I have had the opportunity to train with, be coached, or learn from some of the world’s best coaches and throwers.  I always want to learn more about the event, and that quest has led me around the world to seek out those who have been there before and can share a bit of their knowledge with me.  Most recently, it led me to Kamloops, British Columbia to train under the guidance of world renowned coach Dr. Anatoli Bondarchuk.  But over the course of my career I ahve also trained with and learned from many other top names like Harold Connolly, Sergej Litvinov, Vladimir Kevo (coach of Primoz Kozmus), and Bud Rasmussen (former US Olympic Training center coach). As I learn more about the hammer, I also try to share some of that knowledge with others.  See the writings and articles below to learn more about training for the hammer throw.

Bondarchuk’s Training Methodology

Much of my writing has focused on exploring and explaining Bonadrchuk’s training methods. Recently I published a long article providing a general summary of Bondarchuk’s training methods. The article can be read in this post.

I have also published numerous shorter posts about different aspects of Bondarchuk’s training methods.

• About Coach Bondarchuk – Read more about his background here and here. I discuss his personality here and in this Q&A.  You can get an idea of his sense of humor here.
• Special Strength – For an introduction on the topic of special strength, click here. For some exercises that can be used to develop special strength in the hammer throw, click here.  For the use of light and heavy hammer to develop special strength, click here and here. I also talk about the volume of special strength in this Q&A and discuss how to implement it into training in another Q&A.
• Adaptation – Read a discussion of how athletes adapt to different exercises here.
• Transfer of training – I discuss Bondarchuk’s theories on the transfer of training in reviews of his books here and here.
• Technique – Read about Dr. Bondarchuk’s big picture approach to technique in the hammer throw here and suggestions for the start of the throw here. His and my thoughts on pushing the hammer can be found here.

Other Writings

Hammer in America – I have occasional write about why I think Americans have not had recent international success in the hammer throw and what can be done to change that.  One post shows the depth of the problem.  Other posts discuss how an emphasis on special strength and youth hammer throwing or a new approach to technique may help in the future.

Rethinking Your Approach to the Weight Throw (in PDF format) – This article explores alternative approaches to developing top hammer throwers under the traditional collegiate track and field system. Track Coach is the official technical periodical of USA Track & Field Association.