He called specific strength development the key. He said this was done by throwing very heavy balls…16 and 20 pounds. Cleans and squats were general strength is his opinion which were not needed in elite development.
This is a very common viewpoint in the hammer throw and javelin. Because of the very unique movements of these events I think this may be more valid than for other events. I will say that the heavy lifting protocols likely don’t HURT these events. My friend Larry Judge is arguably the most successful hammer and weight throw coach in NCAA history and his girls are OBSCENELY strong in the olympic lifts, squats, pulls, etc.
Curious to know what he would say about training an athlete in the developmental stages. It seems most of the coaches I’m aware of with this viewpoint for these two events still believe that general strength levels in squats, pulls, etc need to reach certain benchmarks before moving to the specific strength format.
ELITETRACK Founder