Here it is.
dang, carl, that’s a good looking throw.
Great vids! I bet that leaves a mark when it hits.
Cut me a caber, going to make me a hammer and a weight… Damn nice throwing
Damn fine throwing, I’d cripple my self like that.
Highland Games have two throws that are very much like shot in track and field, the stones, but instead of a spherical metal ball, the implements are rocks. Braemer Stone is usually 22-26lbs, but I’ve heard of them being as heavy as 32lbs. Open stone is smaller, from 16-20lbs, sometimes heavier. Both are thrown from a rectangular throwing area like the WFD, but it is only 7.5’x4.5’.
Both stones are thrown with one hand, the stone carried on the shoulder, pushed up against the neck like a shotput. The Bramer stone requires the feet to remain stationary during the throw (although lifting a foot, pivoting on toes, and other minor movement is allowed.) With the open stone, any technique is allowed. Many throwers use a shuffle, many others use some variation of the glide technique from track and field, and some use some variation of a spin.
Some throwers change which technique they use, depending on field conditions and how good a grip they can get on the stone. The videos below show Braemer stone and a spin technique for open stone.
Braemer Stone
Open Stone spin
Awesome training. Your clean & jerk is mightly impressive. On your throw, you didn’t hit the ambulance driving by did you ? haha
Such cool stuff. I love the vids. I used to do the Oly lifts and really got high on them. I don’t think I’ll ever do those again, which is sad. You have really nice C&J form. But you already know that.
Thanks, John, Jack, Wilson, Joe, Scott. It does leave a pretty good dent, but the ground there is usually dry so its not too bad. The groundskeepers don’t mind at all, and the football coach doesn’t seem to either.
Wilson, I can’t wait to see how things go with your throwing. I’m checking your log daily just to see the first reports. Take it easy at first. It uses your body in unaccustomed ways.
Scott, hitting the ambulance would be a world record by a factor of about 3. I don’t think its going to happen. I did have to stop throwing track and field hammer there though. I hit the fence a couple times, and put one over onto the electrical boxes which rolled out into the street. Fortunately no traffic then.
Joe, you are strong enough that you probably could hurt yourself pretty bad if you didn’t start off slow. My first year back throwing (8 years ago) was one continuous series of injuries.
Training 10/19/2010
Power Snatch: 50x2, 60x2, 64x2, (68x2)3
5/3/1 C5 W1 Squats:
85x5
90x5
95x8
105x1, 115x1, 120x1
Front Squats: (86x5)3
Back Raises: (BW+10kgx10)3
Last Night’s Hammer Winds
22lb 6,6,6,6,6
16lb 8,8,8,8,8
700 total for the month
Thanks Snapper. Yes, my clean and jerk form is pretty good, but there’s always something I need to do better. That last one, I held on the the pull too long, so was a little late getting under it. On the jerk, I pushed my body back (staying on right leg too long), so missed the jerk out front. And you never know what will happen in the future. If you enjoyed them enough, I’m sure you will be able to do O-lifts again.
Great videos Carl! I especially love the caber, that damned thing is huge.
Thanks DZ. Caber is fun. I would recommend trying it, but of all the things I do, caber screws with my shoulder the most. Given your history, it might not be a good idea.
carl, your stones are impressive as hell. I threw a 31# braemar, and it did not go very far
Thanks John. Those are the two games where I can directly apply my track and field experience. Talking about heavy Braemer stones, I once did a shot session with my 35lb weight, handle and all. Didn’t let myself quit until I got 20’.
Training 10/21/2010
Snatch: 50x3, 60x2, 70x1, (76x1)5, (81x1)5, (83.5x1)5, (86x1)2, 88.5x1,0,1, 91x0
5/3/1 C 2W1 Dead Lifts (Clean Grip)
107x5
114x5
121x8
CGDL: 143x1, (114x5)3
Leg Raises: (Bwx10)3
Hammer Winds 10/19/2010
22lb 6,6,6,6,6
16lb 8,8,8,8,8
770 total for the month
Can’t imagine throwing the 35 like a shot. Been throwing the 20# lately and it damn near breaks my wrist. Is the caber hurting your shoulder from leaning back on it?
Harry, the caber is aggravating a shoulder injury from last spring. I tweaked something in my right shoulder doing jerks last June, and the pull on a caber makes it feel un-solid, not quite painful, but weak, if I do more than 8-10 tosses with anything other than a warm up caber.
Damn, I hope we get a chance to do some Highland Games together sometime.
Did a few more hammer winds tonight:
22lb: 6,6,6,6,6
16lb: 8,8,8,8,8
Total of 840 for the month. Closing in on the 1000 goal.
you’ll get the 1k winds no problem. It will be interesting to see how it affects your distance. Definitely let us know about that