Frank Carl, 69, discusses how he cross trains to stay in shape for the Highland Games (and to look good in a kilt)

A former college professor, Frank Carl, 69, participated in -- and coached -- both football and track and field for many years. He now lives in Escondido, Calif., where he plays golf, skis and hikes.

But it wasn't until he was 60 that Carl found his favorite sport: Scottish heavy athletics. Highland Games started in Scotland at least 800 years ago as a way to practice warfare. Now, the Games feature Scottish traditions such as dancing and bagpipes and, of course, the signature athletic events in which athletes throw heavy objects such as a long wooden pole (the caber toss) or a giant rock (the braemar stone throw). The Games are similar to the throwing events in track and field events, except that the athletes throw heavier objects. And wear kilts.

A Masters national champion in the hammer throw, Carl discovered Highland Games in 1996 at a renaissance fair in Springfield, Ill. He decided to give it a shot. By 2001, Carl was winning his age group at the national championships. He has since won three world championships in the 65-and-over category. He placed second at this year's world championships in Scotland.

Carl breaks his rigorous training into two stages: power-based strength training in the fall and winter, and Olympic lifting, plyometrics, stretching and throwing in the spring and summer. "Fall and winter training are the foundation," he says, "and in the spring I take that foundation and start honing it into athletic ability."

Fall/Winter

MONDAY

A typical week starts with a lower-body weightlifting day. Carl starts with light stretching and a 20-minute warm-up on the elliptical machine. To build leg strength, he does front and back squats and leg presses. He also does dead lifts. Carl's best squat is 305 pounds. Early in the season he'll lift between 185 pounds and 225 pounds in five to six sets of eight reps. He gradually works up to doing five sets of two to three reps at 285 pounds. to 305 pounds. He works his abdominal muscles with four sets of 25 sit-ups on an incline board.

TUESDAY

The next day, Carl switches to an upper-body workout, doing incline barbell presses, incline dumbbell presses, flat--bench dumbbell presses and various pulling exercises that work the shoulders and lats. He repeats the previous day's abdominal workout. At the beginning of the fall workout, Carl starts lifting light to medium weights. He gradually increases weight while decreasing reps. For instance, on the incline press, his single-rep maximum is 235 pounds. Early in the season, he'll lift between 125 pounds and 175 pounds and do three to four sets of 10 to 15 reps. After about four weeks, he'll lift 70 percent to 80 percent of his max, doing four to five sets of three to five reps. Toward the end of his strength training, he'll do five sets of two to four reps at 215 pounds to 225 pounds, getting as close as possible to his single-rep max. "That's the way you really build strength," he says. "A lot of reps are good for conditioning, but for pure strength, you work as high as you can close to your single-rep max."

WEDNES DAY

After two lifting days, Carl does a stretching and aerobic workout. He'll spend 40 minutes on an elliptical trainer, pedaling forward 30 minutes and pedaling backward for 10 minutes to work the hamstrings.

THURSDAY

Repeat lower-body workout.

FRI DAY

Repeat upper-body workout.

SATURDAY

Repeat cardio workout.

SUNDAY

Carl says Sunday is a "rest day," which means spending two to three hours practicing at least two Highland Games events to work on technique. He meets with an informal club to throw at the University of California at San Diego. "We're called the Black Sheep," he says, "because we're all kind of refugees from other sports, and almost none of us are Scottish."

Spring/Summer

In the spring and summer, Carl adjusts his workout to prepare for competition. He intensifies his throwing technique practice, increases stretching and eases up on weight-lifting.

MONDAY

His lifting regimen shifts to focus on Olympic lifting -- explosive, fast-twitch lifting with medium weights. For the lower body, he'll continue to do squats but drops the dead lifts. For his upper-body workout, Carl does clean and jerk lifts. He'll also do snatch lifts, where he lifts the weight from the ground to above his head in one motion. For clean and jerk lifts, Carl focuses on coordination and timing. "It's quality over quantity that's important here," he says. "It's not an endurance thing; it's about improving your technique." In January, he'll begin by lifting 135 pounds. in three to four sets of three or four reps each, focusing on timing and coordination. As the season progresses, he'll work his way up to lifting in the 175 pound to 195 pound range, doing five or six sets of only one or two reps per set. Carl stresses the importance of maintaining good form. "Whenever my form starts to fail, I'll stop and go to a lower weight. Otherwise you get hurt."

TUESDAY

Carl practices throwing for specific events. He also does plyometric exercises. For example, he'll jump up onto a box or a bench (without weights) and then back down again quickly. He'll also hold a dumbbell in each hand and step up and down onto a bench. He stretches extensively, starting with the legs and working up through the arms and shoulders. He does another 30 to 40 minutes on the elliptical trainer.

WEDNES DAY

Repeat Tuesday's workout.

THURS DAY

Repeat Monday's workout.

FRI DAY

Light workout on elliptical trainer before stretching.

SATURDAY

Light workout on elliptical trainer before stretching.

SUNDAY

On Sunday, Carl works on his throwing technique. By summer, he scales back to lift only one day a week. He'll practice throwing three or four days a week at this point and also do plyometric exercises. Before important competitions, Carl takes two or three days off and does only stretching. "It's important to know when not to train," he said, "to know when you need to recuperate and get fresh and not be fatigued."