Throwers hands

Throwers use their hands all the time in training and they can get beat up and painful, so its good to learn how to deal with them so you can keep training. 

Prevention of cuts and rips on the hands is the best, keeping callus down by filling them or using a pumice stone, so they don't catch when you throw and rip off, its painful and difficult to treat when it happens, but it does I think we have all done it at some point so what to do when it happens?

A lot of people use some form of tape to help grazes on the hands, there are tons of different type of tape, its mostly about personal preference and just keep trying different things until you find something that works for you. I have used paper tape for a long time, you can get it in any drug store first aid section, but recently used clear tape which is similar but can stretch. I have heard that kinesio works well but never tried it.  Some people use gauze/bandage to wrap their glove hand for extra padding. 

I would recommend getting a glove that fits well and is a soft leather that doesn't need much breaking in, these tend to be thinner but you can wrap your hand with gauze/bandage for training.

One thing that I use is second skin/new skin which is a liquid bandage that creates a layer over the broken skin it also had antiseptic in it to kill bacteria but BE WARNED it stings so bad!! but when it helps stop more rubbing on the skin. 

Using creams like sudocrem or an antiseptic cream post training and hand balms work well to, I have used this and it helps to heal 

There is a lot of pressure through the joints when we throw so can get swollen, ice is the best, stick your hand in a bowl of ice water can help reduce the swelling and pain. 

If you are just starting there is not much you can do your hands will get used to it and you will find a way that works for you. 

How do you help your hands? 

Sophie 

X

Christmas gifts

As Christmas is quickly coming upon us I thought I would put together a few Christmas gift ideas for that sporty person in your life, or even yourself. 

Of course the first one has got to be the PROMIXX, I know I go on about it but I think its great product and would be a good gift for people who don't like lumpy protein shakes (who does!)

Get it HERE

Talking about protein shakes Myprotein has a specific section just for Christmas gifts! They have a lots of gifts ranging in price, my favourite is the Christmas selection Box just £5.99

Get it HERE

Also some discount codes for the site:

CHRISTMAS for 20% off Christmas Flavours

NEW10 for 10% off for New Customers

Gift Bundles are now Half price!

As winter is in full swing its getting very cold outside so thermals are a must my favourite for women are from Sweaty Betty they are mostly made for skiing but they look perfect for Christmas as well as keeping you warm!

Get it HERE

I think the best for men is the Nike Pro Range the below picture is of the Hyperwarm flex great for the cold weather but still allows good movement.

Get it HERE

These are just a few Christmas gift ideas. I hope you like them! If you have any other gift ideas feel free to comment!

Sophie 

X

This post is not sponsored

 

Rain Rain Go Away

At the moment I am training in California where you wouldn't think that rain and weather would be a problem but the last couple of days haven't been great and has been the "worst storm since 2009", really its only like the weather in the UK, constant rain with the odd down pour, cloudy and dark the whole day, but whatever the weather training needs to get done. 

When I am training in Loughborough its not really a problem as there is 2 indoor throwing nets where we can do full training when the weather is really bad, also the outdoor area has a big cover over it which keeps off some rain, keeps the circe dry and you can put your bags and stay out of the weather.

 In the US all that is not needed, the weather most of the year its great and hardly ever rains but when it does the circe gets slippy which isn't good, it is a great circle when its dry but I was having trouble throwing when it was wet. So we needed to solve the problem.

We sent a pair of my old throwing shoes to somewhere that resole shoes and asked if they could put a sole with more grip and they turned out good! I was worried that the edges weren't smooth but I have used them a few times and had great sessions. 

Left: regular sole Right: Resoled shoe
They are both the same style of shoe just different colour. 

 I always carried round different pairs of shoes for different conditions but its a good idea to try and be prepared for any situation!

Sophie 

X

Travel Tips

As I have been training in California for training quite a lot over the last year,  I thought I could share some things I have learnt for how to make flights and traveling easier.

As an athlete you need to be learn how to travel, during the competition season people are travelling every week and you want to be in the best shape possible when you get there.

Put all essentials you need for competition in your hand luggage the last think you want is to get to the destination and they have lost you bag and you don't have shoes or things you need to compete.

Check in online for a good seat! 

