NSA ROUND TABLE jji^l ©bylAAF 12:2-3:13-27,1997 HAMMER THROW Tcodoru AGACHI (Romania) is a hammer throw club coach of S,C. Bacau. She discovered Mihaela Melinte in 1988, when she was 13, and has coached her ever since, Yuriy BAKARYNOV (Russia) is the head coach for throwing events of the All-Russian Athletic Federation, With Anatoliy Bondarchuk he was responsible for creating the so-called Soviet School of Hammer throwing in the 1970's, A former high-level Hammer thrower himself, whose in the past has coached Y. Sedykh, S. Litvinov, I. Nikulin, among others. Lawrie BARCLAY (Australia) is a national hammer and throws coach. Guy GUERIN (France), a former 69.90m hammer thrower, has been French national hammer coach since !984. Has been responsible for considerable French success in major Championships since 1990. Boris RUBANKO (Ukraine) is a hammer throw coach at the Republic Training College of Physical Culture in Kiev, Allan STAERCK (Great Britain) is the special event coach for the hammer for the South of England Athletic Association and a former event coach for the women's hammer for the British Athletic Federation. Sergey Ivanovich SYKHONOSOV (Ukraine) is a club coach for Sdushor "Atlet". Kiev. Erno SZABÖ (Hungary) graduated at the Faculty of Coaching and works as a coach at the Track and Field Youth Club (VEDAC) at Veszprem, He is personal coach to Balazs Kiss, Olympic Champion 1996. 1. Athletes in all four AGACHI: throwing events possess In our opinion, the principal physical qualities for women hammer certain physical quali­ throwers are: ties in common. • general skills, especially the sense of balance, rhythm, mobility and However, each of the flexibility of the locomotor system; throws also demands • speed-strength; speed in power conditions; throwing power; pliysieal qualities • quality and speed of the cortical process, hammer throwing being specific to the event. also a neuro-muscular activity. What specific physicjil are essential for In order to develop and improve these qualities, we use the following success in the hammer methods: event and wh;il training • general athletic training, including hurdling, high jump, long jump, means would you use as well as exercises from other throwing events, develop/improve them? • exercises from Olympic and Rhythmic gymnastics, • exercises from basketball and football training. • exercises to develop balance - from acrobatic gymnastics - like rolling, handstands, bridge from standing and supine positions, dif­ ferent forms of balance walk on gym bench, • specific throwing exercises, such as 25-30 pirouettes using hammer or weightlifling discs, turns with hammer but with a high jump bar on the shoulders, hammer turns with sand sack on shoulders. For the development of power, we use: • power tracks, exercises aimed at developing power using the weight-lifting method; exercises following the Power-Training method; • running and jumping exercises; lAAF quarterly New Studies in Athletics • no. 2-3/1997 13 1. Athletes in 0II four • combined throws (using a light hammer of 3kg; a heavy hammer of throwing events posicss 5kg and the competition hammer of 4kg. certain physical qualities To develop rhythm, we use: in common. However, • runs with changes of rhythm, accelerations, starts. each of the throws also • hammer throws with different rhythms and with an even rhythm ''f-mands physical for each turn. 'dities specific to the event. What speciHc BAKARYNOV: physical ore essential The level of general physical conditioning achieved by the strongest for success in the hammer event and what throwers over the last thirty years has not changed very much. What training means would has changed is the structure of their physical conditioning. It has you use devclop/miprovi become considerably more specific, and a tendency has developed to them 7 use basic exercises for the physical conditioning for the different throwing events. Of the types of exercises that specifically determine performance in the hammer throw, the following are the most effective: bench press, snatch, squats, clean and jerk, standing long and triple jump, throwing the shot forwards and behind the head. (This information is based on the statistical analysis of the results of tests carried out on 82 hammer throwers). Below are the results of the testing of the physical conditioning of hammer throwers. The statistical characteristics of the selection are: std. dev, = standard deviation, min. and max. = minimum and maximum value of the parameters. Statistical characteristics: Result std. dev, mijT^ max. Competition result [m] 72.40 0,91 49,92 86.34 Bench press [kq] 127.6 4.49 50.0 175,0 Snatch [kg] 148.3 2.41 60.0 180,0 Squats [kg] 219.0 3.91 85,0 280,0 Clean and jerk [kg] 108.1 1.74 50,0 140,0 Standing long Jump [cm] 3U 2.70 240 365 Standing triple jump [cm] 924 5.91 770 1086 Sergeant jump [cm] 83 1,93 60 102 Throwing the shot forwards [m] 