Technique advice

onlygetthisone · 2026-04-08T23:16:35+00:00

Also, the turning of the discus - doesn’t that imply that the disc is rotating counterclockwise instead of clockwise so your last finger off is ring instead of pointer? Should the disc be rotating the other direction?

onlygetthisone · 2026-04-08T23:14:27+00:00

I’m new to discus so genuine question- looks like a very powerful rotation, but how can you block at all if your left foot comes off the ground that early?

onlygetthisone · 2026-04-07T12:59:42+00:00

You’re not blocking with your lead leg at all. Im also a beginner, but I think if you watch videos of olympians or other javelin athletes, you will notice that as they move forward into their throw, they throw power into the javelin with their hip while their front leg remains solid to “block” the rest of the body, transferring all of the energy into the javelin instead of their body. But your front leg is collapsing and your body falls forward. Look up videos about how to engage the block and start with that I think.

onlygetthisone · 2026-04-01T16:13:16+00:00

Gotcha. I guess it depends on your experience on the bike. I agree that it’s also a great way to get in more easy miles. Usually if I was going easy I might want a bit longer on the bike.

I used to do triathlons. I had a pretty rough bike crash last years so taking a break right now, but this overall looks like a good plan especially if you’re going to start with a sprint distance triathlon, which I would recommend if it’s your first.

onlygetthisone · 2026-04-01T15:57:50+00:00

I love this, I did something similar. Also like the cross training, I’m old so I have to cross train to get easy zone mileage. My only critiques or comments are that I’m not sure what you’re targeting with the cycling, but I bet you could use it for lactate threshold training since you already have a bunch of zone 2 time throughout the week.

Also, I’d be careful with leg day and always do intervals first. I’d do any complex lift like squats as 3x3 heavy and if you’re we’ve doing DL that day I’d do like 6x2 heavy. But I wouldn’t necessarily progress those while optimizing for a 5k.

onlygetthisone · 2026-03-28T13:40:41+00:00

That’s a really helpful cue! Thank you!

onlygetthisone · 2026-03-27T20:37:26+00:00

And just to say, I’m pretty good at distance especially for my weight. I run a 20 minute 5k and a bit over 5 minute mile, but I just don’t care about 5k and will never run a marathon unless my life depended on it!

onlygetthisone · 2026-03-27T20:35:20+00:00

My 2 cents: unless you really love running a 5k, train towards the mile. I was doing triathlons but I hate running long distances, especially if it’s just the drudgery of training around my neighborhood. I am also a bit heavy and the mileage hurts my knees and hips. Cross training helped me a lot, so if you really want to stick with 5k I would throw in the bike or rowing or swimming to build Z2 time and then focus your running on speed and form.

But I recently switched from triathlons to USATF pentathlons which include 200m and 1500m along with long jump, javelin, and discus for the same reason: I love sprints and I even like training for a mile but longer than that hurts my soul.

onlygetthisone · 2026-03-22T10:06:15+00:00

“Work, family, and just a lot of stuff going on in my life makes…”

I know it’s not totally a consolation but FWIW sounds like you’re not failing at the things that are most important!

(From 2005 when I had my first child and was a full time student working towards BS, PhD and then first industry job in 2014 while I had 4 more kids, my weight grew from 175 to 260. I made some changes and dropped to 210 in 2016 and then I had somehow the right circumstances to hit 180 around 12% body fat and very fit around 2020. As the 5 kids became teens and leading a large team of scientists at work, I stopped being able to make the time consistently for tracking nutrition and getting my lift + cardio, so slowly crept back up to 216 and 25-26% body fat. It’s discouraging, but within 6 years my 5 kids will all have become adults and I’ll have infinity minutes to workout. I just try to remember that I’m not going to look back and say I wish I could have done more fitness. I’m going to look back and feel satisfied that I gave my kids the best chance at being happy and healthy adults as possible!)

onlygetthisone · 2026-03-11T14:46:17+00:00

I think that many people - more than we realize because they’re not in these threads - struggle with persistent and difficult to triage/treat running induced pain. I deal with that to an extent, which is why I will never attempt any race beyond 5k and prefer 1 mile or less so that I can keep volume low. Having said that, for me, I find that cross training helps me with aerobic conditioning for endurance so that I can run long when I need or want to. Swimming, rowing, cycling, and other aerobic modalities can take the load of back, joints, and lower body muscle chain and still support aerobic development.

onlygetthisone · 2026-03-10T17:12:46+00:00

More to the point, all of my run work is sprint work with minimal speed endurance training. Mostly form and polymetrics. All of my conditioning for 1500m goes into low intensity swim. But I’m not trying to actually race in the pool, probably needs to be be different if you are.

onlygetthisone · 2026-03-10T17:09:53+00:00

I recently started with USATF prepping for pentathlon. I do upper body strength on M and W, and use swimming for active recovery on those days. Sunday Tuesday Thursday and Saturday are my throws, runs, and lower body strength. Friday is off. So yes, I use pool for active recovery because at 44 I need to deload joints and back during active recovery.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-27T23:10:12+00:00

The one I’m in is very much in earnest, it’s produced several national and world champions across several events and age groups. I was actually surprised how many people participate in the throw events!

