The Power Position - Distance Killers in the Standing Discus Throw

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This video looks at one of the most common distance killers in the standing throw (aka the power position) and addresses how to fix it. The concepts presented are absolutely essential to throwing far. Complete with demonstrations of improper as well as proper discus throw technique. This is an excerpt taken from our discus master class.
‪@OutperformOfficial‬

[@jmallonbeyondbelief]

Coach, thanks a lot for taking the time to make this outstanding video. I recently found out I will be coaching our discus throwers. (I'm currently the sprints coach). So this is a HUGE help. These girls have thrown exactly twice. Once in practice, and once yesterday in the meet. First thing I see? They were throwing with only their arm. So just getting them to torque their upper body added some distance. Just making that simple adjustment got two of them throwing 50 feet. For first-timers? I was really proud of them. It was such an eye opener to me to see this as much more: an upper body and lower body separation. This is going to be a world of help to some great girls. They're great kids, and eager to learn. This video will be a huge help to them, and to me. Track and Field is the greatest sport in the world. I'm glad to see you've got the "virus" and are willing to take the time to be a teacher. Best of luck to you.

[@downtherabbithole1353]

Great video. This is the key to throwing far, simple but so difficult to implement in a full throw.

[@lujangaming2354]

this video helped a lot my junior thrower just pr'd at the last meet going from 125 to 135 and a 143 practice throw after the meet. is 155 to 161 possible this season

[@ThrowingSmarterThrowingFarther]

That is awesome! I would say that if they have improved by that much that fast there is a ton of potential and they could absolutely jump to 160 as long as they don't stray from the fundamentals. Typically when junior athletes focus on good technique the distance will naturally come. Good luck!

[@lujangaming2354]

thanks coach I greatly appreciate that , you really excited me I cant wait to tell my sons

[@jameiliajones701]

thanks alot im a 14 year old Jamaican and i was having some serious problems with this and the video came along....so thanks...also im asking if a video on the swing of the leg in the half turn or half spin cud b made...thanks again

[@ThrowingSmarterThrowingFarther]

Hi Jameilia, that's great to hear! Check out kzbin.info/www/bejne/opaahpehf7KchtE, we talk about the leg sweep out of the back and there are some good examples on our video covering pivot turns.

[@kingzamz]

I love the depth of the discus skills short videos. Throw Smarter! This helps with better my form. Thanks again!

[@dejagermarcelle]

this is one of the best channels, short and powerful videos

[@tylerlove7425]

This video was great I practiced this for weeks and I stared off throwing 85 feet now I am throwing 115 when I do it back

[@majik2006]

im 14 but also what if your using spin technique?

[@FruitzSaladz]

When long distance calls throwing easy. *HA*

[@aquaticllamas28]

ShciiOsaurus OwO It's not necessarily easy, but it hurts less.

[@round1fittnesswork793]

hlo

[@mikethies3690]

Great advise here! The strong desire to really crank it out there often times makes people want use their upper body to apply force. It seems to makes logical sense, after all, the discus is held by the upper body. But you have to fight this desire! John Powell told he even had the same problem from time to time and that if his arm hurt after a session, that told him he was too active with his upper body. When I threw, I found it very useful to throw something besides a discus like a traffic cone. This way I could concentrate strictly on this as I really did not care how far the traffic cone went and did not have to worry about anything else in the throw. I stumbled on this one week when my college coach was talking to us this and the phrase he used was "you have to wait on it". He was a decathlete who made the Olympic trials in 1984 and had a PR with the 2K discus of 160' . The next day before one of our meets, I attended a meet at my old high school and after the throwers were done, I found this stick that had a little heft to it. I did not want to throw a discus the day before the meet, so I just went around the field throwing this stick and focusing on separation and sequencing between the upper and lower body. I really focused on the thought that my upper body was practically lifeless in addition to keeping my head perfectly still (yanking my head around was another fault I had from time to time). Towards the end, I could really feel it start to click. Of course, the next day the meet was rained out. Later that evening, everything cleared up and I decided to go the ring at the high school where I lived to see if I could apply this with an actual discus. The first few throws were a little off, but then I set into it. Once in the "power position", my focus was not to make the final rotation and release quickly, but to make it "completely". Starting with the feet->ankles->knees->hips->torso->shoulders-finally with the arm coming through. The next body part did not start to rotate until the previous body part had turned as far as it could (maybe a bit of an exaggeration, but that is how it felt). It was strange because it felt really SLOW as if I would never get to the front of the ring. But at the same time I could feel this LONG pull, grinding and torquing off of ground for maximum leverage. My ribs/obliques actually started to hurt a little due to the tension from the amount of separation I was getting. That day, practically all of my throws were over 150' from my estimation some could have even been further as it was wet and the discus was sliding more then usual. Obviously, not a long throw as far as throws go , but it was pretty good for me with my sub-optimal thrower stature and way below average thrower strength(let's not talk about the shot put). I was actually just a walk on at the University of Cincinnati for two years just to have some fun... But there were several meets where I made the finals even beating some of the guys that were there on scholarship. Sad thing is that I could never duplicate my performance this day again. If I remember correctly, I was fighting faults out of the back of the ring. After two years, I did not have enough credits towards my major as I had switched majors, so I could not throw anymore.

[@chopperdave43]

Great video wish I had this instruction in HS and College. No throws coaches at either.

