what to do to be faster

[greekguy]

I am from Greece 26 years old my name is john and i am in wheel chair.about a year now i start training to be javelin thrower.i like it very mutch and i am looking to found how i will be better athlete and a good training programm.
My problem is that i am slow.how can i fix this?(what exercise is good for javelin thrower to be faster and i can do it from wheel chair ofcourse).
i will appreciate if u know something to tell me and wanna help.

[Administrator]

Hi John,

Welcome to the forum, good to have you on board. One of the best ways to increase your arm speed is to throw light objects. Try throwing javelins below your normal weight. For instance, some senior men will throw 600 gram javelins as part of their training as well as the normal 800g javelins. It may also be worthwhile throwing even lighter objects like cricket balls, baseballs or even golfballs.

There are some articles on our website that may be of interest to you, have a look in the technique section:

www.thejavelinclub.com/resources.html

Also, this article is very interesting. It discusses the benefits of using underweight and overweight implements in training. There is a case study with baseball players included which is very insightful.

www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0325.htm

Good luck with your throwing and visit us again!

James

[beepee]

Hi there John and welcome to the forum. I coached a girl in similar circumstances to yourself and dependent upon which class you are in then there is a significant difference to the distance that you can achieve ie, some have partial/full use of the hips and trunk whilst others do not and if you are able rock back and forwards prior to the throw then this gives you a major advantage over someone who cannot . Assuming that you do not have full range of motion of the trunk then you are limited to just the shoulder girdle/upper arm/forearm/wrist and hand to generate the angular velocity needed to launch the spear so any speed work will have to be focussed on this area. The height of release will be set by the height of the chair that you are using and the rules state that you must sit partially on the chair during the throw and release, soooo how to get some velocity? the first thing to concentrate on is the shoulder girdle which will be the prime mover and needs to be very powerful so some pulley work needs to be worked on these with the emphasis being on moving a weight similar to the jav weight that you use ie, 600gm or slightly more and move the weight from a resting position to full extension as fast as you possibly can this will build up the shoulder girdle. Next work on the upper arm and forearm whip by using lighter implements as James already said even to the extent of using balloons which are not easy to throw and move quickly believe me try it and also use a towel as a whip for getting the arm moving light speed quick. The wrist and fingers play a major role in distance thrown from a chair so getting instant like whip crack from the wrist is most essential and can be worked on too by various methods. Again you did not mention how much disability you have but being able to drop the left shoulder(assuming right handed throw) will greatly aid the clean release and hence distance thrown so if you have this ability get used to using it and try to extend the range of movement in that shoulder too. Tie a rope around something solid in front/left of you so that you can hold it with your left hand or wrap it around the wrist to give you an anchor point to pull against whilst you throw this will give you the feeling of a powerful left side and block. Most wheelchair athletes release with a bend of the arm unlike able bodied ones because of the need to get a clean flight with limited movement so try to get more forwards or upright on release. Lastly think about the design of the chair that you use to maximise the use of the trunk if possible and give you more control of the core muscles which provide a stable platform for the throw itself. Good luck in the training and you will be surprised how the increased distance will come but it takes persistance and more than a little sweat. By the way the girl that I coached went from throwing a couple of metres to achieving a gold medal in the disabled world champs by using the methods described above, anything is possible if not probable, best of luck to you.