World Champion Track & Field Workouts

With the Track and Field World Championships currently taking place in Beijing, the QALO team caught up with Russ and Kara Winger, the newlywed throwers. Russ throws discus, and Kara is a two times Olympian javelin thrower.

Russ and Kara at home in the gym, talking about why they wear QALO.

– Written for and in collaboration with www.muscleandfitness.com

KARA

Kara tore her ACL in 2012, but has since bounced back to her status as an elite javelin thrower. Here’s what she has to say about a few of the unique exercises that have aided in her recovery and her throwing.

Hazle Squats: It’s named after my old training partner, Mike Hazle, who created them. It’s a split squat, except that the bar starts on the ground between your legs and you lift it from there, keeping your posture strong. This helps the legs and your core get used to becoming stronger in a slightly tweaked position than a typical split squat.

Javelin Jumps: Keep your back on the bar, one foot behind you on a bench, and the other leg straight on the ground with your upper body in a bit of a leaned-back position. Jump up and back off of that grounded foot, then back to extension when you land, keeping the core strong and tall. This mimics hitting a block at the end of the javelin throw, and it has been really helpful for me returning to competition after surgery.

Skin the Cats: A gymnastics workout on the rings. With rings directly overhead, fully extend your arms and pull yourself up through the rings — legs going overhead first into a ball-up, then down into a pike position, close to 360 degrees rotated. Rewind back through.

RUSS

Russ’s training is set up with two things in mind: throwing well and staying healthy, with the focus shifting depending on the portion of the season. He gave us an overview of his through-the-year schedule. Here’s what he told us:

Core: Do core work 5-15 minutes every training day. I don’t do many sit-ups or crunches (I think they are pointless from a stability standpoint). Instead, we tend to do a lot of bodyweight exercises that target the spinal erectors, obliques, and transverse abdominal muscles because they’re the foundation for trunk stability.

Early Competition Season: Focus on continuing to build fitness while adding in more strength and throwing components. Lifting workouts will shift from moderate volume to high intensity. A typical day of Olympic or powerlifting movements would be the following:

Olympic

Snatch from the floor – 4 sets, 2 reps
Dumbbell bench pres – 6 sets, 3 reps
Rows or similar upper body posterior chain exercise – 3 sets, 8 reps
Romanian deadlift or similar lower body posterior chain exercise – 3 sets, 10 reps

Powerlifting

Box jumps or broad jumps – 3-5 sets
Squats with 2 second pause at the bottom – 6 sets, 2 reps
1/4 box squats, quick – 2 sets, 4 reps
Good mornings – 3 sets, 10 reps

Peak Season Training: More emphasis on throwing and recovery than the weightroom. Lift two to three sessions per week, less than 30 minutes each, with low volume and moderate intensity. I do more plyometric work, medicine ball throws, and sprint work.

Off Season: Complete absence from the gym. Allow your body to heal for two to three months with rest and exercise outside.

Take a fuller look into Russ and Kara’s life as newlyweds and throwers at their beautiful Colorado home.