I had my first Highland Games practice a few days ago, and it was a hell of a good time! It really hit home just how much technique plays a huge factor in this sport. All in all it was a very positive environment and everyone was trying to coach each other to throw further.
I did pretty well in the Braemar stone (feet planted on ground), but the 28 pound weight for distance is going to take me some time. I’m having trouble getting the footwork down for the spinning required. Any tips?
Hey, good to see another person getting involved with highland games. If you want to get help with HG go to the Nasga website. You can see training logs from super A’s and Pros. There are plenty of articles and threads on drills and technique for every event.
Real good example here. Pay close attention to the low to high arc of the weight. If you come from a Track and Field throwing background, specifically, the discus, you’ll want to lead with your chest. Not such a good idea with 28 & 56#. Especially in the 56#, you’ll have to learn to follow the weight. Lots of highland vids on you tube. Learn the techniques, practice to get faster.
how does one go about finding guys to train with for this?
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Real good example here. Pay close attention to the low to high arc of the weight. If you come from a Track and Field throwing background, specifically, the discus, you’ll want to lead with your chest. Not such a good idea with 28 & 56#. Especially in the 56#, you’ll have to learn to follow the weight. Lots of highland vids on you tube. Learn the techniques, practice to get faster.[/quote]
Thanks man. Vierra makes it look so easy!
I’m looking at a training device called a Ballistica, have you any experience with it? Buying the individual implements is pretty costly…
Where are you in TN? They’re all over the place there. May 20 is the Smoky Mountain Highland Games in Maryville. Gattlinburg meet coming up. There’s a whole group of competitors around the Chattanooga and Knoxville areas. Find a meet near you and attend. Talk to the people competing. I’m in northern Alabama and we have a group that practices pretty regular.
Wrote the above answer before you posted Pimpbot. A good friend of mine, an A competitor, uses a ballistica religously and swears by it. Here’s a link to how to make yourself some ghetto weights and a hammer, lot cheaper than the buying the implements. http://highland_tools.tripod.com/saacc/index.html
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Where are you in TN? They’re all over the place there. May 20 is the Smoky Mountain Highland Games in Maryville. Gattlinburg meet coming up. There’s a whole group of competitors around the Chattanooga and Knoxville areas. Find a meet near you and attend. Talk to the people competing. I’m in northern Alabama and we have a group that practices pretty regular. [/quote]
South side of Nashville. I would need ground up instruction though, I have 0 throwing experience. It just looks like it would be a lot of fun.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Where are you in TN? They’re all over the place there. May 20 is the Smoky Mountain Highland Games in Maryville. Gattlinburg meet coming up. There’s a whole group of competitors around the Chattanooga and Knoxville areas. Find a meet near you and attend. Talk to the people competing. I’m in northern Alabama and we have a group that practices pretty regular. [/quote]
South side of Nashville. I would need ground up instruction though, I have 0 throwing experience. It just looks like it would be a lot of fun.[/quote]
Find a games go enter in c class make friends. See who is your area, thats what i did
[quote]Kalle wrote:
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Where are you in TN? They’re all over the place there. May 20 is the Smoky Mountain Highland Games in Maryville. Gattlinburg meet coming up. There’s a whole group of competitors around the Chattanooga and Knoxville areas. Find a meet near you and attend. Talk to the people competing. I’m in northern Alabama and we have a group that practices pretty regular. [/quote]
South side of Nashville. I would need ground up instruction though, I have 0 throwing experience. It just looks like it would be a lot of fun.[/quote]
Find a games go enter in c class make friends. See who is your area, thats what i did[/quote]
You competed first? then learned? hah.
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
[quote]Kalle wrote:
[quote]DoubleDuce wrote:
[quote]hel320 wrote:
Where are you in TN? They’re all over the place there. May 20 is the Smoky Mountain Highland Games in Maryville. Gattlinburg meet coming up. There’s a whole group of competitors around the Chattanooga and Knoxville areas. Find a meet near you and attend. Talk to the people competing. I’m in northern Alabama and we have a group that practices pretty regular. [/quote]
South side of Nashville. I would need ground up instruction though, I have 0 throwing experience. It just looks like it would be a lot of fun.[/quote]
Find a games go enter in c class make friends. See who is your area, thats what i did[/quote]
You competed first? then learned? hah.[/quote]
Yeah c class is for beginners. Everyone was real helpful, Everyone I ended up training with did the exact same thing. Hell I don’t even practice throwing anymore and just do 1-2 games a year for fun
To those who have competed, a few questions from a rank beginner:
1.) Open Stone: What technique do you guys use? I’ve tried the South African and the Glide, without a lot of success. The shuffle-step technique seems to work the best.
