How to become a weight thrower

SPALDING'S ATHLETIC LIBRARY. .29
Quite often some strong looking man grasps the weight by the
crook, tries to whirl it madly round his head and narrowly es-
capes sweeping his cranium off in the attempt. Had he exer-
cised the least judgment, and resorted to the wrinkle stated, he
could have swung the weight" around easily and maybe thrown
it a fair distance with a trifle assiduous perseverance. A man
need never be afraid of swinging the weight around his head; it
is in performing the evolutions of the body afterward that:
strength is chiefly required. But there is a method of managing.
the strength, which every man who throws a "56" pound weight
should know, and which is absolutely indispensable to a first
class performance. To convey this clearly on paper is not a
very easy matter, but it is better to begin with the initial move-
ment of the athlete, when he steps up to have his throw.
The best method of holding the weight is to grasp the crook
with both hands, the thumbs turned towards the body and the
backs of the hands facing outward. Many throwers turn the
hands in. an adverse position—that is, the back of one hand
turned outward and the other turned inward; but this is wrong,
as it has a contracting effect on the work of the shoulder mus-
cles. The bar of the crook should be also roomy, as a narrow
one brings the hands too close together and hampers the free:
movement of the chest muscles when the weight is traveling
round the head.
In assuming his position in the circle the thrower should stand
at the opposite side from which he intends the weight to fly,
with both feet at the edge of the circle, the right on Fig.
I
and
the left on Fig.
2,
and with the weight of the body partly rest-
ing on the left foot; the feet should be about
24
inches apart.
The left shoulder should be lowered a little, as it will help the
body in the turn when the thrower starts to spin.