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hammer for short guys |
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Alan H 
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Account banned. Joined: 5/19/08 Status: Offline Points: 3135 |
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 Topic: hammer for short guysPosted: 4/30/09 at 7:44pm |
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I'm helping a new guy who is enthusiastic, strong as hell, tough as nuts and having a stinking great time throwing. He's coming along really well and enjoying it...just one thing. He's about 5' 6". All his hammer throws are line drives at about 50+ feet.
Not only that, he's busting all my handles!  I hate to tell him to choke up on the handle too much, that'll kill the radius of his swing. But he's got to do something, if I have him change the angle of rotation too much, he's gonna smack the head into the grass. Thoughts? |
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Silverback
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Plow Mule Joined: 8/29/04 Location: Alabama Status: Offline Points: 4276 |
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Posted: 5/01/09 at 2:11am |
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Lanny Pullen is not the most verticle guy in the world, but he has a great great hammer.
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Mule
Sportkilt AST Sport Supplements |
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dl_buffy
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Joined: 3/14/07 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 1507 |
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Posted: 5/01/09 at 3:46am |
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Hey...taking this slightly off on a tangent...but I saw this exact thing with the women's throws in Warrensburg. Most of the women were almost the same height as the hammer handle. They just can't get any clearance. Has there been discussion in the past about making shorter handles for women? I think it would make the event more competitive and more fun. <shrug> |
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BKetch
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Joined: 2/13/08 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 647 |
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Posted: 5/01/09 at 5:02am |
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Hey Alan i understand what your saying... Being 5'6" myself, I run into this problem at times...I find that when I clip the ground, it's because on my intitial wind I get to steep and wind too much on the right side of my body...So I try to make a conscious effort to not get steep on the initial, so it sets me up for a better 2nd and 3rd wind.
Wills, since your the MASA King of the Lollipop Guild, what are your thoughts? |
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WALLY.OLECIK
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Joined: 10/10/08 Location: W. Seattle, WA Status: Offline Points: 1594 |
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Posted: 5/01/09 at 12:04pm |
Make him buy you some replacement handles! |
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16lb-hammer(at)sshga.org
"Try not. Do or do not. There is no 'try!'" Yoda |
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West
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Joined: 4/17/09 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 348 |
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Posted: 5/04/09 at 6:07pm |
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im about 5'8" so i can relate. the way im able to get some height is by lifting my left foot while im relasing. problem with that is i lose some potential force. anywhoo, if your friend is as strong as you say, he can make up for the loss of force with more muscle
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Drink to the fame of it, honor the name of it, The Tartan.
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G.King
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Joined: 9/15/08 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 44 |
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Posted: 5/06/09 at 12:07pm |
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I am 5'7 . Have him choke up a little . Stand no further than shoulder width stance a little narrower if possible . Get him in some hammer shoes w/ a little lift in the soles . ASAP . I used to line drive all the time and......break handles too .
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member of olhaa "oompa loompa heavy athletics association"www.oompa-loompa power.com
Founders Willsy , Ketch , King |
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Mike Wills
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Posted: 5/07/09 at 6:37am |
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Me giving tips on the hammer would be like Shaq giving riding tips to horse jockeys.
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BKetch
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Posted: 5/07/09 at 8:12am |
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You mean it would be more like a horse jockey giving Shaq basketball advice.
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Mike Wills
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Posted: 5/07/09 at 8:16am |
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Something like that...my mind is not working well today.
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Detroitpete
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Posted: 5/08/09 at 4:12am |
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Alan, Old, short and squat here:-) I've found that leaning back and really focusing on keeping my arms straight is the key, even to the point of making sure my head is back--For us vertically challenged guys, if you don't really lean back--you'll skip the thing every time |
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scotbybirth
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Posted: 5/18/09 at 12:03am |
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At 5'6, I've had/still have that problem, but what I've found helped was to choke up on the handle about an inch, increasing shoulder flexibility (allowing my arms to straighten out behind me in the top of the orbit). Also, because of the height challenge, I've had to learn to lean as far back as I can get while staying grounded with blades and countering the hammer position with hip position directly opposite (if the hammer is at the 3:00 position, hips at the 9:00 position), as well as keeping my eyes on the hammer (where the head goes, the body will follow) and not looking forward. I've got a way to go before my technique is dialed in, but for the most part, it works for me. Hope that helps.
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Deakion
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Posted: 5/20/09 at 2:59am |
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Detroitpete for the win.
If he is short and duffing some or line driving he has to lay back and learn to pull on both sides, a typical (Sanford) wind wont work as it sets up a steep right side pull, get his head back and have him get that left shoulder moving, eg...make a 90 degree angle with the trig & his left shoulder. That will give him 2 sides to pull from, a real 2 side wind. Upon release he will really have to dramatically increase his up pull eg....releasing between his neck & shoulder, not releasing like he is going for another wind, that's where you get the line drive release. Remember your release & the hammer's flight, should resemble 1/2 a tear drop, you cant achieve that with a "going for another wind" release. my 89 cents. |
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Jonathan Irvin
And they shall know no fear. |
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throwing_josh
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Posted: 5/25/09 at 3:46am |
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Lots of good replies. I'm not much taller than you're friend, and I'm fairing okay in the hammer...I have a great coach though (just don't tell Jonathan har har har) I can't say that I choke up on the hammer maybe more than an inch...if that. The key is to get a good lean back and have straight, long arms. I also make sure my stance isn't very wide. I second on the hammer boots. It really allows to get back and long. |
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Alan H wrote: