A friend of mine is a 10.60’s sprinter, but only runs 7.17 in the 60m. When coming out of the blocks he has quick feet, but doesn’t seem to go anywhere. I’m sure that everyone has seen sprinters like this. They have a quick up and down motion while covering little ground. My question is how do you break this habit? Are there drills that can be done? Obviously he has poor acceleration and decent top speed. His block work is in desperate need of help.
Any suggestions
The cue we use with this type of athlete is during acceleration cue “keep the foot on the ground longer” and “push harder and longer”.
Also so he gets the idea of what you are talking about give him the old "bicycle wheel " analogy. When you want to get the wheel going at first your are pushing hard and keeping you hand on the wheel longer and as you reach top speed its a quick tap to maintain the speed.
I forgot about the bicycle wheel analogy. Thanks for the reminder quick.
full extension while pushing! concentrate on this
I would make sure that he is strong enough as well. Early acceleration is highly dependent on strength (the kind you can develop in the weight room) and less dependent on elastic strength.
Too much focus on extension and stride length without appropriate strength levels will cause overstriding. (not saying that is what quik or x-man were recommending!) Also some hill work and lying starts would probably help him get used to getting into the proper body position while strength levels are being developed.
Strength doesn’t seem to be an issue but looking at weightroom numbers. However, this individual doesn’t look strong on the track. I will try the starts stomach down. Thanks for the reply guys.
concentration on good arm action; the rest -including full extention- should come on their own, since strength levels are in place