Training Talk With Jean-Pierre Egger (Part 2)

Olympic champion Valerie Adams training with Jean-Pierre Egger.

On Friday I posted the first part of my interview with Jean-Pierre Egger, the coach of former shot put world champion Werner Günthör and current Olympic champion Valerie Adams. Click here to read part one. After talking about training methods, our discussion turned towards throwing and technique and the future of the shot put.

Training Technique – Range Throwing

Martin: Does Valerie normally throw without a reverse like she did today?

Jean-Pierre: She normally throws with a reverse at meets, so today was naturally not her competition technique. It is only a training technique that we use because she has a tendency to jump too early. Last year she came to Zürich and threw almost 20 meters and then came to Magglingen. We did five training sessions then like we are doing now: precise throws without a reverse and without measuring or anything else. Then in Croatia at the Continental Cup she threw 20.86m, the second best result of her career and in an important competition not just a small one.

Martin: Do you do that all the time in training now?

Jean-Pierre: Yes. We also did that with Werner. He never jumped in training. In competition it was different, but it was important to focus on that in training. I saw that she reacted well to this approach and we continued with it.

I was once with Heinz Weiss, the German hammer thrower. I was a coach for the European team and he asked me to come watch his training one day. Now the hammer throwers talk about 270º, low points, etc. I just looked at his balance and his rhythm.  I told him, you are starting out balanced with 2 or 3 winds and told him to just stay balance and fixed at the end of the throw. This is just like we do in our shot put training. He said that was funny since he had never heard that from anyone. All his coaches told him something was too high or too low. My comments weren’t hammer specific, but they were still helpful. It was very interesting to watch him throw with heavy or light hammers start and then stay fixed at the end. Rhythm in between, but balanced at the end.

Martin: With the different phases, how is the throwing different in each phase?

Jean-Pierre: In the extensive phase, the general coordination is the most important. I use lots of rhythm exercises, balance, proprioception exercises (you know on a balance beam, stay and throw). We also throw more with 6-kilogram and 7-kilogram than 7-kilogram and 8-kilogram because the strength isn’t there yet.

In the intensive phase we discover the maximum strength. We use the competition weight and heavier weights, but we change the weights a lot. We push the precision throws a little further. I first saw this with Timmerman. For me, he was technically the best glider. In Seoul, he put a can empty can of Coca-Cola on the 22-meter line. He took five throws and three of them hit the can. The other two were close too. That is precision. That’s the best exercise and that’s why I put a strong emphasis on precision in training.

Martin: Precision with a high intensity or medium intensity?

Jean-Pierre: High. Precision with the highest intensity and speed ultimately leads to best results. In hammer it is the same. Speed and precision. You can be as fast as you want, but if you are out of control then you will fly out of the ring.

Throwing in Each Phase

Martin: Is the intensity higher during the intensive phase?

Jean-Pierre: In this phase every weight is moved both fast and precisely.

Martin: Sometimes coaches plan a training with 20 throws, but only focus on results for 5 throws. Do you limit the number of maximum effort throws?

Jean-Pierre: I am not a coach that says you take 30 easy throws without a goal. I take a tape measure to training, but only to make a box. The exact result is not that important, but the consistency of getting it in the box is what I am looking for.

Martin: How often in the week do the athletes throw?

Jean-Pierre: With me, I am also not a coach that has a high volume of throws. I try to get the maximum results with the minimum number of throws. In a normal training we take 30-40 throws total and then do that 2-3 times in the week. We typically do 2, but will sometimes go up to 3, especially during training camps.

We also do lots of other exercises like overhead shot, jumping, etc. for the explosiveness. We don’t just rely on the throws for that.

The Role of Maximum Strength

Martin: One of the thing Bondarchuk says is that there is a point of diminishing returns with maximum strength. Do you agree with that?

Jean-Pierre: Rowers say that too, that after a certain point specific strength is more important. That is possible in repetitive sports. But in explosive sports I think that as long as you can improve your strength you can also improve your results. In the hammer it may also be possible since it is much more technical. But in the shot put, increasing the strength won’t be a hindrance to improving.

