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