Shot Put

Learn-by-doing

w/ Chuk Enekwechi

Brief Introduction

• I’m Chuk Enekwechi. I’m a professional shot putter representing Nigeria in international competitions. I’m one of the smaller shot putters at the elite level but I’ve been able to use technique to express some of my physical abilities in order to throw the shot a long way!

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• Age: 32 (entering year 10 of pro career)

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• I’ve been to 2 Olympic Finals (6^th in Paris), 5 World Championship Finals (5^th in Tokyo) and hold the Nigerian National Record/ African Record at 22.10m. (72’6”) A mark set just last year

What I have to offer

• I will be taking you all through some basic drills and having you pick up these skills first hand in order to communicate them to your athletes
• I will be also taking you through one of my typical Shot Put training to allow you to see how these concepts and skills are applied to my training in real time

Your requirements:

• An open mind
• Comfortable clothes and shoes to allow you to participate in these drills and throws if you’d like
• Questions: Questions are always welcome. This is a learning environment and a room full of brilliant coaches. Please speak up if you have any questions or concerns. They might be shared by others in the room as well.
• A good post-presentation evaluation(or else!)

Quick review of hand/ball placement

• Keep the ball on the top 50% of the hand. Rest it at the top of the palm over weightlifting calluses
• The ball should be on the neck with the right elbow out at 90° from the spine
• Don’t let it sit on the shoulder. Actively push the ball into your neck
• Left arm stays long until it’s time to block. Minimize elbow bend throughout the throw
• Right elbow stays out and high the entire time. The throw is done with the thumb down. In-to-out motion like a basketball chest pass

Start with the Finish! (Stand throw)

• Stand throws are extremely important to the athlete.
• You can build throwing strength with them as well as warm up for a competition or training session
• Having a good stand throw is a great way to have your athlete feel confident in a meet situation

Stand Throw

• Stand with both feet together facing 90° to the right of the throwing direction
• Take a half step back with the left leg.(left toe should be aligned with the instep of the right foot
• Take a wide step to the middle of the ring with the right foot
• With legs still facing 90°, turn at the torso so that both shoulders and the head are facing directly opposite the throw.
• Shift weight so that about 70% of your weight is on the bent right leg
• Point the left arm long and toward the back of the ring
• Now you’re in position to start your throw

Stand Throw (cont’d)

• From here, we work backwards towards the release
• Start with the legs!
• Turn and push with the ball of the right foot. Think: up and forward
• Maintain the left side from the foot to the shoulder. It’s a point to brace against so keep it as rigid as possible
• As the right foot is finishing the push and pivot and the hips are coming up and forward, open the left arm wide and flat while keeping the ball and elbow behind the right hip (we want a stretch across the chest)
• Once that left arm points long and to the sector bring it in tight to your side with a bent elbow
• THROW!!!

Focus #1: The Entry/Balance

• Rotational Shot Put technique is simply a series of moments where an athlete is in double support (two feet on the ground), single support(one foot on the ground), and zero support (brief moments where there are no feet on the ground)
• Balance is extremely important in both double and single support phases of the throw to allow an athlete to feel relaxed enough to exert maximal force but also to allow the athlete to be consistent with their positions and even distances
• Here are a few drills that I learned early in college and revisit every off season to work on my balance in various positions of the throw

Let’s move!!

• Stand up with enough room between you and your neighbors. Spread out!!

Sweep Leg/Pivot Drill Progression 90°/180°/360°

• These drills are extremely basic however extremely important to the throw.
• If you have a solid, reproducible first pivot and sweep, you will enter the ring with momentum that can add meters to your stand throw. Again, being comfortable and balanced will allow for this

Sweep Leg/Pivot Drill Progression 90°/180°/360°

• Each of these drills is a breakdown of the starting position of the rotational shot put.
• The 90° drill is a pivoting drill focused on rotating the body 90° from the start (or 0°)
• This pattern is consistent with 180° turns and 360° turns(starting and finishing in the same spot)

90° turns

• (For a right-handed thrower) stand with feet a little wider than shoulder width.
• Place hands on hips
• Squat to roughly ¼ depth
• Distribute bodyweight mainly on the left ball of the foot. Weight distribution should be 60/40 between the left and right foot respectively
• Externally rotate the left leg while right leg stays firm
• Push off the ground with the right foot to turn landing facing directly left in a counterclockwise direction from where you started.

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90° turns

• It’s very important to push off and let the right foot get forward and slightly in front of the rotation.
• The push off is more of a pulse than a long movement.
• When you land, check your positioning to see that you’ve landed with the knees still bent and an upright posture.

