My Story: Gottfried Gassenbauer - Austria

Gottfried Gassenbauer - Austria

Hammer Throw

World Championships: 2nd in 2007, 2009, 1st 2005, 2011 , 2013, 2015

My trainings philosophy

I started my career at the age of 14 in December 1972 and my first coach was the most important one. I was far away of being talented, but my fatherly trainer, Walter Edletitsch, gave me the time to learn the difficult technique step by step. Thousands of turns I had to conduct with a broom instead of the real implement and in various positions, most of the time holding the broomstick in the crook of the arms on my back.

Too small for a discus thrower (1.79m / 5"10), not explosive enough for shot put the decision to specialize on hammer throw was made at an early stage.

In 1975 I threw the 5kg 58.26m; in 1977 the 7kg 58.92m and I took part in the European Youth Championships in Russia (with Sergey Litvinov) where I gained a small glimpse in what was on the other side of the iron curtain.

In Oct 1978 I was struck with severe back problems. But where school medicine had no solution, fate was gracious. I had one single meeting with an acupuncturist. He told me: "Your problem zone is your lower back. The way I help you now may last for a week, a month and if you take care of your back, it may last for much longer. Be careful with your exercises and be consequent in keeping you in shape."

Staying Healthy has been my motivation and goal all over the years.

Becoming a world class thrower had no longer priority.

Austrian Track and Field Organizations offered an instruction to get the license for a coach and in the early 80s I started the education.

This instruction was very important to me. We were not only informed in training teaching, training structure and motion teaching, we were also taught in anatomy, psychology, medical basics and many more useful topics.

My PB is 65.66m from 1987. And now, nearly 30 years later, I look with contentment on my average yearly result over the last 41 years (from 18 to 58) with 58.16 meters. In all my 44 years since I started throwing, I didn"t miss one season as active athlete which determines my appreciation for the sport as well as my wife"s patience with me. Training and travelling the world to take part in competitions has always been an important part in our life and I am grateful for always been having such an understanding partner on my side.

Seasonal best 2016 with the 6 kg is 55.98m, with the 7kg 49.69m.

Interesting that I have not lost too much distance since I turned 50.

58.13 was my longest throw in the M50.

In the 80s I took part in weight lifting competitions too. We came together in narrow, wood-paneled basements with people cheering, smoking and drinking whilst the contestant were getting ready in spandex and a war paint of French chalk. 127,5 snatch and 162,5 c&j are my pbs in the 100k category.

Since 1982 I am working without a coach.

During the years I developed a training method that differs from a lot of other training methods, but works fine for me. I call it purpose focused.

Each exercise, each rep should have the purpose to support my hammer technique.

In weight training I have only two main exercises.

Hang cleans and front squats.

I reduced the hang cleans to the – in my opinion – only necessary minimum.

I do a lot of repetitions – much more than it is told in training literature. I perform them explosively – all of them – even the last rep of the last set has to be as explosive as the first one.

I do not fix the weight on the highest point (so I avoid problems with the wrist – and important – the rhythm of the exercise is fluent)

It is very important for me that the chain of toes, ankle, knee, hip to an powerful end position (similar to the release), which I try to hold for a moment, is working every rep.

The final preparation for an important competition lasts for 12 weeks.

6 training sessions per week, 3 times throwing, 3 times in the weight room.

The first weight training in this period starts with hang cleans 10 times 50, 52, 55, 57 …. to 10 with 70. Next training I add 9 times 72, the next training 10 times 72 and 9 with 75. So each single training calls for a little higher performance.

This method is easy for the body – and also easy for the brain. (I mean there is no psychological and physical barrier to be broken)

Till the weight of 77 there are 10 reps, from 80 to 87 - 9, from 90 8 reps.

Up from 70 kg I use ribbons.

Close to the competition I should be able to make the last set 8 times 105.

The weight is not the important factor, it is the powerful way of performance.

Similar to hang cleans is the composition from my front squats.

I found out that – at least for me – heavy squats with close to 200 kg may cause injuries – but do not cause significant better results.

The way of movement of my front squats is similar to the angle I have in my throwing position, or better described: to the movement in the release.

So they are far from being a full squat and more like a quarter squat. The performance should be explosive, same purpose – pushing from the toes, ankle, knee, hip and so on to a powerful end position. I do not stop in the end position but work my way down against an imagined drag. My upper body is as straight as in throwing, no leaning forward.

I start with 15 reps 60, 62, 65, 67 … to 85, at the end of the program there are 5 kg steps. 12 times 60, 65 … till 10 times 130 kg.

Same access, no pressure on my body, knees, back; no pressure on my mind.

All these sets are not cast in stone. If I feel pain I listen to my body.

Sometimes (not too often) cancelling or stopping a training session is more helpful for the goal than continuing it for any reason.

A lot of stabilize exercises / e.g. like walking with a 20kg plate around the barbell (forward, to the left, backward, to the right) moving the plate similar to the movement in the swings.

Hyper extension without any up and down movement of the upper body / only movement of a 20 kg plate from back to front, never higher than horizontal.

A typical throwing session looks like:

several single turns without a hammer – very slowly ones and medium speed.

About 6 series with 6 single turns with only one swing – main focus on technical correctness. Slowly and conscious.

Than 3 to 4 throws with seven or eight turns, starting very slowly, ending not too fast.

The hammer of my choice is the 6.36kg.

After this technic introduction my favorite game: about 15 throws – 4 turn, special advice:

Each throw should be a bit longer than the one before.

The first five throws should be one meter longer than the one before, the last five can be the same high distance, in best case within a square meter close to the middle of the sector.

The last throw should be the longest - without changing technique.

Upright position is important to me, easy entry, active right leg and active left leg, movement of the ball to the left side. Release under control.

I struggle with too much movement of my shoulder and head in the third and fourth turn.

Too many technically wrong throws (many thousands over the years) make this faulty movement habitual to me – it costs too much effort to change technique at that point now.

Some light throws with a 5kg ends the throwing session.

There are no sprints and no jumps in my training program.

Important to me is my coaching to some young athletes.

Coaching them helps me also to check my main objectives.

What keeps me going?

As I said before: First of all I try to stay healthy through training.

I also try to be a role model, for young people and for people at my age.

It makes me happy to hand on my experience to interested young athletes, so I can combine steering their development with keeping me in shape.

International competitions are always a good incitement and usually great fun.

The goal to be in best possible shape at these competitions is my motivation.

It is not so much the placement in the championship that spurs me as it is the fun in every single training in the preparation period for European or world championships that lasts for about ten month.

It is true - I enjoy every single training session, see it as my reward of the day.

To travel around the world with my wife, sometimes accompanied by our daughter, to share my hobby with interesting, similar thinking people and having friends from all over the world (like Tom O. Jensen from Denmark, Victor Bobryshev from Russia, Bob Arello from the United States and many more), is why sport is more to me than the nicest secondary matter in the world

I hope to still be part of the game for a few more years.

P.S.: I am looking forward to the upcoming world championships in Perth/Australia. Hopefully many of the participants may enjoy their own moment in life (in reaching their goal, in making the finals – or in winning a medal – like my moment in life from the championships 2015 in Lyon / France)

(Lyon 2015 - One Moment in Life)

P.P.S.: MastersRankings' rankings lists are very helpful to me – because they keep me updated on the results of my friends – no matter if they compete in the United States, South Africa, in Europe or down under.

Thank you so much for the fantastic statistics.