Shot put handbook how to shot put

Shot put handbook
Written by: Jeffrey Koelewijn from Holland

Males throw with a 7.26 kilogram shot
And females with a 4 kilogram shot

The shot put circle is 2.135 metres (7.00 ft) in diameter
Shot putters should try and stay in the ring when throwing

Before starting I'd advice to do a good warm up

It's best to use throwing shoes when throwing
As it's a lot better for the knees and ankles
as it makes moving around on the balls of the feet
a lot easier and smoother

Placing the shot:
The shot put should be placed on the fingers
The shot is placed in the neck against the jaw or a little
bit behind against the jaw

Be carefull not to make too much throws per training
12 to 18 throws should be enough and reduces the chance of injuries

Power position or powerstance:
Asuming a powerstance
One leg in front one leg behind
The hips and shoulders should form an x seen from above
And the toes and knee should form a line with the chest
And 70 to 80 percent of the bodyweight should be on the back leg
or the leg wich is leant on
and 20 to 30 percent of the weight on the front leg
The non throwing arm is held in front of the body

A good throw is made doing the triple extension
Extending the feet, knees and hip
To create a kinetic chain together with the twisting of the upper
body and the use of the shoulders and the arm
The upper body should be strong enough to support the chain
and add aditional power

Most power comes from the legs and hip

Use weightshifting (that's why 70-80 percent of the weight is on the back leg)
for even further throws


Inverted C:
The body creates somewhat of what is called an inverted C while just after the power position
and the beginning of the throw
A lot of energie is stored produced and released this way


The glide:
Starting at the beginning of the ring
While facing the non throwing direction one leg is lifted of the floor
the body is bend, the knee is bend and one knee bend
And then a glide motion is made to the other side of the circle
asuming a power stance
first the standing leg pushes of while the other leg than makes
a kicking or a swaying motion backwards
Some people make a small hopping motion without leaving the ground before starting the glide
Most gliders place the shot a little bit more forward against the jaw
then rotational shot putters do
Most gliders place the shot a little bit more forward against the jaw
then rotational shot putters do

A good glide training is hopping along a line in the glide starting
position with one leg of the floor and a bend body

Another good training is standing in the beginning position and
putting the non standing leg towards the other side of the circle
and then pulling back the other leg towards a power stance


The rotational:
-It's hard to explain the rotational in words it's probably best to just
 watch a shot put video
Is mostly learned by first doing a semi rotation
The rotational starts by doing a twist up or wind up to the other side of
which you're going to move to this is to create tension
You should try and maintain this tention until the throw and use it
Then the left foot turns in and the left arm moves to the side
Then the right foot makes a swaying or somewhat kicking motion
with on the end a somewhat kneeing motion is made
Then there's a short air time
Then the right foot is placed an the left foot follows as soon as possible
to come into a power stance and then the throw is made
Don't forget to use the non throwing arm to block or to create
extra rotational force

Most rotational shot putters place the shot somewhat more backward against the jaw
then gliders do

A good active left foot and leg while doing the rotational can result in further throws

Types of throwing:
Active release
-The feet come loose from the ground, sometimes a small jump
-just pivotting and rotating afterwards can
 also be called an active release
Fixed feet release
-The feet stay fixed on the ground
  Fixed feet release almost never happens in shot put

Pivot drills:
First get used to standing on the balls of the feet
Is done by pivotting on the balls of the feet
while rotating
90 degree turns
180 degree turns
270 degree turns
360 degree turns
Some people can even do turns between 450 and 720


Tip:
In competition be carefull not to walk out of the ring to the throwing
direction as the throw will then be declared a foul
Walk out of the ring to the non throwing direction

Warming up with the shot:
Throw the shot from the right or left hand to the other hand
at around hips or slightly lower than hips height
This can also be done behind the back the shot than circles
around the body by throwing it from one hand to another
You can also throw the shot from one hand to another by lifting
the leg up and throwing it from under the leg to the other hand
Another thing is just holding the shot while the shot is facing down
this requires a lot of finger strenght
Another fun thing to do is catch the shot after doing one full circle
around the shot with the hand
Be carefull the shot doesn't hit the hand

Do plyometrics like push ups and squats for overal conditioning.
Rocket jumps are also very usefull

Strength power and explosiveness training
Trainings like weightlifting and short sprinting can be done
to develop strength power and explosiveness

Tip:
Also do flexebility training.
Do leg flexebility training for the glide