16.77 0,26 10,03 19.02 Throwing the shot backwards [m] 18.46 0,25 13,00 21,99 By using a regressive method to analyse the test data, we were able to obtain the equations of regression of the dependence of the results on the apparent physical conditioning. The following equation was obtained: R = 18.75 - 0.132 X (snatch) + 0.155 x (squats) t 0.174 x (clean and jerk) + 1.218 x (throwing shot backwards) + 0.244 x (throwing shot for­ wards) - 0.07 X (standing long jump) - 0.514 x (standing triple jump). (Here R is the result of the hammer throw. These are the results of con­ trolled exercises.) Thus, on the basis of this information concerning the physical readiness of hammer throwers, applied accordingly to the regressive equation, it is possible to calculate their possible results. BARCLAY; Male athletes of a muscular build, having a height potential of 178- 182cm, with long arms, long trunk and short legs, allowing for a low centre of gravity, are best suited to hammer throwing. I believe that the low centre of gravity is an important requirement in order to maintain balance in the complex turning movements essential to the event. Girls have a decided genetic advantage in this area, and stockier girls as short as 166cm can be successful. 14 New Studies in Athletics • no, 2-3/1997 lAAF quarterly t. Athletes in all four Good balance and the ability to perform the complex turning move­ throwing events possess ments can then be developed, using drills with broomsticks etc., and certain physical qualities against added resistance in the form of weight discs or medicine balls. in common. However, each of the throws also GUERIN: demands physical The essential physical qualities for Ihe hammer throw are revealed dur­ qualities specific to the ing adolescence and growth, after a period of general athletic training, event. What specific A training programme aiming at creating a general athletic base and physical are essential developing a wide range of movement provides a springboard for the for si;ccrss In the qualities of explosiveness and co-ordination of the future thrower (male hammer event and what or female). •nining means would , nu use develop/improve The specific nature of the co-ordination during the turn should be them? developed progressively with a light hammer. It will be improved by developing strength. The teaching methods may be global or analytical. The global method concentrates on the purpose of the movement, and limits movement inhibitions. This method favours the development of the rhythmic structure of the throw, which is the foundation of the event. The analytical method corrects possible technical errors, and is used in the form of drills. RUBANKO: The qualities needed for success in the hammer throw are, in order of priority: For women: Co-ordination, speed, quickness of movement, explosive power, flexibility. For men: General and explosive power, co-ordination, quickness of movement, speed, jumping ability, flexibility. STAERK: Apart from the basic physical qualities required by all throwers, I would look for good co-ordination and rotational speed. The ability to turn fast and still stay in control is the most important pre-requisite for good hammer throwing. Provided that young athletes show that they at least have the potential physical qualities of height, strength and build. then this ability to rotate rapidly is the surest indication of the likeli­ hood of success in the hammer throw. To develop this ability 1 would use a series of skill drills involving a com­ bination of swings and turns. SYKHONOSOV: Specific and special physical qualities are essential factors for success in the hammer throw. In fact, it was the evolution of these qualities that gave a fundamental stimulus to performance in the hammer event at the beginning of and during the 1980s. Former leading hammer throwers (Y. Sedykh, S. Litvinov, U. Tamm) not only improved their general physical qualities but also successfully developed their specific qualities, and thereby obtained better results. As a coach, during training sessions. I prefer using the following means to develop and improve specific qualities: • the use of heavier, lighter and standard hammers • throws with dumb bells ol 16, 24, 32 kg (forward/upwards, over­ head/backward, to the left and right, with 2 hands and with 1 hand, with 1 turn) lAAF quarterly New Studies In Athletics • no. 2-3/1997 15 • shot throws(forward/up, overhead/back, to the left and right) • throwing weights of 16 kg on a short rope (to the left and right. 1 and 2 turns) • throwing disc weights, to the left and right, and also throwing the discus with the left and right hands • exercises with free weights (twisting, lunges, bends, squats, jumps/hops, slep-ups on benches) • exercises with dumb belts (twisting, lunges, jumps/hops), SzAßö: Leg and trunk muscles have a great role in the technical performance of the hammer-throw.