180° turns

• This builds on the 90° turn drill
• Assume the starting position
• With a slightly harder push from the right leg, rotate your body to land facing directly opposite from your starting position.
• The entire left side acts as your axis of rotation. Keep it stationary

360° turns

• This drill builds on the 180° turn drill
• Assume the starting position
• With an even harder push than in the 360°s, work your sweep leg wide leading with the instep of the foot.
• Land exactly where you started

Sweep to wheel/half turn

• Simply execute the 180° turn drill but instead of immediately landing the right foot, take a step forward with the right/sweep leg to the middle of the circle
• Don’t cut the sweep short; bring that foot wide and forward to the center of the ring
• Keep the belly big and chest facing the direction of the throw. Stay SQUARED UP!!

Focus # 2 The Middle

• From this phase; the wheel/“half turn”, it is estimated that 90% of your full throw distance can be achieved. This is subjective to throwers’ styles and body types of course
• The wheel/ half turn is an excellent way to bridge the back of the ring (the entry/sweep) with the front of the ring (your stand throw)
• I use these almost every training day, usually at lower intensities just to feel the flow of the throw and build into my South African drills and full throws

Wheel/Half turn

• The wheel is a roughly 180° turn on the right foot for a right handed thrower.
• Start with the left foot in the back of the ring with the right foot in the middle
• Head and chest are facing the throwing direction

Wheel/Half turn

• From this position, push off the ground with the left foot. Small pulse/pop off the ground.
• Squeeze the knees. Bring the thighs together to create a tight rotation.
• Allow the left leg to pass the pivoting right leg and aim forwards and down towards the toe board
• Delay torso rotation as long as possible to create and maintain shoulder/hip separation
• Land with the left leg in the front. You should now be in your power position stance

The Mirror Drill

• Consecutive half turns can be performed to make the movement more comfortable for the thrower.
• Have the thrower perform a wheel toward the direction of the throw and stop
• From that position, have them perform another wheel drill to land exactly where they started.
• All wheels will be done in the counter-clockwise direction for a right handed thrower
• These can be done with the shotput as well

Focus #3: The full throw

• The full throw is a natural progression from the half turn/wheel
• It’s a blend of the Sweep to Middle drill and the wheel
• Focus of fluidity of the motion as well as being long with the left arm and right leg (for right handed throwers)

The Full Throw Focal points

• Starting at the back of the ring, Wind up with the left arm and knee in unison. This creates the turning axis
• Unwind the left arm WIDE pushing with the right leg to perform the sweep to the middle.
• As the right leg passes the left leg, push off the back of the ring while the chest is still squared to the throw
• SQUEEZE THE KNEES!! Let the left foot skim past the right foot towards the middle of the toe board
• Use the left arm to keep you back over the right side to land in a true power position

Full turn drills

• Imitations: go through a full throw with no implement in hand
• Full throw with a barbell: I use a 45lbs barbell almost daily to warm up for full throws
• Full throw with a weight vest: I use a 60lbs weight vest at various parts of the year to drill and prepare me for throws

The Hack: South Africans!!

• I prefer this drill to tie in all the skills in one drill that’s not a full throw
• The South African drill has taken on many variations but the one I use and teach is very basic.

South African Drill

• Start at the back of the circle, perform a 90° turn, stepping wide out of the ring with the right/sweep leg
• Your chest is now facing 90° and knees are wide apart. Left knee and toe point to the throwing direction
• Now you’re ready to initiate the drill

South African Drill

• After a very slight wind up/weight shift to the right foot, aim the left arm towards the throw
• The legs are loaded now. Push with both legs to get across the ring and into the power position. Eyes locked on the throwing direction!
• Take a wide step with the right and squeeze the knees
• DON’T turn the shoulders actively; infact, hold the chest and belly SQUARED to the throw as the legs work toward the front of the ring
• You will be as torqued and balanced as possible in the power position if done correctly

My Daily Training

• Currently, I’m entering the competition phase of training
• The lifting is moving more towards lower volume and more emphasis on special strength and explosiveness
• Throws volume stays the same. Roughly 90 throws a week. This includes stands, half turns, South Africans, and Full throws

My Daily Training (cont’d)

• I start each day with a form of resistance weight vest/barbell and work on 360°s, Sweeps to the Middle, South Africans, and Fulls. It varies depending on what I’m focused on for the session
• I’ll start with anywhere from 4-6 stand throws, trying to build intensity gradually
• I’ll then progress to half turns or South Africans for about 6 reps.
• After that, I’ll progress to full throws without winding up
• Lastly, I may wind on a few throws to finish the session. 10-14 full throws per day.

Questions???