Training Talk with Derek Evely (Part 2)
Last week I posted a discussion I had with Derek Evely regarding training theory. Despite it’s length, that was just part one. Part two is below and part three is on the way soon. All of these touch on a common theme: discussing how to implement Bondarchuk’s methods. For those of you unfamiliar with Coach Evely’s background, he is currently the director of the Loughborough (UK) University High Performance Centre. He had the opportunity to learn from Bondarchuk first hand when they worked together in Kamloops, and has been fine tuning his approach ever since. As I mentioned in the last post, to get the most out of this interview it helps to have a little understanding of Bondarchuk’s approach to training. You can learn more about that through this link, or by reading Part I. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comments below.
Part 2: More About Hammer Throw Training
Martin: As I was saying, it might seem strange to some people but I’ve been able to make strength gains despite never lifting at a higher intensity.
Derek: I think that the single most difficult hurdle in describing Dr. B’s methodology is interpretation. I’ve done a number of presentations both with Dr. B. and without him, and I’ve talked to a lot of throws coaches about this because they hear the stories; they hear it about Dylan most of all, how he doesn’t really lift heavy, he doesn’t lift anything over a certain amount of weight, and it really messes with a lot of people’s heads and they really battle with that kind of concept. And I see why, but the biggest problem with it is that people look at it in such black and white terms, and they struggle with getting what the real message is.
Sorry, this content is for members only.Click here to get access.
Already a member? Login below… |
i know in an article, Dr. B stated what he felt was the strength limit needed to start to shift toward less heavy weights for a men shot/discus thrower, but i have never seen anything about the other events or women? i know in his transfer of training book he has model characteristics, but because these are quite higher than what he said was needed for the men shot/disc i assume they are all higher than what is needed before going less max strength work. any insight here?
If you also look in his book (Volume 1), he gives the correlations for each exercise at each level of thrower. You use those to see when the correlations drop off and the exercises should be deemphasized.
Question for Derek: I’m not exactly sure on what you mean when describing Sophie and Mark’s “day one and day two” programs. Do you mean that they do one workout on one day, then a completely different workout the next, and alternate them throughout the whole training cycle? You mention moving into alternating days once “the program (cycle) is set”, so I’m not sure if you’re alternating two different days the whole time or if its just at a certain point in the timeline…would you mind elaborating?
I think I can take a stab at the one for him. You are correct: they alternate training programs each day. The first day has cleans with some auxiliary lifts and the second day has a leg lift with other lifts. They likely use a different set of hammers each day two. Sophie has a more straightforward approach, so she will continue to repeat day 1 and day 2 until she reaches peak from. I think what he means by “set” is that once you begin, then you continue alternating the days until peak form is reached. Mark has a more complex approach that is harder to explain here.