Excess Body Fat is Hurting Your Throw
- Dan Labbadia
- Jan 8
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 12
“I was an offensive tackle bro, I was 330..after I retired I got in great shape and I was like ‘okay this is the mass I needed’ because mass equals gas”
You see elite athletes and they typically look shredded, jacked, muscular, but then you see some anomalies such as Pablo Sandoval, CC Sabathia, Ben Rothlessburger, and Zion Williams to name a few. Some of these players in their respective sports seem to be on the heavier side, and not lean at all. Some are extremely talented and can get away with it, some are good, but many argue they could have been even better if they were in better shape.
CC Sabathia was quoted in a 2024 interview with Pat Macafee (5 years after his retirement) “I was an offensive tackle bro, I was 330..after I retired I got in great shape and I was like ‘okay this is the mass I needed’ because mass equals gas”
Referring to the fact that he had low quality mass on his body, but as he matured and learned more he realized the proper type of mass he would have benefited from was muscle mass.
Well let’s take a look at what the science says.
Studies show that for peak male performance you want to be somewhere in between 6-13% body fat. Lower than 6% you start to see a drop off in energy and strength and higher than 13% you start to see an increase in injury, and drop in speed, agility, and jumping ability. (Lindberg, Sara. “Ideal Body Fat Percentage: For Men and Women.” Healthline) (for power athletes like throwers and football players, this percentage may be more like 8-15% due to the demand for power, and lack of demand for cardiovascular endurance, this study took all sports into account)
Women are typically in the 14-20% range for elite athletes, and could be more in the 17-22% range for power athletes.
In terms of the javelin throw when looking at body fat percentage we are looking at two main reasons having excess body fat can be a detriment to your throw. #1 Is your speed down the runway and #2 is your ability to stay behind the block.
When we look at release velocity in javelin, arm speed is directly correlated to approach speed, so if you are overweight, your ability to go full speed down the runway is being limited by excess body fat, in other words, if your feet are moving slow, your arm is moving slow.
When looking at your penultimate, your ability to jump is directly correlated to getting a long, bouncy, penultimate. When training your jumping ability, you are practicing 2 different skills, acceleration and deceleration (or producing & absorbing force). The better your jumping ability, the better your ability to hit an explosive penultimate, land, and throw will be. The science states that in an excess of 15% body fat your jumping ability will be hindered by “dead weight” in the form of fat, whereas muscle mass will translate directly to more power and explosiveness. (Marc Perry, “How Much Does Body Fat Affect Athletic Performance?” BuiltLean) The landing portion of jumping helps your ability to decelerate and absorb force just as much as jumping helps increase your ability to accelerate and produce force. This directly impacts your ability to absorb force upon impact of the block and deceleration after the throw.
When you hit the block it should be the goal of the thrower to get as much of their energy through the javelin as possible, in a linear fashion. When you are carrying too much excess body fat, it becomes much harder for you to hold the block strong, and get your energy through it. In order to hit a block strong at a higher body fat percentage you would have to travel at a speed that is less than 100%
in order to control the force you apply into it. This acts as a trade off, where you are then sacrificing speed for power, and in a perfect world, we want to have an equilibrium of both. With excess body fat, you will most likely be bailing off to the side, slowing down, or crashing upon the block, which would also cause the trail leg to not follow through, leading to multiple technical inefficiencies.
"For a 170 pound athlete, a fat gain of 3.4 pounds (2%), could result in a vertical jump height loss of 2 inches, and a 40 yard dash time increase of 0.26 seconds. If you are not familiar with the 40 yard dash, 0.26 seconds is an eternity."
(Marc Perry, “How Much Does Body Fat Affect Athletic Performance?” BuiltLean)
WHAT DOES THE SCIENCE SAY
ABOUT BODY FAT LEADING TO INJURY?
Decelerating at the time of the block can also cause more injury to those who are holding onto excess body fat. This is because the muscle fibers are what help the body’s ability to accelerate and decelerate effectively, and are only fully prepared to do so safely for the body’s lean mass + 20-30lbs give or take depending on height. Any extra weight in the form of excess body fat beyond the normal fat levels will be a detriment to the deceleration process. This excess weight or body fat is known as “dead weight” Your body is only prepared to decelerate what you train it to do, and excess body fat is hurting your sprinting and jumping training which as we know, directly affects your ability to produce and absorb force.
"The additional body fat can limit endurance, balance, coordination, and movement capacity. Joint range of motion can be negatively affected by excessive body mass and fat as well, and mass can form a physical barrier to joint movement in a complete range of motion. Thus, athletes competing in sports that require high levels of flexibility benefit from having low levels of body fat."
(NSCA, Guide to Tests and Assessments. “Sport Performance and Body Composition.")
Have you ever heard of the importance of mobility for javelin throwers? It’s important. Like really important. If you haven’t, check out some of our other free guides, or our strong and mobile program.
Low levels of lean muscle mass and high body fat levels are both associated with increased risk of injury. Unwanted excess body weight can negatively impact mechanical stress during exercise, thus causing musculoskeletal related injuries.
Danny Webber, “Sports Injury Prevention Diet for Athlete.” Webber Nutrition, 26 July 2023
In summary, if you want to be an elite javelin thrower, you need to be an elite athlete, you need to train and look the part. Your body composition will give you direct feedback and there is no way to cheat it. Are you overweight? You are eating too much. Do you lack muscle mass? You don’t lift enough or don’t eat enough protein. Simple as that.
To view our Free Cook Book designed specifically for Javelin Athletes in college click here to download.
Citations
Lindberg, Sara. “Ideal Body Fat Percentage: For Men and Women.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 16 Mar. 2023, www.healthline.com/health/ exercise-fitness/ideal-body-fat- percentage#for-men.
Marc Perry - Updated 3/12/2024, et al. “How Much Does Body Fat Affect Athletic Performance?” BuiltLean, 12 Mar. 2024, www.builtlean.com/how-to- run-faster/.
NSCA's Guide to Tests and Assessments. “Sport Performance and Body Composition.” National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA), NSCA, 1 June 2017, www. nsca.com/education/articles/kinetic- select/sport-performance-and- body-composition/#:~:text=The%20 additional%20body%20fat%20 can,a%20complete%20range%20 of%20motion.
Danny Webber is a SENr registered practitioner. “Sports Injury Prevention Diet for Athlete.” Webber Nutrition,26 July 2023, webber-nutrition. co.uk/sports-injury-prevention- diet/#:~:text=Low%20levels%20of%20 lean%20muscle,thus%20causing%20 musculoskeletal%20related%20injuries.
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