Tom Pukstys - Simple technique Mon Dec 6 21:29:04 1999

I just wanted to add again  to technical thought.

I don't want athletes to get  caught up in the usage of the right leg to help you plant. We have discussed the  action of it a lot on this site.

I didn't begin to  think about the right leg specifically untill 1996. It was the final addition I  was looking for to help me get behind my left under speed. Well, I had some good  throws before that and I simply wanted to have a hard plant, and hit the  throw.

My point is: if you are having problems or  are confused, just keep the chest up, and wait for the plant before taking  action on the hand.

The right leg bsically needs to  become a non pushing member of your technique. This means it is passive. But you  actually need it to be active in order to keep it passive. This is a real bitch  to do.

I like how Duncam Atwood describes it as a  soft step. It is kept bent as you go into the plant.

You must also realize there are at least three ways to get the right  leg to do the desired movement. The beginer just needs to know not to push off  hard and stay behind the plant to hit a throw.

Just  remember to throw with a strong plant and you will win half of the  battle.

Tom Pukstys - Low barriers and foot work - Fri Dec  3 12:09:58 1999

For those of s with less than great  footwork and run-up ability, we have to continue to do training to improve that  area. I just wanted to mention one method aI use to help out.

I set doen about 6 to 8 barriers that will rise a few inches from the  ground. For example, I used the foam protective piece you put on the top of  hurdles so the athlete doesn't break himself while trying to do aggressive  hurdle training. These barriers work great, if you step on it, no problems.

Use a jave on your shoulder like a scarecrow would  hang. I just simply run back and forth over the barriers working on knee lift  and good push off. You can spread the barriers out to work harder on extension  and push off.
Remember to stay sideways on this drill and lead  with the hip. It will help you make better crossteps.

Tom Pukstys Peak - Thu Dec 16 13:15:57 1999

My method worked for me because of several reasons: If I lift a good  max about 10 days before a meet it tells me I am in peak strength, gives me  confidence, and I also know I am fit because I can actually manage the weight  without pain. Remember, this goal is subject to lactic acid build up. A real  enemy of motor skills. I am not power lifting going into a meet. It is more like  lingering effect. I do it 10 days before a meet so I can recover.

I can keep with training heavy weights if i keep my  reps down and maintain power for a long time. With more rest and fitness, and  added mental push, I manage big lifts before meets. It can be risky, so I don't  always do it. I get scared of injury.

My lifting  tends to be on the verge of overtraining most of the year. I do my technical  work when I am broken down. I do it so strictly that when I rest, I can  reproduce technique under great speed or load. It takes me a few meets though. I  know you have seen me wipe out at Penn in 1996 on my first throw. It was bad  power management. So when I am rested, and don't have injury, it is not  difficult to hit a big lift. It almost wakes up my body.

This is why I can keep improving out of the winter months. As my body  gets fresher, I throw farther. Through the summer, I go through phazes in my  throwing. First I throw on power for about 5 weeks, then I get into a peak phase  where I have power, and rythem sets in. At the end of the year all I have is  rythem and technique. It shows by throws being bad on missed form. During the  power phase I throw well with good or bad technique.

I am lucky to have a thought process which grasps on to the image of  a throwing body very well. I will change my training at the slightest deviation  from too much of any one thing. I never do too much lifting, because I won't  allow it. I have made mistakes before, but not so much that I can't recover.

My mistake last year was not enough power training  which kept me fresh for too long. I ran out of room to improve, so I went down,  in mid season. I can't start lifting heavy in mid season, the window of  opportunity has passed. Basically, I gave my body the same input too long and  platued.

I'm sorry to ramble, but I follow  instincts and feelings in my training, not scientific methods. Methods don't  allow enough for human error. My training is very adaptable and can keep me  ready for anything. I just let it slip last year. This is why it is difficult  for me to put in on paper.

Rich, you know my  training is very simple. I just know how to do technical movements in training  that allow me to reproduce technique with speed and power. This is somehow, very  difficult for most throwers to do.

