What Muscles Are Used to Throw a Shot Put?
The process of throwing a shot put involves many muscles in the body starting at the bottom with the leg muscles, including the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. Other muscles such as the abs, pectorals, deltoids and triceps also play important roles in throwing a shot put, so full-body fitness is very important in order to do well at this sport.
When throwing a shot put, the momentum that drives the shot put forward comes from the legs then travels upwards through the body. The crouching and pushing off motion starts in the calf muscles, then moves through the quadriceps, hamstrings and glutes. While pushing off typically only requires one leg, to get the most power the athlete should have excellent strength in both legs.
The energy then travels from the leg muscles into the core of the body, where the abs, back muscles and lower waist muscles enhance it and propel it to the upper body. Once the energy reaches the upper body the pectorals, deltoids and the triceps are the muscles that finish the process of launching the shot put away from the body. The abs and the lower back once again rotate and contract as the arm is extended to propel the shot as far as possible.
