Pukstys
Jav Tips
Keep the tip down near the head. Make sure this
is happening until your plant leg touches the ground. Many throwers try to
throw the grip of the javelin. Think about throwing the point of the spear.
This way everything in between your hand and the point is aligned. Think
of it like a flashlight. You control the spot were the light shines with your
hand....throw the jav through the light beam
You get lift by staying behind your plant
better. Usually young throwers will go after the spear hard in order for more
power. To throw real far you must catch and pull the javelin harder, not strike
past your block. You can see a javelin is released behind the plant leg on
long throws. This is the lift you get from the plant. Not only do you get
speed from stopping, you get the lift from the opposite action of the leg going
down, everything else rises.(For every action there is opposite
reaction) So try keeping your chest higher and get your plant
a little further out than usual. But don't take action on the spear until you
block hits the ground. This should automatically give you some height without
aiming high. Let the legs work first.
There is no drive off of his right leg, this
would put him to forward. From observing Jan warm-up over the years I noticed
that when he does easy throws he tries to stay behind the chest and almost back
on his right foot at release. He tries to get the javelin to float and
land flat. This means he is not working on his throw, but he is working on the
leg positions
I don't throw
to hard in training, but I always try to stay behind my
plant.
I always try
to feel that solid left side, and then strike past my face. If
I chase it too much I will not
feel the shock of the left, just a sort of slowing mechanism.
To prepare for nationals, I would
concentrate on specific ability, and do a little less general stuff. This means
to polish up on your run-up, your shoulder flexibility, your plant etc.
Then you can do sprints, plyos, and weights. I
would do plyos twice a week. Sprints
twice a week, and lift 3 or 4 days. Don't do to
many different types of lifts, just do your core lifts. Keep reps between 2 and
4, and weight medium to high. But get rest the last week before the meet. Just
work on specific weaknesses you may have, and set goals
to reach
Cross-overs: Take some barriers, the barriers
should be about 2 or 3 inches high, and place them on the
ground wide enough where you have to work hard to clear each
barrier during a cross over run. I will do repeat cross steps over these
barriers to improve my ability to drive off each step. When doing a cross step,
try to run tall with your center of mass, hip area, leading the way. You must
think of moving that mass forward, not just moving the legs.
Two times a
week you should do about 10 x 30 meters of this resisted cross step. It
will help you pull your lead leg and then push off, and then you will need to
push off your following leg (right leg on a right hand
thrower) to keep momentum. Then when you do it without any weight you will be
more capable in your cross step power. Do it for 6 weeks
Zelezny cupped
his wrists during the pullover. He holds his hands as if flexing
his forearms. This creates a shorter pullover, but is
technically more sound.
anytime he throws a med ball, or other ball, he uses the cupped wrist
When doing a
pull over with the new grip, remember to use the armpit part of your
shoulder more than usual. This will develop your ability to have a high
arm release, which if done right, gives you lift on the spear.
Med Ball Throws
Two-hand
overhead forward throw
- standing with feet shoulder with
apart
-
standing with block leg forward
-
kneeling on something soft, for more shoulder isolation
-
laying on the back, coming up to sit-up pos. & throwing: helps stomach
muscles
Three step
and 5 step run-ups
- sets of 5 or 6 for 10 to 20
repetitions
- heavy
early in season
- during
season…light only
- example:
start with 5kg, do about 6 diff throws. Every 6 wks go 1kg lighter on
5-4-3-2-1
Developing some extra power in your
throwing arm. First you must get in some throwing
form by doing two arm med ball throws for several weeks.
The stress of
one arm work should not be jumped into. So lay some ground work first.
In the weight
room you can begin to do a one arm pullover with dumbbell's.
At first use light weight to get the feel for it. The best way will be to use
an incline bench, with the top of the bench at the top of your head. You need
room to do the pullover. It is best to simply do a straight up and down motion
over your head. Elbow bent a little. Go back as far as you can, feel the
stretch, and pull it back to the top of your head. 5 x 10 is good to start,
then lower reps every 3 weeks, and raise the weight. Don't go heavier than 45
to 55 pounds. Do it twice a week. On the field you can do some one arm
ball throws with a heavy ball. Use a three pound ball, into a wall, and
throw easy for repetitions. It's best to use a ball which can bounce
a little so you can catch and release quickly. Don't try to throw too hard
here. The stress is too high, just be firm and work 5 x 12
reps. For those of you who can handle big weight,
start with a 6 pound ball, and work down in weight. If you
are good with the heavy ball, than stop and go to lighter balls, strength is
not your problem, it is speed. But you can build a nice base with the
heavy stuff. Every three weeks you should go to a lighter weight. But still
keep your reps above 8. If you don't have any weighted balls, you can try
tennis balls filled with a variety of weights, and taped. If you use
lead, it can get nice and heavy. The lightest ones can be filled with
sand. The ball throws are a simple pattern to follow for improvement. It
is like weight lifting. Build a base with slow movements and high reps,
and get lighter and faster in time. The most important thing to know is don't try to kill the heavy ball. It will not help you.
Only tear something. But if you throw as hard as you can
without forcing the throw. Than you will be O.K. Once you get down
to the near baseball weight.
Standing Throws Date: Sat May 9 22:20:10 1998
Hello boys, I will offer you insight on why you don't throw much better with
the help of a run-up. To give you an idea, I have thrown about 180 feet from a
stand, and that's pushing it. I could do better but my technique would have to
break down in order to get more distance. I have thrown 285'10" and to me
standing throws don't mean much. The technique needed to generate force, for
standing throws, and the power you get from a run, a reaction force, are
different. It is complex in accomplishing the idea, but the fact is you guys
don't do a good job of using your block to set up your throw. Zelezny is the best at it. He doesn't throw far at all from
a stand. The block will create a sort of jarring effect that creates a force
threw the body and helps you create speed. You have to keep your arm back at
the moment of impact of your plant though. What you guys are doing is trying to
throw past a plant and your throw becomes a strike or a push after the spear.
To throw far with a run, you must still pull the spear. It takes the right leg
to turn into, the left block leg, and your right arm to stay back until the
block is solid first. Zelezny drops the right knee into
a straight left which gives him great torque, and then he pulls up over his
plant, but the jav is released from behind the left
heel. The plant gives the spear the lift. He doesn't chase it, it is already
gone. So to help with throwing from a run-up, try to let the plant hit first
and stay at an angle behind it and will lock then you can pull the trigger.
There is more to it, but I would have to show you in person.Tom
Pukstys
Jeff, You make some great observations. Like I said before, the left leg makes the
power for zelezny, there is no drive off of his right
leg, this would put him to forward. From observing Jan warm-up over the years I
noticed that when he does easy throws he tries to stay behind the chest and
almost back on his right foot at release. He tries to get the javelin to float
and land flat. This means he is not working on his throw, but he is working on
the leg positions. Or staying behind his left. I have
had the problem of breaking down technically from a full run-up, but at the
time could kill a five step throw. I worked on planting all the time but, not
on how my right foot worked. when I started to drop
the right foot in like Jan, I was able to maintain a plant even at high speed,
and throw further. I don't throw to hard in training, but I always try to stay
behind my plant. I know it may not fly as far as it could, with a big strike,
but I know it works from a full run. So I practice full runs without throwing.
And I try to keep positions in training throws no mater what the distance. I always
try to feel that solid left side, and then strike past my face. If I chase it
too much I will not feel the shock of the left, just a sort of slowing
mechanism. Please ask more questions if this is totally unclear. I can explain
some more. Tom