HAND SANITISER! airports, plains and travel are a feeding ground for bacteria, high traffic of people causes spread quickly, keep sanitiser

Vicks first defence! 

Take snacks/food for the journey, you can take food though security as long as its solid, its more expensive at the airport. 

GET WATER! make sure you get water, I normally get 2l, traveling causes major dehydration, even get some electrolyte tablets/sachet

Take entertainment, music/laptop/book 

Try and get some good noise cancelling headphones, the ones they provide (long haul) are awful and you can't really hear what you are listening/watching. 

ear plugs and an eye mask are good to.

Flight Socks!

Put your watch back as soon as you take off, it starts the process of time change.

When you arrive stretch, jog, move around to get blood flow

Do things at the right time! when I travel to California I normally arrive around 3pm (11pm UK) I am so tired and just want to sleep, DONT, try and stay awake until a normal bed time same with food try and eat at dinner time, it will help with jet lag, try and keep occupied, go for a walk anything just don't slob on the couch!

Don't forget your passport!

If you have any more tips please leave them below! :-)

Sophie 

X

Event Discrimination

I want to start this post by saying that I love my event/job and I don't do it for money ext but if I did I certainly wouldn't be in the event I do. 

Some people may expect that I have a lot of money and live a lavish lifestyle but that is defiantly not the case. I am not going to go into specifics of what I earn but I live and train fully on the Annual Personal Award (APA/Funding) I get from UK Sport/British Athletics each year, I don't get any extra money from any sponsors, only from the few competitions and appearances, which is not a significant amount also this year I was dropped a level and moved from C to D which also means a drop in my funding, so I am living on a tight budget but I can train full time which is a privilege and all that matters to me. 

The first issue is that the hammer is not in the Diamond League which I feel is where most of the problems stem from. The event have reasons why the hammer is not included but don't make sense to me and a lot of people, even when the UK have Grand Prix we still are not included. The hammer and throws in general have a lack of coverage on TV so makes the event less desirable for sponsors as their brand won't be televised. Like I said in my "About Me" post I get kit off Nike but not all of the yearly sponsored kit, I came 24th in the world after a shakey year but some athletes a lot lower down the list get the full kit and a contract just because they have a few appearances in the Diamond League. People have been campaigning for the hammer to be included but to no avail. 

If you were to compare an athlete in another event who had the same accomplishments as me its highly likely they would be in a completely different place commercially than me. After I won the World Junior Championships in 2010 I thought that maybe I would get some interest but that didn't happen. Going back to my first comment of I DONT do it for commercial/money, I do it because I want to win, like most people in throws. It sometimes feels like people think throwers are second rate athletes but I feel like there is more involved than another event which is why the peek age is higher in throwers as there is so much more to perfect. 

I know that not all events are going to be the same and it is very hard to compare but I feel there is a big separation between some events and I feel like this is discrimination especially to hammer and also throws in general, do you agree? This is partly why I started my blog to get myself and throws more into the public. 

Again I am hugely thankful for the people that make it possible for me to train full time and I do it to be the best I can be not for the amount of money.

Sophie 

X

2014

When I think about the 2014 season I have very mixed feelings. It is fair to say that this season hasn't been the best of my carrier so far but I still came out of it with things that I am now proud of. If you asked me after Europeans how I felt my season went, my reply defiantly wouldn't have been positive but after a lot of reflection I am proud of what I did this year considering I wasn't in the best shape of my life.  

I had a great winter of training before the season and I was throwing well but I struggled in the season to get my throwing stable with that came the stress of not performing the way I wanted. I had a seasons best of 71.53m back in May this year in Halle, Germany which is always a great competition and I felt like my throw was coming together but the next few competitions were disappointing and agin felt my throw was unstable. The European Team championships was another good competition for me, even though the distance wasn't the best the throwing felt good. 

Then we are into the main part of the year commonwealth games were next and my preparation was far from smooth but when I got to the village things stated to come together. Unfortunately it didn't come in the competition I felt like my last throw was good but when it landed I knew it wasn't enough and I finished 3rd, getting a medal at a championships is great but I expected more for myself. After reflection getting the bronze medal was a major achievement with all the problems I have had this year. 