2.) LWFD: I’ve got the first turn down, but the second one is giving me problems. I always wind up with my hips boxed off and not in power position. Any advice?
3.) WOB: This one is giving me a hard time! I can only clear about 10 feet so far. Any general advice for this event?
Thanks in advance!
Here are some very short answers. It would be better if there were video.
Perfect the stand throw first, you get most of your distance from that. Once you are comfortable with that try both and see which works better for you. The glide is likely easier to learn but any sort of spin will, on average, get you more distance but is harder to perfect.
As you have just started work the one spin for a while until you land in the proper finish position. When you get that, then add the 2nd spin in. Normally a bad second spin is caused by a botched first spin. Make sure your are casting the weight out and around you.
The key to this event is a long pull. Reach back between your legs and get a long smooth pull on the weight. Don’t rush it out of the bottom.
You competing in Guelph in a few weeks? Sounds like a good game to start out with.
[quote]redroast wrote:
Here are some very short answers. It would be better if there were video.
Perfect the stand throw first, you get most of your distance from that. Once you are comfortable with that try both and see which works better for you. The glide is likely easier to learn but any sort of spin will, on average, get you more distance but is harder to perfect.
As you have just started work the one spin for a while until you land in the proper finish position. When you get that, then add the 2nd spin in. Normally a bad second spin is caused by a botched first spin. Make sure your are casting the weight out and around you.
The key to this event is a long pull. Reach back between your legs and get a long smooth pull on the weight. Don’t rush it out of the bottom.
You competing in Guelph in a few weeks? Sounds like a good game to start out with.[/quote]
Thank you for the advice, greatly appreciated. I will get some video up after Guelph. I still suck at most of the events, but considerably less than when I first started. I have a blast practicing them, which is really all I care about.
I plan on doing one in Niagara Falls, NY, as I hear it is beginner-friendly. Do you know of any other games in Ontario that are welcoming of newcomers?
Thanks
I just did my second ever highland games this past weekend, and I’m about ready to convert from powerlifting. Throwing heavy things is awesome!
For the hammer throw though, do cleats work as well as those funky spade shoes? I did all of my hammer throws in Converse, and I felt like I gave up a lot of distance.
I have been trying to enter a competition near me and have gotten no responses, I have tried to email the promoters from their contact info on the NASGA site, is there a different place to get better contact info?
Thanks to everyone for the advice.
Had a blast at the games, will definitely be doing several more. Got just shy of 80 feet on the hammer, 11 feet on the 56 Weight for Height and easily cleared 18 feet on the sheath toss. Fouled out on my last weight for distance - only got 40 feet which was a let-down, as I’ve hit 53 in practice.
If anyone is on the fence about the Highland games, definitely give it a try. You’re hurling around heavy weights with a group of predominantly cool people who are giving you tips on how to hurl further, what’s not to like?
The ballistica is awesome! It’s well worth the money.
[quote]thephantom wrote:
I just did my second ever highland games this past weekend, and I’m about ready to convert from powerlifting. Throwing heavy things is awesome!
For the hammer throw though, do cleats work as well as those funky spade shoes? I did all of my hammer throws in Converse, and I felt like I gave up a lot of distance. [/quote]
Well when your technique gets proficient enough you’re going to need hammer boots to stay on your feet. They abasolutely make a world of difference by allowing you to really lean back and get long without having to worry about falling over the trig.
[quote]PimpBot5000 wrote:
To those who have competed, a few questions from a rank beginner:
1.) Open Stone: What technique do you guys use? I’ve tried the South African and the Glide, without a lot of success. The shuffle-step technique seems to work the best.
2.) LWFD: I’ve got the first turn down, but the second one is giving me problems. I always wind up with my hips boxed off and not in power position. Any advice?
3.) WOB: This one is giving me a hard time! I can only clear about 10 feet so far. Any general advice for this event?
Thanks in advance![/quote]
I prefer the spin
Take spray paint and spray dots where your feet need to end up. Practice this over and over again. You might check on youtube for something called Highland Line Drills. It’s what we do a lot. Remember the second spin is a sprint. You’re prob ‘boxing’ yourself out on the first spin which is messing up your position for the second spin.
Strangely enough, aside from technique…get super heavy on 1 arm db snatches and db front raises.