Hammer

Rob Earl provides an overview of the technique for throwing the hammer.

For safety purposes the event takes place in a cage with moveable doors to accommodate left and right handed throwers. The throwing circle measure 2.135m in diameter and is either single use or concentric within a discus circle. The hammer is a steel ball attached to a wire via a spindle inserted into the ball and the wire is attached to a steel handle. A specialist fingerless leather glove is used to give protection whilst the athlete holds the hammer handle and specialist shoes are used to assist in reducing friction and gaining maximum speed whilst turning with the hammer.

The components of the throw

The following explanations is for a right handed thrower.

The grip

The athlete's left hand, wearing the glove, grips the handle and the right hand is then placed inside the handle on top of the left hand.

The swings

The athlete stands at the rear of the circle [12 o'clock] feet parallel, with back towards the throwing sector [6 o'clock]. The preliminary swings are used to commence momentum of the throw.

The athlete in general uses two swings, but more or less can be used. The swing starts from behind the right side of the body, taking the hammer forward away from the body and over the head. This will achieve a low point of the hammer ball in front of the body [12 o'clock] and a high point behind [6 o'clock].

The entry

At the end of the swings the athlete is about to enter the turning phase. With the hammer directly in front of the thrower, the low point, the turns commence. The shoulders are relaxed, head passive, trunk engaged, knees and hips flexed, feet remaining in contact with the circle. The hammer is pushed to the left and the turns are started.

The turns

The number of turns performed is a personal choice, but in general 3 or 4 are used. These are a series of movements performed to increase the speed of the hammer using balance through the feet, and power from the legs and hips. The feet are working together throughout the throw.

The right foot is turned through the toes and the left foot through the heel. At 6 o'clock once the right foot has completed its movement, it is lifted off the circle, with a driving action from the right knee. The right hip rotates up, back and around with the right foot touching down onto the circle at approximately 3 o'clock. The hammer is then accelerated by force transferred from the continually rotating right foot through the knees and hips to the downward path of the hammer back to the low point [12 o'clock]. Please note, force can only be applied to the hammer ball when both feet are in contact with the circle and hammer ball on its downward path. The left foot continues to turn throughout and maintains contact with the circle. The upper body remains in a passive position, shoulders relaxed with straight arms. At the low point [12 o'clock] the next turn is started.

The following diagram provides a side on view of the path of the hammer ball and movement across the circle through each turn to release.

The delivery

After the turns performed by the thrower have accelerated the hammer head to its maximal velocity, the thrower now stays with both feet in contact with the circle but still rotating and, at the same time, extending through ankles, knees and hips to drive the hammer upward and out to a position opposite the low point, known as the high point, at which point the hammer is released. In the drive upward the feet are pointing at "9 o'clock" and the left side of the body is blocked.

Heel-Toe Turn Footwork

After the preliminary swings start the turn on the heel of the left foot and the ball of the right foot. As the hammer ball passes "9 o'clock" lift the right foot off the ground and rotate on the outside of the left foot. As the hammer ball approaches "6 o'clock" shift the left foot onto the ball of the foot. The right foot is put down on the ground as the hammer ball reaches "3 o'clock". For the remaining part of the turn, from "3 o'clock" to "12 o'clock", be on the balls of both feet. When the hammer ball reaches "12 o'clock" the left foot shifts onto the heel and the next turn commences.

Conclusion

Although the description given of the components of the throw are separately headed it is important to remember that the throw should be viewed as a series of continual movement processes to create maximal velocity and distance.

Specifications

The weight specification for the hammer depends on your gender and age.

Training Programs

A training program has to be developed to meet the individual needs of the athlete and take into consideration many factors: gender, age, strengths, weaknesses, objectives, training facilities etc. As all athletes have different needs a single program suitable for all athletes is not possible.

Typical week's winter training for 68 metre senior hammer thrower

• Monday - Weight training. Squats 5 x 5 @ 140k, Clean 2 x 5 @ 95k. 3x3 @ 110k, Snatch 5x5@ 70k, Jerk 5 x 8 @ 40k, Core training
• Tuesday - Throws. 10 x 6k, 10 x 7.72k, 6 x short 9k, 5 x 40m sprints, 10 x 5 low hurdle bounds
• Wednesday - Weight training. Jump squats 5x5 @ 40k, Clean 5x5@ 90-95k, Snatch 2x5@ 70k, 3x3@ 80k, Bench press 5x5 @ 60k, Core training
• Thursday -Throws. 10 x 6k, 12 x 7.26k, 6 x 8k, 30 x pudd throw for core strength
• Friday - Rest day
• Saturday - Throws. 10 x 6k,. 12 x 7.26k, 6 x short 8k, 5 x 30m sprints, 5 x standing long jump, 5 x overhead shot throws
• Sunday - Active recovery rest day

Training Pathway

Athletes in the Event Group stage

The following is a basic annual training program suitable for athletes in the Event Group development stage:

• General Throws Training Program

Athletes in the Event stage

The following is an example of a specific annual training programs suitable for athletes in the Event development stage:

• Hammer Training Program

Evaluation Tests

The following evaluation tests can be used to monitor the athlete's development:

• 60 metre speed test
• Quadrathlon
• Strength test - upper body (Bench Press)
• Strength test - lower body (Leg Press)
• Sit Ups test - abdominal strength
• Sit and Reach test - lower back and hamstring test
• Vertical Jump test

Rules of Competition

The competition rules for this event can be obtained from:

• International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF)
• UK Athletics (UKA)

Page Reference

The reference for this page is:

• EARL, R. (2011) Hammer [WWW] Available from: http://www.brianmac.co.uk/hammer/index.htm [Accessed

About the author

Rob Earle has been involved as a thrower for 30+ years. He was an under 20 international hammer thrower and competed for the AAA on two occasions. Rob is a member of the UKA Hammer National Coach Development Program and is delivering mentoring training through the Local Coach Development Program workshops in the East of England. He is a UKA coach and coach education tutor, a Sports therapist and a tutor on sports massage courses.

Associated Pages

The following Sports Coach pages should be read in conjunction with this page:

• Planning the Training - 6 stages of development
• Find a Coach
• Hammer
• Hammer Training Program
• Hammer Throw Picture Sequence
• Sport/Event specific articles
• Tips to Increase upper body throwing power

Associated Books

The following books provide more information related to this topic:

• JONES, M. (1986) How to Teach the Throws. England, British Amateur Athletic Board