Question: I understand throwing 8- and 9-kilogram hammers, but why do you throw full length 10-kilogram hammers in training? -Robert

Many people are surprised when I tell them we throw the 10-kilogram hammer in training. Their jaw then starts to drop when I tell them we throw it on a full-length wire. For some, deviating too far from the competition weight hammer is a big no-no. But for us, it is just another tool to use in our arsenal. The more tools you have, the better chance that one of them will help you improve. Heavy hamemrs play an essential role in developing special strength, which is more useful and important than general strength for hammer throwers.

Of course, there is always the worry that costs outweigh the benefits. The potential gained strength, some argue, is outweighed by bad technical habits picked up by throwing the heavy hammer. This does not have to be the case. When throwing heavy hammers, it is important to focus first on technique. While the hammer is heavy, it is not impossible to throw with good technique. Take a look at the video comparison below of Kibwé’s throws with the 6- and 12-kilogram hammer. Despite being twice the weight of the lighter implement, Kibwé maintains his form while throwing the 12-kilogram hammer. A thank you goes to Kevin Becker for producing the video.

Question: What puzzles me is why no one ever gives a definitive statement about how to achieve hammer acceleration. If it is pushing with the right hand, driving with the right foot, dropping onto the right foot early, lowering the left shoulder on the entry, etc. Why not just say so plainly!! It seems to me that someone needs to step-up to the plate and say: this is how you make the hammer go faster, and this is how you best counter the forces that you produce. -Ray

I know you were hoping for a response from Dr. B, but my answer will have to suffice. The reason it is so hard to describe how to accelerate the hammer is because accelerating the hammer isn’t just something that you do. If it were just a few simple steps, then it would be easy to write down and pass along to others. Instead, it is something that you do with the hammer. In this way, accelerating the hammer is very similar to a dance. And you can read as much as you want about dancing, but you will never truly be able to do it until you hear and feel the music (and like dancing, sometimes not even then either). To make matters worse, the hammer actually plays the lead during most of the throw, so it is hard to know what to do until you feel what it is giving you. When we are training, Dr. B will tell us when we are pushing the hammer and when we aren’t. This way we learn the feeling of pushing the hammer and our coach reinforces that feeling by letting us know when we are doing things right.

When I got to Europe and saw my distances in training and competitions fall by five meters, I was a bit mystified. This happened to me last year, but I thought I had fixed the problems that led to it then. As I posted at the time, I knew that the five meters didn’t just vanish. My results were down, but I kept up hope that it would come back with the right adjustments. But after a month, my patience was starting to wear thin. I e-mailed Coach Bondarchuk to let him know how things were going and eagerly awaited his response. I thought he might be able to identify some new critical flaw in my technique, or perhaps alter my training program since things were not going well. Instead I got a short reassuring response that I will reprint in its entirety: “Hello Martin. Continued program. Dont vory. A.B.”

He was right. I took his advice, and things got better.

By the end of last week, training had already improved. I was ready for a little breakthrough, but the conditions and the meet were not accommodating to my plans. Since returning to training this week, I have continued to improve every day culminating in a record setting day Saturday. The morning started off with a new personal best with the 8-kilogram hammer (61.90 meters) and a near season’s best with the competition 7.26kg hammer (note: this throw would have been a season’s best if my training hammer didn’t have a diameter nearly as big as a beach ball). After enjoying the warm weather and the arrival of summer between practices, I returned in the afternoon to launch a new personal best with the 10-kilogram hammer (52.95 meters) and another solid throw with the 6-kilogram hammer. Needless to say, it was a good day. The only bad thing this weekend was that both the Swiss and the Americans lost in the World Cup, so now I have to find a new team to root for.

Question: I was looking online and asking other throwers where they get their equipment. Because most of us are bargain-looking buyers when it comes to training I was wondering if you could start a thread somewhere where we could all share how/where we get our hammers from. -Freddie Hannie

It’s been a while since I’ve bought a hammer. Hammer prices have gone up so much lately that I usually avoid buying them unless absolutely necessary. Thankfully both the Kamloops Track Club and the University of Washington have had plenty of hammers for me to throw. I’ve also accumulated 20 or so hammers over the past decade through donations, lost and found, and purchases.  If I were to buy a hammer, however, I would definitely recommend Jump Start Athletics for two reasons: they have great Polanik equipment and they are owned by a hammer thrower. You might be able to save a few pennies elsewhere, but everything they sell is of great quality and will last longer than the cheap hammers imported from India. Plus, if they don’t have something you need, they will special order it and can get hammers in any imaginable weight.

But if you are really on a budget, there may be a better solution than buying a new hammer.

Happy mother’s day! Like most other throwers I know, my mother has been very supportive of my throwing career as well as my schooling and professional career. Without her support and help I know I wouldn’t be able to pursue as much as I have or even possess the confidence to try.

Despite that introduction, today’s post isn’t just about mothers. One of the best parts about writing on this site is that I get a lot of e-mails from throwers across the world. Whether it is a high school athlete or masters thrower, I try to take the time to answer every question and help people learn about the hammer throw. My mother has reluctantly convinced me over the years that I do not have all the answers, but I do have some unique experience that I think can help others.

Most of the questions I get relate to technique or are follow ups to posts I do. Starting now, I’d like to start posting the questions that I think everyone might be interested in hearing. Here are a few to questions from hammer thrower Thomas DiCiaccio to start things off. If you have a question, please send it my way. I’ll answer almost anything, including tax questions if you are so inclined.

It’d be cool to know what Dr. B is like as a person and his coaching style. We all know about his amazing success as an athlete and a coach, but what’s the guy like in every day conversation and what would you say his coaching style is?

To put it in one word, Dr. B is very blunt in his coaching style. If we are doing something wrong, he tell us. And tell us again. And tell us again like a broken record until we start doing it correctly.