There is different problem with some athletes that do a lot of strength training and don’t throw far enough. But that is because they are don’t have the best technique. But with a good constant technique, more strength will help.

Common Mistakes

Martin: Are there a few exercises that you think correlate better to results than others?

Jean-Pierre: I think so. For me I think the explosive exercises like cleans, or clean and jerk, are the best indicator. Especially with Werner. Bench press is a little bit less since it is just arms and the legs are also important. Cleans, snatch, and jerks all give a good indication of performance. Jumps are also important and I think they play a big role.

Martin: Are there a few technical points that you see repeated often in athletes or you find yourself saying all the time?

Similarities between the shot put and pole vault can be useful in demonstrating shot put technique.

Jean-Pierre: With the glide the biggest problem is that the athlete must understand exactly what they are trying to do with their body.

Let me give you an example. Look at the pole vault. The pole vaulter takes the pole in his hands and he runs flat until he puts the pole in the box. The pole vaulter doesn’t jump up; he runs forward and that creates tension in the pole that pushes him up.

What does the shot putter do? They move flat through the ring, and then forcefully put their left leg in the “box” (the toeboard). Their left side is like the pole and the right side is like the athlete. Then they push their right side into the left side. Everything is horizontal. The whole system tenses like the pole vault, and then the shot putter can jump.

Most athletes are too late with their left side and then dump the throw. That’s my philosophy. Build up this tension. When you have this you can jump. This is what is happening with Valerie. That is the big focus with Valerie and important with everyone.

Rethinking Günthör

Martin: With Günthör, if you were to be able to train him one more time would you do anything differently?

Jean-Pierre: I think I trained him well, but I would do a little less in the basis training. I would spend a little less time overall in the weight room. Let’s put it this way: the volume would be a little bit reduced but the choice of exercises would stay the same. I was very satisfied with the exercises. We were very creative. We built machines, we put together a pendulum for special strength, and he jumped like a jumper with 130-kilogram in bodyweight. And he didn’t throw too badly either. His training partners also did will with the same type of training.

Now we just have to see how it goes with Valerie. She has already succeeded a lot and is near her prime. We’ll she what the program can do for her.

Martin: And with Günthör’s technique?

Jean-Pierre: Not really. With his technique he made a lot of development and the technique is not what held him back. Spinning also was not in the equation. He just had no feeling for the discus. He threw the discus less than me and that says a lot since he threw the shot put 2.5 meters more and discus 2.5 meters less.

Martin: You were talking about the pendulum you used in training. Were there any other special strength exercises you used?

Jean-Pierre: As I said we also used this eccentric machine. We also did a lot of combination exercises, but nothing really special. Medicine balls, and all the normal stuff. No big secrets.

The Future of the Shot Put

Martin: In the 1980s most of the best throwers used the glide. Now most are spinning. How do you think things will look in another 20 years? Especially with the women since they are still gliding a lot.

Jean-Pierre: I can see a continued move towards the spin. I can image the spin allows you to work more on the speed and less on strength so the event is more attractive. But the size of the room is not very friendly to spinners. But despite that there are still people who can spin better or glide better. Each thrower must find out what they are best at. They must know their typology. A typologist told me Werner had no chance to be a good spinner based on his typology. I had it a little better since I could spin okay. IF I began with it earlier I might have been able to throw a little further.

Martin: Last question, when a thrower begins with the shot put what is the most important thing you would say to them? What is the most important to know?

Jean-Pierre: Coordination. Bondarchuk had it perfect. He could coach young and get them to distances that the best could throw. Kids throwing 80m with 2kg or 3kg. Then they get the coordination that will translate in the future. Jacko Gill,  the young New Zealander, is the same way with the lighter weights. He has already thrown the 5kg over 23 meters. Can he throw the 7kg over that some day? It’s possible. He’s already thrown 20 meters.