Tom Pukstys - a little more... Fri Dec 17 10:06:03  1999

What I meant by that is, I made it a goal to  be more technical last year. I started on technical movements in december. By  february I threw 80meters and was fit. But, I kept giving my body the same  impulses. I stayed about the same physically. So there was no way to load  myself, breakdown, then come up to peak. I was sort of always at good form.  After awhile, my body just loses its ability to improve for the year without  going into new training, which I didn't have enough time for. My back injury  hurt me when I wanted to power train in late spring, I couldn't do anything  heavy. So, it was a poor training season.

I was  told a great line a few years ago. I was told to accumulate energy. My mindset  was that of a freight train. Goes slowly, keeps moving forward, and takes a lot  to be knocked off path. When the season comes, turn on the afterburners and let  the emotions come out.

John Taylor Bored...Interesting Topic Tue  Nov 23 17:22:51 1999

At the training camp in  Chula Vista there was a lot of talk about the feeling of the javelin throw. We  discuss often on this forum about technique that we sometimes become too  mechanical and too bogged down in the biomechanics of the javelin throw. Let's  try to think about the "feel of the throw" on a subconscience level. Listening  to Bill Miller, 52 Olympic Games Silver medallist, shaman for the Cherokee  Indian Tribe, I learned something about the psychology of throwing the javelin.  The javelin is an acceleration of force, of energy that must be transferred  completely into the spear at the proper angle to get the greatest distance  possible. He talked at length about throwing javelins 365 days of the year at a  progressive level learning to move with the javelin, feeling the acceleration of  the body, and conversion of the movement into the javelin. You must be able to  feel this gradual acceleration, a smooth transition from the running state to  the throwing state, leaving no energy to spare. Pukstys also talked about  feeling the pull of the javelin and applying energy and force into the spear.  One must feel positions and allow the body to accept those positions. The harder  you try to make that position happen, the more you are liable to force the  position, which causes energy to be lost. Duncan Atwood also talked about being  one with the javelin, being in harmony with the acceleration and rhythm of the  throw. Learn how to feel the javelin in your hand. Learn how to establish rhythm  in the run, and learn how to allow the body to react to the energy you create  and let the throw happen. One day, just go out and throw. Don't think about it.  Just take a day to relax, no technique and just establish some rhythm of  movement, move forward and just feel the energy move from the feet to the hips  to the shoulder to the hand and let the javelin accept the energy you have  created. Become one with the javelin and allow the throw to happen. Every now  and then don't think about the throw and all of its complexities, simplify the  javelin throw and just run jump and throw, feel the energy happen. Let the  energy smash the javelin into atoms

Tom Pukstys - Javelin and feelings- Tue Nov 23  19:31:50 1999

Good post J.T.

I wanted to add to the message. In my best seasons, I  spent a lot of time throwing something. I have allowed myself to be deficient in  strength in order to maintain good motor skills while I train.

Strength training is the easiest part to training, and  keeping busy with throwing and drills requires discipline, patients, and  knowlede of solid technique. This is very difficult.

This is where the "secret" if there is any, lies in the  transformation to long throws.

There is much to be  said on this subject but i can add a few basics.

I  think some of the guys at the camp noticed I do almost every excercise to  enhance my technique or power for javelin throwing specifically. Everything is  done to the form which I can get something out of it towards a throw.

I can't explain how I do this easily, but I will use  the term of "posture" to define how to keep your body when doing any lift or  drill. If it takes you out of good posture, question the reasoning behind a  drill. Of course there are drills and excercises which are done without  considering posture. Now you must consider danger. Nothing dangerous actually  pays off.

I have been lucky to be throwing well  for many years, and this is due to consistency in my training, and some measure  off carefullness.

The bottom line is, I train to  be a thrower, this is where I want to be the exception. I see people everyday in  my Gym that whip me in strength, power, and other physical traits. My mind, and  my training help set me apart. You can do it.


I hope this makes you think a little extra.