[@يويوالعشري]

Please could you make videos about how throw shot put And I love your videos because it's easy to understand

[@ThrowingSmarterThrowingFarther]

Thanks, glad they are helping you. We filmed a Shot Put video this summer and will be releasing videos in the coming months so stay tuned!

[@imanhamizan3228]

This really helps thanks man

[@projektwgabsiebie2489]

Thanks a lot, I have just started throwing 2 weeks ago and my upper body is over active, trying to focus on legs and improved my pb to 46 meters (2kg) already and feeling like I can easily add a few meters more this month

[@shubhamg8711]

46m 😲 thats a pretty good throw considering your experience in the game and weight of discuss. You will definitely achieve great heights in your life 😘

[@pratikkakde0214]

thank you 'Throwing Smarter Throwing Farther'

[@kirkglundal4289]

Yep, I have an overactive upper body in my throw. My right foot coming up and leaving the ground is a sure sign. Thank you very much for this video. It is concise, clear and the illustrations on the athlete throwing are very helpful in understanding the technique.

[@cannonbrunsvik7370]

Love the content. Good information provided in a timely manner. I hope so see a lot more from you guys in the future

[@nicholasbrown5811]

People at my highschool can't understand the concept of how to throw a discus, including myself. My furthest throw is 69' 0.5" and it is my first year and I am the second best at my school. I will try this today at practice to see if I am throwing it farther

[@margarrettrowe6292]

Imma try this during athletics today and see how I do

[@ThrowingSmarterThrowingFarther]

How did it go?

[@big_mike3357]

As I throw in a power position am I leading forward and dropping back my hips?

[@wyattrogers8523]

I've been throwing for 4 years now and my speed in the ring isn't as fast as others, is there any advice to help with that??

[@ThrowingSmarterThrowingFarther]

A few quick thoughts - for training, make sure you are really working on plyometrics and lifting that is specific to developing explosive power (we have a few videos on YT and there is a lot more depth in our masterclass vimeo.com/ondemand/discus ). Speed should come from the lower body but not at the expense of proper technique and hitting the correct positions. Pivot turns are a great way to start to feel the separation and you can really focus on getting the left foot down fast (with a relaxed upper body). When done correctly this should carry over to the full throw and translate into increased speed. Good luck this season Wyatt!

[@alessandrosaltsman2202]

Wyatt Rogers Turn ur lower body quicker which then results in a faster unwind

[@navadablanchard5528]

So I’ve just decided to pick up discuss about 4 days ago. First thing I did was a standing throw which I came to realize after watching this that video I wasn’t using my lower body but I think it was more I don’t know how to. However this video cleared up quite a lot stuff for a complete beginning.

[@Athena_Ready]

I feel like if you're going to really focus on turning the foot, knee and hip and then throw, you shouldn't do a reverse. I believe you should only do a reverse if you're using both legs(loaded) to jump with the hips turning while that left side blocks to transfer that energy. I'm not saying you can't throw big if you reverse while doing this, just saying what I've been told from older discus throwers back in the 90's and it's helped me PR big in the disc.

[@STBRetired1]

What a great video. All viewers take note, you can't do this technique properly unless your FEET rotate 180 degrees on the balls of your feet.

[@mikeysamson4292]

Do you release the discus in front of your hand or behind your hand?

[@ZuraZoldyck]

Tongan Warrior You release in the front of your hand, off of your index finger.

[@lujangaming2354]

great video this will help a lot .

[@kyronniduanaknulie7675]

Thanks for that

[@Dataism]

as an animator, I find this interesting. Wish there where more videos like this about other human movements

[@YN-of2uu]

This was extremely helpful!!!👏

[@ThrowingSmarterThrowingFarther]

Glad it was helpful!

[@devidasshinde543]

Thanks sir for this video.

[@ThrowingSmarterThrowingFarther]

Most welcome

[@mariod9161]

I used to throw discus in HS and college. I am now 62 and decided to throw senior division. The discus used for my age group is a 1KG women's college discus. A little smaller than I'm used to. I'm having problems holding the smaller disc and release. Any advice you can give me to help transitioning to a smaller disc would be helpful. Thanks.

[@BigSkyCurmudgeon]

that problem is universal for all male throwers trying to toss that 1k disc. i ended up holding 4 fingers together, pinky wasn't doing much of anything other than going along for the ride.

[@ArifKhan-kq3bq]

Its always slips from fingers ! Plz help coach

[@secret_8036]

Thx coach I had a hard time understanding my coaches bc how they coach is straightforwad and not step by step.

[@fidabaig123]

TQ sir Can u teach me how not to hobble (kind of somersault) the disc??? I want it to be flat And I also stand and deliver I hope u answer my question

[@sweatydrxco3412]

Point your thumb down

[@ralphorton7362]

Fabulous. Thanks for your help, sir.

[@mohemedmim2063]

Mrc ya ta71n

[@brandonnaylor9067]

What's the music at 0:44

[@brandonnaylor9067]

What is the music

[@edwinangelesjr.9391]

how can i buy that cd?

[@predator6544]

America 😂

[@brandyketchum4208]

Thank you

[@surpremeleaderren6501]

Does this work for lefties

[@BigSkyCurmudgeon]

yes, of course when you switch the responsibilities of the feet accordingly

[@RaviKumar-ey9bv]

Will this work?

[@BigSkyCurmudgeon]

in all cases, the feet work before the discus. be patient, allow the feet to get in position before activating the discus movement. whether at the entry, the middle, or the finish. the throw is generated from the ground up, not from the top down.