First day of practice and no one died.

**Tiny** · 5th May 10, 01:28 AM

Thats right I finaly got to throw some heavy things for fun and they all went the right direction. Well all except the caber.

This was my first time handeling any of the gear so I did fairly well for not knowing what I was doing.

16lb stone open box was 24 ft.
22lb stone Standing was 20 ft.
Light Hammer 66ft
Light weight distance 24ft
Caber... No one died.

Should have tried the caber earlier but was having too much fun with the all the other implements that my body was smoked by the time I tried the caber. I was throwing open box same stance as Braemar so I feel ok about both. I want to find a 30lb stone to practice with on my own and see if I cant hit 30ft Braemar by the end of the season.

**KiltedKnome** · 5th May 10, 06:55 AM

I loved your title and thought, how true! I remember once attending some Games and observing the momentum and vector of some of the tossed cabers. At least in one case, the spectators had to rapidly leave the area!

**Detroitpete** · 5th May 10, 07:18 AM

Congratulations!!!!!

You Sir, are now a highland athlete! You've survived a day of throwing heavy toys and you didn't even hurt anyone! Outstanding! Now, you just have to do this on the competition field and you will officially become a competitive highland athlete! Pretty easy, eh?

Good on you for screwing up the nerve to start this. You're gonna have fun and become as addicted as the rest of us. Glad to see another thrower come to the fold. Best of luck this year, brother.

**Alan H** · 6th May 10, 11:09 AM

HEAVY hammer 66 feet on your first day??? WOW

Yer an ANIMAL! Welcome to the pasture!

**Tiny** · 6th May 10, 06:06 PM

66 was my best throw. most landed mid 50's, seemed the rest of the guys were hitting low to mid 70's. Hopefully 66ft wasn't a fluke and I can hit that semi normaly

**Alan H** · 10th May 10, 11:46 AM

Dude, I win my class or place 2nd with 65-66 foot throws with the 22 lb hammer, and hammer is my best event. Even for an Open (not Masters) thrower, 66 feet is nothing to sneeze at, *especially* on your first workout. WELL DONE.

**Tiny** · 10th May 10, 10:45 PM

Don't get me wrong I feel good about the throw but I'd hate it to be a fluke. From what the guys in the training group say not many games around here include the heavy hammer. They tend to train for it as an extra, just incase they have it at one of the games we go to.

**Alan H** · 13th May 10, 11:03 AM

What most of the pro's say, is that they don't spend much time, if any with the heavy hammer. Craig Smith says he doesn't even own one. They practice with the 16...and when they say "practice'' they mean PRACTICE. Mike Pockoski wrote me that each year at the beginning of the season, he'll do a week of practice days where he does 300+ 16 lb hammer winds, just to get in the groove.I would collapse, trying to do 300 hammer winds. I can do 5-6 sets of about 15, and I'm good to go! An hour later I can do 3-4 more. I think that's pretty good!

Anyway, the motion is the same heavy or light and the MORE you do it, the better, so practice with the light. Personally, I break out the heavy hammer for maybe two practice sessions before a Games where I know I'll be throwing the heavy, just to remember what it feels like. All of my hammer practice time, like the Pro's , is with the light.

In fact, I've been spending some time with a 9 lb hammer, going easy to really drill the new movement I'm learning for hammers. 9 is probably a bit light, but it's what I've got and I can wind it all day, so..... I probably should slide a 2.5 pound plate down there and wind that.

**Alan H** · 13th May 10, 11:10 AM

Which reminds me.....you can make a perfectly great practice hammer from three, 5 lb dumbell weights and a 52 inch long length of PVC electrical conduit. Even better is 4, 2.5's and a 5 lb.

Get the electrical conduit at the hardware store. It comes in ten foot sections. It will have one end that is extruded bigger than the rest so that you can sleeve 10 foot sections together. OK, so cut about half of that expanded section off. Measure about 50-52 inches from the end, up the piece of PVC. Cut it....there's your hammer handle.

Now drop the weights down the handle until they stop at the rest of the expanded section of PVC at the end. If you have 2.5's and 5's, put them like this: 2.5 - 2.5 - 5 - 2.5 - 2.5 That will simulate the shape and weight distribution of a hammer ball more than putting the 5'er on first. Also, if you actually throw it, the handle will last longer if you set it up this way. Yeah, it's about 3/4 of a pound light compared to a competition hammer, but big whoop, it's plenty close enough for practice.

Duct tape the beejeezus out of it to hold the weights together. Rough up the end of the PVC that you'll be holding on to with some coarse sandpaper, or drag the hacksaw blade over it a few times to give it some texture. Now, go wind that thing until you drop from exhaustion..

**Tiny** · 1st June 10, 11:18 PM

Ok so found out my heavy hammer wasn't really the heavy hammer. the groups heavy hammer had a broken handle and we just now got it replaced. sorry to have misslead anyone. We had been using the light hammer during training.

On the light side I just attended my 4th practice and focused on LWFD. I set a new PR in LFWD and am now up to 37ft. I and one other guy paired off on LWFD and went back to back till we could hardly swing the weight.

I have a light practice on Saturday then first competition on Sunday. I hope to have atleast one new PR to report.