My experience wnet like this...

Stones came naturally. I mean, to get GOOD requires work, talent and strength. However, I threw discus in high school and did shot put as well, and it's basically the same as shot.

BIG THING...this is freakin' important. Do not, do NOT try to "throw" a 16 pound or 22 pound stone. This is NOT a softball. You must tuck the stone under your ear and get it so comfortable in your hand that you can forget about it. You are not "holding" the stone in there, it just sits there. Then, get your elbow up and out. It's got to be well away from your body so that when you push up and twist, the elbow and shoulder stay under..UNDER.. the weight of the stone. If you in any way attempt to throw a stone like a softball, you are asking for major shoulder damage...ruined rotator cuffs, and so on.

Anyhow, I know all that so I just went and did stones. I'm not very good at them, but thjey came naturally.

For some reason, hammer came naturally as well. I'm learning about extension (identical to discus throwing theory) and head placement and where to place the points of maximum torque in each swing. But for starters I just picked the thing up and whaled on it and it just went reasonably fine.

Weight over the bar was also fine. I think this is the event that is the most natural for most people. The two hints that we got from Tim's brother, Bill that really helped were...

1. don't spread your legs way apart. That lowers you a couple inches closer to the ground doesn't it? But you're trying to throw the thing UP.

2. dig deep in the last swing before the toss, and then "wipe your butt" with the weight as you accelerate it up in the toss. If you don't do that, you waste masses of energy swinging the weight out, not up.

Caber

For beginners, half the game is the pick. Honestly, I think you need to have someone who really knows this show you what to do, or see a good instructional video. Contrary to popular belief, you do not get your fingers under the caber and then just pick it up. It's really a "snatch and catch".

How to carry the caber while doing the run up is the next thing. Beginners tend to carry it too low, with their arms nearly straight down. NOT. You want it about navel level or even a little bit higher, with your elbows bent. Balancing that thing is achieved by locking it against your shoulder/neck and making slight adjustments in/out/sideways with your hands, but mostly by moving your whole torso around at the waist. Also, you're going to dance with the thing at first. If you have to walk around underneath it to keep yourself UNDER the caber, do it.

Caber is very much about timing and balance and sensing where the caber is. Being really strong sure doesn't hurt!

Weight for distance.

This is the most technically difficult event IMHO. Like I said, I threw discus for years and then worked out with an Olympic-level coach (I was incredibly lucky to get to spend two seasons with Mike, he coached at the community college I taught at). The 28 pound weight is a LOT heavier than a discus. I remember thinking that I was never going to get the hang of this thing, it was always throwing me around.

Get coaching. Timing and balance are everything. Nine times out of ten if I grunt and heave it, it goes five feet LESS than it I get the spins just right and rotate it out there.

Watch videos online....youtube has a mess of them... and get some help. I've been at this nonstop (except for the last couple of weeks) since February, once or twice a week and I still have a long way to go.

After 8 months of work..personal bests. These are average to pretty good for Class C novices here in California. Actually, my hammer throws are quite good. The others are all average.

42 pound WOB: 12 feet
56 pound WOB: 9 feet
16 pound hammer: 74 feet
22 pound hammer: 62 feet
28 pound WFD: 39' 11"
42 pound WFD: 23' 8"
56 pound WFD: 18 and change

BTW, there's a reason the 56 pound WFD is called the "widowmaker"! LOL