Throws Measurement Guide: Capturing Upper-Body Power in the Field

Jul 3
8 min read

Lower-body power is easy enough to capture with a jump — but how do you measure the upper body? The force behind throwing a ball, driving a spike, or extending a punch can be decisive in competition, yet if you only judge by eye you end up relying on gut feel. You sense something like "the ball isn't coming off quite as well today," but it's hard to tell whether that's down to condition or an actual drop in power.

Throws measurement is a way to put that upper-body power into numbers. When an athlete throws or slams a medicine ball as hard as they can, the propulsion velocity and power the body produces in that instant come out directly as values. This guide covers what values you get from measuring throws and how to read them, along with what you need to keep in mind to get reliable data in the field.

What values do you get from measuring throws?

Every time you run a throws measurement in PoinT GO, you get the values below. A single throw is captured from several angles at once.

Value	What it tells you
Peak propulsion velocity (m/s)	The top speed the body produces at the moment of the throw or slam. This is the headline indicator of upper-body power
Peak acceleration (m/s²)	How quickly the athlete built up that speed. It reflects instantaneous release ability
Peak power (W)	A value that appears once you enter the weight. It's the instantaneous output of the upper body
Peak force (N)	A value that appears once you enter the weight. As explained below, it's an estimate
Movement time (s)	The time taken for a single throw or slam
Per-rep best & average	When you take several reps in a row, you see each rep's record alongside a representative value

Power and force only appear once you enter the weight. Without a weight, you get velocity and acceleration only; enter it, and that weight is factored in to produce power and force as well.

There's one thing worth flagging here. Force (N) isn't measured directly the way a force plate reads ground reaction force — it's an estimate obtained by multiplying acceleration by the weight. So what throws measurement shows most accurately is "how fast the throw was," that is, propulsion velocity. Because power and force are estimates that factor in the weight, they work best for tracking trends within the same athlete or comparing athletes against each other rather than for the absolute figures themselves.

PoinT GO uses a 9-axis IMU wearable sensor to capture the instant of the throwing motion, and its own optimized algorithm derives these values automatically. PoinT GO handles which signals it reads and how it calculates from them, so the coach can focus purely on putting the resulting numbers to work in the field.

Throw types: slam, throw, and extension

Even within "throws," the muscles used and the ability revealed change depending on how you throw. PoinT GO lets you pick and measure three types.

Slam (SLAM): Lift the medicine ball overhead and drive it straight down to the floor. This looks at overall upper-body release ability, including the lats and core. It's the most common baseline movement.

Throw (THROW): Push the ball out from in front of the chest, or throw it while rotating to the side. These are horizontal and lateral throws like the chest pass and side throw. They look at power in a direction closer to actual throwing or striking.

Extension (EXTENSION): Extend and throw as if pressing overhead. This looks at release ability extending up above the shoulders.

Choose the type closest to your sport's movement. If you're just establishing a baseline, starting with slam alone is plenty; if throwing or striking matters for your sport, you add the throw type on top.

Measuring throws with PoinT GO

The workflow for measuring throws in the field is simple. The sequence is the same whether you use the app (connect) or the web (coach-web).

Attach the sensor: Wear the 15g PoinT GO sensor on the wrist with a wrist strap. You don't attach it to the medicine ball. Fastening it firmly so it doesn't shift is important for measurement accuracy.

Select the throw type: Choose today's movement from slam, throw, and extension. Then set the measurement mode (single / continuous), and enter the weight to also get power and force.

Get ready: Press "Ready" and stay still holding the sensor through a short countdown. The sensor establishes its baseline in this still position.

Measure: On the signal, throw or slam with maximal effort. The movement is captured automatically, and propulsion velocity and acceleration appear on screen the moment you throw. Single mode ends after one attempt; continuous mode repeats several times, building up a record for each rep.

Save: Review the results and save them to the athlete's record.

PoinT GO automatically filters out half-hearted attempts and vague wobbles. Weak movements that aren't maximal effort don't count as valid reps, so the coach doesn't have to judge "redo that one" every single time.

Measuring with the connect app lets you record right there in the field with just a phone, which is handy when you're cycling through several athletes.

How to read the results

Reading the values you measured is what really counts. You only need to keep a few things in mind.

Treat propulsion velocity as your headline indicator. The most reliable value in throws measurement is propulsion velocity. It appears even without entering a weight, and it accurately shows "how fast the throw was." When establishing a baseline for upper-body power, look at this value first.

Look at the representative value across several reps. Athletes are human, so each throw varies a little. Taking several reps in a row and looking at the best record together with the average lets you capture that day's ability more reliably. Rather than being swayed by a single value, base your read on the attempts that came out well.

Read power and force as trends. The power and force that appear once you enter the weight are estimates that factor that weight in. So rather than reading meaning into a single absolute figure, the key is watching whether the same athlete's values at the same weight climb over time. Change the weight and the values change too, so keep conditions identical when you're watching a trend.

