Why are Americans so good, or deep, in the shot put and nopt in the discus? Right now I think we haev the #1,2,4, and 5 marks in the world for shot put, but only the #3 and 5 in the world in the disc, and it is a non olympic year. Disc isn't really that far behind but it seems like you always hear about Godina and Nelson and Cantwell, but never Rome and Waltz.
American Shot & Disc
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KeymasterWhy are Americans so good, or deep, in the shot put and nopt in the discus? Right now I think we haev the #1,2,4, and 5 marks in the world for shot put, but only the #3 and 5 in the world in the disc, and it is a non olympic year. Disc isn't really that far behind but it seems like you always hear about Godina and Nelson and Cantwell, but never Rome and Waltz.
That's simple…because I'm the shot put biomechanist and not the discus biomechanist 😉
On a more serious note, the US has long been deeper in the SP than the DT. I think part of this (at least recently) is that we are one of the few countries in the world that have coaches who really understand the spin technique. The spin technique permits a wider range of athletes to compete at a very high level than the glide technique.
ELITETRACK Founder
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Sooooooooo….. I should only learn to spin if I have a coach who can teach me to spin (which I don't) otherwise I should just stick with the glide. You'd think Estonia or Lithuania or Russia would have the knowledge? to figure out the spin, but who knows.
In the glide the muscle firing sequence in laymans terms should go something like hips, then straightening the legs, then the shoulders come through, then your arm, then flick the wrist, right? I have really never used my opposite arm in the shot, disc, and jav, and I don't really know how, should I use it to open my shoulders faster and throw my chest out, or should I use it halfway after I've started opening my shoulders in the shot and disc, and halfway through "unwrapping" in the jav? -
Keymaster
Sooooooooo….. I should only learn to spin if I have a coach who can teach me to spin (which I don't) otherwise I should just stick with the glide. You'd think Estonia or Lithuania or Russia would have the knowledge? to figure out the spin, but who knows.
Word is that the Eastern Bloc countries tried to make a government sponsored switch to the spin technique but that the coaches weren't successful. I know Kumberness threw with the spin a couple times but couldn't come close to glide success. I think part of the problem may be that athletes who come up in more systemized, early development, training programs than the U.S. may have a more difficult time switching than their U.S. counterparts who may only start throwing as collegiates.
In the glide the muscle firing sequence in laymans terms should go something like hips, then straightening the legs, then the shoulders come through, then your arm, then flick the wrist, right?
Yes. This is basically the activation pattern for all of the throws.
I have really never used my opposite arm in the shot, disc, and jav, and I don't really know how, should I use it to open my shoulders faster and throw my chest out, or should I use it halfway after I've started opening my shoulders in the shot and disc, and halfway through "unwrapping" in the jav?
It really depends on the throw and the technical philosophy your employing. The free arm block can be very different in the javelin and discus than it is in the shot put. The same goes for long-short and short-long gliders. Or spinners vs. gliders.
ELITETRACK Founder
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