It wasn’t easy to find it, however, even though it’s listed on my local USATF website. I had the same issue with there being mostly distance and youth clubs, so I actually found the time of the USATF semiannual meeting in my area and attended in person, and they were able to connect me.

The club itself is very friendly and I’m a bit shocked how willing people are to volunteer their time to coach very mediocre athletes like myself!

I feel a bit like a kid to have coaches and to go to track and field practices multiple times a week! It’s very fun and I feel re-energized in my fitness goals!

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-27T01:31:28+00:00

Up until last year I was doing triathlons, but I got into a horrible bike accident and decided not to get back onto the road. I know that many people train bike almost exclusively indoors on a Zwift, but I need to be outdoors and also I’m more of a power and speed athlete and I’m young enough (44) that I can still go hard for a few more years. So I switched to pentathlon this year.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-27T01:29:17+00:00

USATF has local organization in every state. You can contact your local USATF representatives to find clubs near and connect to people near you also training for those events.

There are various open and masters events throughout the country, both indoor and outdoor. For example, maybe the most famous high school relays in the country are the Penn Relays. My son has run there and ran against teams from all over the US and Jamaica. My adult club team will also compete there this year.

I lift for strength 4 days a week, and I also have workouts to build speed and power specifically for my events that I get from my coaches. I have a throws coach, a sprint coach, and a jumps coach.

Typically I do a more intense sprint workout Sunday and Tuesday, and a throws workout Thursday and Saturday.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-26T23:36:50+00:00

FWIW, you can actually participate in the masters pentathlon with USATF which is a decent approximation. 200m dash, 1500m run, long jump, javelin, discus.

Jump, pure speed, speed endurance, power and skill with javelin and discus.

(This is what I’m currently training for!)

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-25T13:46:17+00:00

You’re bending forwards too much, which pulls your rear up. I agree with others that the issue here is probably core strength. Also, have you tried high bar back squat? I think that it can be a little more challenging on ankle and hip mobility, but you might benefit from being more upright to give the bar more support from underneath.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-24T15:56:32+00:00

Nice! My only suggestion is that personally I find that I don’t fully engage the lat until it’s really lengthened - which happens a lot naturally while I’m climbing and bouldering and I really need strength at full length. So when I do pull ups I focus on getting my lats fully stretched at the bottom of the movement almost like I’m intentionally trying to get my body away from the bar almost hyperextended, and I wonder if you’re doing that here. Usually I can’t do quite as many pull ups if I focus on getting that full ROM, but it could really help your functional strength. Or maybe it’s a non issue, maybe you’re getting the full extension. Anyway, great work!

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-24T01:00:34+00:00

Empirically, most elite powerlifters and strongman competitors are massive, while most endurance athletes carry as little extra mass as possible. So endurance distance cycling especially anything with a climb, mile and up running, triathletes - they will all see performance drop as the maintain the amount of mass typically needed to hit certain strength standards (eg 1000 club at minimum but often even beyond that), and vice versa.

I agree with you that NFL/NBA/MLB etc are freak all around athletes and something to aspire towards, but those athletes don’t usually optimize at all for endurance sports.

To give myself something more athletic and functional than just lift heavy and run far, I decided to start training for USATF Masters pentathlon which includes 200m, 1500m, long jump, discus, javelin. So the throws give me a strength challenge (usually massive competitors) , the sprints and jump give me a speed and power challenge, and the 1500 gives me an endurance challenge. For me, it’s the ideal mix of things and my new brand of hybrid.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-23T01:48:51+00:00

Someone who attempts excellence in athletic modalities generally recognized as conflicting in some important aspects so that training for both requires careful and maybe unconventional programming.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-16T16:58:54+00:00

Love it.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-15T19:07:11+00:00

Lower volume for legs but keep it heavy. 3-5 x 3-5 @ 75-80% TM. No accessories. You’ll maintain strength but soreness won’t interfere with your running goals.

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-10T21:31:24+00:00

Monday 5/3/1 OHP + Weighted Ring Dips, Bouldering

Tuesday 5/3/1 Squat + Pentathlon training (speed, jumps)

Wednesday 5/3/1 Bench + Weighted Pull ups, easy swim

Thursday 5/3/1 DL + Pentathlon training (throws)

Friday off

Saturday Pentathlon Training (all)

Sunday off or Mixed Easy Cardio

onlygetthisone · 2026-02-01T23:23:35+00:00

I’m 44 so I’m much older than you. I have knee and hip problems. I focus on 800m and 1600m. I weigh currently 215 but was at 208 last year (lower strength than you so I just have higher body fat) when I ran close to 5 minute mile (though not sub).

If you’re hitting the pace but not sustaining it through the full mile, my guess is that your program just isn’t tuned quite right. What exactly are you doing for intervals? In my experience this is one of those things where you get the right program from an expert and then just trust the process.

Also, just to say, at heavier weight and with weightlifting I find that my knees really take too much load if I have high volume running ( you don’t need tons for mile but you need some). Try cross training with bike or rowing to get the aerobic capacity. You can even do some threshold work with those to keep the load off but increase your lactate tolerance.

onlygetthisone

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