Arm speed drills/exercises?

[Skamanda]

So, I used to throw around 430 feet, and then I came out as trans and sacrificed about 120 of that for the chance to live authentically. Most days, most throws, I'm maxing out around 300 feet now (with Comets often going father than distance or fairway drivers - my first clue as to the nature of my problem).

I've spent time working with a local pro I'm friends with, to ensure my timing and pull through are still good. I've been using a gyroball for wrist and grip strength training. Neither of those have yielded appreciable results (mostly from focusing on better timing at the hit).

That leaves arm speed as the X-factor in my ailing distance. I never had much of an issue with it before, even with a somewhat slender build, but there's just not as much muscle in my arms as their used to be, and what's there isn't ever going to have the same composition it used to, even if I were to bulk up a bit.

Are there any drills or exercises that have been shown to improve arm speed or acceleration on drives? I know more muscle would help, but there's only so much I can do (or am willing to - bulking up too much would be counterproductive for my mental health) in terms of building more muscle in my arms. There are people with smaller builds than mine (most female disc golfers) playing, and a great many of them are well beyond my maximum distance. Surely there's something to help even those who aren't beefcakes improve their arm speed and acceleration...

 

[Kennets]

So, I used to throw around 430 feet, and then I came out as trans and sacrificed about 120 of that for the chance to live authentically. Most days, most throws, I'm maxing out around 300 feet now (with Comets often going father than distance or fairway drivers - my first clue as to the nature of my problem).

I've spent time working with a local pro I'm friends with, to ensure my timing and pull through are still good. I've been using a gyroball for wrist and grip strength training. Neither of those have yielded appreciable results (mostly from focusing on better timing at the hit).

That leaves arm speed as the X-factor in my ailing distance. I never had much of an issue with it before, even with a somewhat slender build, but there's just not as much muscle in my arms as their used to be, and what's there isn't ever going to have the same composition it used to, even if I were to bulk up a bit.

Are there any drills or exercises that have been shown to improve arm speed or acceleration on drives? I know more muscle would help, but there's only so much I can do (or am willing to - bulking up too much would be counterproductive for my mental health) in terms of building more muscle in my arms. There are people with smaller builds than mine (most female disc golfers) playing, and a great many of them are well beyond my maximum distance. Surely there's something to help even those who aren't beefcakes improve their arm speed and acceleration...

First off - congratulations on "coming out"! (English not being my first language, i struggle with the right words for it)

Form wise : there is plenty of non beefcakes that throw faaaar, specially with that slender build. A quick guess would be that you gave been relying on your arm/upper body too much, strong-arming it. I would definitely watch how the rest of the body links up together.

For me, the arm speed is a byproduct of the other body mechanics.

But then again, i got no clue about anything!

Good luck!

 

[drk_evns]

Big muscles aren't required to throw far. There's a video of an 11-year old girl throwing 300 feet circulating recently.

I'm guessing something in your form has changed. When mids are flying further than drivers, it's usually a nose angle issue caused by a slow or incomplete weight shift.

If you're comfortable, the best way is to just take video and start working on what's actually wrong with your form rather than what you think might be wrong. It's the only real way I've been able to improve my form!

 

[Skamanda]

Big muscles aren't required to throw far. There's a video of an 11-year old girl throwing 300 feet circulating recently.

I'm guessing something in your form has changed. When mids are flying further than drivers, it's usually a nose angle issue caused by a slow or incomplete weight shift.

If you're comfortable, the best way is to just take video and start working on what's actually wrong with your form rather than what you think might be wrong. It's the only real way I've been able to improve my form!

Oh, I still remember the videos of David Wiggins as a kid outdriving anything I've ever thrown, I know...

I asked my friend to coach me, to see if there was anything in my form that was really holding me back. Other than a straighter pull through (my form has needed to change from a...slightly wider upper torso since I transitioned, and I'd over-corrected), he really only suggested a timing change, that helped with both nose angle and some distance. On the shots he was the most complimentary of, I made sure to throw one of my Comets to benchmark the distance. Unfortunately, they gained distance from the form tweaks too, so they're still getting out near the same distance..... :wall:

The other reason I've been focusing on it as an arm speed issue, are the discs that do fly correctly. My distance driver of choice used to be the Surge SS (speed 11), but the discs that I'm getting up to their flight speed are now down around speed 6-9 (Crave, Relay, and Undertaker). On throws where I know I'm not nose-up (at least visibly, or judging by flight path), there's maybe 10 feet of difference between the Comet and any of the drivers (when the Comet isn't the longest throw...), and the fairway drivers (speed 6/6.5) are the ones I'm getting out the furthest.

I'll have to see if I can get someone out to film my throws. My pro friend can't really meet up at the same time that often, and the rest of my local scene has gotten........pretty unaccepting of trans people, so I haven't been able to find other people to regularly play with, when I'm not running the league.

