Storing the energy

With only a few weeks left of season and Weintraub’s senior year, the athlete is facing his greatest difficulty since beginning CSULB. In recent months, Weintraub has pushed himself to fight the growing pain in his knees. However, the pain has surpassed his ability to perform well physically and mentally. At his last meet, his mother noticed his pain and alerted the head coach. She told the coach she felt it was time the coach took matters into his own hands and have a Doctor prescribe him medication. The coach finally agreed and alerted a doctor who would give him medication that would alleviate the inflammation in his knees.
Although Weintraub’s coach agreed to the medication, he asked the athlete to meet him in his office on Tuesday to discus his concerns. The coach explained to Weintraub that he felt that the athlete has gotten to a point of pain where it has affected him physically, but more mentally. He noticed a great lack of motivation in Weintraub during meets. Weintraub explained to his coach that he, “tried to tell you before.”
As the season is soon coming to an end, Weintraub hopes to limit weight training to every other day in order to store as much energy as he can.

Photo credit: Weintraub Photography

Weak, but on fire.

On Sunday April 15, 2012, Weintraub and his teammates met at Cal State University of
Fullerton for the “Big West Challenge.”
The meet has become a historical event for forty years, where students
from UCSB, UCI, CSULB, and CSULF are only allowed to participate. The previous
week, Weintraub took time off from working out to rehab his knee. In result,
his legs remained in a relaxed state of mind and were not prepared for
competing. The athlete competed first in discus and then shot put immediately after. However, he felt as though he threw “ugly.” The athlete explains that his legs felt “weak, but on fire
from the pain.” Weintraub’s coaches were very upset with his performance,
because they are aware of his abilities. Although his coaches and Weintraub
believe it was not his best performance, he placed first in both meets, earning
CSULB 20 points. The injuries on his knees have caused many setbacks for the
athlete and highly impacted his physical and mental well being. Photo Credit: Weintraub Photography

Changing the form

Most athletes have a signature move that benefits their performance. For Weintraub, it has always been his form in throwing discus and shot put. Since the team has no competitions this week, the athlete has decided to experiment with different positions. Weintraub hopes to practice pivoting so that he can land on a wider stance. This position will allow for the athlete to create more time for the discus ball to come around.
The problem with the new form is that it is “not biomechanical” according to Weintraub. However, Weintraub believes his greatest struggle is that he is naturally slow. While most athletes are quick to jump to their stance, it takes him several seconds longer. With this new movement, he hopes to gain greater glide on his feet.
In order for the new position to work properly, Weintraub must devote time to allow his body to memorize the move. Through this, his body will eventually build muscle memory and will be able to thoroughly do the motion quicker.

Photo credit: Shima Razipour

Battling through it.

As an athlete, Weintraub devotes several days a week preparing for competitions. Weintraub took third place in shot put in his most recent competition at UC Irvine, with a 57-3 and took first in discus with a 169-9. According to Weintraub’s coach, the Big West conference voted him as the big west field athlete of the week for his performance. The athlete however, believes he didn’t deserve it and took great honor in receiving it.
Discus scoring is quite interesting. For first place, athletes score 10 points. For second place, eight points. And lastly, third place scores six points.
Although the athlete’s knee has been hurting, he has continued competing and battling through it. Weintraub’s trainer explained to him that the athlete’s knee may not heal fully until the season is over. This is partially because it requires a lot of resting. In order to continue competing, the athlete must keep the pain levels low.

Photo Credit: James Weintraub

Happy legs= Happy knees

While Weintraub’s tendonitis pain has caused him setbacks, it has not stopped him from practicing daily. Trainers at CSULB have continued to aid the athlete daily with exercises, stretching, and icing to speed up the healing. They have come to realize the athlete may have a slight imbalance of muscle in his legs. Weintraub explains, “My quad is too strong and my hamstrings are too weak, so to counteract this, they put me on a rehab program where I have to come in and strengthen my hamstrings everyday.” The greatest frustration the athlete has since faced is the time it is taking to heal. “I haven’t been able to progress as fast as I was in the Fall and I haven’t been able to workout as hard, because I need to keep my legs happy.” In order to keep his legs “happy,” the athlete has followed the trainers requirements including daily visits at their office. In addition, the athlete continues to work out his abs, arms, and back to stay in performance.



Photo Credit: James Weintraub

Setbacks of an Athlete.

As an athlete, Weintraub must deal with the setbacks of injuries. For the past few months, Weintraub has been battling tendonitis. Tendonitis is an inflammation of the patellar tendon, which prevents the athlete from being able to apply pressure on that area of his knee. He first noticed the pain while squatting with a heavy load of weights. Since, it has caused him several months of pain. The greatest difficulty has altered in his performance as an athlete. The athlete explains, “I can still throw good consistent throws in competition due to adrenaline, but it tends to prohibit me from throwing hard in practice and getting into those strong powerful positions that my body is used to being in.” In order to speed up the healing, the athlete spends four times a day stretching, icing, and resting his knee. The greatest difficulty has been working out, because he is used to pushing himself beyond limits. Now, the athlete must focus on shaping other parts of his body and avoiding his knees.



Photo Credit: James Weintraub

An Athlete's Diet

One of the most beneficiary contributors to a successful meetfor Weintraub is a well balanced diet. The athlete, focuses on several methods including practicing as well a healthy meal to improve his performance. Proudly standing, Weintraub has no inch of fat on his well defined, muscular legs.

Unlike most competitors who limit their food intake, Weintraub does not. Instead, he avoids fast food which he calls, “pointless food.” For breakfast, Weintraub usually has something light such as a granola bar, cereal, or raisins. As for lunch and dinner, he adds more protein and carbohydrates. His ideal plate includes meat or chicken, rice, and vegetables.
The athlete has found that eating a healthy meal before a meet is vital. Typically the night before a competition, he eats pasta. Weintraub explains, “carbs are essential and provide energy, if you work out.”
Although the athlete enjoys all foods and does not limit himself to a strict diet, he must control his greatest weaknesses. For Weintraub, soda and candy are hard to avoid. However, if he decides to enjoy a refreshing soda or sweet candy bar, he works out harder in the gym.

Photo Credit: James Weintraub