one of those athletes. At one point I was very good at running throws, but I got in my own head a bit and trying to organize myself during a running throw became difficult, going to a more constrained drill became necessary. If you can’t throw at maximum intensity because you’re thinking about the movement, then that drill is probably the wrong choice for you.
I’ve gone to a more stationary roll-in variation and I’ve been pleased with the results so far. I feel comfortable in this drill and I’ve been able to push the intent, which had been a struggle recently. Getting two high output days in a week has still been hit and miss, as some weeks I’ve recovered adequately and others it just isn’t there. Going forward I’m going to make sure that I lay out a back-up plan in case of poor recovery, so that I know exactly what I want to get done even if I’m not able to test.
The weight room portion of my training has improved as well. It was a bit tough to program because I don’t have a firm date to be ready by, I’ll just be ready when I’m ready. I’m trying to throw 100 mph and when that happens it happens, but it’s difficult to know exactly when that will be. This makes the periodization a bit more challenging, so I’ve gone to a strength/power hybrid program because it’s a bit less taxing on my CNS than the previous program was. Volume is still low to medium since sport specific training is the focus, but I’m having more fun in the weight room now than I have for a few weeks.
This process is a crazy, winding road but I’m excited to see where it goes. Thank you for following me on my journey to the show and check back soon for more content.