 

[Skamanda]

The other reason I've been focusing on it as an arm speed issue, are the discs that do fly correctly.

I should mention that by flying correctly, I mean being able to get any flip on them, at all - and even then, I'm not getting the kind of flip that would be needed for a hyzer-flip distance shot, or shaping a line.

 

[sidewinder22]

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134415

 

[RowingBoats]

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=134415

Bro I want to make an entire indoor game out of this idea.

 

[BillFleming]

I second the video idea! I got myself a GoPro a while back and got some surprising information from it.

I am primarily RHFH, but I wasn't consistent and couldn't figure out the issue. The GoPro showed it was a simple to fix issue. On my 'back swing', the bad throws were pendulumed (pulled back below my waist) and the good throws were windmills (pulled back above my waist).

Correcting that got my forehand throws going straight, but not always on the line I wanted. I happened to try something different and put the camera in front of the tee pad. That showed me my online throws were ones were my lead foot pointed down my line and my back foot never came forward past my lead foot. Wherever the lead foot planted, that is where the disc went, unless my back foot came forward too much, then the disc always went left or on a big hyzer.

So get a camera, or someone with one and film yourself from different angles (back, side, front). You may find you've been doing something that you thought you weren't (like I thought my forehand 'reachback' was always the same).

 

[Salto]

Even at slower arm-speeds you should be able to get a faster disc to fly further than a slower disc. If your mid is flying further it's most likely a nose angle issue, even if it is not that easily visible as you say.

Check Simon Lizotte's video on arm-speed: https://youtu.be/Fwj7B3jGwUU
These are the distances he gets in feet for specific arm speeds:

40 mph 

Putter 179
Mid 186
Fairway 204
Distance 221 

50 mph 

Putter 238 
Mid 241 
Fairway 268
Distance 294 

60 mph 

Putter 330
Mid 326
Fairway 387
Distance 414 

70 mph 

Putter 343
Mid 411
Fairway 440
Distance 559

It could be that you used to rely a lot on muscle to get to throw 430 ft. But that pushes the limit of what you can achieve by strong arming a disc. It's one way to get a disc far, but not the best way. Your loss in distance can be explained by loss of muscle for that suboptimal form. It shouldn't matter as much with great form. But most of us we don't have the smooth form that pro's use to get effortless power. The great thing is in this forum you found the best place to attain that form. Lot's of great resources from notably sidewinder22, but many others like Brychanus too.

Sent from my SM-G991N using Tapatalk

 

[Sheep]

Even at slower arm-speeds you should be able to get a faster disc to fly further than a slower disc. If your mid is flying further it's most likely a nose angle issue, even if it is not that easily visible as you say.

Nose angle can be the difference in 320 feet and 450 feet.

And 1 degree of nose angle can be all that matters in that even.

How the nose pushes to the shot shape and release shape is huge as well because it helps determine how the disc will push.

I think its a far more complicated topic than we really give it credit.

MPH has a lot to do with distance, but also the flight style of the disc.

I'd say MPH more has to do with helping the disc push, but choosing the right disc to arm speed is really the key to distance.

I mean, ... Simon can throw a putter 480 feet.
So, did he throw it at 90+mph? Of course not. Just yeah, complicated topic.

 

[txmxer]

Bro I want to make an entire indoor game out of this idea.

Plastic drink cup lids might be the ticket to durable yet not exceedingly damaging.

 

[txmxer]

Even at slower arm-speeds you should be able to get a faster disc to fly further than a slower disc. If your mid is flying further it's most likely a nose angle issue, even if it is not that easily visible as you say.

Check Simon Lizotte's video on arm-speed: https://youtu.be/Fwj7B3jGwUU
These are the distances he gets in feet for specific arm speeds:

40 mph 

Putter 179
Mid 186
Fairway 204
Distance 221 

50 mph 

Putter 238 
Mid 241 
Fairway 268
Distance 294 

60 mph 

Putter 330
Mid 326
Fairway 387
Distance 414 

70 mph 

Putter 343
Mid 411
Fairway 440
Distance 559

It could be that you used to rely a lot on muscle to get to throw 430 ft. But that pushes the limit of what you can achieve by strong arming a disc. It's one way to get a disc far, but not the best way. Your loss in distance can be explained by loss of muscle for that suboptimal form. It shouldn't matter as much with great form. But most of us we don't have the smooth form that pro's use to get effortless power. The great thing is in this forum you found the best place to attain that form. Lot's of great resources from notably sidewinder22, but many others like Brychanus too.

Sent from my SM-G991N using Tapatalk

Although nothing is set in stone about disc speed versus distance, those numbers are helpful as a guide.

Then again, SW22 shows us that a properly beat in disc can change the numbers signicantly.

 

[txmxer]

Plastic drink cup lids might be the ticket to durable yet not exceedingly damaging.

Second thought--small styrofoam plates!