How to Stay Low in the Hammer Throw
With my book finally being released, I’m dedicated more time posting about hammer throw technique in the coming weeks. One of the first topics I’d like to cover is how to stay low in the hammer throw.
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Great post Martin. As usual, you do a great job of summarizing some varied approaches to the issue.
Thanks Martin. I am just working on this with Julia at the moment. I now have a few more paths to follow.
Would love to hear what you have been trying Dave. Obviously it’s been working over the past few weeks.
Excellent description of the pendulum in the video. Another approach that works is focusing progression only through the push left and control of the left leg (right handed thrower) similar to what Sedykh describes as letting the hammer turn you. Towards the end of double support the velocity of the hammer is orienting parallel with the desired progression direction (assuming the orbit is correct), and if the thrower is truly allowing the hammer to turn the left heel then as the hammer runs across the circle in single support so too will the center of the orbit and thus the left knee will drop and move to this location to remain the center of rotation. The right leg will naturally move to complete balance while the thrower drives the right foot down to the ground to re-establish double support. In this way the dynamics are purely determined by the magnitude and orbit of the hammer and not forced by the thrower’s body. Same movement by the thrower as you described but just a different way to think of execution and could make it much easier to ensure the COM (thrower’s hips) continue to move asynchronously throughout single support since the thrower is not thinking of stepping forward with the right foot (which would cause the hips to move down but also move towards the ball and thus not in direct opposition). Additionally this facilitates the transfer from the right foot to the left foot in double support that Koji describes.
Great post.
Did you mean to say left leg here: “Sedykh is so low that his right knee is just inches off the ground.”?
I remember OP Karjalainen’s coach, Arto Rinta-Aho, telling me to sink lower just following the entry. Just between 0° and 90°. In hammer the entry is the only thing you can control and tinker with in any meaningful sense, as everything after that point becomes increasingly difficult to consciously fix. But sinking after 0° at entry, when the ball is on its way up, really helps me establishing momentum of the asynchronous countering relationship.
Great comments Ja’Mar and Elias. Elias-that was a small typo…I meant the left knee (it is fixed now).
A simple drill for beginners: Hold a 3 foot stick straight out in front of you with both hands palms up at shoulder height parallel to the ground. Lift your foot so that your knee is also parallel to the ground (single support). Let go of the stick and simultaneously let your body drop. Try to catch the stick before it hits the ground without moving your arms. The key is to quit supporting your weight and just let yourself drop. For the beginner it teaches dropping which is a movement that may well be unique to hammer