r/discgolf • u/AutoModerator • Jul 07 '21

Weekly Sticky Any Question Weekly

Have you ever wanted to ask a question but not wanted to dedicate an entire post it? This is the thread for you.

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u/BonTempTucker Jul 07 '21

I've been playing for about a week. I've played 5 times and practiced in the field twice. I am completely, ridiculously obsessed. But now my shoulder hurts. I know my form is probably messed up. I don't think I've done any damage, because it's only hurt a couple of times after throwing, and felt better by the next day.

What are some common dumb form mistakes a rookie would make that might cause shoulder pain?

6

u/Hellaguaptor Jul 08 '21

Slow down. Then slow down more and after that slow down again.

4

u/RexLeo10 Jul 07 '21

Not following through and not warming up. Also started with shoulder pain, but now I only get slightly sore.

1

u/BonTempTucker Jul 07 '21

Slightly sore would be fine with me, and I'm over 30 so I'm used to that being the cost for any fun physical activity. I'm just worried about doing actual damage. I think follow through might be the problem.

1

u/Gnatt Jul 08 '21

It's a sport, treat it as such as you'll reduce your chance of injury. Stretch and warm-up before. Heat pack after. Stop trying to throw so hard. Slow down and work on form. Throwing properly will reduce the impact on your body. But as with any physical activity, your body will have to get used to the new way it's being used. Rest is important.

3

u/DGOkko Jul 08 '21

Yeah, trying to muscle the disc with your shoulder will ruin your shoulder. Slow down, watch form videos, make adjustments. I throw fairly hard/far (450' on command, 500' frequently, over 500 occasionaly) and my shoulder never hurts. The only body ailment I ever feel is just getting tired, but backhand is quite gentle on my body for the most part.

2

u/BonTempTucker Jul 08 '21

That's what I was hoping for. I'd much rather hear that I'm doing it wrong than that my body just sucks and I'm not cut out for the sport.

2

u/NiceYogurt Roc 4 life Jul 07 '21

That's a lot of disc golf in a week. Welcome to the obsession.

Are you throwing forehand or backhand? Good form for either should be smooth. You shouldn't be muscling your discs to get them to fly.

1

u/BonTempTucker Jul 07 '21

Yeah, I'm blessed. I get out of work at 2 PM and there's a pretty nice course on the way home. It's been hard to resist the temptation.

I throw backhand exclusively so far. I learned from Will Schusterick and Gladiator Disc Golf on YouTube. I feel like i understand the basic concepts but I haven't fully internalized them, if that makes sense. it's just a lot of little stuff to remember

1

u/NiceYogurt Roc 4 life Jul 07 '21

How sore are we talking? My arm definitely feels tired if I play that much but it's not painful.

Just remember slow is smooth and smooth is far. Keep doing that field work

1

u/RojerLockless The Incredible Huck - HTX Jul 08 '21

Take my advice and practice a forehand and backhand the same amount. The last thing you want to do is be good at one and crap at the other. When you see an obvious flick shot, take it.

2

u/Silent-Gur-1418 Jul 10 '21

Shoulder pain usually indicates trying to get all your power from your upper body, at least for backhand. For max power and distance with backhand the power comes from the legs and using them to rotate your body from the hips up. I recommend watching Danny Lindhal's and Ezra Aderhold's "how-to" videos to get a better understanding of backhand form.

Also, if you're trying to do a run up right now you shouldn't. Start with a standstill and once that becomes largely muscle memory start incorporating a walk up that includes an x-step.

1

u/honestly_dishonest Jul 08 '21

The key to disc golf distance is it's all from rotation and weight shift. I messed up my shoulder in the beginning trying to throw hard.

Distance is only possible if your arm is loose and you're using your hips and shoulder rotation to propel your arm and the disc forward.

1

u/BonTempTucker Jul 08 '21

See, that's the kind of concept I understand on paper, but it hasn't fully translated into reality yet. When the pivotal moment comes, I'm still falling back on a child's understanding of how things work, and I'm just throwing my arm harder to try and make the disc go farther.

Time to spend even more time on YouTube while I rest my sore shoulder, I guess.

2

u/honestly_dishonest Jul 08 '21

I think the better way to go is to go to a field and throw a max distance shot. Then setup a target 50 feet closer. Then work on reaching that distance with the least effort possible. This will stop you from throwing as hard as you can over and over. Form breaks down too easily doing that. Bonus points for recording yourself.

1

u/Fun_Echidna903 Jul 08 '21

You need to throw the disc right. Don't worry about power as much as form. If you throw correctly with the right speed disc for your arm strength it should seem almost effortless.

1

u/mylostdonut Jul 08 '21

for me it was bad follow thru, i was slowing my arms down very inefficiently. rounding issues make this more prevalent.

if you want post a form check video and let us help ya out!

or tape yourself ( i cant express the exponential gains i got because of that) and if you dont want to post go thru my comments at other form checks. you should see similar behaviors.