Track & Field

How do you teach an athlete how to visualize?

Unlocking Peak Performance: Mastering Visualization Techniques for Athletes

Okay, so here's a question about how do you visualize, how do you teach an athlete to visualize. So I think there's two different ways you want to do this. There's kind of an external way and an internal way. So external would be like you see yourself like in a movie, like you see yourself doing the event, you're looking from the outside. So you're watching yourself like on video or something. That's how you want to be able to visualize that movement that you're doing. And then the other one is internal. So you're feeling how it's done. You want to recreate those feelings. So when you have a good performance, there's a lot of different things that will stimulate you whether it's all your senses, sight, sound, all those things. So you want to prepare yourself mentally for both those types of visualization that will really help you. So think about external and internal and find which way works better for you.

To teach an athlete how to visualize, you should encourage them to practice both external and internal visualization. External visualization would involve watching themselves perform the event as if they were in a movie, while internal visualization would involve creating feelings associated with a good performance by stimulating all of their senses.

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To teach an athlete how to visualize, there are two approaches: external and internal. The external method involves visualizing oneself from an outside perspective, as if watching a movie or video of the event. This helps in visualizing the specific movements involved. On the other hand, the internal method focuses on recreating the feelings associated with a successful performance. It involves stimulating all senses, such as sight and sound, to mentally prepare for the event. Both approaches can be beneficial, so it's important to explore and determine which method works best for each individual athlete.

How do you structure your tapering and preparation periods for competitions?

Optimizing Competition Preparation: Balancing Volume, Intensity & Recovery

So the question is, how do you structure your tapering and preparation periods for competitions? So I think one of the things when you think about tapering is you're going to reduce the volume, but you might not reduce the intensity. And there's something else called density, so how many hard workouts do you do in a week? So maybe in the early part of the season or off season, those might be three times a week, you're doing really intense workouts, whether you're running, jumping, throwing, it doesn't matter. So then what you do is you break down those workouts and you have more recovery time. So instead of once every other day, you might break it down to where you're going every third day as an intense workout, and the volume might be reduced a little bit too. So it's kind of a combination of the training structure, you're reducing the volume, but you're spreading out the density a little bit more too, so that also reduces the volume. But you need to have some intensity in your training, even when you're getting ready to peak. That's what I think. All right, thank you.

Tapering involves reducing volume, intensity, and density of workouts. This includes spreading out intense workouts over every third day and reducing the amount of work done in each workout. This will help you to peak in time for competitions.

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When it comes to structuring tapering and preparation periods for competitions, there are a few key considerations. Tapering involves reducing volume while potentially maintaining intensity. Additionally, density, or the frequency of hard workouts, plays a role.

In the early part of the season or during the off-season, intense workouts may occur three times a week. As the competition approaches, these workouts are broken down, allowing for more recovery time. Instead of every other day, they may be scheduled every third day. The volume of the workouts may also be slightly reduced.

The goal is to find a balance between reducing volume and spreading out the density of intense workouts. This helps to manage fatigue and optimize performance during the tapering period. It's important to note that even during the tapering phase, some level of intensity should be maintained in training.

By adjusting the training structure, reducing volume, and spreading out the density of intense workouts, athletes can effectively prepare for competitions.

Does speed or strength matter more for javelin?

Javelin: Speed Matters More than Strength

Hey, the question is, does speed or strength matter more in the Javelin? So with the Javelin throw, it is really more about speed. When you look at the Javelin, you're looking at like 25 to 30 meters per second at the release compared to the Shotput, which is maybe like 12 to 14 meters per second. So there's a substantial difference between those two release speeds for top level throwers. And an increase in release speed that's very minimal, it will increase distance maybe by as much as a meter. So if you make those smaller changes in release speed, it's going to have a big impact on your throw. So strength is important, especially specific strength through the shoulder area and having some strong ligaments throughout that shoulder and chest and elbow area are really critical. But you also need a good range of motion with some flexibility, so you're doing a lot of different exercises to improve those things. So there is some strength levels that need to be obtained to perform the event well. But if you're focusing on different variables, I would say speed is more important than strength. And speed and technique are both very important to throw well. But there are some strength factors. So focus your training more on speed development and specific work designed for the javelin throw.

