Getting The Best Out of Throwing

BY THROWERS UNIVERSE

Training can be very complicated, but it can also be straightforward if you make it so. Although there are different ways to manoeuvre your training to fit around work or school, there are some key principles that you should try to stick by to maximise your results.

1. CREATE A SCHEDULE FOR YOUR THROWING

This sounds like very simple advice, but it is truly the best place to start. If you go to sleep, wake up, eat and train at the same time every day, you do not need to think about these things. Your mental and physical energy can be focused on crucial tasks such as work and training rather than things which you subconsciously know how to navigate through months of consistency in your schedule.

Tip #1 - Get a notepad, and write out your weekly schedule, which includes training times etc.

Tip #2 – If you are busy working during the week, set aside one day of the week to prepare your meals for the rest of the week. This reduces any time you will need to spend cooking during the week.

2. DON'T NEGLECT YOUR ATHLETIC WARM-UPS

We have all done it - rocked up to a session, gotten into the circle and just started throwing with no warm-up, no dynamic movements or anything of that nature to get us ready to throw. 

Most of the time, those sessions go poorly. There is a direct correlation between a proper warm-up and throwing well. So, work with your coach to create a warm-up that will get you primed to throw and stick to it. 

Successful warm-ups will follow the RAMP principles, as pictured below.

Tip #1 – If you do not know when you are warmed up or not, keep going until you get a sweat on! Do not tire yourself out though.

3. DRILL, DRILL, DRILL

The best way to work on your technique without throwing is to throw without an implement. You do not need much space or any equipment to do drills, so make the most of them when you can. Before you throw, when you are bored at home, whenever! Doing drills is one of the only ways to work on your technique actively. This can also be used as a good way to warm you up for a throwing session, but don’t rely on this!

4. CONSISTENCY IN THROWING IS KEY

Again, you have probably heard this before, but in all aspects of sport – consistency makes the difference. 

When you are doing drills in training, make sure they are consistently good. Do not do ten bad drills followed by one good drill, as you are ingraining poor habits into your technique even when you are not actually throwing. 

When you are doing partial movements in the throw, make them consistently good. When you are in the gym, make sure your movement and technique is consistently good.

If you maintain a good level of consistent and effective input, you will receive sound output in the form of big distances. It can be very simple if you allow it to be!