This season I had my best results in years despite little time to train. Putting together a training plan required some creative solutions, some of which worked, and some which didn’t. On this episode we debrief my season and look forward to next year. After a decade of the same training style, it is time for a change and we brainstorm different ideas for planning towards 2018. Read more
Don Babbitt has developed a name as one of the top throws coaches in the world after guiding athletes like Reese Hoffa, Adam Nelson, Breaux Greer, Jason Tunks, and Andras Haklits. Recently he’s been involved with a number of projects in the throwing world like leading a rotational shot put project in Japan, analyzing throwing development in the US, and work with Koji Murofushi to research specific strength exercises like “hammerobics.” On this week’s podcast Babbitt joins us to brainstorm about what’s on his mind recently. Read more
When you read Frans Bosch’s critique of traditional strength training, two main elements stand out: traditional lifting lacks transfer as it is based on different coordination, and traditional lifting lacks the variation inherent in sport. In his book Bosch outlines a different approach to strength training and while we can argue about his approach it is hard to deny the issues he is working to solve. As a hammer thrower, I am constantly thinking about how our event can address these issues, a topic Bondarchuk has spent his life working on. In this month’s Strength and Conditioning Journal, Olympic champion Koji Murofushi, University of Georgia coach Don Babbitt, and Ken Ohta describe their framework for addressing the problem. They call it hammerobics. Read more
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After reading the “Training Fast and Slow” post, I started wondering about the various benefits of these training techniques for throwers. Is there ever a time to throw fast (light implements) or should a thrower only go slow (heavy implements)? Is there more benefit in one type of implement or another? -Andrew Read more
The past year was a busy one at HMMR Media with 97 new podcast episodes, 426 new posts, plus even more premium content for HMMR Plus members. Most important for us, we also added five new world-class coaches to our roster of writers: Nick Lumley, Jonathan Marcus, Danny Mackey, Sergej Litvinov and Bryan Mann. Combined they bring a variety of new viewpoints to the site from their backgrounds in endurance sports, rugby, and more. Read more
Earlier this week we celebrated the 30th birthday of the men’s hammer throw world record. When a record lasts that long, the inevitable question is whether it will ever be broken. The chances do not look good in the near-term future. Pawel Fajdek’s throw of 83.93 meters last year is the only all-time top 10 mark in the last decade and the winning distance at this year’s Olympics was the lowest since 1984. In the long-term many top coaches think a bigger throw is possible, but it will not be easy. It will require the sport to progress in terms of training methods, culture, and more. Below two Olympic champions share their thought on the future of our event. Read more
As Kibwé is adjusting to his new role as a coach, but still has his sights set on a medal in Rio for himself this summer. He sat down with the Sarasota Herald-Tribune recently for a series of videos to talk both about his own ambitions for Rio and about the preparations of his athletes like Amanda Bingson. Read more
While in Minneapolis last year I got a chance to catch up with University of Minnesota throws coach Lynden Reder. Coach Reder and I competed against each other as students. He beat me then, and now he is beating me as a coach by producing top hammer throwers every year. Just last week Sean Donnelly threw a big personal best of over 23 meters to place third at US nationals (and over 74.35 meters in the hammer today). But his success aside, he is always up for a good conversation on training and we are not afraid to challenge each other, a quality that is often lacking when talking shop with other coaches. I used one of our chats as a topic for an Ask Martin post on the pros and cons of the NCAA system for athlete development. And in a recent article he turns that same ability to challenge on his own training. Read more
Now that I’m coaching at IMG Academy, I’m having to do something I’ve never had to do in my career for an extended period of time: train alone. Dr. Bondarchuk is still my coach. He writes my programs. I will continue to utilize his mentorship as it pertains to high performance coaching until it is no longer available. But day to day I am on my own now. Read more
Below is an interview I did this week with the new website Throwers Unite. You can read the original here. Read more
