Re:Getting Height - Throwing Events Discussion

I am having trouble getting height on my release. I am pretty sure I am doing a good job of setting up my orbit at the start of the throw but I don't feel like it changes once I start the throw resulting in a flat throw. I know that if I can get some height on the ball I can get an extra meter or two. Any tips or drills would be greatly appreciated.

Could be that you're not catching up top and pushing through if your orbit is not changing. That can be caused from not "shooting" the "free" foot over and around the pivot foot. The idea is that you get your "free" foot around to it's position as quickly as possible, so you can catch and push the hammer.

If you fix that, but your throws are still flat, look at your finish. Work on hitting a "V" motion with the hammer on the throw. I first heard this from a good friend of mine a couple of years ago, Spyridon Jullien. When a 4 time national champion says something, you tend to listen to it. Anyway, the "V" motion, is again, catching up top, pushing down, then driving up as soon as the hammer is in front of you. What helps the driving upward motion on the finish, is exploding up with the hips and legs, and throwing your head back and up to the sky.

Hope that helps some.

Try looking at where you are releasing the hammer. If you are releasing more in the middle then the hammer will have reached its total projectile height. Try releasing a little sooner so the hammer has some some where to go. But make sure you are catching and pulling the hammer all the way from your 180 to 360 postion.