Speed is more important than strength in the javelin throw, but there are some strength factors that need to be obtained to perform the event well. Focus your training more on speed development and specific work designed for the javelin throw.

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In the Javelin throw, speed is more important than strength. The release speed of the Javelin is significantly higher, around 25 to 30 meters per second, compared to the Shotput which is around 12 to 14 meters per second. Even a small increase in release speed can result in a significant improvement in distance, possibly up to a meter.

While strength is still important, particularly in the shoulder area and having strong ligaments, having a good range of motion and flexibility is also crucial. Training should focus more on speed development and specific exercises designed for the javelin throw.

In summary, while both speed and strength play a role, speed is more important in the Javelin throw. It is essential to focus on speed development and technique to excel in this event.

Building Power: The Key Muscles Shot Putters Use

Hey, the question is, what muscles do shot putters use? Well, most people think it's just like an arm action. So your arm gets tired when you're throwing and that's really not the case. If you look at the throwing events, it's really developing force from the lower body up through the hips and then into the upper body. So you go from the big muscles in the legs up to the bigger muscles in the upper body and you finish with the smaller muscles in say the elbow, fingers, wrist, that sort of thing. So it's about summoning those forces and getting one big boom at the end. So that's what it's about. So it's really about developing speed and power and some strength. So we want to train that way. With young throwers, we want to train the squat and then we develop technique in the power clean, let's say, hang cleans, those Olympic lifting movements, plyometrics, medicine ball throws that are general and event specific. So when we look at the muscles, you're looking at probably 70% of the throw is going to be with the lower body, including the hips and say mid-back and then the rotational movement is going to be important and then the upper body. So we're looking at most of it's going to be lower body and then a small part of it's going to be the upper body, maybe 30% or less. So that's kind of how it works and it's not about how big your arms are.

Shot putters use a combination of lower body and upper body muscles to generate speed and power. The lower body muscles such as the hips, mid-back, and legs make up 70% of the movement while the upper body makes up the remaining 30%.

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Shot putters primarily utilize muscles in their lower body, hips, and upper body when throwing. Contrary to popular belief, it's not just an arm action. The throwing motion involves generating force from the lower body, transferring it through the hips, and then into the upper body.

The process starts with the larger muscles in the legs, progressing to the bigger muscles in the upper body, and finally utilizing the smaller muscles in the elbow, fingers, and wrist. The goal is to generate a powerful explosion at the end of the throw by harnessing these forces.

Training for shot put involves developing speed, power, and strength. Exercises like squats, power cleans, hang cleans, plyometrics, and medicine ball throws are commonly used to train the necessary muscle groups. Technique is also crucial in executing the throw effectively.

Approximately 70% of the throw's power comes from the lower body, including the hips and mid-back, while the remaining 30% or less is contributed by the upper body. It's important to note that the size of the arms is not the determining factor in shot put performance.

Are there any up and coming hammer throwers you are particularly excited about?

Exciting New Talent: Rising Stars in Hammer Throwing

The question is, are there any up-and-coming Hammer throwers? You're particularly excited about. So I'm really excited about the American women in the last few years. They've really improved and excelled and taken throwing to a new level in the United States. I think that is something that's been amazing. Some of the men as well. The United States are really coming up the program in Poland has been exceptional as well as hungry. So we're seeing a lot of top International throwers from a few pocket. Trees as well as United States. Starting to move up. I think if I had to pick one thrower, I'm most excited about. I would say if we can get Deanna price, healthy in the United States, that would be amazing. And then in the United States as well, Rudy Winkler's, doing an amazing job of developing with his coach Patty McGrath. So there's some really exciting things going on in the hammer throw and another throw I'm really excited about is Cameron Rogers from Canada.

