Whether you throw shot, disc or javelin there are some basic keys to a successful throwing technique. One of the most crucial is to always be accelerating into the throw.  In any throwing event, you throw with every part of your body from your toes to your head. Fast feet make faster ankles.  Fast ankles make faster knees.  Fast knees make faster hips.  This chain of acceleration continues on up the body until the throwing arm is moving the implement as fast as possible. So, in a sport where body movements are measured in milliseconds, can you really afford to have a weak link in the kinetic chain?
Technical weakness
I’m not referring to muscular weakness, rather a technical weakness.  A technical weakness is a movement that is not as efficient in transferring speed/ power as it could be. If the movement is slow enough it can actually decelerate the throwing process. Definitely not what a thrower wants. When a body part is slow, it is usually a result of a weak link in the kinetic chain below it. So, if you are wondering why you aren’t getting as much power out of your hips as you could be, we need to take a look at the movements before it.
That brings me to one of the most common, and highly ignored, technical weaknesses in the kinetic chain- A lazy ankle.Â
Hip drive starts at the ankle
You will hear many coaches talk about hip drive. You will hear me talk about ankle rotation. Take a look at the two pictures below. One shows a lazy ankle and the other an active ankle.
The red line indicates where the hip is located on the drive leg. The green line indicates the optimal position for power transfer.
What is the difference between a lazy ankle and an active one? Roughly 70 degrees of rotation. Something so minor that can make a huge difference in power output. Â Notice that with the lazy ankle the hip is well behind the optimal position. If the hip fails to open up all the way, there is energy left on the table. Even if the hip is able to open all the way from the bad foot placement, it takes much longer than with a forward-facing foot.
Many people will land with this bad foot position, even on an elite level, and then rapidly rotate the ankle around.  This works great for some people who have mastered the movement. Some argue that this allows them to keep their throwing shoulder back, making for a longer pull (or push) on the implement. While that may be true, the same effect can be achieved with a front-facing foot and proper flexibility training in the lumbar, thoracic and shoulder regions. This is also why becoming muscle-bound can be detrimental to throwers. That is another article altogether though.
I prefer to land with my foot facing forward, allowing a better hip position and a more efficient pull as soon as I make contact with the ground. I achieve this by the slightest rotation of the foot, and only the foot, in my final crossover.  This was not always the case and was quite a hard habit to break. After a summer of 5,000+ reps of drills that focused on the problem (in addition to better overall form), I noted a 10m gain on my throws (javelin) the following Fall.  A  couple great examples of getting the foot in the right position is Tero Pitkamaki of Finland and 2012 Olympic champion, Keshorn Walcott of Trinidad and Tobago.
Tero Pitkamaki of Finland
Whether elite or beginner, I highly recommend doing making this foot rotation second nature. You will immediately notice more hip drive, greater shoulder/hip separation, and longer throws.
For more in-depth information of hip dynamics in throwing, check out this great article by javelin coach, Kevin Foster: “Dynamics and Demands of the Hip Drive and Block in Javelin Throw“.
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