European Championships was a disaster for me, after commonwealths I came down with a stomach bug the day before we were going to fly, I didn't know if I was going to make it to the championships but I wanted to at least try and compete, you never know unless you try, I had no energy in the comp, my finial attempt was good but was out of sector, I was bitterly disappointed for a long time after, I felt like it was a great opportunity that I had missed. Now I am so glad I went and I tried to compete I learnt a lot and didn't want to look back and think "what if?" thats where my season ended. 

This was the first season I haven't had a PB, it was hard and a lot of struggle but I have learnt a lot, things are sent to test us and success isn't a smooth climb, its a bumpy road but feel more determined than ever. I am back into training for a great 2015!

Sophie

X 

Sunday Review : PROMIXX

I want to start with a quick disclaimer, yes these products were sent to me but I always give my honest opinion! I would never recommend a product of I didn't honestly think it was good!

Iv been lucky enough to try out both editions of the PROMIXX vortex mixer and I thought I would give you my thoughts on both. As the name suggests the bottle creates a vortex from the liquid to mix powders, I used mine to mix my post training protein but it works with all powders, you can also mix eggs and make pancake mix! Although it doesn't have blades so won't blend solid ingredients like fruit. 

The original PROMIXX PRO1 comes in 3 colours, black, white and pink and retails at £18.99

Upgrade pack available in all 3 colours, comes the a Nutripod and the rechargeable motor. retails at £16.99

The PROMIXX 2.0 has brushed aluminium and comes with a Nutripod and rechargeable motor. It comes in 3 colours, blue, silver and black and retails at £39.99

 The main difference between them is the motor RMP the 2.0 is a lot higher and creates a stronger vortex which does mix the powder quicker and smoother, don't get me wrong the PRO1 mixes great and is smooth with no lumps but the 2.0 is just way more powerful also the way they are charged is different to, the PRO1 is run buy 2 xAAA batteries and the 2.0 is electrically charged by a USB cable, you can buy an upgrade pack for the PRO1 but to be honest I think your better off just buying the 2.0 and having both just incase you leave one in your training bag or car! I have done that a few times, they are both made of strong plastic which is easy to clean doesn't stain and doesn't start to smell and doesn't leak! like some regular shakers.

The other difference is that the 2.0 has a ml measure down the side where the PRO1 doesn't, to me that doesn't really matter but I know some people want to be precise with the amour of liquid, it also come in handy when you can't find the measuring jug!

The 2.0 come with a Nutripod that fits into the lid to transport your preferred supplement, its a great addition and is very convenient. 

In my opinion I think the 2.0 is amazing and the best for your money but if you are strapped for cash there is nothing wrong with the PRO1 it still mixes smooth lump free protein. I love the look of the 2.0 its sleek and stylish. If I am to be honest I can be very lazy with my supplements but with the PROMIXX I look forward to having my post training protein, its so easy to use and is great after a really hard session when you just can't be bothered. Its quick and easy and creates lump free, smooth protein! I love it and couldn't recommend it more! 

You can buy all the PROMIXX products HERE UK only 

For the US you can get the PRO1 from Amazon HERE 

Sophie 

X

Body weight

As I posted in my last blog I said I would do a blog post about my body weight, I always get comments about my size like "oh you don't look like a hammer thrower" peoples stereo type of a hammer thrower is still very large women, possibly with moustaches, but thats not necessarily the case, you need to be strong and athetic but ultimately you are trying to throw a 4kg (women) as far as you can body weight does become a factor.    

To explain further, at the start of this year (2014) I was around 73kg, when I got back from Europeans I was 65kg!, I had been very sick with a stomach bug for around a week when I recovered form the sickness I was 68kg so over 6 months I had lost around 5kg, hammer is such a technical event that the slightest of changes can put off your rhythm and timing which is what I was feeling all year and of corse when things are not quite right we look at the most minuscule aspects instead of the most obvious things, as I have never had a problem with my weight it never occurred to me that it would be a problem.