I'm really excited about the American women who have been excelling in hammer throw recently. Additionally, I am looking forward to Deanna Price getting healthy and Rudy Winkler's progress under Patty McGrath's coaching. Lastly, I am also excited about Canadian thrower Cameron Rogers.

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I'm particularly excited about the up-and-coming hammer throwers. In recent years, American women have shown tremendous improvement and have taken throwing to new heights in the United States. The progress they have made is truly amazing. Additionally, there are some promising male throwers emerging from the United States, as well as from Poland and Hungary.

If I had to choose one thrower that I'm most excited about, it would be Deanna Price from the United States. It would be fantastic to see her healthy and competing at her best. Another exciting talent from the United States is Rudy Winkler, who has been developing impressively under the guidance of his coach Patty McGrath. Lastly, I'm also keeping an eye on Cameron Rogers from Canada, who shows great potential in the hammer throw.

Overall, there are many exciting things happening in the world of hammer throwing, with talented athletes from various countries making their mark in the sport.

The Key to Coachable Athletes: Listening, Focus, and Adaptability

So we have a question, what makes an athlete coachable? So coachable is kind of a generic term. One of the things I think that makes an athlete coachable is somebody that can listen and pay attention to the coach and give them good eye contact and then have the ability to work on those skills, perhaps even on their own to develop those. So a lot of times in different track and field events, we'll have different drills that we'll perform. So in order to perform those drills, the athlete needs to be focusing on the things they need to be working on. So if you look at a video of say a throw and something goes wrong in the back and the athlete says, well, my finish was off. Well, that might be the case, but a coachable athlete is going to say, well, I've been working on the back of the circle. That's what I need to focus on. So you need to be on the same page. And I think some of it's just kinesthetic awareness as well. So some athletes can make a change instantly. You tell them something as a coach and they can make that change right away. And some athletes, if their technique is so ingrained and it's not the way that they should be doing it, it could take years to make that change. So it's part of the learning process. Skill acquisition takes time. You get a basic framework of technique in that skill acquisition phase. And then the next stage, it takes perhaps months or years to develop that skill. So the athlete needs to be able to listen and react and make changes and listen to the coach.

An athlete needs to be able to listen and pay attention to the coach, give good eye contact, and work on their skill development on their own. They should have a certain level of awareness so they can make changes when necessary. Skill acquisition takes time and patience, so athletes need to be able to learn and adjust in order to become more coachable.

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What makes an athlete coachable? A coachable athlete is someone who can actively listen and pay attention to their coach. They maintain good eye contact and have the ability to work on the skills provided by the coach, even practicing on their own to further develop those skills.

In track and field, for example, athletes often perform specific drills to improve their technique. A coachable athlete focuses on the areas they need to work on, even if something goes wrong in another aspect of their performance. They understand the importance of being on the same page as their coach.

Kinesthetic awareness also plays a role. Some athletes can make instant changes based on the coach's instructions, while others may take years to modify deeply ingrained techniques. Skill acquisition is a gradual process, with a basic framework established initially and further development taking months or even years.

Ultimately, a coachable athlete is receptive to feedback, willing to make changes, and listens attentively to their coach's guidance.

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Scott Cappos is a retired Canadian shot putter and assistant throws coach at the University of Nebraska. Born in Canada, his family migrated to the US and he became a naturalized US citizen. After graduating from Oak Lawn Community High School he competed collegiately for Indiana University (Hoosiers), won the Big Ten Conference in 1990 and 1991, and was a three-time All-American. He won the silver medal at the 1994 Jeux de la Francophonie, finished fifth at the 1994 Commonwealth Games, and fifth at the 1995 Pan American Games. He became Canadian champion in 1992, 1993, 1994, and 1995, in between Peter Dajia and Brad Snyder. Cappos coached the Iowa Hawkeyes for eighteen years before joining the Nebraska Cornhuskers as assistant throwing coach.