There is an interesting discussion on The Ring this week. The topic is whether or not there is a “perfect technique” in the throwing events. In some sports, like diving, athletes are judged on whether or not they hit certain positions. In those sports, there is a perfect technique.

In throwing, however, we aren’t judged by whether we hit positions. We win or lose based on how far we throw. Asking about the “perfect technique” is part of the reason Americans have struggled in the hammer (I’ve detailed some other reasons in previous posts). Technique in the hammer throw is not about mastering positions, it is about mastering forces. While I know some coaches in America understand this, many more don’t and even I didn’t even grasp this until recently.

The coaches that don’t understand it spend too much time doing things like frame-by-frame video analysis. Coach Bondarchuk laughs at this. The only time he has watched a video of me is when I force him to, and even then he only watches it in real time. Looking at a frame of video only shows you positions; it leaves out all the forces that come into play in the throw and can make you lose sight of the big picture.

If a thrower masters the forces in the throw, the body will find the right positions. By nature, all athletes are different. They come in different sizes, shapes, strength levels, etc. But they do have one thing in common: they confront the same forces during the throw. For Bondarchuk, a good coach can figure out the athlete should best confront the forces, even if it means they use slightly different positions. For example, two of Bondarchuk’s top athletes, Yuri Sedych and Yuri Tamm, have very different technique, but both were able to push the hammer well enough to break the world record and collect multiple Olympic medals. If the coach instead focuses on their athlete being in certain exact positions, the thrower may not be able to handle the forces of the throw. Making an athlete fit into one template just doesn’t work.

Sometimes I get jealous of distance runners. While runners need a coach, they can also train alone easier. This comes in handy when traveling home for the holidays. In hammer throwing, there is no replacement for the eye of your coach, critiquing your every move at practice. I was back in Seattle for less than a month over Christmas, but it was enough time for my technique to acquire some rust. Since arriving back in Kamloops two weeks ago, I’ve been busy fixing it up again.

As was the case in the fall, Dr. Bondacrhuk has been focusing on the start of the throw. The start of the throw is the most important part of the throw; if a throw does not start out well, the thrower’s balance and rhythm get thrown off. It is nearly impossible to correct these points when accelerating through turns with several hundred pounds of force pulling away from you. My start has had two problems. First, I don’t keep my knees bent throughout the first turn; once the hammer’s orbit starts to rise, I often rise with it. Second, I cut the hammer’s orbit short on the left side of my throw. With the hammer, you want it to have a long orbit; cutting the orbit short will slow down the hammer and ruin my rhythm. I was making progress with both of these points in the fall (see the video and post here) and am slowly getting back to that level. Take a look at the video below to see how I looked at practice last week. The one positive is that I am still in great shape and my power is better than ever. I am throwing the 8.2-kilogram (18-pound) hammer in the video and making it look lighter than I ever have before.

When I returned to Kamloops, Dr. B also switched up my training. At the start of January I was in the heart of some intense workouts that focused a lot of special strength. While I gained a lot from the workouts, they were some of the hardest I’ve ever done and my body was ready for a break. My new program is just that: I am throwing more light hammers and doing minimal lightweight lifts in the weight room. This is Dr. B’s version of active rest.

Training at an elite level isn’t just about how hard you train; it’s also about how well you recover.  My training group trains ten times each week.  In order to be fresh and get the most out of each training session, it is important that we not only train properly, but also do the right things outside of training in order to take care of our bodies.  I find this just as true for me, even though I’ve never had a major injury or even an injury that has required me to miss a practice (although, in hindsight, I should have taken it easier after my bruised rib in 2008).

Proper recovery requires two things: time and resources.  As an undergrad, I was fortunate enough to have both the time and resources to do everything I wanted.  I was never rushed for time and the school had a full staff of trainers, a sauna, free massage, sports medicine specialists, and state of the art equipment.  All those resources remained when I began law school, but my free time dried up, forcing me to cut back on my hour-long post-workout routine.  Since moving to Kamloops, things have changed yet again; I now have ample time, but limited resources.

To give you an idea of all the things an athlete can do, I’ve outline some of the recovery methods I keep coming back to.  I’ve tried numerous other methods throughout the years.  Some work, some don’t.  But I find that these are the best for me.

Last night I drove from Seattle to Kamloops for perhaps the 50th time, returning from a three-week holiday visit.  The 300-mile trip now feels like a routine for me.  I can tell you ever twist in the road, every ascent of a mountain, and every spot that is prone to being foggy or snowy.  This is my commute; a byproduct of my choice to pursue two paths in life.

I have been traveling back and forth to Seattle since I began training with Coach Bondarchuk in August of 2005.  Throughout law school I would visit Kamloops at least once a month to touch base with him.  I moved north after finishing law school in 2008, but now am making the reverse commute back to Seattle so I can work occasionally, as well as to visit family and my girlfriend.

To drive from Seattle to Kamloops, you head north for a little more than an hour before exiting the freeway and turning northeast in Bellingham.  From there, you travel another three hours, cross the US-Canada border (remembering to gas up first as the prices are much higher in Canada), summit two passes, and drive through a national forest.  During most of this time, there is not a city, house, or streetlight in sight.  After about four and a half hours of driving, the city of Kamloops emerges out of nowhere, nestled in a valley at the confluence of the North and South Thompson Rivers.  When driving in the evening, as I have been doing too often lately, you can see Kamloops’ bright lights rising up behind the horizon as you approach in the pitch black night.

It’s 2010, and I’ve started the year off by making some small improvements to this site. To start with, I’ve added some new content. I have added some photo and video galleries to the site.  I’ve also changed the background and header images slightly and reconfigured the front page.  Expect a few more small changes [...]