Improving Throwing Performance

IMPROVING THROWING PERFORMANCE : THREE STUDIES THAT SHOULD INFLUENCE HOW YOU COACH THE THROWS AND ALL TRACK AND FIELD EVENTS

Current Research for Throws Coaches

In the January 2018 edition of Athletics Coach, Scott Martin spoke of the challenges of coaching the throws events. Martin highlighted that not only does a throws coach have the requirement of possessing a strong understanding of strength and conditioning for power athletes, but that the throws are amongst the most technical events of Track and Field. To complicate matters further, throwers are particularly susceptible to overuse injuries (Morriss & Bartlett, 1999; Dai et al., 2015), meaning throws coaches must carefully manage load, while allowing for sufficient practice to develop the technical model and event-specific strength.

Unfortunately, when it comes to the peer-reviewed literature to support throws coaches, we are not blessed with an abundance of studies to determine best practice. Whereas sprinting and jumping are important components of a number of sports and attract considerable interest from a broad range of sports coaches and researchers, throwing for distance is of unique interest to Track and Field specialists. Therefore, research that has been conducted in the throws tends to be published in Track and Field specific publications without the thorough peer-review process of some of the traditional exercise science journals. This can pose a challenge for throws coaches in determining the research that is reliable and trust-worthy to support their coaching practice.

This article looks at three studies from the last decade that have received a peer review and will assist throws coaches in improving the performance of their athletes. This article will hopefully offer you new strategies to improve the mental, physical and technical ability of your throwers.

EXTERAL FOCUS OF ATTENTION ENHANCES DISCUS THROWING PERFORMANCE Zarghami et al. 2012, Kinesiology: International Journal of Fundamental and Applied Kinesiology.

Promoting an external focus of attention has been shown to improve performance in a range of motor skills, such as basketball free throws, vertical jumps and standing long jumps (Wulf, 2007). This study looked at how discus thrower’s performance varied between an internal and external focus.

Internal Focus: When an athlete directs their attention to their body parts during the action. e.g. “Concentrate on your wrist when you release the discus.”

External Focus: When the athlete directs their attention to the outcome their action will have on their environment. e.g. “Concentrate on where the discus will land.”

"The results...demonstrate that practioners and coaches can enhance theirathlete’s performance by a simple change in the wording of instructions."

Key Finding 1

An external focus of attention significantly improves throwing distance

Discus throwing performance requires greater force production and effective inter and intramuscle coordination. Asking athletes to maintain an external focus of attention is believed to improve performance by facilitating more efficient muscular contraction and greater coordination. This is consistent with the findings of Marchant (2011), who reviewed a number of studies to support the use of external focus to improve muscle coordination and force production.

The practical implication for all coaches is that an external focus of attention should be reinforced in athletes to improve athletic performance. Coaches should ask athletes to visualise the outcome of their action and avoid an internal focus during competition.

Key Finding 2

‘Constrained Action Hypothesis’ - Conscious control of movement may restrict performance and learning

The authors attribute the improved performance of the thowers under the external focus condition to the constrained action hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that any effort of conscious control of movement restricts the automatic process of motor control and decreases performance (Kal, van der Kamp & Houdijk, 2013). In practice, this is believed to be the difference between an athlete who appears to move ‘smoothly’ or ‘effortlessly’ and an athlete who appears to be tense and lack coordination.

An important implication for coaches is that the constrained action hypothesis implies that focus not only effects performance outcomes, but also impacts learning outcomes. It is believed that an external focus of attention can allow for more rapid skill acquisition than an internal focus on a given task. The challenge for the coach is to use cues that avoid an internal focus such as, “focus on your hips”, and instead use cues that achieve the desired changes while maintaining an external focus during practice.

THROWING PEROFRMANCE AFTER RESISTANCE TRAINING AND DETRAINING Terzis et al. 2008, The Journal of Strengthand Conditioning Research.

As Scott Martin highlighted, the importance of an effective strength and conditioning program for throwers, especially at the elite level, can not be overstated. This study examined the effect of a strength and conditioning program on shot put performance in moderately trained 17 year old athletes and the effect of a four week taper period with no training.

Key Finding 3

Fat-Free Mass was closely related to Shot Put performance

Fat-free mass was increased throughout the training program and this correlated significantly with the improvement in Shot Put performance - consistent with previous research (De Rose & Biazus, 1978). This relationship has been demonstrated to be reliable for moderately and highly trained throwers (Terzis et al., 2003)

Key Finding 4

A four week detraining period with no exercise did not result in a statistically significant change in Shot Put performance

The authors suggest that a taper period prior to competition might be most effective where training frequency is decreased but intensity is increased. This may be an effective intervention to avoid a decrease in fat-free mass, while allowing for the increase in Type IIx muscle fibres observed in the taper period of participants in this study.

***VIEW FULL ARTICLE FOR THE STRENGTH PROGRAM USED IN THIS STUDY***

ASSOCIATIONS BETWEEN JAVELIN THROWING TECHNIQUE AND RELEASE SPEED Leigh, Liu & Yu, 2010, ISBS ConferenceProceedings

The release speed of the object is the most important variable for determining the length of the throw in Javelin and the other throws events (Hay & Yu, 1995; Hubbard et al., 2001). This analysis of trained male and female Javelin athletes analysed the factors, which resulted in the greatest release speeds.

Key Finding 5

The technical components of increasing release speed were different between men and women

The participants examined in this study revealed that fast release speeds were correlated with different factors for men and women. Female throwers were more likely to have a faster release speed when runway speed was maximised up to the block at left foot down. Release speed was also increased when force was applied to the javelin for longer by increasing the range of motion.

Males were more likely to have a higher release speed when greater force was applied to the javelin through an increase range of motion in the thrower’s shoulder. The authors highlighted the importance of the thrower externally rotating and horizontally abudcting their shoulder prior to commencing the throwing action to maximise this range of motion and allow for a greater application of force.

"For male javelin throwers greater release speeds were associated with: shorter times spent in single support, greater trunk forward tilts at release, greater hip-shoulder separations at release, more right shoulder horizontal abduction at right foot down and left foot down"

"For female javelin throwers greater release speeds were correlated with: shorter times in double support and greater runway speeds at left foot down, greater hip-shoulder separations at right foot down, and smaller left leg angles at left foot down"

Key Finding 6

There may be a point of diminishing returns on improving runway speed

The authors noted that the lack of significant correlation between release speed and run up speed for male athletes may be as a result of the higher average run up speeds observed in male athletes. The implication of this hypothesis is that runway speeds that are too high may result in an excessive forward trunk lean as the athlete is unable to handle the higher speed. This results in a forward pitching of the trunk instead of the additional speed being successfully translated into higher release speeds of the javelin. Coaches may wish to consider focussing on developing run up speed in female and developing male athletes and once optimal speed has been obtained, transition to a greater focus on developing range of motion and arm biomechanics.