So after my season finished it was the first priority to get back up to where I started at 73kg, obviously I didn't want to do it fast and just put on fat, I want to put on useable lean muscle mass. We have been doing skin fold tests to measure body composition over the past 2 months and I have got back to 73kg and put on 2.1kg of muscle, over the next few months I would like to put on a couple more kg of muscle and get to 75kg by next season. getting back the weight hasn't really been difficult I have increased my overall protein and calorie intake, also increased post training protein shakes, it hasn't been a massive change I will keep up to date on another changes. there is so much I could of wrote about this topic but I didn't want it to be to long, so if you do have any questions I will do my best to answer them. 

To help me with this I have teamed up with Myprotein and become an affiliate and I have a few discount codes to share with you!

10% off for New Customers NEW10
Free Mystery Gift when you spend £10 MYSTERYGIFT 
ends 31/12/14

http://tidd.ly/2410576c

Sophie 

X  

50 Facts about Me

I always get loads of questions about my background, so I thought I would dedicated a whole post to getting to know me........

1. Name - Sophie Hitchon (I have no middle name) 

2. DOB - 11/07/1991

3. Born/raised - Burnley 

4. Currently live - Loughborough 

5. Siblings - 1 sister Emma (Pictured) 

6. Hight - 5"7 170cm

7. Weight - Currently 73kg - Liable to Change - I will be doing a post about my weight next week 

8. Shoe - UK 7

9. Started hammer - 2006 - 8 years (wow thats gone fast!)

10. I have to dedicate how I started to my family, both parents did athletics and Grandad was a field official, I did shot putt and sprints and just  had a go at hammer! how things work out!

11. PB hammer - 72.97cm 2013 (Picture 4)

12. UK record holder 

13. If you want to see all competitions and results see HERE 

14. I did dance for the first 10 years of my life mainly ballet, tap, modern

15. favourite colour - pink/purple

16. I was part of the netball GD/GK and hockey GK teams at high school

17. I did trampolining for a while when I was younger          (pictured 3) 

18. I am a full time (professional) hammer thrower 

19. I have no buisness sponsors   

20. MY PROTEIN affiliate 

21. I get kit from Nike - I have no contract 

22. Part of Concept Sports Management 

23. Coach - Tore Gustafsson 

24. I am a perfectionist 

25. Pessimist - Glass half empty kind of person 

26. Beauty enthusiast  

27. Love all food 

28. I Have to paint my nails for competition  

29. I didn't go to University

30. Love animals

31. Squats are my favourite 

32. No, I don't get dizzy when I throw

33. I throw in every training session 

34. Normally 9 training sessions per week 

35. I have Wednesday and Sunday as rest 

36. I have brown eyes 

37. My grip strength is awful

38. How do you know when to let go?.... Practise it becomes automatic 

39. No we don't have an indoor season.... duh!

40. I did Sports Hall athletics

41. I am an Olympian! (picture 5)

42. I have a tattoo on my ribs of the Olympic rings

43. I have my ears and belly pierced

44. Proud Blackburn Harrier

45. I hate being late 

46. I am very competative 

47. 2 x British Champion (Picture 6)

48. I like to bake but don't get much chance to

49. Im a shy person 

50. I believe everything I did when I was younger has helped me get to where I am

Thanks for reading!

Sophie

X

New Blog

I have thought about starting a blog for a while and have always put it off due to lack of confidence and waiting for the "perfect" time to start but as it came to the end of my 2014 season and just started my winter training for 2015, I don't think there isn't a much better time to do it. I posted on my Twitter and Facebook about starting a blog and the responses seemed to be positive and there were lots of comments on what people wanted to read so here we go.....

I want to write about a number of things, my training, day to day life of being a full time athlete seem the most obvious choices but I also want to talk about things that are more personal as well, the stresses and struggles of being a full time athlete can be immense and even though relatively I haven't been in the sport that long I hopefully can share some of my experiences not only to maybe help others but to also help me gain confidence by doing things out of my comfort zone, along side nutrition, lifestyle, hammer specifics ect as I said before people have already given many things that they want to here about but if you have anything you would like me to blog about let me know in the comments.

So I have been in the California for just under 4 weeks to start my winter training and now its time to get on the long flight home and continue in Loughborough for the next block of training, I will hopefully be back in the US before Christmas for another training camp, these first weeks have been difficult after having 6 weeks off from training it was hard to get back into training and it was a shock to my body but it has been really positive and I'm looking forward to the 2015 season!  

Sophie 

X