Tag Archive for: Shot Put

A call to standardize throwing surfaces

All sports have rules. Rules are there to standardize competition, making it both more safe and fair for the competitors. Rules define the playing area, implement, procedures, and more. Rules can go overboard, but the idea is that the rules make sure the winner determined by physical and tactical components, rather than luck. In the throwing events various rules define the size and weight of the implement, where it must be thrown, the design of the cage, and the structure of the competition. However one there is one big gap in the rules: the throwing surface.

Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 255: Olympic throws debrief (with Shaun Pickering)

The Olympics just wrapped up. All the uncertainty leading into the games was left fans unsure of what was to come. But once the throwing started, historic performances arrived daily. On this week’s episode guest Shaun Pickering joins us to break down the performances in each of the throwing events, look at what made the Tokyo Olympics different, and draw out some key lessons for coaches and athletes from the 2020 Olympics.

Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 254: Olympic insights (with John Godina)

Three-time Olympian John Godina knows a thing or two about competing at the highest level. From being the favorite, to only making the team as an alternate, his wide range of experiences can help share what Olympic athletes will encounter in Tokyo. On this week’s episode he joins us to discuss his own experience, his approach to technique, and how he assesses the current generation of throwers.

Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 250: The ultimate Olympic Trials throws preview

It seemed like the Olympics might never arrive, but all of a sudden the tryouts for the world’s best team are here. That’s right, the US Olympic Trials start this week and we’ve got an in depth preview of all the throwing events together with guest Kibwé Johnson. In addition to sharing our predictions, we also discuss format changes in the field events, what makes a championship environment different, the resurgence of American hammer throwing, and much more.

Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 247: More mailbag

On our last episode we dove in deep into the listener mailbag. But we ran out of time before getting to the best questions. Therefore we pick up where we left off on this week’s episode, exploring questions on brisket, throwing, transfer of training, and more.

Read more

The balancing act of planning

Quite often on the HMMR Podcast and this blog I write about the various elements of athletic development: strength training, sprinting, jumping, multi-jumps, multi-throws, and more. Sometimes the hardest part is not understanding each element, but in figuring out how to combine everything into a plan. To help readers get an idea of how I do it, I just posted the first eight weeks of our high school thrower sprogram in the HMMR Classroom.

» Learn more: the complete 8-week program, including all sets and reps, is available for HMMR Plus members.
Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 229: The 8-week plan

We often talk on the podcast about different components of training: lifting, jumping, sprinting, throwing, and more. We spend less time talking about putting it all together. The best way to learn about that is to take a look at an example. Last week Nick posted an 8-week throws program on HMMR Media. We walk thought it to understand the thought process behind it and how coaches can look at fitting all the components of athletic development into a plan. Read more

The drivers of technical evolution

When we look at track and field, technique in different events have evolved at different paces over the course of the last century. Comparing different events it is interesting to see how some techniques have barely changed while others have become unrecognizable. All of this begs the question why some events move forward technically, and others do not. Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 215: Throwvallis (with Dave Dumble)

After leading athletes to 24 NCAA titles in 15 years, throws coach Dave Dumble packed up and headed north to take on a new challenge of building a program from scratch at Oregon State University. On this week’s podcast Dumble joins us to talk about the move, what he is building at Corvallis, his coaching philosophy, and more. Read more

HMMR Podcast Episode 211: Reactive throws (with René Sack)

It is easy to think about the throwing events as strength events. But in the end, the implement is often not that heavy. The bigger challenge is coordinating the whole body to add speed to the element through elasticity, as well as strength. German national discus coach René Sack joins this week’s podcast to discuss how he thinks about this element of the throw and exchange ideas about how to address it in training. Read more