Our throws athlete – Jack – wrote this great article about the training environment being so important to his progress.

Thanks for sharing, Jack!

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When my dad got a job at a college in Maine this last year I knew that I would be spending the summer in Maine.  While I flew away to for the summer I thought of all the advantages it could give me in my training and really could not think of a con. I thought of all the time I could spend training and throwing, while being able to sleep a lot and not do much during the day to recover, which I’m not given during the school year. These are big advantages that I could take advantage of to make huge PRs in the discus and shot put, while also adding weight to the bar.  I was excited to realize the opportunity that I was given. But I was missing one key ingredient.

As I stepped into the gym on a Friday after just flying in I was expecting to get back into the swing of things. I had just been on another vacation in Michigan for two weeks. I wanted to get some squats in an explosive movement and a pressing movement. I was greeted by a couple of guys working out there I thought no problem. While I was squatting and struggling with some light weight the man on the other rack decides to take out his headphones and blast rap, while grunting with 185, with a pillow on his back, which only made my squats harder. I’m rarely ever distracted while training, which made it harder to finish my workout. I’m also always around people who train – not “work out.”   As I put my belt on everybody stares at me like I’m crazy while they are doing 40 rep bicep curls with a wife beater on. I have never had to ask people to spot me on the bench before now; there are always people at Driveline Athletics. As I ask one of the least cocky men at the gym I tell him not to touch the bar unless I tell him to. As I struggle for my last rep on the first set I easily have it but, the man grabs it and racks it. I asked him why he touched it and he was worried I wouldn’t get it. I tell him I don’t need his help. As I bench for the summer I don’t use clips and if I think I can’t get the next set I just don’t do it. This obviously hurts my training.    As I struggle through this workout, these same types of people have been showing up the last month. I did not think about this before I left. I thought I would enjoy it and laugh at them, but there is no one to enjoy it with. I realized that a proper training environment and partners are crucial for you to get your training done. I have never trained without a great environment and partners and was surprised on the difference it makes.

I thought when I was in Maine I would have no problem when I was throwing, but I also made the same mistake.  I have always thrown with coaches or other throwers and didn’t realize how important they were. They can tell you a slight technique flaw that can turn a bad day into a good day or even a great day. They can give you cues that helped them get the motion down and throw further. They can give you rest in-between throws and allow you to forget about throwing. This is exactly what can help turn around a bad day of throwing. With no one there when I’m throwing you can go crazy when you are not right and have nothing to take your mind off of throwing. This was also what I was not expecting to have a problem with when leaving for the summer.

At Driveline Athletics I’m surrounded by people who work hard and understand what training is and help you reach those goals. No one uses a pillow on squats or does bicep curls or stares at you like you are crazy. We play music we like; we’re not looked down upon when we throw bumper plates down: We understand what training is at Driveline Athletics.   I did not realize or understood how important these people at Driveline Athletics and environment were to my training. If you are struggling with form they will help you if you have a heavy squat set they will motivate you through it.  It has been harder than I thought to train in Maine and I will always take this into account. I will always try to be with people who want to train and work hard. I will always be grateful for what I have at Driveline Athletics. Remember to always train with people who want to train and work hard. It will make a huge difference in the long run.

455+ before he leaves on summer vacation? We’ll see!

We hope to update this blog with training logs from some of the Driveline athletes going forward.

One of the high school athletes who trains at Driveline Athletics is currently on vacation and training at Bates College in Maine. During his training session, he was told “not to squat so low” and to “not drop weights on the platforms.” He is front squatting well-below parallel and uses the high-bar Olympic squat variation, getting nearly ass-to-grass – this is apparently unsafe and not good for the knees.

He was cleaning and snatching with bumper plates on their platforms when he was told not to drop the weights, which makes you wonder why they have bumper plates and platforms in the first place.

When I asked him about what the off-season football training program looked like, he said: “No one was squatting –  just light trap bar deadlifts and core work.”

Nice program. At least Bates College does pretty well in football despite the training program.

Well, actually…

Year – Record – Coach

1990 2 6 0 Web Harrison
1991 0 7 1 Web Harrison
1992 0 8 0 Rick Pardy
1993 0 8 0 Rick Pardy
1994 0 8 0 Rick Pardy
#1995 1 7 0 Rick Pardy
1996 0 8 0 Rick Pardy
1997 1 7 0 Rick Pardy
1998 1 7 0 Mark Harriman
+1999 4 4 0 Mark Harriman
2000 1 7 0 Mark Harriman
2001 1 7 0 Mark Harriman
+2002 3 5 0 Mark Harriman
2003 2 6 0 Mark Harriman
2004 2 6 0 Mark Harriman
2005 2 6 0 Mark Harriman
2006 1 7 0 Mark Harriman
2007 1 7 0 Mark Harriman
2008 2 6 0 Mark Harriman
#2009 1 7 0 Mark Harriman

(thanks to jsnipes for the heads-up)

Embarrassing.

Title says it all. Watch the video and enjoy.

Here’s a great (NSFW) video about grip strength:

An outstanding excerpt from the related article:

Here is an old video of us hitting heavy support grip holds for time on the GRex.

Support grip is one component of grip strength. The others are crush, pinch, wrist postures and hand health.

Grip strength is the forgotten element of functional training and is essential since the hands are involved in all athletic and strength training endeavor (including building muscle or losing fat).

In fact the hands are the end point of the kinetic chain, so they must be developed if we hope to transfer the power created and accumulated from our bodies and express it through our hands.

I cannot stress how important the bolded part is! Having a crushing grip will carry over well into almost all sports for that specific reason. It makes your force application technique better in the baseball/golf swing, the drive from a lineman/flanker, and the slap shot from a hockey player.