So you want to be an athlete?

[Chase]

Jeeeze...I'm gonna have to drop more than 30lbs.

[12stones]

This is some great information. Just what I've been looking for. Though, I'm in the same boat as Chase weight-wise. I have to drop quite a few pounds. Though, this may help me on that road.

[Chase]

I saw a few pictures of athletes participating in the highland games and they appear in the 250 plus range...There's no way I could compete at that level...I will be registering for the Houston Highland Games in May 2008...We'll see what happens by then.

[Yaish]

There were a lot of questions in a short time, so let me answer what I can.

As for exercises, the highland games are truly a whole body event. A lot of the strength comes from the arms and shoulders, but then so too the back, legs, etc... Any good general strength training regime will pay dividends when it comes to the games. There are some particular exercises the pro's do, but really you need to focus on the whole body.

That being said, you want to go with routines that force you to use secondary and stabilizer muscles. Skip the machines and stick with freeweights. Do exercises that focus on more than one muscle group at a time. Dead lifts, squats, etc... Use dumb bells for presses rather than barbells. You need to develop strength in balance, not just in specific muscles.
Explosive training is good too. Exercises that promote rapid, dynamic moves will help come game day.


As for children, they do have childrens games at some of the events, but most pediatricians do not recommend young kids do any sort of weight training. Since the HG is definitely a strength event, waiting until he is older is probably a wise idea.
If the school has any sort of track and field team that would be a good place to start though. Many of the Track and Field events started off as Highland events. (shotput, hammer)

For weight classes, you really won't see the Games broken down that way. I can tell you that at 250, I am almost always one of the smallest guys on the field. The more of that weight that comes from muscle the better, but honestly in many cases the extra weight gives you stability. The 56lb weight for distance will throw you around unless you have perfect technique or enough 'ballast' to swing it. Generally if you haven't tried the events before, or are unsure how well you might do then begin in either Novice or C class. Not only will you get more instruction, you'll usually be with people more near your own skill level and therefore it's more fun and competitive.

[Alan H]

I'm about 265, but I *should* weigh about 200 - 210. *ahem*. That said, TimC throws farther than I do in most events and he's about 100 pounds lighter than I am...and there you go. I'm about 6 feet 1 inch and change....and I'm 50 years old.

My gym time is much lile what Yaish says... I don't use machines, much, though I use one for leg squats. My routine takes me about 60 minutes. Here's a typical session.

Arrive...do a little bit of stretching, but not much 'cause I walk 15 minutes to get to the gym. Explosive strength is good!

1.) Jumps...bit hard on the knees, but...I take 30 pound dumbells, one in each hand and from a moderate (very moderate) squat, jump upwards, clearing my feet from the floor about 12-15 times

2.) Inclined-bench sit-ups, maybe 12-20

3.) vertical (not lying horizontal!) leg lifts (works lower abdominals) 12-15

3.) dumbell curls. I started at 20 pounds, finished up 3 weeks ago with 30 pounds, I do about 12-15 on each arm

4.) dumbell triceps extensions with 20 pounds...or sometimes reverse chair pushups for triceps. I might do windmills instead, just for variety on some days.

5.) shoulder shrugs with 40 pounds in each hand. This REALLY helped with soreness after throwing

6.) lower back lifts with no weight or light weight.

7.) leg presses...usually 12 or so with about 300 pounds. I don't go to deep with these, I don't want to blow out my knees.

8.) calf lifts, usually 12-20 with 40 pounds in each hand

9.) butterflys...I actually do these on a machine, and I know the setings, but not the weight.

10.) jumps...no weight, up to a 24 inch box, and step down. I do this until my heart beats hard and tells me to stop.

11.) To finish up I might do some hamstring curls (on a machine) or use a machine for something like chest presses....something I was doing a lot in September was basically imitating the motion of the weight over the bar throw with 60 pound dumbell. I'd only hoist the thing to my shoulder height, though. I did both sides, both arms about 6-10x.

All that, I'd do 2-3x a week. I'd move reasonably quickly from exercise to exercise, as I wanted to get an aerobic component out of it, but that means you have to keep aware of your heart rate.

The other thing I did off and on was swim laps in the pool with pool-buoys between my thighs. That keeps the butt floating and concentrates the workout on the shoulders, latissimus dorsi, and forearm muscles.

[Alan H]

Here in California there aren't any weight classes. It's like this...

Professionals
Class A amateur...the good guys
Class B amateur...the intermediates
Class C amateur...the novices...I threw in Class C for most of this season, I was the old guy!

Masters 40 - 49 (years, not I.Q.)
Master 50+

Sometimes the Masters get divided up like this: 40-45, 46-49, 50-60, 60+

It kind of depends on how many guys show up. Note that here in Nor Cal we have a solid contingent of women that show up to throw. At Woodland I think there were 16 ladies on the field...all in one class.

[N. Campbell]

Hey Chase and 12stones, check out nasgaweb.com it has become the official site of heavy athletics. Look for a guy posting on there called M-BAAB. His name is Mike Baab and he is down in the Texas area, really good thrower. Send a PM out to him or post in the Newbie section I am sure he can give you some great advice.

About the weight classes, you do not have to try and get your weight up or down to get into the 190lb class. Most guys I know run in the 260-330lb range, I myself run about 290lb. The 190lb class I do not believe is even used much in most states.

[fhpdo]

Katmills,
I will second Yaish on this , be careful about having your 12 year old train with heavy weights. He is not through growing yet and this can stress most parts of his body. If you can find get him into a Track and Field type setting , that will go a long towards proper technique and the strength will come in time.
John

[TimC]

Hey guys,

Don't let size or age keep you from trying this. I'm 44 y/o, 5' 8" and 175 lbs (on a good day). Just go out and try to be better that your last toss. It doesn't matter how you compare to anyone but yourself. At the games, there are spectators and participants - being a participant is a lot more fun...and life is too short (and so am I) not to have fun.

-Tim

[Chase]

Hey Guys,

Some really great advice and workout information...As I mentioned in another post, I competed in Lumberjack competitions in my twenties, so I'm used to some obscure training methods...In Iraq, I have to train for the job - "Train as you fight, Fight as you train" "Train hard, Fight easy" "Sweat more now, Bleed less later" I'm sure you're all familiar with those cliches.

I do a lot of endurance training, combatives, and weapons training, but will add strength training now that I've got a bit more information about the sport...I'm 48 years old, currently 6' tall and weigh 220lbs...If 250lbs is the smallest guy on the field, then you might as well call me tiny...LOL.

Again, thanks for the tips

Chase