In continuous measurement, watch the later reps. When you throw several in a row, you can see whether velocity holds or drops as the reps progress. On a good day, velocity holds up well even in the later reps; on a fatigued day, it visibly sags toward the end. When that happens, it's worth the coach looking at sleep or training load together.

Watch that athlete's change rather than the absolute value. Because build and sport differ from athlete to athlete, comparing absolute figures against each other calls for caution. The real power of throws measurement lies in the flow of the same athlete. If propulsion velocity climbs over several weeks, the training is working; if it stalls or drops, it may be a signal to revisit recovery or the program.

Getting reliable data

When the measured values wobble, so does your interpretation. Just handling these in the field makes the data far steadier.

Measure after warming up. Throwing maximally before the body is loosened up produces lower records and raises the risk of a shoulder injury. Measure after a light warm-up.

Measure under the same conditions. Comparison is only meaningful when you measure with the same-weight medicine ball and the same throw type. Change the weight or type and the values change, making trends hard to read.

Throw with maximal effort. Half-hearted movements aren't captured as valid reps. Only by throwing or slamming maximally every time does true ability show up in the values.

Enter the weight accurately. Power and force are estimated by factoring in the weight you entered, so a wrong weight throws the values off. If you're going to track power, measure with the same weight every time and enter that value accurately.

Three to five reps is about right. One or two might miss the best record, and too many builds up fatigue. Rest sufficiently between attempts as you measure.

Which sports is it for?

Throws measurement is especially useful in sports where explosive release ability of the upper body or whole body separates performance. Where jump measurement looks at the lower body, throws measurement puts numbers to the upper-body power that jumps struggle to capture.

Throwing and striking sports: Great for establishing a baseline for movements that use the upper body explosively — baseball pitchers and batters, volleyball spikes, tennis serves, handball throws, combat-sport punches.

Track and field throws: Track upper-body and whole-body power in events like shot put, discus, and javelin, where release speed is the result.

Look at rotation together for movements where it matters: For movements where a rotational sequence flowing from the legs through the trunk to the arm governs velocity — like a baseball pitch or a handball throw — using throws measurement (which looks at release) together with Rotation measurement (which looks at rotational output) sharpens the picture. If shoulder range of motion is a concern, ROM (mobility) measurement is sometimes added as a supplement.

Managing at the team level

Measuring one person and managing a whole team are different jobs. This is where coach-web (the web dashboard) comes into its own.

Per-athlete trends: Lay out an individual athlete's throw records in chronological order and track how much they've risen or fallen against the baseline.

Team rankings & best records: Gather the best records by measurement type, including throws, in one view. Handy for comparing athletes or setting targets.

Program assignment: Build measurement and training programs that include throws, assign them to athletes, and run them as a regular measurement routine.

You measure with the app in the field, and that data gets organized at the team level in coach-web. Because the app and the web share the same algorithm, the same movement gives the same result no matter where you measure.

App or web — which should I use?

Both do the full measurement and analysis. The difference isn't capability, it's the situation.

In the field or on the move, the connect app: Measure on the spot with just a phone, and it's great for cycling through several athletes. It's the go-to tool in the gym or at the venue.

For managing a team systematically, coach-web: This is where you organize teams, permissions, and programs on the desktop, and compare and analyze accumulated data. You can also connect a sensor and measure live on the web (desktop Chrome and Edge).

Usually the natural combination is measuring in the field with the app and reviewing it all on the web.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do I attach the sensor to the medicine ball?

No. The sensor is worn on the wrist with a wrist strap. Since you're measuring the movement of the throwing body, it goes on the body, not the ball. If the strap is loose during the throw the values wobble, so fasten it firmly.

Q. Power and force values aren't showing up.

You need to enter the weight for power (W) and force (N) to appear. Without a weight, you only get propulsion velocity and acceleration. And since force is an estimate from acceleration times weight rather than a directly measured value like a force plate's, it's better read as a trend under the same conditions than as an absolute figure.

Q. Which do I measure — slam, throw, or extension?

Choose the one closest to your sport's movement. If you're establishing a baseline for upper-body power, starting with slam alone is plenty; if horizontal or lateral throwing like a throw or strike matters, add the throw; if extending overhead matters, add extension. When watching a trend, measuring with the same type every time is important.

Q. How is it different from jump measurement?

The area they look at differs. Jump measurement looks at lower-body power; throws measurement looks at upper-body and whole-body release ability. Because upper-body power is hard to capture with a jump, throwing and striking sports are better off covering it separately with throws measurement. Measuring both together lets you see an athlete's upper- and lower-body power in balance.

Everything About Medicine Ball Slam and Throwing Training — After measuring, on to the training that raises upper-body power

Rotation Power Training — Seeing the rotational output of throwing and pitching through measurement

Sport-Specific Measurement Guide — Which measurements should I pick for my sport

Jump Measurement Guide: Capturing Lower-Body Power in the Field — Measuring and reading lower-body power the same way